The following prayer, I prayed four years ago with the exception that today I changed the names, changed a scenario in paragraph 3, added paragraph 4, and slightly modified other parts, but it is generally the same prayer.


"Father and my King

This is your world, and you do with it as you please. You’re the King of Presidents and the true director of all nations. A man can’t become president, or pastor, or prime minister, or plumber, without your consent. There isn’t a country or king or child or bird or insect that sustains itself. You work all things according to your plans, and no human plan can stand apart from you.
We bless you for allowing Joe Biden to be elected as President of the United States. We know that he wasn’t ultimately elected by Democrats or Republicans, but by You. So we trust you. You knew exactly what you were doing.

Lord, our greatest desire is not that the economy would be righted, or that health care would be solved, or COVID will be cured. We want to see you glorified in whatever way you choose. Glorify yourself through Joe Biden. We pray that four years from now more people would know and love you because Joe Biden was in office.

God, you call our nation to protect the defenseless and to oppose the tyrant. God, convict our nation and new President of the horrors of abortion, as it attacks the most oppressed and defenseless among us. God, call us back to the principles found in the Bible including love for life, a love for how you created us, and a love for all people as we are created in God's image. God, please protect our religious freedoms, but if not then let us serve you above all else. Help the church to stand firm on Biblical truths even as many of them are maligned in the culture. Let us be at peace with our government, pray for our government, love our government, but always dedicated to you first.

We pray that you would draw Joe Biden to yourself. Open his eyes to see the glories of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Press Your hand upon him. Allow him to feel the fragility of this country and the emptiness of his own spiritual condition.

Your word tells us that you control his heart like a waterway. Please cause him to enact godly laws, laws that will promote the spread of your gospel. Breathe into him a love for human life, a heart that moves with compassion for the needy, and a deep sense of Your justice.

Above all else, use Joe Biden as a channel for Your kingdom.

In Jesus name, amen."

NASB2020 ESV & CSB Versus UASV2021

I have no feelings about the success or failure of the NASB. I do not wish it to fail at all. I have opinions about its success. It is a niche Bible because it is still very much a literal translation. It is only going to have sales in that part of the market. From what I have been told, if I remember correctly, The Lockman Foundation (TLF) does not even market and advertise that much. The ESV and CSB have the part of the market that TLF is after and they market heavily. So, I don't think the NASB is getting that. TLF would have to do what they did, ESV essentially literal, CSB optimal literal translation. You see, they (ESV & CS are trying to convince us that, 'hey we are still literal but we have made it more readable or easy to read. But we are still faithful to the literal philosophy.' They are trying to get part of the NIV market. That is difficult because the NIV market team advertises even more. In addition, the NIV people are starting to become like the KJVO people, that is, NIVO people.

If TLF thinks it is climbing out of its niche market with just a few steps into the essentially literal world, they are mistaken, in my opinion. What I think they are going to do is anger their base readers and fall short of getting any ESV or CSB readers. And they certainly are not going to get any of the NIV readers. The only way to move into another market is to spend more money on marketing and become more like the company you are trying to capture.

The other possibility is to try and make the ESV and CSB readers realize that their Bibles are watered-down versions of literal. Maybe it is not so true with the ESV in the OT but that is what needs to be done. And this is where the UASV is heading. We are looking to get part of the NASB market. We have many pastors waiting for us to get done to check out the Bible for their churches. We intend to appeal to the NASB readers (abandoning literal translation philosophy) and the ESV and CSB readers (watered-down literal translation philosophy).

https://www.uasvbible.org/donation

Bring it on!!

Just arrived today. Looking forward to reading this one.

A bulla (clay seal impression) with the words “Belonging to Shema the Servant of Jeroboam," which first came to light in the 1980s, has finally been authenticated through a series of tests. The Jeroboam in question is not the Jeroboam who was the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (that split from Judah after Solomon's death) but rather Jeroboam II, of the Jehu dynasty. He had the longest reign by far among the northern kingdom's kings (786-746). Although the Deuteronomistic Historian rates him as evil, he had support from the prophet Jonah; restored the northern and eastern reaches of Israel's territory; and ushered in a time of prosperity for upper classes. The prophet Elisha died during his father Joash's reign.

Jeroboam II was the 4th king in the Jehu dynasty; he was Jehu's great-grandson. Jehu had deposed the Omri/Ahab dynasty, destroying all traces of the Baal cult in the North, the Northern Kingdom's best king from the perspective of the Deuteronomistic Historian. The DH ranks the 4 kings of this dynasty after Jehu as evil. Jeroboam II was the last powerful king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel​. When his 40-year reign concluded, Israel had less than a quarter of a century left of survival before its destruction by Assyria in 722 B.C.​

The prophet Amos, a prophet from Judah prophesying in the northern kingdom, had a short ministry sometime during Jeroboam II's reign​. Hosea, a northern-kingdom prophet prophesying in his own land, had a roughly 30-year prophetic ministry​ that began late in Jeroboam II's reign. ​These prophets railed against social injustice and Baal worship in the northern kingdom.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/....2700-years-ago-tiny-

Romans:
One of the benefits of studying slowly is getting to look at every word and understanding all the implications. In Romans 1, we see that the Gospel was promised beforehand by the prophets.. One theologian rightly noted that Romans is an exposition of the Old Testament's Gospel. Luther thought Romans was a great demonstration of the entirety of the Gospel and set forth the proper way to understand the Old Testament. Paul is not writing a caveat to the Old but relied solely upon the Old for His exposition.