 I always feel apprehension before reading a book in the Old Testament. Some of the passages are quick reads while others have confusing structure and meaning. If you struggle to find focus or excitement when reading an OT book, let me give you some motivation! The whole Bible is about Jesus - not just the New Testament. The foreshadowing of Jesus can be seen in, arguably, every chapter of the Old Testament. Some areas of foreshadowing in the OT are easier to spot than others. I use the Jesus Bible to help me see Jesus’ character in the difficult passages. To add to the difficulty, any situation resembling Christ always ends up being an imperfect human covered in sin. For example, Moses leading the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt to the freedom of the promised land [Exodus] runs parallel to Jesus leading His followers from the chains of sin to the freedom of salvation. The difference is that Moses was only human, imperfect, and subject to sin. Jesus, in contrast during his ministry on earth, was both fully God and fully man, perfect, and not subject to sin.
There are memorable and captivating stories to learn from. In the Old Testament, there was a prophet who was cast out of a boat from a storm, was swallowed by a big fish, and then eventually found land where a worm ate his only shelter. The book, however, states that the Lord provided the storm, provided the big fish, and appointed the worm… what’s that about? Read Jonah to see how destruction can actually be provision from God for what we need most. And don’t forget the women with whole books about their stories - Ruth and Esther! You will read faith-strengthening verses that you’ll want to treasure. Just a few examples for you to look up:
God can easily work through what you know. The devil knows the Old Testament; don’t think he won’t attack there if the OT is a weak spot for you. Want to be a light for the Lord in the lives of the people around you? Know God’s words! If we seek to understand what life for humans was like without Jesus, we will have a deeper appreciation for His sacrifice for us on the cross. In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Reading the Old Testament helps you to see that God, who has no beginning and no end (Revelation 1:8), is the same in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament, as He is now. We learn a lot about the character of God from the NT. We can also learn a lot about His character in the OT. Throughout all of scripture we see how God is sovereign (Matthew 10:29-31), loves His children (John 3:16-17), is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8), is a great provider (Psalm 23:1-3), and keeps His promises (Luke 1:45). Seeing for myself that God is the same in the OT as He is in the NT has helped to strengthen my faith and worship of the Lord. Two side notes: 1) Not everything a person does in the Old Testament is okay in the eyes of God. Most books in the OT are written as narratives and don’t explicitly point out what is a sin and what isn’t. For example, when you read the story Little Red Riding Hood, does the author explicitly say that the wolf is the antagonist and that when he ate Grandma, it was bad? No, we assume based on context clues and societal norms. For example: in the book of Esther, the king had many wives and Ester was just one of them. The King spared Esther and helped make loopholes for her desire to save the Jews. However, the King is not supposed to be the epitome of Christian living, or even a Christian, for that matter, since Jesus hadn’t come yet. 2) The people in the Bible were real people with real lives and real cultures. Cultural norms back then were not as they were today. It’s important to use a commentary or a good study Bible to understand what the context and culture are from that time period. For example, measurements were different, currency was different, societal norms were different, and the expectations of women and children were different. These details are super important to know in context for most scriptural passages. Recommended resource | The Jesus Bible It is stuffed with devotionals and articles for almost every single chapter in the Bible. Each devotional/article shows how the scriptural passage it refers to points to Jesus. It has absolutely changed the way I read the Bible and see Jesus! “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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 I never catch my students passing notes. With FaceTime, Instagram, Tik Tok and a bunch of other new social media apps that I’m not familiar with, I don’t even see kids texting each other. They take selfies or video-call each other. When I was in high school, I remember folding up notes and passing them to my friends. Trying not to let the teacher catch us was like a game with (what felt like) serious consequences. Teachers back then had no shame in threatening to read your note aloud, even if they never actually did. The trick was never writing anything too risky in case it was seen by someone you didn’t intend. But the thrill was writing a note with a secret just risky enough that you didn’t want anyone else to see it. You might be way better than me, but that’s how I feel about the application part of my personal Bible studies. I never want to write anything too secretive - maybe something good enough that I could post on social media or show it to a friend if I felt like it…maybe even just skip the application part altogether and fill that space with more historical facts or commentary notes. Writing a secret would involve exposing myself or digging too deep into my soul that I hit the mess that is my sin. Reading scripture is great, but applying scripture can be scary. Having the Holy Spirit draw out areas in your life that need changing means shining a mirror on the ugliest parts of ourselves; it does not give us the dopamine fix that “likes” or “views” on our social media posts give us. So, should we unleash our innermost guilt and shame by posting the work of the Holy Spirit in us on our social media platforms? I mean, how can we overcome and conquer our sin if we are ashamed and hiding? Dig it out! Throw it on the lawn! Transparency is always the best! No. What I am saying is that your Bible studies should be like notes that you don’t want anyone but your most trusted friends to see. You can write transparent and growth-focused scripture application notes without posting them for the world. 1) We should expect some “tough love” and conviction when applying scripture to thoughts and actions to be more like Jesus. Personal time with God means intimate time with the Lord; there is no hiding. We can expect some pain and heartache from the Holy Spirit drawing attention to places our sin and guilt have been shying away. What comes naturally with this is that, first, you must be applying scripture to your life. I have spent a lot of time learning how to study the Bible, and I still don’t have it all figured out! But the best advice I have ever read or received from those wiser than me is to make sure that I am reading to know God rather than to know about God (Hebrews 4:12-13; Acts 3:19-21). In my previous blog post, I talk about Bible study basics and understanding that when you read scripture, you are actually reading with God and not just about Him (John 1:1). Our sinful nature is to hide our mess and resist the light of the Lord shining on our darkness parts.  2) We should guard our hearts and be wise with who we share our sin struggles. Social media is not the place to air out our dirty laundry. God - the Creator of me, you, and all the universe - sees all of me, even before I might even see myself. So I pray to Him and ask for help in seeing myself the way He sees me. Second to that is my husband, who sees all my sin and ugliness. Richard is my best friend, my soulmate, my accountability, and my encourager. He was ordained by the Lord to call out my sin when we took our vows on our wedding day. Third are my mentors, pastors, and closest, most trusted friends whom I choose to share my sin with (Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16). Beyond that, the world does not need to know my deepest sin struggles. Hiding your sin from everyone is an absolute recipe for disaster, but God never calls us to tattoo the sinful desires of our heart on our forehead or screen print it on a t-shirt.
Do you frantically clean your house when you have guests coming over? Same here. But do you have a few close friends or family that you don’t frantically clean for? I hope you do! When my husband and I get asked to come over for dinner by members of our church, their houses are usually spotless. But when they have a loved one in hospice care in their home, their houses are usually a wreck. They don’t care and we don’t care about the mess; they’re going through one of the hardest times of their life. The depths of your soul are not an open living room you need to keep spotless for guests. It’s your hospital bed where the greatest Healer (the Holy Spirit) and His appointed physicians (elders/pastors, close friends, and mentors in your life) can find you. Remember this: reading and applying scripture is intimate time with the Lord. We don’t want others to see it, and that is okay. I hope this gives you permission to be free in writing/journaling and in your thoughts in a way that draws you closer to the Lord. Here are some fantastic resources on studying the bible and applying scripture:
 Confession: I am someone who struggles with prayer.
I found myself having to repent several times as I wrote this because the Lord was revealing all the ways I have been failing in my prayer life. Prayer is one of the easiest disciplines to put aside. It’s one that I often find myself having to intentionally remember to do outside of church, meals, and fellowship with friends. Do you know those women who are extremely gifted at prayer? They are typically involved in prayer ministries at church, have dozens of prayer journals filled from cover to cover, and it feels like they pray for you more than you pray for yourself. For them, prayer seems to just be a natural response to anything good, bad, boring, or otherwise. If you know a woman with this gifting, learn from them - spend time with them. They are inspirational! I am certainly not one of those women with that skill, so I seek those who are gifted and those who are working on it, like me. Our Deacon of Care is someone I have wonderful discussions with. She reminds me to spend time with the Lord in prayer, but not just with my head bowed; she reminds me to have stillness in the Lord, to spend time in quiet, and to go outside in the sun with God’s beautiful creation. Do I always remember her advice? No. Does she always gently remind me again? Yes. If you are a woman with the gift of praying, don’t be afraid to teach us! Take courage in the gift that the Lord has given you. I hope you find these words helpful for learning about women who struggle with prayer. I hope it strengthens your ministry or future ministry. I never want to claim or expect a burden of perfection in you, but you are amazing and we need you! Now for the rest of us…here are five reasons we may not be praying regularly: Prayer is our active form of communication with God through the Holy Spirit and the enemy wants to impede on it. We tend to think of prayer as a letter that we hand write, fold up and mail out, then await a response. It’s not that at all - prayer is a direct conversation with God. When Jesus died and was resurrected, he left the Holy Spirit as a helper to dwell within us. When we decide to make Jesus our Lord the Holy Spirit guides us, convicts us, and provides a bridge of communication with God. Praying through scripture, like the Psalms, can help us speak to God when we feel resistance from the enemy. Don’t know how to pray? Even the 12 apostles had to ask! Read Luke 11:1-4 or Matthew 6:9-13. Use these verses as a guide when you don’t know what to pray, or when the enemy is trying to drive a wedge in your desire to turn to God. When we pray, God’s perfect and holy light is shed on us and our sin wants us to hide from it. Light always exposes darkness (Ephesians 5:8-14). This is not meant to be something to fear but it is a hope and encouragement. The Lord already knows everything in your heart, mind, and soul. There is nothing you can hide from Him, and there is nothing He doesn’t already know! So, discover your battles with darkness through prayer and lift the burden of guilt to Christ. Recognize your sin and do not be afraid to confess it to God - He loves you! When we have idols above the Lord, prayer gets put on the back burner. Idols are not silver or gold animal statues; they are anything that we devote our time and attention to above God (Habakkuk 2:18). Our work, friends, spouse, favorite TV show, and even our kids can become idols. All of these things are imperfect and will let us down at some point. God always has the best interest of His children in mind (Romans 8:28)! So, search your heart for false idols and ask the Lord (i.e. pray!) to help you draw them out. We forget to pray when mostly everything in our lives is going well. We don’t feel like we “need” anything, so we forget to reach out to God. God is not a father who only responds in times of trouble. He is a father that dwells with you every moment! The truth is, we need God for everything. Matthew 18:1-6 encourages us to come to the Father like helpless children. God is sovereign over every miracle and hardship, so we should lean on His wisdom instead of leaning on ourselves. If you struggle with forgetting to pray, find an accountability partner, put reminders on sticky notes all around your workplace and home, or set alarms on your phone! The pain of life is too great to move, let alone to pray. Sometimes we are truly in the depths of despair and we have trouble getting dressed or eating, let alone praying. One of my favorite quotes, which I mentioned on “The Story” page, is from Charles Spurgeon. He said, “The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.” If you are going through a season like this, I encourage you to reach out to your Christian friends, local church body, or pastor to pray. You were not created nor meant to go through life alone. You are loved! Feeling resistance? Pray anyway. Have guilt or shame? Pray anyway. Prayer’s not a priority? Pray anyway. Simply forgot? Pray anyway. Completely hopeless? Pray anyway. I promise to pray for each of you, dear readers, in your journey of praying consistently. I ask that you do the same for me - that I take my own advice and remember to pray anyway! For further encouragement in prayer, I highly recommend this article by GotQuestions.org! https://www.gotquestions.org/prayerlessness.html Check out my free Prayer Journal, which includes a Prayer Guide. Need help? Talk to someone anonymously at JesusCares.com or call/text 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline.  At one time, I had no idea how to study the Bible. There are so many Bible study methods, so many different translations, and varying mindsets on how much time to spend in the Word. Ultimately, the decision is up to you and the Holy Spirit guiding you, but here are the three fundamentals that I personally stick to.
#1 - Read God’s Word consistently. Consistency looks different for everyone. “Quiet time” first thing in the morning might not be possible for the overnight worker. The idea of having any quiet time at all might invoke laughter in the toddler mom. The woman who works 30 hours per week might be able to dig into the Word for longer periods of time than the woman who works 50-80 hours per week. All is okay! You can take time to think about your daily life and how you can prioritize your relationship with God, which involves more than just reading the Bible. We tend to see problems in our life grow worse when our relationship with God is struggling and we aren’t doing anything to strengthen it. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God never moves His presence away from us, we move away from Him. #2 - Pray before you study. My mom loves to read anything non-fiction. As a teen, that genre was not always my cup of tea but she knew it was important for me to read the biographies of people worth looking up to. These amazing stories of people overcoming trials and making an impact inspired me. I dreamed of meeting the people these books were about, although I never did. Think about any biographies you have read. Can you imagine reading that biography right next to the person it’s about? That’s crazy, right? That’s what happens when you read the Bible. Not every book is directly about Jesus, but the entire Bible points towards the coming of Christ or his ministry on earth. Know that when you are reading God’s Word, He is actively present during your study. Even more so, John tells us that Jesus is the Word! (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1) So, I challenge you to pray first so you can study the Bible with the perspective that you are reading with God, not just about God. #3 - Apply, apply, apply. Apply what you study! It’s so easy to go through the motions or get caught up writing down how you are going to apply what you’ve learned that you forget to actually do it. Ask yourself daily, “How did I apply God’s word?” and it will start to become a habit. How do you know if it’s sinking in? Look for fruit of the spirit in your speech and actions (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23) Bonus points - journal your progress or get an accountability partner! Open your Bible and read it. You won’t have any regrets! *A note: ministries like The Gideons International and individual churches have made it possible for many people to have access to a free Bible. Unfortunately, there are still an abundance of people around the world that do not have access to a free Bible or a Bible in their native language. If you are blessed with access to a Bible and the ability to read, then I encourage you to take on the perspective that reading scripture is a privilege we should appreciate. If you need a Bible, please reach out in the “contact me” section so I can help explore local resources with you! “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” |