As a firearms instructor and shooting sports enthusiast, I was excited to incorporate the use of lasers into my shooting. I mean laser focus is a great thing right? I quickly discovered lasers are a great addition, but can’t replace the knowledge and understanding of my iron sights, additionally, the laser doesn’t make up for a poor grip, stance or any of the other fundamentals that I practice which include the seemingly simple task of knowing how to load the magazine and insert it as well as rack a round in the chamber, etc.
You can’t just throw all of the other fundamentals out the window and point and shoot where the laser is pointing and expect to attain the precision that focus on ALL of those fundamentals together at the same time achieves.
It’s the same way with studying the Bible. We can’t just read this or that book ABOUT the Bible or a study about a particular topic and bring in some random amalgamation of Scriptures and expect to know all of God or the whole picture.
We need to study the actual Word of God in its entirety! This is not to say that those Bible studies are bad. In the same way that the integration of a laser into my shooting isn’t a replacement for my iron sights, they are not a replacement for reading the whole word of God in context and looking at the different literary elements of the word of God and taking into account the whys of why they were written that way.
exp. Historical books, wisdom books, prophecy, poetry, law etc…additionally each book contains different figures of speech that we sometimes lose in translation because we are not from the same culture.
We say, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” in the US to indicate that its raining really hard. Everyone everywhere doesn’t always understand that idiom. There are cultural sayings like this in the Bible that we need to dig into the history of to understand. There are also hyperbole, similes, metaphors, analogies, irony, personification, anthropomorphisms, litotes, idioms(like the one above), euphemisms, synecdoche, and more!
You really can mine the scriptures like digging in a mine for precious gems or other resources! Just remember above all, the Bible is about God, He should always be the main character overall, ask yourself what is this passage teaching me about God? Study should bring deeper knowledge, how can you love what you don’t know?
I love listening to audible books on car trips. Last year the hubs worked 6 months in Indiana, and I learned I could drive straight through from deep East Texas in about 14 ish hours depending on stops for fuel, food, and the restroom which I typically try to combine and stay on the road as long as possible. The year before two of the kids and I drove out to South Carolina to spend family day and watch one of our bonus kids graduate from Army basic training. We dropped down and visited my dad in Georgia and then popped in on a friend in Alabama on the way back. It’s exactly 10 hours from her house to our house in Texas and that’s all the time you need to listen to the entire “Seal of God” book by Chad Williams. You can almost listen to all of “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink on the Indy drive, and you can knock out “A Warriors Faith,” by Robert Vera on that drive too. Oh, and you can also knock out “It’s Your Ship” by Michael Abrashoff on the drive from Indy to New York and back! It’s a 24 hour drive home from where we are now, so I have plenty of time to get through entire books on the drive. Are you seeing a common theme in my book preferences? With the exception of one book called “Brave Hearted: Women of the American West” by Katie Hickman, which should honestly have replaced playing the game “The Oregon Trail” in school because the book teaches the lessons of the game with greater weight and clarity than the game ever did. I love listening to military books, and leadership books, even better if you combine the two; perfect if you also combine them with faith! Oddly enough, if I read a physical book or Kindle book, it’s the Bible, Bible studies, or YA fantasy particularly shifter, fae, vampire, etc but keep it clean!
Anyway, I’m getting to the point, I promise! We always associate our military personnel with bravery, strength, and courage. We see them as tough, capable, and deadly, especially SEALS, Rangers, Green Berets, AFSPECWAR and literally all Marines. All military personnel signed a dotted line saying they’re willing to give their lives for you, we often call them heroes and for good reason. We don’t, or at least I don’t, ever really see Jesus in the same way as I see them. Certainly, I see Him as the ultimate hero, but the training that leads to the success of our military that causes us to characterize them the way we do is not how I usually see Jesus.
I’ve noted before that I’m doing a zoom Bible study with an incredible group of ladies over Revelation using Nancy Guthrie’s accompaniment study, “Blessed.” The groundwork she puts in to lay a foundation for how you will study the rest of the book forces you to see Jesus as He sits resurrected. She highlights attributes that we do not always associate with Jesus when we only focus on His Earthly ministry. As she guides you in picking apart John’s description of Him in Revelation Chapter 1 we come to the understanding of why John, the disciple who reclined with Jesus….think layed around chillin with JC…..who knew Him as Savior and friend, saw Him in His resurrected body, warning of His return and exhorting the churches (and us), and John was terrified….so much so that he fell down as though he were dead. This is starting to sound more like warrior from my military books! From head to toe He’s impressive, He’s wearing not only the garments of a high priest because He is our High priest, but of a King, because He is King whether you choose to recognize it or not. Guthrie points out that the white hair on His head is indicative of age and wisdom, His eyes a “flame of fire,” He has a penetrating gaze, seeing all, penetrating into our souls capable of burning out the impurities, burnished bronze feet, a firm foundation tested by fire. He has a powerful voice like the roar of many waters, deafening, distinctive. From His mouth comes a two-edged sword, He speaks grace to believers, and destruction to His enemies. Before we even get started with the rest of Revelation, I’m already seeing Jesus more powerfully, deadly even. I see someone I would trust leading me into battle.
As I sat doing a personal video Bible study this morning over Ben Stuart’s, “Rest and War,” I saw more of the warrior that Jesus is and the ultimate rescue mission He made to destroy a target we would never be able to amass an army big enough or powerful enough to overcome. Ben equates Jesus’ mission to come to Earth as a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) mission to rescue the oppressed and destroy the enemy. He certainly came from a high altitude and his lowly birth in a manger was a low opening that kept him from being an exposed too visible target.
How is it a rescue mission and will Jesus really engage in battle? Um, yes! The final battle is still to come, but Jesus has already defeated death and now holds the keys to the Kingdom (Rev 2:8, 3:7). Stuart marks His mission starting from Genesis 3:15 where he will conquer the evil one, Jesus was sent to release captives and set free the downtrodden (Luke 4:18). The ruler of this world is the devil and Jesus came to cast him out (Luke 12:31).
Jesus knew the only way to complete His mission was to stand in our place, a perfect living sacrifice for our sins. In every movie or book where you see a soldier jump on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers, we are always moved by his bravery, courage, strength, and sacrifice. All the more should we be moved by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for all of humanity!
Seeing Jesus from this perspective is not only truth, as we can see in His Word, but it grows my faith and trust all the more. This is why continued Bible study is important. Most other books I read once and I’m done, sometimes I’ll go back and review some of the leadership ones. You can’t truly know Jesus by just doing a “one and done” of the Bible. I often find places where His word corrects and informs incorrect ideologies or thoughts that pop up or that I think myself. When I read and study His Word, I have to Untether myself from what I think, and let His word inform me of all truth, this will take me a lifetime, but I’m happy to live for The One who was willing to sacrifice Himself on a rescue mission for me.
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Raychel Writes 