Go Get Equipped

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

Hebrews 9:24-28

If I were to ever choose a favorite book of the Bible, it would have to be Hebrews. I know it's probably not a common favorite, but I like to think of it as the book I would suggest to any nonbeliever looking to learn more about my faith. The introduction to Hebrews in my Bible describes very concisely why I think so highly of it: "Hebrews provides a clearer discussion of the Christian understanding of the Old Testament than any other New Testament book. The law and the prophecies of the Old Testament point undeniably to Christ and find their fulfillment in Him."

The Old Testament can be tricky. Yes, it's filled with those stories that we all remember from Sunday School such as Jonah and the whale, Daniel and the lion's den, Queen Esther fighting for her people, etc. But when one sits down to read and study an OT book, it can quickly become a daunting task. A few months ago I completed a study of Leviticus, and even with the help of an excellent guide, I found myself constantly rereading verses and at times fumbling to understand how it could possibly be relevant to me. While the New Testament is more familiar, it can also have its moments of confusing terminology and references to practices of long ago that we don't understand today. For this reason, guidance from pastors and other students of theology can be extremely helpful when trying to make sense of the Bible.

Last December, my church announced that they would be inviting everyone to read the entire New Testament over the course of 2022. They created a very manageable reading guide showing that we only had to read one chapter per day during the week to finish by the end of 2021. To help us in our reading, our senior pastor did a short sermon series in January to go over Biblical methods of interpretation and shine a light on the purpose of Scripture for Christians.

My personal favorite of the sermon series was called Jesus's Principles of Biblical Interpretation. The title alone had me intrigued. I had actually read the NT through the previous year by taking in a chapter or two on my phone each night as I rocked my babies to sleep. So this time I was excited to sit down with my study Bible and really get into the assigned chapter each day. But I don't think I had ever given much thought to how Jesus Himself wanted me to approach Scripture.

The first point my pastor made was that we should read the Word in the light of Christ while also not letting the Bible overshadow Jesus. In John 5:39-40, Jesus criticizes the Jewish leaders for how they had let their focus on the Scriptures outweigh the importance of Him: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." Wow. Point taken. Jesus should be the ultimate focus of Bible study.

What I found most enlightening from the sermon though, was the instruction to read the Old Testament in light of the New Testament. When we are drudging through Jeremiah's wailings or picking through the endless cycles of evil-doing, groaning, pity, and then deliverance in the book of Judges, it's important to consider how the OT applies to us today knowing that Jesus has since created a new covenant with God's people. This does not imply that the OT has lost meaning to us, but as Hebrews demonstrates, all of the Old Testament is pointing to the coming of Jesus in the New Testament. The constant short-comings of even well-meaning individuals of the OT shows how desperately we need Jesus to intercede on our behalf to the Father. No amount of sacrifices or prayer could fix the sin problem in this world; only the willing death and resurrection of Jesus Christ could conquer death for good.

We serve a resurrected, living God, friend! In Mark 12, Jesus reminds the Sadducees that God told Moses He is "not the God of the dead, but of the living" when He spoke to him through the burning bush. The same God that brought the Israelites out of Egypt brought his own son out of the grave. The same God who gave Sarah a child in her old age sent his own son to be born by Mary. The same God who instructed Noah to build a life-saving boat instructed Paul to deliver the Good News of Jesus to every person, both Jew and Gentile. And the same God who inspired this Scripture continues to inspire His people today through the Holy Spirit.

It was also around the time of this sermon that I felt God calling me once again to become a writer, both to share my personal testimony and His Word with the world. I was apprehensive at best. My ongoing argument with God as to why I couldn’t yet answer this calling was that I felt unequipped for the journey. I have no background in theology. I try to read my Bible daily, but when it comes to analyzing the texts, I can be a bit hopeless. Not to mention, I have no formal training as a writer. I took a magazine publishing class one summer as a teen, and while it was fun and very interesting, I never saw myself joining the literary world. My college degree is in math - the exact opposite of writing!

And do you know what God's response was to me? "Then go get equipped." Although I was alone in my sitting room, I heard it as plainly as if someone had been standing right in front of me. Immediately my excuse became invalid and God's call became unavoidable. I was going to do this. Like Jonah in the Old Testament, I had spent too much time running from God's direction. I was now in the metaphorical belly of the whale, being guided to my new occupation.

So I began my journey the best way I knew how - a visit to my pastor. I knew I could count on him to listen to my fears and apprehensions and counsel me on my next best step. It was an enormous relief to hear him say that he felt like I had a great grasp of the Bible references I was looking to include in my writings. I was downright ecstatic when he closed our meeting saying how excited he was to read my book whenever I finished it. God used him that day to encourage me and let me know I was on the right path. I could actually do this.

When I went home, I got to work. Encouraged by my conversation and equipped with my sermon notes I mentioned earlier, I felt the perfect peace of God fall over me as I prayed and began typing. I very quickly had a solid outline and a promising start. It hasn't been the easiest journey so far, but why should that stop me? The Bible is filled with people who were considered nobodies that went on to do amazing Kingdom work. If He can use them, and if He can use me, He can use you too, friend. Stop making excuses, and let God do it!