The last One hundred and seventy years have witnessed the birth, growth, and development of the science of Biblical Archaeology. The new science has furnished useful background materials for illustrating, illuminating and in many cases authenticating the message and meaning of the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

Biblical archaeology may be defined as a study based on the excavation, deciphering and critical evaluation of the records of the past as they affect the Bible. It is fascinating to study the Bible but it is more fascinating to be able to authenticate and prove the historicity of the Bible.

These amazing photos captured a drama with two of these little creatures. Kudos to the photographer. The newspapers that carried these photos sold out in every country.

The reliability of every document depends on two factors:

1. The Author of the document

2. Whether or not the document can be subjected to proof of its dependability. In this we need to verify the accuracy of the document in contemporary history and its accuracy in content.

We wish to subject the Bible to verification of its authorship and its content. Next week, we shall verify its historic accuracy.

Reading: Philippians 1:12-30

The Epistle to the Philippians is one of the Prison Epistles of Paul. He wrote it while in prison in Rome. It is also called the Epistle of Joy and Encouragement in the midst of adverse circumstances. How could Paul in prison write an epistle that expresses profound joy and effuses encouragement to its readers? The reason is that Paul discovered what most of us have never discovered – the secret of strength in weakness.

Photo by Colin [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Reading: Exodus 4:1-17

When last we considered this passage, we asked the question; “What is that in your hand?” (Verse 2) We saw that when God calls, He equips. So there is no one who can truly say, “I have nothing in my hand with which I can be of service to God.” We all have something in our hands. For Moses, it was a rod; for Dorcas, it was a needle; for the little unnamed lad, it was five loaves of bread and two small fishes. For Mary, it was a jar of Alabaster oil. You know what you have in your own hand.

But what then stops us from being effective?