April 4, 2026

Of course you’ll quickly recognize the name Noah as the godly man who built an ark at God’s instruction in order to survive the global flood recorded in the book of Genesis.

By now you may also recognize the name Utnapishtim, sometimes called “the Babylonian Noah,” the main hero of a Babylonian flood narrative with similarities to the Bible that’s described in an ancient work called the Epic of Gilgamesh.

But do you know the names Atrahasis and Ziusudra? Atrahasis is the hero of an earlier Babylonian flood account, likewise written in a similar dialect of Akkadian, the ancient language of that region. In later Babylonian tradition Atrahasis is even identified as Utnapishtim, so clearly the author of the Epic of Gilgamesh borrowed and revised the Epic of of Atrahasis.

The story of Ziusudra, fittingly called “the Sumerian Noah,” predates both of the aforementioned Babylonian epics and records the flood tradition of the ancient region of Sumer. Ziusudra is a king-priest from the important Sumerian city of Shuruppak, located on the Euphrates River near the city of Ur, the hometown of Abraham.

Inscribed on clay fragments that date to approximately 2000 B.C., the Sumerian account, the earliest flood story ever recorded, albeit incomplete, agrees with both the biblical and Babylonian accounts on several core elements, including a divine warning which preceded the flood, the necessary construction of a vessel in order to survive the flood, the sparing of both human and animal life inside the vessel, and the destruction of mankind outside the vessel. Like Utnapishtim, Ziusudra is even awarded with immortality.

These Babylonian and Sumerian flood traditions are just three of the hundreds of ancient flood traditions that anthropologists have identified worldwide. They surely seem to corroborate the historicity of the flood.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia (Answer below)

What is the most popular soft drink in Israel?

Four Fascinating Archaeologibcal Finds in the City of David

1. Half shekel—a silver coin minted during the First Jewish Revolt, dating to 67 A.D., just prior to the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans in their reprisal against the uprising. The half shekel was given as a donation annually for the upkeep of the temple.

2. Gold earring—a valuable piece of jewelry, evidently worn by an aristocrat’s daughter, dating to the Second Temple period, before 70 A.D.

3. Golden bell—sewn on a garment, likely belonging to someone of high position who lived in Jerusalem towards the end of the Second Temple period, before 70 A.D.

4. Clay Seal—bearing the words, “deka leyah,” meaning “pure for God,” used to mark items and vessels that were brought to the temple in order to show that they adhered to proper purity requirements.

Which one is the most interesting to you?

-Daniel McCabe

Christology—the Humanity of Jesus, part 1

Here’s a topic where our minds prove to be so finite and not fully able to comprehend everything. Jesus is fully human in nature. He took on this permanent addition at His incarnation. That is so fascinating to me. Jesus is God, yet at the incarnation—when He’s born as a baby to the Virgin Mary—He adds humanity unto Himself.

In Philippians 2 Paul describes how Jesus took on servanthood, and we see this also in John 1:14 and Acts 1:11. When we first think of the person of Jesus, we generally think of His coming to earth as the son of Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth. That’s the human Jesus, but from that point on—what’s really interesting to me—is that He now has that human nature forever, yet it didn’t change His divine nature. The Son of God added on a human nature. So in a unique way, He’s fully God and fully human. This doesn’t mean 100% + 100% = 200%, but rather it’s 100% + 100% = 100%. He’s still just one unified person. He’s the anthropos, the God-man, the only unique one. We can’t ever fully grasp this, but we can know it because the Bible presents Jesus as both God and human.

Jesus, of course, has a human body; therefore, when He was on earth, He experienced the limitations of a human in every way. He got hungry. He got tired. He felt pain, and although He experienced those human limitations, His body was fully perfected upon His resurrection. It’s not that Jesus was imperfect in sin like we are, but rather that following the resurrection, glorification and ascension of His body He was made perfect like we will one day be made perfect. In other words, He’s the firstfruits of the resurrection.

Jesus is completely sinless in His human nature, and that’s the major difference, of course, between our humanity and Jesus’ humanity, for His human nature is unfallen. He is unstained by sin. Again, that’s something that we can’t fully comprehend because sin is such a huge part of our experience. We can’t even think about what it must be like to be free from sin though as believers we are freed from the bondage of sin.

-Adam Keim

History and Geography—Saul of Gibeah

“Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched” (1 Samuel 10:25-26).

The pictured map might look nondescript to one unfamiliar with Israel’s geography, but about three miles north of Jerusalem lies Gibeah, King Saul’s hometown, which served as the capital during his reign. Not long before Saul’s era, the town was a sad example of the spiritual state of God’s people in Judges 19-20. A Levite and his concubine came to rest in Gibeah after their journey from Bethlehem, only to find great trouble. Ironically, the Levite refused to stay overnight in Jebus (later known as Jerusalem) because it was a Canaanite city at the time. He probably would have encountered less sin there!

Gibeah is mentioned several times in prophetic writings, usually in connection with coming judgment (Hosea 5:8; 9:9; 10:9; Isaiah 10:29). Also, the Roman commander Titus prepared the Legio X Fretensis (the Tenth Legion) there at the “Hill of Saul” before moving against Jerusalem in AD 70.

An interesting piece of modern history stands at the site today. You can walk around the unfinished construction of a royal palace. King Hussein of Jordan began building one there in the 1960s, presumably as a boast that he controlled the land of Israel’s former king. But Israel won that area during the Six-Day War in 1967, leaving the building unfinished as an insult in return. What a retort!

-Adam Keim

Answer to the Trivia

A. Coca-cola

Week Fourteen, 2026

“Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm” (Proverbs 1:33).

Probably the first voice we hear is from our parents. Scripture tells us to listen and learn from them (Proverbs 1:8). But as we grow up, we hear other voices, and they are not always good. Sinful people tempt us for their own benefit, but we should not fall for it. They want to trap us even when we have done nothing wrong. Proverbs 1:15 tells us not to go along with them. Do not even tempt yourself by setting foot on their path, as they are quick to cause harm.

Don’t be tempted to chase money the wrong way. It always sounds so profitable and easy. Have you ever been tempted by a multi-level marketing scheme or an investment that sounds too good to be true? It usually is. Saying yes to sin can take away everything you have. Don’t be foolish and give in to childish ways.

The world makes fun of us when we fall for these childish traps. It laughs when danger hits us because of a bad decision. But whoever listens to God will live in safety. They will be at ease without fear of harm.

There are two voices crying out to us: the voice of God’s wisdom, and the voice of the world. Too often, we fall for the voice of the world. Just as I was writing this, I got a call about a business decision I needed to make. I quickly started processing it the way the world does. Then, God reminded me to turn to His wisdom, and I began to pray about it.

Evil will give you a little fun, but ultimately, it will destroy you. Don’t use people to get what you want, and do not let yourself be used. Don’t join the wrong group. Sin is a great recruiter because we all have a natural desire to belong.

What is the bait? People go where they feel they belong. But it is better to be alone with Jesus than in a crowd of sinners. Sin will always hook and destroy you. If you don’t fear God, you will fear everything else. If you have been listening to the world, remember that Jesus died for you.

In a world full of competing voices, listen to the life-giving voice of God’s wisdom. That voice is constantly contested—beware of the enticing voices that lead to death.

Satan’s first tactic for drawing a soul into sin is to present the bait and hide the hook. He presents the golden cup while hiding the poison. He highlights the sweetness, pleasure, and gain that seem to come from giving in to sin—all while keeping the coming misery out of sight!

Listen to the Word through the wisdom of God, and you will not be disappointed.

Sometimes True Stories

The thief on the cross beside Jesus said to Him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42–43).

The man on the cross may have been a thief. But in his final minutes of life, he was gracious in speech and pure in heart. Imagine the thief’s arrival in heaven. His resume was horrible, and yet, there he stood in paradise. He didn’t deserve to be there. But the grace of Jesus allowed him in because “the man in the middle said he could come.” The thief’s works did not get him in; God’s grace did. Our King is our friend if we accept His grace.

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Quotes You Can Use

Life without Jesus is like an unsharpened pencil. It has no point. —Billy Graham

The Lord is my shepherd. If He is a Shepherd to no one else, He is a Shepherd to me. He cares for me, watches over me, and preserves me. The words are in the present tense. Whatever the believer’s position may be, he is even now under the pastoral care of the Lord.

God sent His Son, Jesus, for you and for me. He is always there with us in the good times, as well as the hard times. He is there in joyous times, and in times when we feel persecuted, in danger, or do not know where to turn. He is with us when we are embarrassed, under attack, desperate, or despairing with no hope in sight. We have all been there—at points of desperation, depression, and hopelessness. God sent His Son for you and for me, for all those moments.

Seek knowledge before you try to persuade others. Listen to all sides of an argument. Have an open mind, be quick to think, and be slow to speak. —Tony Ferguson

There is no such thing as secret sin.

Praying is the most powerful way we make our needs known to God. —Rich Jensen

Backsliding happens when you allow any other desire, ambition, or preference to take first place in your heart and in your life.

If you do not know which port you are sailing to, no wind is favorable.

God uses trials to show us our hearts, so we can be cleansed and brought into the land of blessing—physically and spiritually.

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

©2026, Thoughts on Life

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March 29, 2026

Flood Stories: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Part 4

More Similarities to the Bible

We’ve already noted five key similarities between the Bible and this Babylonian epic. Let’s complete the list with six more.

6. The duration of the flood is given—in the Babylonian account the storm lasted only six days and nights, and the flood ceased on the seventh day. No mention is made of the length of time that Utnapishtim and the others remained inside the boat. The Genesis account, however, describes a violent downpour of forty days and nights (7:12) with ordinary rain and upheaval that continued for another five months (8:2-3). The entire flood event looks to have lasted for roughly one year.

7. The landing place of the boat is given—Utnapishtim’s vessel grounded on Mount Nisir, a site commonly identified with Pir Omar Gudrun, located about four hundred miles north of the Persian Gulf in the Kurdish region of modern Iraq, east of the Tigris River. Noah’s ark rested on the mountains of Ararat (v. 4), a general region located west of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Black Sea in Armenia, very near the borders of Iran and Turkey.

8. Birds are sent out to assess the level of the water—in the Babylonian account a dove, a swallow and a raven are all released consecutively on the seventh day. The dove and the swallow return; the raven does not. This bears a striking resemblance to the biblical account in which Noah first releases a raven forty days after the tops of the mountains became visible (vs. 6-7) and then a dove on three subsequent occasions until finally feeling confident that the water had abated (vs. 8-12). There is no mention of a swallow.

9. The hero and his family are delivered—in addition to all living animals, Utnaphistim survives the flood with his immediate family, extended family, all craftsmen and the boat pilot. Eight people exit the ark in the biblical account, including Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives (Genesis 6:18; 7:7, 13; 1 Peter 3:20).

10. The hero worships after disembarking—Utnapishtim pours out a drink offering and burns a fragrant sacrifice of sweet cane, cedar and myrtle to the gods who are drawn to the sacrifice like flies. Noah offers numerous burnt offerings to the Lord who smelled the “soothing aroma” (Genesis 8:20-21).

11. The hero is blessed—Utnapishtim and his wife receive divinity and immortality. Genesis 9:1 also notes that “God blessed Noah and his sons.” They would be fruitful; they were granted permission to eat meat; and they became recipients of a covenant with God that promised no more global flooding (vs. 11-17).

The many similarities between these two ancient flood traditions suggests to many that both had independent knowledge of a global flood.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia

Which one of the following is legal in Israel?

History: Irena Sendler

I just stumbled across a newspaper article about this remarkable woman. I can’t find the source of the article, but it was clearly printed shortly after May 12, 2008, the date of Irene Sendler’s passing. This young Polish woman saved more than twice as many Jews as did Oskar Schindler during World War II. How is it that I had never heard her name until today? I’ve transcribed the article for you, for I couldn’t have captured her life story any better than this.

“‘Female Schindler’ who saved 2,500 dies at 98” by Ross McGuinness

A social worker who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II has died, aged 98. Irena Sendler, who was known as the ‘female Schindler,’ rescued children and babies from the Warsaw ghetto in Poland—smuggling some out by wrapping them as parcels.

Mrs. Sendler, who lived at a Warsaw nursing home, had been in the hospital with pneumonia since last month.

During the war, she and her team of 20 were allowed into the infamous ghetto on the pretence of checking it during a typhoid outbreak. Instead, they searched for children to save.

They smuggled out babies in ambulances and trams, some wrapped in packages. Teenagers escaped by joining teams of laborers. Those rescued were placed in families, orphanages, hospitals or convents.

In 1943 the Nazis destroyed the ghetto and the inhabitants were shot or sent to death camps.

Mrs. Sendler, a Roman Catholic, was eventually captured by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death—but released when a guard was bribed.

The names of the hundreds of children she saved were known because Mrs. Sendler kept a list buried in a jar under an apple tree.

She became one of the first ‘Righteous Gentiles’ to be honored at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel in 1965. Last year she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

‘It took a true miracle to save a Jewish child,’ said Elzbieta Ficowska, who was rescued as a baby by Mrs. Sendler in 1942. ‘She saved not only us, but our children and grandchildren and the generations to come.’”

-Daniel McCabe

Geography: Ramon Crater

The land of Israel is a place with such historical and spiritual significance that its importance cannot be overstated. But it is also a land of natural wonders and fascinating geography. The Ramon Crater in the southern desert area of the country, known as the Negev, is one such example. This six-mile wide crater-like formation is not believed to have been shaped by a volcano or a meteor, but rather by water erosion. Modern scientists credit an ancient ocean that used to sit in the area for the formation of the crater, which accords wonderfully with the worldwide flood account of Genesis 6–8. The surrounding region is known for its access to ancient spice routes as well as wildlife, such as desert mountain goats and a unique caper plant that grows only on specific gypsum layers within the crater.

Visitors to the Ramon Geological Park Reserve can enjoy a feature known as “The Carpentry Shop” that is made of thousands of symmetrical quartzite prisms that resemble logs in a woodshop as well as numerous marine fossils and vertical cracks in the rock through which magma used to flow upward before solidifying. The Ramon Crater has also been designated as an “International Dark Sky Park,” one of the best places on earth for stargazing and viewing meteor showers. The crater even has a fun connection to astronauts, as its harsh, arid terrain is so similar to the surface of Mars that it is used as a training site for astronauts preparing for future missions. The nearby visitor center and the highest peak, Mount Ramon, display a memorial for Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, who was a frequent visitor to the area.

Even though the crater is not mentioned in the Bible, it is situated near the Wilderness of Zin where Moses sent the twelve spies to scout out the Promised Land in Numbers 13. I wonder what Joshua and Caleb would have thought of the crater if they passed by this beautiful spot in the Negev, perhaps even looking up to the bright stars.

–Adam Keim

Christology—the Deity of Jesus

What words could possibly do justice in describing the person of Jesus Christ? Paul the Apostle offered a good summary in Colossians 1:15-16, 19, 20, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him…. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”

In this series we’ll divide the topic of the person of Christ into six subtopics: His deity, His humanity, His hypostasis, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, His offices and His Second Coming. My favorite way to teach about Jesus Christ is simply by studying the Gospels, for so many things will pop out at you when you read them, but in this series we’ll take a systematic walk through the entire New Testament.

Christology is, of course, the theology of Christ, the second person of the Godhead, and the first category we’ll study is His deity. Jesus Christ is fully divine in nature and completely equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. Many teachings about Jesus have failed to grasp His full divinity, including many errors that came out of the early church as they attempted to understand His nature to the best of their ability. On the other hand, we have folks today whose teachings on the nature of Jesus strike me as being demonic. After all, the ultimate source of these false teachers is the devil who desires to deceive us by either denying Jesus’ divinity or His humanity.

Jesus is fully divine in nature. He’s completely equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. We see this in Philippians 2:6, for example. In Exodus 3:14 God reveals Himself to Moses, saying, “I Am,” and Jesus claims this for Himself in John 8:58, saying, “Before Abraham was, I Am,” a clear link to Exodus 3, and His audience knew exactly what He was saying. Jesus is God Himself in human flesh. He existed before time. He’s outside the bounds of time. He’s eternal, and, of course, God is the only eternal one.

Which leads to me to a slight quibble, for when we as Christians talk about the gift of eternal life, we should technically be referring to everlasting life because only one being is truly eternal, outside of time, and that’s God. Of course, when someone refers to eternal life in heaven with God, we know what they mean, and it’s no reason to start an argument or anything, but God is the only eternal being outside of time. This is evident from passages like Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, John 1:1, Revelation 1:10 and Revelation 22:13. In John 1:1, for example, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” so in some sense Jesus is equal with God the Father as well as the Holy Spirit. As the Son, however, He is distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet the three are one God.

In the Gospels we read about Jesus’ divine authority to forgive sins and that He’s worthy of worship. He created the entire universe and continues to hold it together in some way. “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16), and He holds it all together. Without the Son of God holding the created order together, it would all fall apart. Perhaps you’ve heard that if gravity was slightly different than what it is now, then everything would fall apart, or if the earth was just minutely closer or farther from the sun, then we couldn’t sustain life on earth. Jesus holds it all together. So Jesus is fully divine. He is God, and there’s no denying it. If you spend any time in the Scriptures, you cannot deny that Jesus Christ is God of very gods and Lord of very Lords.

-Adam Keim

On Location—20 Chairs

How many kings of Judah were there? Yes, 20. Well, technically 19 kings and 1 queen. Can you name them all? My friend Sara Beth once could! Maybe still can!

So, what are we looking at in this picture that I took last September on our trip to Israel? Well, the modern caretakers of the ancient site of Lachish have set up a marvelous display of 20 chairs next to the ancient ruins of the king’s house. Each chair represents a king of Judah—all 20 of them in order. The name of the king is printed at the top of each chair in English, Arabic and Hebrew and just below his name are the dates of his reign. At the base of the chair is a Bible verse associated with each king, written in Hebrew. Then there’s the part that I really like! The height of the chairs are directly proportional to the length of each king’s reign. Two chairs are particularly tall. What kings do these two chairs represent? Do you know? The two kings of Judah with the longest reigns are Manasseh and Uzziah (also called Azariah).

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. Buying alcohol at age 18

Week Thirteen, 2026

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

Recently, I suggested to someone that he pray about a situation. His response was that he already had, and “it doesn’t work.” Yes, it does. It just does not always happen according to our will. God answers all prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No, or Wait.

Have you ever wondered or become frustrated when God didn’t answer a prayer the way you wanted? We all share that experience. Right now, I am waiting for God to answer a big prayer I have been praying about for months, and yet, I have no answer.

In 1990, country music artist Garth Brooks released an album titled No Fences. On this album, Garth had a hit song called “Unanswered Prayers.” The premise of the song is that God knows best. When we look back years later, we are often thankful that God did not answer a previous request.

That reminds me of a saying: “If we knew what God knows, we would agree with what God does.” Who better to guide our steps than the Master Planner Himself? The Lord gives us free will to make our plans, but we should not forget to consult with Him through daily prayer. We must abide in His will, whether it is yes, no, or wait. Can you wait on the Lord?

Unanswered prayer happens when we pray but do not receive the response we want. This often leads to doubt, frustration, or spiritual struggle. However, the delay could be due to praying with selfish motives, unconfessed sin, God’s perfect timing, or a different and better answer. Instead of giving up, we should focus on perseverance, trusting God’s will, and deepening our faith.

So, why pray at all? The answer is that prayer is not just about results. It is about a relationship. God wants us to interact with Him. He wants us to know Him, trust Him, and remember Him in all our ways. He wants us to play an active role in His plan. But He does not promise to be our personal wish-fulfiller.

In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with being honest about your pain and frustration. God hears that as well. He knows best. Just as I was writing this, a friend emailed to tell me he lost his job. Maybe God is teaching him or has a better plan, but the secret is to pray that God’s will be done. That is the purpose of prayer.

Sometimes True Stories

How long do you think it will take before we have a betting scandal in every major sport? When the world honors the wealthy like we do, getting rich quick and cutting corners is bound to happen. —Dwight Short

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The English word for “character” comes from a Latin root that means “engrave.” When we trust in God, He will etch values and principles that form our true character and reach deep into our souls. If we desire godly character, it must be directed by God because He is the source of good. The wicked, on the other hand, will fall if they allow their character to be formed by the devil. —Tony Ferguson

Quotes You Can Use

God wants you to know that He is near enough that you can reach out at any time and fellowship with Him.

A friend with an understanding heart is worth as much as having a brother.

Life is 90% attitude and 10% how we deal with life’s challenges. Eliminate sinful attitudes, and we eliminate 90% of our sinful behavior.

My brain just logged me out due to inactivity, and now I can’t remember my password.

The leading cause of injury in old men is them thinking they’re young men.

When you think about it, God’s signature is on each of us. The question becomes: are we willing to acknowledge God as our Creator, or let our pride pretend we are just an accident of nature? Too many of us want to live life as “do it myself.” —Tony Ferguson

In the New Testament, we see God’s final revelations of Himself through Jesus Christ—showing us the full extent of God’s mercy, patience, and grace. —Dan Shock

If I die tomorrow, I will be with the Lord. If I live tomorrow, the Lord will be with me. Either way, I belong to the Lord, and I am thankful for the relationship.

God is not just interested that you serve Him; He is vitally interested in why and how you serve Him. —Dan Shock

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

©Thoughts on Life Copyright 2026

Flood Stories—the Epic of Gilgamesh, part 3, ”Similarities to the Bible”

It’s the most striking of all flood stories outside of the Bible, and as promised let me list several similarities between this ancient Babylonian account and that found in the book of Genesis. It is perhaps safe to say that there are more differences between the two accounts than similarities, but one should expect at least some similarities between them in order to safely contend that they reflect an independent knowledge of an ancient global flood.

1. The flood is divinely planned—in the Babylonian account the gods decree the flood although Ishtar later lamented the decision after witnessing the terrible destruction that resulted from it. Genesis 6:17 also attributes the flood to divine intervention, reading, “I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth,” though, of course, here it is the decision of God alone.

2. The impending flood is revealed to an heroic man—Ea, the Babylonian god of wisdom, informs Utnapishtim of the coming flood in a dream, and God tells the godly Noah directly in Genesis 6:9, 13.

3. The reason for the flood is the moral failure of man—the moral ambiguity of the Babylonian account records Ea as justifying the flood in these words, “On the sinner lay his sin, on the transgressor lay his transgressions” (XI, 180), whereas Enlil, the counselor of the gods, seems otherwise ready to wipe out the entire race without discrimination. In Genesis 6:5, 12 God intends to punish sinful man for his wickedness and violence without consternation.

4. The hero is instructed to build a boat—in the Epic of Gilgamesh it is variously referred to as a ship or boat and even once as a house or palace, suggesting its considerable size. In Genesis 6:14 Noah is instructed to build an ark, which normally refers to a chest, box, or coffin rather than to a ship, thus highlighting its peculiar design unlike that of a typical ship. In fact, it’s the same word commonly used for the Ark of the Covenant. In both accounts the vessels had multiple levels, a door and at least one window, and they were both made watertight with pitch.

5. The physical conditions of the flood are described—the Babylonian account tells of destructive wind and a torrential rainstorm, accompanied by lightning and thunder, as well as the breaking of dikes and reservoirs. The full account in Genesis describes a violent downpour as well as catastrophic changes in the earth’s atmosphere, climate and subterranean geology.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia (Answer Below)

Who is the President of Israel?

Life in the Land: Iron Dome

I didn’t grow up in constant fear of missile attacks. My scariest childhood memory was perhaps kneeling against a wall in the hall of South Ward Elementary School with my hands over my head waiting for a Texas tornado to pass. My hometown experiences a major tornado once every year or two, but last year alone thousands of rockets were launched into Israel. Imagine growing up with that danger as a normal part of everyday life.

Well, after years of research and development Israel deployed a mobile air defense system in 2011 known as the Iron Dome that’s designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. Modern radar detects all incoming threats and a control system quickly calculates the projected landing coordinates for each one. If it’s determined that the threat will strike a populated area or any critical infrastructure like Israel’s nuclear research facility in Dimona, Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv or the Bazan Group of oil refineries in Haifa, then an interceptor missile is fired. Any threats that are projected to land in unpopulated areas are largely ignored in order to prioritize greater threats and to limit the high cost of operating the system.

According to government assessments, the Iron Dome has roughly an 85-95% success rate at shooting down all incoming threats. Of course its effectiveness depends on the volume and specific type of threats. Residents can also download a phone app from Home Front Command that alerts them to any threats and instructs them to seek shelter.

–Daniel McCabe

Life in the Land: Quips from Israel

1. “Only here in Israel does your mother have your commanding officer’s cell phone number.”

2. “Only here in Israel do taxi drivers give you marital advice along with your change.”

3. “Only here in Israel do you get into a political debate with your barber while getting a shave.”

4. “Only here in Israel can you get hummus with more toppings than a salad.”

5. “If a traffic light stays red for more than thirty seconds, here we assume it’s broken and we just go.”

6. “In Israel we don’t walk into a room. We walk into a debate.”

7. “In Israel we argue about politics as much as we argue about who makes the best shakshuka.”

–Daniel McCabe

History: The City of David

There are only a few places in all of Israel like the City of David which can give you a sense of wonder and awe that you are standing in the middle of biblical history. Luke 2:11 records the familiar angelic announcement to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The City of David in this context is, of course, the little town of Bethlehem, David’s hometown.

However, there is another place also known as the City of David, namely, Jerusalem itself, particularly the hill of Jerusalem that was occupied during the Old Testament era. What we know today as the Old City of Jerusalem is more or less where the city was in the New Testament era. The old stone walls that still stand were constructed by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century A.D., using many of the stones that were toppled by the Romans during their destruction of the city in the first century. Suleiman’s walls generally match the outline of the eastern and western walls of Jerusalem during Jesus’ time, but not the northern or southern walls.

Immediately south of the Temple Mount, bordered by Suleiman’s wall on the east, there are extensive excavations. Many of the ruins uncovered in this area date back to the First Temple period, the time of Solomon, including remains of storerooms, mikvaot, and other items used in temple service, and just south of these ruins a hill stretches further south to the intersection of the Kidron Valley and Hinnom Valley. Upon this hill is located the city of Jerusalem from the Old Testament period, ranging from the conquest of the city by David to the reign of Hezekiah. At the time of Assyria’s conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel the city of Jerusalem probably expanded to the Western Hill, for King Hezekiah needed to accommodate the many refugees who fled to Jerusalem for protection and a new life. At this time Hezekiah also constructed a tunnel which bears his name and connected the water from the Gihon Spring outside the city to the Pool of Siloam inside the city.

If previously called Jebus during the occupation of the Jebusites, why then did Jerusalem come to be known as the City of David? Well, for that we turn to 2 Samuel 5:1-10. In fact, there is no finer account of those days then that given in the Bible itself.

“Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, “You shall be shepherd of My people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.”’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off’—thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David. And David said on that day, ‘Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David’s soul.’ Therefore it is said, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’ And David lived in the stronghold and called it the City of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.”

So David and Joab took the fortified hill city from the Jebusites and claimed for themselves a city where God chose to place His name. As Psalm 87:1-2 so beautifully states, “On the holy mount stands the city He founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.”

I will force myself to stop here because the City of David contains so much historical, archaeological, and geographical interest. I need to cut myself off before I ramble on for the next twenty hours or so.

–Adam Keim

Scripture Study: Psalm 44

By now you probably know that I am on a multi-year journey to learn the personalities of all 150 psalms. I am writing out a one-sentence summary of each psalm, and here is my latest summary. Do you ever have times like these?

“O Lord, our merciful God, my King, we’ve heard from our forefathers how it pleased you so long ago to do for them what they could never do in their own strength and how you planted them in the land after defeating and driving out the nations, and although God knows heart secrets and surely must know ours—particularly that we have not forgotten you or been untrue to you or to your covenant by worshiping a foreign god—still you forget us, abandon us in the fight, and even sleep inexplicably while we are scattered, plundered and humiliated, left to die in the desert, senselessly slaughtered like sheep, and made the laughingstock of neighboring nations; nevertheless, I will not trust in my own bow or sword, for only through you will we overcome our enemies, but rather I will praise you forever, for you’ve always saved us and shamed them, so now arise from your sleep, Lord, show us mercy, and deliver Jacob, your people.”

–Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

A. Isaac Herzog

Week Twelve, 2026

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Philippians 4:6-7 is a Bible passage encouraging believers to replace anxiety with prayer, asking God for needs with thanksgiving, resulting in a divine peace that guards the heart and mind in Christ Jesus, surpassing human understanding. It’s a directive to turn worries into requests, trusting God for provision and protection, fostering an inner calm through a relationship with Him.

If only we, as followers of Christ, could always apply that in our lives. But often, we cannot. I don’t exempt myself from that. I struggle with anxiety frequently. The Bible addresses anxiety as a heavy, common human struggle. It offers many verses that encourage us to turn our worries into prayer, trust God’s provision, and seek His peace. Let go of worry. God’s peace is stronger than any fear.

Prayer & Trust: Bring your requests to God with thanksgiving, and His peace will guard your heart (Philippians 4:6–7).

Casting Burdens: Give all your anxiety to God because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Focus on Today: Don’t worry about tomorrow; each day has enough trouble (Matthew 6:34).

God’s Presence: Fear not, for God is with you, strengthening you (Isaiah 41:10).

Lack of Faith: Jesus suggests anxiety stems from a lack of faith in God’s provision (Matthew 6:30).

God’s Peace: The Lord gives perfect peace to those whose minds stay on Him (Isaiah 26:3–4).

Spiritual Strength: God gives a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline, not fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

God’s Care: The Lord is your shepherd; He provides, restores, and comforts (Psalm 23).

Rest assured that God is involved in our daily lives. He guards, He protects, and He watches. Believers understand that God is faithful, but God also gives us free will, and He may or may not intervene the way we expect. One thing is for sure: God answers prayers for those who ask. His timing can often be much longer than we wish, and we may not even understand it in our lifetimes.

He sometimes allows us to go through momentary or even long-term difficulties because He is working for our ultimate good. We will often look back and be thankful for the Lord’s long-term blessings. Even more importantly, we will be thankful He did not answer our short-term cry for help. When going through trials, we usually feel alone. We think nobody sees or understands. But God knows.

The best place to get angry is on your knees, where no one hears but God.

Sometimes True Stories

While prophecy is important and should never be neglected, neither should it become an obsession to the exclusion of our service to the Lord. —David Jeremiah

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Rest assured that God is involved in our daily lives. He guards, He protects, and He watches. Believers understand that God is faithful, but God also gives us free will, and He may or may not intervene the way we expect. One thing is for sure: God answers prayers for those who ask.

His timing can often be much longer than we wish, and we may not even understand it in our lifetimes. He sometimes allows us to go through momentary or even long-term difficulties because He is working for our ultimate good. We will often look back and be thankful for the Lord’s long-term blessings. Even more importantly, we will be thankful He did not answer our short-term cry for help. —Tony Ferguson

Quotes You Can Use

Edgar Aponte:

When the Bible speaks, God himself is speaking.

The Bible depicts the character of God.

How we understand God determines how we read the Bible.

Freedom is not gained by fully enjoying what we desire, but by controlling the desire.

What needless pain we bear when we fail to take our issues to God in prayer. —Dwight Short

Wisdom is having the right knowledge, viewing life from God’s perspective, and responding to each situation in a way that is appropriate and honors God. —Edgar Aponte

Without vision, we are destined for failure, and those who have purpose are destined for success. Colonel Sanders was 65 years old when he started franchising the Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe. He is a good example that proves, “We are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” —Tony Ferguson

In all things, it is better to hope than to despair.

I know of nothing in life more important than securing our place in eternity. —Tony Ferguson

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. Halfway faith in the Lord does not get us halfway to heaven. —C.S. Lewis

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

We often put ourselves in some pretty miserable positions because we move ahead without seeking God. —Dan Shock

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. —Mark Twain

Your grieving of sin should never overshadow God’s forgiveness of sin. —Pastor Tony Walliser

Life is 90% attitude and 10% how we deal with life’s challenges. Eliminate sinful attitudes, and we eliminate 90% of our sinful behavior. Try it! —Tony Ferguson

God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer. —Mother Teresa

Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow. —Albert Einstein

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

God will not give you victory over the flesh in one year. Success has no shortcuts—it’s a lifelong battle. —Dan Shock

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

March 12, 2026

“And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”

– Ecclesiastes 4:1

I trust this month’s Three Strands Letter finds you well and rejoicing in the Lord! One of the most crucial things you can do as a member of NEBC’s Three Strands Team is to pray with and for us. This month, I would like to invite you to continue in prayer with us by highlighting 3-3-1, that is: Three Praises Reports, Three Prayer Requests, and One Special Item.

Three Praise Reports

1. Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking with a group of our NEBC Three Strands Members who were visiting on campus. It was my joy to provide them with updated numbers on professions of faith that our students, staff, and faculty have seen in recent years. As I shared these numbers my heart rejoiced and I want to share that with you today, so you too can praise the Lord with me for all He is doing. We began tracking these numbers on January 1, 2018. (I often wish I would have begun tracking the number of professions of faith from day 1, but we can certainly rejoice in the numbers we do have.)

2. Last month a couple of our students went on a Mission Trip to The Dominican Republic with the church they serve on the weekends. While on the trip they had the opportunity to share the Gospel with over 600 students, several of which professed faith in Jesus!

3. A group of NEBC students and staff are preparing for a mission trip to Williamstown, VT to serve alongside graduates Tyler and Mykayla during our Easter Break. They will be doing several outreach events and sharing the Gospel throughout the region. The Lord is clearly at work in Williamstown and these students are working hard to prepare to be used by the Lord during Easter Week. Praise the Lord with me for this opportunity.

Three Prayer Requests

1. Please join me in asking the Lord to continue to bear much fruit through the students, staff, and faculty of NEBC.

2. Monthly support and special gifts to our Presidential Partners’ Scholarship Fund are crucial to the day-to-day operations of NEBC. These gifts allow us to offer a quality education at an affordable price to our students. These gifts keep the lights on and keep our faculty and staff fed. They are crucial to NEBC’s ability to fulfill the Lord’s call. While the year is off to an amazing start academically and spiritually, the funding from these gifts is off to a slow start. Please join me in asking the Lord to move on the hearts of His people to give and to make the next 30 days the greatest 30-day period of financial support in our history.

3. Please keep our space needs in prayer. We continue to grow numerically and already have more applications for fall than typical at this point in the year. In addition, we need to finish the Dr. Gray Allison Village by October 15, 2026. Please join me in asking the Lord to raise up mission teams to accomplish the work and all the funding needs for the materials. If you have questions about how you can help, please feel free to reach out to me via email or phone.

One Special Item

My one special item this month is a BIG THANK YOU! You are making a significant difference, and I want you to know how grateful I am for you. We could not do what God has called us to do if it were not for your support! Your prayers, your giving, your coming on mission, and you inviting others to get involved are making a significant difference! Thank you for being a Three Strands Partner!

If you would like to take a part in this ministry, please send your offerings to: PO Box 4600, Bennington, VT 05201

Copyright (C)2023 Northeastern Baptist College. All rights reserved.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, Part 2

Archaeology & Flood Stories: The Epic of Gilgamesh, part 2, has significance for Christians”

Why take so much time on the Epic of Gilgamesh when it’s very possible that you are fighting a yawn or perhaps thinking that right now might be a good time to rearrange your sock drawer?

First, as I mentioned in part 1, the Epic of Gilgamesh is one of hundreds of extant flood stories found among diverse cultures worldwide, including Jewish, Mesopotamian, Greek and Indian cultures, and each one contributes to the rising tide of evidence for an ancient flood.

Sure, the stories vary wildly on the details, but that’s to be expected as each culture puts its own interpretive spin and flourishes on it. For me, however, the biblical account of the flood rings the truest, but even if one found another flood tradition more compelling, it would be no light task to dismiss the historicity of an ancient flood outright given the widespread literary support for it across so many cultures.

Second, perhaps justly described as the crown jewel of all flood stories outside of the Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh describes a worldwide flood as seen in the following quotes:

The Bible’s description of a worldwide flood has often been dismissed by historians as either an exaggeration or as merely an example of the literary use of universal language. Historians instead argue in favor of a regional flood, but the Bible finds support for a worldwide flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and there is no compelling reason to take these descriptions at less than face value.

Third, there are striking similarities in both accounts, which might suggest that one borrowed from the other, but it might just as readily suggest that they both correctly captured key details of the actual historical event. I’ll examine these similarities next time.

Finally, although the Epic of Gilgamesh pre-dates the book of Genesis by a few hundred years (with Genesis dating to 1400 B.C. and the Babylonian epic to as early as 1800 B.C.) both reflect the language and imagery of Ancient Near Eastern culture, which helps us make better sense of certain parts of their accounts, such as boat construction, indigenous animal life and sacrificial practices.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia

What is a mihrab?

On Location: The Citadel

My travel guide calls it’s a must see, but I’ll let you decide. An ancient moat, castle-like walls over eighty feet high, the palace of King Herod, the site of Jesus’ examination by Pontius Pilate, the camp of Rome’s Tenth Legion, the residence of Crusader kings, a modern-day museum covering the whole of biblical history, a multimedia light show that tells the story of Jerusalem and a new restaurant where tourists can take a break from the afternoon heat. Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. mistakenly associated the site with David’s palace, giving it the name of David’s Tower by which it is still commonly known today.

Standing on a high point in the Old City of Jerusalem the Citadel gives spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. The present outer walls date to the mid-sixteenth century, built by an Ottoman sultan who was so respected by historians for his exemplary military, architectural and cultural achievements, that they now universally call him Suleiman the Magnificent.

Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, called the palace of Herod, newly uncovered in the late twentieth century, “wondrous beyond words,” and three defensive towers built by King Herod, only one of which still remains today, have been determined to be much larger than Pharus, the great lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

When you visit, either hire a guide or utilize the audio guides available to gain a more comprehensive understanding of what you are seeing, and when you’ve completed your tour, exit through Jaffa Gate, turn left and work your way down along the outside walls of the Citadel until you find the location championed by most reputable scholars and marked by signage that marks the site where Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews with the declaration, “Behold your King!” (John 19:14), to which the crowd replied in pitiless chorus, “Crucify Him! … We have no king but Caesar” (v. 15).

So, what do you think? Does the Citadel sound like a must see?

-Daniel McCabe

Hamartiology – the Punishment of Sin

God will ultimately punish all sin. We read this in Psalm 145, Ezekiel 18, Galatians 6, 2 Corinthians 5 and many other passages of Scripture. God punishes sin because He’s just and righteous, and every person must either pay the penalty for his own sin in eternal separation from God in hell, in the lake of fire, or accept the payment made by Jesus Christ on his behalf. So the big question comes down to this, “Who are you going to have pay for your sin? Will you have Jesus pay for it, which He’s offered to do for any person who will accept that free gift, or are you going to pay for it yourself?” Sin must be paid. It must be punished. The punishment of sin is a result of the justice and holiness of God.

But He’s patient. He’s gracious so as to give people an opportunity to repent. We see this in Mark 1, Acts 2 and Revelation 2. People have the opportunity to repent of their sin and receive forgiveness. The punishment of the sin of the world was executed on Jesus Christ on the cross so that those who repent of their sin and believe in Him will be forgiven. We see this too in passages like Luke 1, Ephesians 1, Acts 2 and Acts 13. So again, the choice is yours. Who are you going to have pay for your sin? It can be you yourself, everlastingly, for you won’t be annihilated after death. You will exist forever. Do you want to exist apart from God, paying for your sin for all eternity? Because you’ve offended an eternal God, the penalty for your sin is likewise eternal, meaning that you can never pay enough for it, long enough, or with enough quality to overcome it. That’s why there’s eternal separation for those who pay for their own sin.

But the good news is that you can have Jesus Christ pay it for you as the perfect eternal one. He is qualified to take the eternal penalty for your sin on Himself. He did the work on the cross, so that opportunity is yours. I pray and urge you to take it.

-Adam Keim

Life in the Land: The Arabs

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” So goes the famous line by Shakespeare’s Juliet, a line meant to suggest that names are not important. But sweet Juliet never tried to write this post or she’d have known better.

Who are the Arabs living in Israel? Well, it depends on whom you ask. Western media most often calls them Arab-Israelis to distinguish them from Arabs living in the West Bank, but let’s ask the Arabs themselves. In a recent public opinion poll 47% self-identified as Palestinians in Israel, 36% as Israeli-Arabs and 15% as simply Palestinians. They make up approximately 20% of the total population of Israel and by faith they are 83% Muslim, 9% Druze and 8% Christian.

Those who are citizens of Israel have the right to vote, which for Arab women is uncommon throughout the Middle East, and they are represented in the Knesset, Israel’s national legislative body. Fifteen Christian Arabs and now one Muslim Arab (as of May 2022) have even been appointed to Israel’s Supreme Court. Most Arabs are not required to serve in the Israel Defense Force so as not to force them to take up arms against fellow Arabs, but a small number still volunteer.

Most Arabs attend separate schools and live in segregated communities. This limits assimilation into educational, political and cultural circles. However, although most Arabs living in Israel identify with Palestinians and would dispute Israel’s identification as a Jewish state, the Israel Democracy Institute reported in 2019 that 85% of Arabs would readily accept a Jew as a friend.

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. A prayer niche used by Muslims that faces Mecca

Who We Are

Shalom Y’all Ministries is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all gifts to our ministry are tax-deductible. SYM was formed in 2021 to teach the Bible and lead tours to Israel. Our teaching and presentations feature the acronym S-H-A-L-O-M, which means “peace” in Hebrew.

Week Eleven, 2026

“Moses raised his hand over the Red Sea, and the LORD caused a strong wind to blow from the east. The wind blew all night long. The sea split, and the wind made the ground dry” (Exodus 14:21).

It hangs in a prominent place in our home—a picture of Moses raising his hand as the Red Sea parts before him, with hundreds passing through the gap on dry land. My wife often calls it our favorite wall hanging!

It is a reminder that God didn’t remove the Red Sea. He parted it. He does not always remove difficult situations, but He makes a way through them for us. We can trust that God is always on time, even when we think He is too late.

I’ve lost count of how many times I whispered, “I can’t do this anymore.” And yet, every time, His grace carried me through when my strength ran out. God always has a solution for the challenges in our lives.

God instructed Moses to lift his rod and stretch out his hand over the sea. The waters parted, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground. This miracle not only saved them from immediate danger, but it also showed God’s power and faithfulness.

The sight of the approaching Egyptian army filled the Israelites with fear. They felt trapped, with their backs against the sea and no way out. Their joy at leaving Egypt quickly turned into despair and complaints against Moses.

“Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11–12 NLT).

How often do we find ourselves in similar situations, feeling trapped and questioning why we are facing such challenges? We need to trust God in the middle of a crisis. Be still, and let God work.

In their moment of crisis, Moses encouraged the people to trust in God. He assured them that God would fight for them if they remained still and trusted in His power.

This is a powerful reminder for us to step back and let God handle our battles. How often do we try to take matters into our own hands instead of trusting His timing and intervention?

Who handles your battles—you or God?

Sometimes True Stories

George Washington Carver said that success is measured not only by where people end up in life, but also by how much they had to overcome to get there. —David Jeremiah

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Instead of looking within to achieve all we want in the coming year, let’s look to the One who created us and see what He says. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not for evil, to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). —Dr. David Jeremiah

If God knows the plans, how do we know them? We listen to Him with spiritual ears. What circumstances have happened to steer us in one direction? What advice have we received from a godly friend? What Bible verse has spoken to our heart? If we are looking and listening, God will reveal His plan. Remember, man gives advice, but God gives guidance.

Got your ears on? —Rich Jensen

Quotes You Can Use

God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Jesus came to be our Savior, our Sacrifice, our Surety, our Head, our Friend, our Lord, our all. —Charles Spurgeon

Even when you blow it, His compassions never fail. —Chuck Swindoll

Spiritual growth doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when believers devote themselves to the Word of God and obedience to Christ. —John MacArthur

The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God! —C.S. Lewis

Legendary coach Lou Holtz was asked to describe the difference between football players today and those fifty years ago. He answered, “Simple. Today’s athletes talk about rights and privileges, while players of fifty years ago talked about obligations and responsibilities.”

Christianity is not Christians. Christianity is Jesus. He is the standard, not the behavior of Christians.

There are no forms of etiquette required to enter a stable. So, if you desire to come to Christ, you may come just the way you are. —Charles Spurgeon

Your best life as a Christian begins when this life is over. —John MacArthur

God requires a response.

God meets us in lowly places. —Edgar Aponte

My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him. —Billy Graham

I guess they had to invent artificial intelligence since real intelligence is running out. —Snoopy

The problem is not that God is absent from our schools; the problem is that He is absent from our homes.

If you do not find salvation in Christ, remember you will never find it elsewhere.

To put it as simply as I can, if you are not spiritually reborn, you are not a Christian. —R.C. Sproul

Herod had every child under two years old killed for political power. Today, our society allows children nine months old or younger to be killed for being unwanted.

If you don’t fill your life with prayer, you will fill it with anxiety, worry, and resentment.

If you don’t love the Bible, you certainly do not love the God who gave it to us. —Charles Spurgeon

A Christian who defends sin in any form has lost the fear of God.

You get significance to the degree that you treat something as more significant than you. —Tim Keller

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

©Thoughts on Life Copyright 2026

Flood Stories—the Epic of Gilgamesh, part 1, ”The Story”

We’ve all lost a friend whose death hit us hard. Paul McCartney lost John Lennon. David lost Jonathan, and Gilgamesh lost Enkidu. Despite his semi-divine birth, the power of the throne, and his unrivaled physical strength, the death of his dear friend suddenly brought young King Gilgamesh face to face with his own mortality and subsequently led him on a quest to find eternal life. In his travels Gilgamesh learns of Utnapishtim, the “Babylonian Noah,” who along with his wife are the only humans to have been granted immortality by the gods, so Gilgamesh undertakes a treacherous distant journey from his home in the Mesopotamian city of Uruk through darkness, across mountains and over treacherous seas to the home of Utnapishtim who explains to Gilgamesh how he received immortality as a reward for obediently constructing an ark at the gods’ instruction and for surviving the flood sent by them to destroy all mankind because (at least in one version) man had disturbed the gods’ rest by making too much noise.

Written in Akkadian cuneiform on twelve clay tablets, the Epic of Gilgamesh bears some striking parallels to the biblical flood story and, along with hundreds of other flood stories from different cultures, it reinforces support for the Bible’s claim of a universal flood. Most of the tablets were unearthed in the excavation of King Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh from 1849-1851. They were later transported to the British Museum, catalogued, and stored in its basement where they remained essentially unread until 1872 when a young employee named George Smith dedicated himself to that arduous task. Imagine his surprise and joy when his eyes caught these words from tablet XI, “The ship rested on the mountains of Nizir.” This discovery in particular motivated him to return to Nineveh to search among the thousands of fragments still uncovered there for any remaining portions of the epic. More remarkable than finding a needle in a haystack, Smith succeeded!

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia (Answer below)

Which one of these is NOT one of the five pillars of Islam?

God in Genesis (1-11)

In the early chapters of the book of Genesis we are introduced to character qualities of God that lay the groundwork for his additional actions and revelations throughout both the remainder of the Old Testament and the New Testament. God is …

Creator—“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1), and “man became a living being” (2:7).

Triune—“Let Us make man in Our image” (1:26).

Sustainer—“See, I have given you every herb …. and every tree; to you it shall be for food” (1:29), and “Then God remembered Noah … so Noah went out [of the ark]” (8:1, 18).

Designer—“Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good” (1:31).

Revealer of His will—“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (2:17), and “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door” (4:7).

Redeemer—“They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (3:7), but “for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin and clothed them” (3:21), and “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (6:8).

Judge—“You are cursed” (3:14), “cursed is the ground” (3:17), and “I will destroy man” (6:7).

Restorer—“[The Seed] shall bruise [the serpent’s] head” (3:15).

Friend of Man—“Enoch walked with God” (5:22, 24), and “Noah walked with God” (6:9).

Grieving Father—“He was grieved in His heart” (6:6).

Covenant Maker—“I will establish My covenant with you” (6:18), and “I will establish My covenant with you” (9:9).

-Daniel McCabe

The Fountain of Sultan Qaytbay

The songs from my childhood still ring in my ears even after all these years. Did anyone else learn the rhyme, “In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”? Sure seems like a long time ago that I learned it in a noisy classroom inside South Ward Elementary School. On the other hand, I don’t remember Mrs. Taylor or Mr. Little ever teaching me this rhyme, “Ten years before Christopher lived a sultan, who once donated a beautiful fountain.” Ok, it’s not as catchy, but it’s true! Columbus landed … wait, where? I had to look it up, and turns out he first landed in the Bahamas. I didn’t remember that one either, did you? But the fountain of the sultan in my inferior rhyme landed in Jerusalem, a world away.

Sometimes you find beautiful things or people in the shadow of other more beautiful things, and that’s certainly true of Sultan Qaytbay’s fountain, which sits at the base of a spectacular terraced staircase that leads up to the Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Most eyes are drawn to the gold-leafed dome that’s so rich in history, for below it once stood the Jewish Holy of Holies, and they completely miss the Muslim sultan’s smaller 550 year-old public water fountain on the lower level despite its superb Islamic architecture, making it arguably the second most beautiful edifice on the Temple Mount.

Sultan Qaytbay commissioned and donated this red and cream-stoned fountain in 1482 for use by worshippers and the poor. Built over an underground cistern that collected rainwater, a caretaker pulled up water through a hole in the floor of the fountain using a bucket and a rope, and he shared it with worshippers, travelers, the poor and their animals which drank from troughs built into the outer stone walls below ornate windows on three sides. Decorated with Koranic inscriptions, a stepped doorway on the east side, a stone bench beneath the southern window, star-shaped stone patterns inside the building and an ornate dome topped with a bronze crescent, the fountain was constructed by Egyptian craftsmen under the supervision of a renowned Christian architect.

Perhaps one more rhyme before I close—“it’s no longer used any more, but you should definitely stop and adore.”

-Daniel McCabe

Hamartiology – Result of Sin

We live the result of sin every day, for sadly the result of the first sin was death. God warned Adam and Eve, “The day you eat of this fruit, you will surely die.” They didn’t drop dead that day, but they did die spiritually, and one day in the future physical death would also come for them, for “the wages of sin is death.” This verse not only refers to spiritual death, but also to physical death. We must pay the price for our sin. Even Christians pay this price because we too have sinned. One day my body will die as a result of sin—as a result of the curse. I will die physically unless I’m raptured first, but that’s a topic for another day. Now, of course, we know as Christians that we can have eternal life because our sin-guilt has been forgiven and we will also experience the presence of God fully after we die, but we must still die physically someday.

There are other permanent effects on humanity as well, including increased pain in childbirth and laborious work, both part of the curse for mankind. By the sweat of his brow, Adam would now have to work hard and Eve would also suffer pain, for the curse of sin strikes at the very roles of men and women in this life. Spiritually, Adam’s sin resulted immediately in mankind’s alienation of fellowship from God and his enslavement to sin, and those are by far the most painful effects of sin. In John 8:32 Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” Jesus talks about being set free from sin, but His opponents were bothered by that. “We’ve never been in bondage to anybody,” they replied. Well, yes, they have whether they realize it or not, for every person is enslaved by sin, and even though it’s our fault, we can’t blame it on anyone else. We kind of have to sin. We’re fallen and we do it all the time. So the truth shall set you free though we still wrestle with sin even after we’re saved. We are still tempted and fall sometimes. However, we are free from having to sin. We are now free to choose to resist temptation. We can avoid sin. We will never be fully successful at avoiding it while walking on this earth. We will continue to wrestle with the flesh, but we are free to resist temptation. We are free to not sin. As sinners, we are an object of God’s wrath because He is just, but if we are saved, then we get to escape that ultimately.

Now, the sinful nature is pervasive even for the redeemed. We must continue to wrestle with its influence. We see this in Romans 7:23. Paul says, “I do what I don’t want to do, and I don’t do what I want to do.” We also see this in Galatians 5 and James 4. It’s an obvious reality that any honest person can admit and acknowledge, “I do fall. I do wrestle with this flesh and I hate that I do.” That’s the big difference between a believer and an unbeliever. Believers hate their sin. They hate the fact that they do sin. I know that I sin and I hate it. But unbelievers don’t have that conception of hating their sin. They’re slaves to it.

-Adam Keim

The Gallio Inscription

I love how archaeology repeatedly confirms the accuracy of the Bible, corroborating, for example, important names and dates recorded in the Bible. According to Acts 18:12, “When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat.” Although Gallio refused to hear their case against Paul, arguing that it was a matter of religion rather than a matter of Roman law, the mention of Gallio’s name is quite significant.

Sometimes called the Delphi Inscription, having been discovered at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece around 1905, this limestone, Greek inscription, written by Emperor Claudius, assures the city’s leaders of his support in all efforts to revitalize their cult of Apollo and to repopulate their city after years of steady decline. In the inscription Claudius also references “Junius Gallio, my friend and proconsul,” and from time markers in the inscription and other Roman sources, it is apparent that Gallio resided in Corinth, Greece and served as proconsul of Achaia between May 51 and April 52 A.D. in agreement with Acts 18:1, 12. Furthermore, by comparing Roman sources with details found in the Bible, it has been established that Paul stood before Gallio in the summer of 51 A.D. The Gallio Inscription is thus a tremendous find that has enabled Bible teachers to date the Apostle Paul’s second missionary journey with considerable accuracy as well as all his future travels and even a great deal of the early history of the church.

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

F. Reading the Koran