The Real Reason to Read the Whole Bible, with Courtney Doctor

What does the book of Exodus have to do with your actual life? Find out in this episode of Grounded! Guest Courtney Doctor joins the Grounded team to share how every part of the Bible connects to God’s mission of redeeming all things. You’ll be inspired to not just read some of God’s Word but to spend time getting to know Christ on every single page.
 

Connect with Courtney 

Instagram: @courtneycdoctor
Twitter: @courtneydoctor
Website: https://www.courtneydoctor.org/

Episode Notes

• From Garden to Glory book by Courtney Doctor.
• “Reading the Bible Is a Discipline, Loving the Bible Is a Gift from God” video with Kristen Wetherell.
• True Woman ‘25
• Revive Our Hearts Spring Sale

----------------

Portia Collins: What does the book of Exodus have to do with your actual life? You might be surprised. I'm Portia Collins, and this is Grounded. 

Listen, friends, we are in for a treat. Today, Courtney Doctor is here with us. She's gonna take us from the “Garden to Glory,” and help us see how the big picture of Scripture speaks to our lives. Y’all already know I got my pen and my paper. I'm ready to take some notes. 

After I talked to Courtney, listen, I'm ready to take even more notes, because Erin is going to open God's Word to John 1 and show us why we need the whole puzzle. Okay, so get ready. Share this episode. We are in for a good treat. But first, Erin Davis is here. She's gonna give us some good news. Erin, brighten our day. 

Erin Davis: Glad to do it. I know that when Portia says, “Listen, friends,” that we're in for something good . . . and she said it twice, so I'm ready. I'm standing at attention ready for what the Lord has for us in this episode. 

I get to be the good news girl this week, which is always a fun assignment. I don't have to tell you this, but I'm going to do anyway. There are plenty of places that you could turn today and find scary headlines. But here on Grounded, we try to ask less, “What in the world is going on? Or what in the world is God doing?” And we try to ask more, “What is God doing in this world, His world?” 

There's few people more passionate and articulate to tell that story than my friend Byron Paulus. He serves with the ministry of OneCry, which if you don't know, is a ministry dedicated to calling for spiritual awakening in our day. Welcome back to Grounded, Byron.

6:21 - Good News (with Byron Paulus)

Byron Paulus: Wow, Erin. It's such a joy to be here with you folks. And yeah, you're right. This is a divine moment, in a big sense, of great news and what God is doing, especially on campuses.

Erin: Yeah, I can't wait for you to tell the story. The story that's not being told on mainstream news. So, we get to tell it right here. I want you to first take us to a warehouse in Waco, Texas. What did you see there?

Byron: That's amazing. This is a warehouse turned into an incredible community wide prayer room, not initiated by some church but by students at Baylor University and even other universities. They just converted this old feed store warehouse into an amazing, sacred spot where they go and pray. 

And what are they asking the Lord to do? You know if you walk in there, you see some pics here, but even written on the floor. There was one area where it was just confessing their need. I mean, very raw, as that Gen Z is. And they're saying, “Please pray for me. I'm struggling with pornography. Pray for me,” and they just would go through the list but then also, all the way to the Great Commission from Waco to the world. May Jesus Christ be praised. They really believe because of their prayers. 

We think of a prayer closet, but I don't think a prayer warehouse. They are thinking that prayer room will be the birthing room of another great awakening in our nation that will reach the world with the gospel. 

Erin: You know, it's a beautiful visual, because we need a prayer warehouse right now. We do need prayer closets. But the needs are so big that a prayer warehouse seems really fitting. 

What are you seeing? We heard about the Asbury revival. We're so grateful for what the Lord did, but it was kind of this spike in the news that then went away. Keep telling the story. What are you seeing God do today on college campuses?

Byron: Well, you mentioned Asbury, and Erin, you know we're located right there off of Lake Michigan. And anybody that looks at the weather map in wintertime, they see the lake effect snow. Well, I say there's an Asbury effect, wind blowing in our nation still today that began there. I say that for a couple of reasons. And one is I think it legitimized revival. I think so many people felt like, “Hey, that's something from the past. It'll never happen again. We're too far gone.” But it legitimized revival. And also, I think it just built the faith of students everywhere that God can do it here where I am on my campus. 

There's a movement called Unite. You know the name Jenny Allen, I guess, JP from down in Waco, Texas. They are going to some campuses under the invitation of a lady who just had enough faith to believe that these students would gather in mass to pray, to worship, and to make public proclamation of their faith. 

It began at Auburn. Then it went to Florida State by the thousands. They baptized in the fountains on campus. Then to Baylor and then to Alabama, where there were, I think, 5000. Then Georgia 7,000. I think another one's this week at University of Tennessee. 

But here's what I love, Erin. What is so cool is these students are doing this Unite. Do you know we think churches are in competition in a community. Campus ministry groups are in big competition and those campuses and this is the one time that they are uniting to seek the Lord, and God's honoring that. 

I love the baptisms. I love it because when they do that they say, “What is your proclamation?” And really, baptisms are just proclaiming, “We love Jesus. We've surrendered our lives. He's Lord of our lives.” So that's what's happening, in large scale, and campus after campus after campus.

Erin: I just love it. I have a friend who will tell me something and then she'll say, “That's the human story.” And then she will say, “But then this is why I think God is doing it.” She's always showing me the parallel story. 

I think we're focusing a lot and maybe we should be on the human story. This generation is disillusioned. This generation is asking very hard questions. Deconstruction has become a big part of our vernacular. And then there's God’s story, which is that God is sending revival. 

Hey, last week, I was taking a walk outside on my farm with my son, Ezra. You called and you told me this great story about a friend of yours who rallies specific intercessors for the University of Kentucky, I think, tell us that story. 

Byron: You know, that's what's incredible. We think this is just a twenty-three year-old or twenty-four year-old. His name is Brady. In fact, I'm having a conversation with him again, meeting with him today. 

Brady just believed God. It's a public university, and he could get the names and access to every single student. 55,990 of them enrolled at the University of Kentucky. For forty days leading up to Easter, if he could just get 1400 people to commit to pray for forty names. That's one a day. Then every student on the University of Kentucky campus would be prayed for. 

And he did. Let’s not underestimate what one person . . . God could give them a vision and it come to fruition. Now, he did that earlier while he was a student during COVID. They prayed all during COVID for students at UK. He got back, and literally without any organization or explanation, 500 students gave their lives to Christ within a week or so after they returned. So, he believes in prayer.

Erin: Yeah. I got goosebumps as you were saying that. When we think about revival (I know you're passionate about this), what role does prayer play? If we're going to believe that God can revive, if we can revive a whole generation, which is what we want to see Him do, what role does prayer play in all that? 

Byron: Well, whether it's Matthew Henry or whomever, you just heard it said so many times that when God intends great mercy for His people, He first sets them to prayer. 

I was sharing with my leadership team just right before I got on Grounded here this morning. And I said, “Look, there's three things today that I feel like are critical if we're gonna see God move. Number one, repentance—we must turn. Number two, prayer—because there's never been a revival in the history of the world that hasn't either been given birth to, cradled, or nurtured in prayer. Number three, is to unite.” We're so divided. If the last thing Jesus prayed here on earth is that we would be one, maybe that's why He is blessing these campuses, because they're coming together under the banner of unite as one to repent and to pray. I think God is pleased with that.

Erin: I think we can all learn a lot from that. It's been many years since my college days. I have kids that are careening towards their own college years faster than I can imagine. But I want to hear the spreading effect. What's happening? How are these revivals on college campuses, how are you seeing them spread?

Byron: Well, I think they're spreading through the authentic, genuine nature of revival. You know, I believe there's a thing just called the excitement, season of revival, if you will. But also there's the ongoing. People ask if this revival really lasts. I have two answers to that. 

One is somebody asked Billy Sunday that question one time. He said baths don't last, but it's good to have one once in a while. And so, there's that aspect. Yes, it's good. That's why the Bible says, “Turn us again. Revive us again.” It doesn't last always. But they'll always remember what it was like to be in the presence of God.

So just quickly here. Bottom line is I talked to the individual, David Thomas, what an incredible guy. In fact, I just I had a podcast last Tuesday, another one's being released tomorrow with David. He shepherded the Asbury revival. I asked him how do you respond to those who say revival doesn't last? What's the long-term fruit of Asbury? 

And his first response was they don't know much about revival if they think it doesn't last. The number of students signing up to be in full-time vocational ministry, that are just wanting to devote their entire lives to Christ, as a result of what God did in their hearts. He said, “That's the true genuine test of faith.” 

Erin: Amen. Not to mention future Christian marriages, future Christian parents, future strong churches that all come out of those, those are very hard for us to measure. 

Byron: But for me, Erin, it just clicked for me. I saw the fire, and the smoke has been on my clothes forever. For forty-nine years after I've seen the fire, I can't do anything else but say, “Lord, I'll give my life to see it one more time.”

Erin: That takes me to the last question. I know your answer. But I want you to show your beautiful heart for revival. You're our good news. Do you have hope for revival in our day?

Byron: You know, there's no hope apart from revival, and there's no hope like revival. This is theological and some people are going to disagree. But what if, what if these are the last days? What if America is not an exception to the judgment of God? What if the principles of revival repeated in James are still true today? And what if there is such a thing as a latter rain before the return of Christ? Even if you don't? Even if you aren't persuaded? What if God has chosen you and me for this very exact moment to be a part of that latter outpouring? Not another Pentacost but an echo of Pentecost today. 

So my answer, you knew my answer? Yes, I believe it would honor God to bring glory to Him for a Bride, more pure than it is today, to be called home to be with you.

Erin: Amen. Oh, my greatest hope is he day when he comes for us, and we see Him, and we get to reign with Him forever. But there's a second hope, which is just as warm in my heart, and I long for it almost as much, which is to see revival in our day. 

So, thanks for being our good news. Byron, thanks for beating the drum of revival, which I know is really the drum of the gospel. Thank you so much.

Byron: Amen. God bless you folks.

Erin: All right, Portia, beat that. I am revved up and ready to hear about God's Word in the context of what God can do in our hearts and our lives through it. So take it away. 

17:57 - Grounded with God's People (with Courtney Doctor)

Portia: Yeah, I’m gonna beat that. Courtney Doctor is with us this morning. She's the director of women's initiatives at the Gospel Coalition. She has Master's of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary. I think I got that right. She's a Bible girl who has a passion for helping women get into their Bibles and Courtney is here to help us understand the overarching story of Scripture, and to see how every part of the Bible connects with God's mission of redeeming all things. Courtney, welcome back to Grounded.

Courtney Doctor: Hey, friend, thanks for having me. Thanks for having me. I don't want to beat that. I want to join with everything we just heard. That was amazing. 

Portia: Amen, amen. I'm right there with you. Okay. Let's start with a premise that you make, as it pertains to Scripture. The Bible is one unified story, from creation to new creation, elaborate on this concept.

Courtney: Well, I think that we forget that when we are opening the Bible. It is a book. It is more than a book, but it is not less than a book. We’re to read it as such. 

And so, when we open at the beginning and read our way through, we see that there's a storyline. Like any good story, it progresses, meaning we know more about God at the end than we did at the beginning. He is progressively revealing Himself through this story, and He's doing it. He both tells us who He is in certain places. Like think of Exodus 34. You know, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 

But He does more than just tell us who He is. He shows us who He is. So we see He really is a God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, merciful and gracious. 

It's a story predominantly and primarily about Him. He is the main character, and He is the one. He tells us in Isaiah 46. “I am God alone. I'm the one who knows the end from the beginning.” And only the author of a story can know that. So it is this cohesive, beautiful story about God and what He's doing. And we happen to be a part of that story. Where were the characters that He's rescuing.

Portia: Ah, love it. You are speaking my language are ready. Scripture rich. I love it. Okay, as with any good story, you've got heroes and you got villains Okay, who are perhaps what is the villain in the biblical narrative?

Courtney: Well, he pops on the page as a sneaky serpent on in Genesis 3. I think we're supposed to read that and be a little bit . . . As we're reading the story, all of a sudden it's, “And the serpent was more crafty than any other beasts of the field.” I was like, wait, wait a minute, what was happening here? Why was this sneaky serpent coming on the scene and when we recognize what he's doing.

God is the main character already said that. He's introduced as this high king of heaven, right? He speaks and everything obeys His voice, every atom, every molecule, every particle, everything obeys this voice. 

And so then the serpent enters in Genesis 3, and he's like, “Did God really say?” So, he brings this question the shadow of a doubt into both God’s truthfulness and God's goodness. We're supposed to see him as this great villain in the story who hurts and harms God's children. And then the whole rescue mission is about God saving His children from not just this villain, but all of the effects and ramifications of the fact that our first parents followed him. They committed treason against their good king and good father and followed the villain instead of the one they were supposed to follow and obey.

Portia: Which introduces sin.

Courtney: And everything else that comes with it.

Portia: And everything else. Okay. So here's a question that I think many women ask as they study Scripture as they navigate. You've got creation, we get the villain has entered the scene, the villain has introduced sin, the fall of our parents falling introduces sin. 

And so, then we have the law. Now, there are believing women today who are saying, “How do I reconcile the law and faith? Is the law bad if we have faith? What was the purpose of God ever introducing a law?” Let's even just zoom in the Ten Commandments? How does that fit into what you describe as God's rescue mission?

Courtney: Well, first of all, a lot happened between Genesis 3 and the giving of the law. It wasn't just like, oh, sin came in, and then the law came in. If that were the case, we would be in a lot of trouble. Because that would mean that the gospel narrative or the narrative of the story was, “You sin. Now, here's the law, you better obey it to get out.” 

But that's not the story. The very first thing we have after, after Adam and Eve's rebellion, is Genesis 3:15. Adam and Eve hid, they were ashamed, they hid. God came to them. He called them out of hiding, He covered them. Then He spoke a word to the serpent. He said that He was going to put enmity between the woman and the serpent and that there will be an offspring. There'll be a child, born of the woman, and this one offspring was going to crush the head of the serpent. So there's this promise of hope. 

Then you're like, “Okay, who's the serpent crusher?” We make it through Noah and Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob and Joseph and the whole thing. They end up in Egypt. And if you know the story of famine, it drove this little family to Egypt, and they were there for 400 years. In that course of time, they grew into a large people group. Well, the Egyptians didn't like them, so they enslave them. 

Well, here's where it gets really interesting, because God never intended his children to be enslaved in any way. And so what does He do? They cry out to Him, and he goes into Egypt. He rescues them from this slavery from this oppression. He pulls them out of Egypt, and He brings them across the Red Sea. And the very first thing He does is He says to them, “You are my treasured possession.” So, it gives them their identity, it establishes them as the nation of Israel. “You're my treasured possession. You're going to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” He's given them purpose and mission and identity. And that's Exodus 19. The law doesn't start until Exodus 20. 

And the reason that is so important is because redemption, rescue, salvation, relationship, all of those things precede the law. We do not obey the law in order to gain any of those things. And so, we have to know the order of the story for the law to even begin to make sense. Then He starts giving the law with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. He's just told them they're going to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 

So, the law’s first and foremost how they're going to do that. How are you going to live in such a way that the watching world can see something different in you? How are you going to be a kingdom of priests? How in the world are you going to live in such a way that you'll be a holy nation? 

So, the law begins describing that and giving us the way by which we can do that? 

Now the law, especially the Ten Commandments, they are what scholars will call the floor, meaning they are by far the height of what God wants for us or desires for us, right. Don’t lie, don't murder, don't steal. I mean, that is not the ultimate reflection of God, that's the bare minimum. So, the ultimate reflection of God is that we're righteous and we're holy. 

So, the law is revealing stuff about God. It is revealing what He wants for His people, how we're going to live on mission. And then the law starts driving us to Jesus because we're like, “Okay, I want to do this. I want to be a kingdom of priests. I want to be part of a holy nation. I want to be holy. I want to bear God's image. I want all these things. I'm gonna keep the law.” 

So, I'm gonna start by striving, and guess what? Five seconds in, one second and half a second. And I'm like, “Ah, no, I messed up again. Yeah, I can't do it. So, if this is how I live in relationship with God, I fail at it all the time. So, what's gonna happen?” 

Well, we know the story, right? I need a Savior. I need somebody who's going to come and keep this law for me and give me His righteousness and make me holy and all the things . . . In Ezekiel it tells us that He's going to cause us to walk in His ways and to know His law. That's what Jesus did, but the law drives us towards that. So, understanding where the law comes in the story, I think is just vital to our understanding of how we live in light of it.

Portia: I love how you drove us right into what's next. And so, you basically said the law drives us to Jesus. Between the Old and New Testaments, you get this, what is seemingly this period of silence about 400 years, but this silence ends with Jesus. Okay, so could you explain the significance of Jesus is coming as it relates to the broader narrative of Scripture, and how He really is the true hero of Scripture.

Courtney: In every way, right, in every way. So back to Genesis 3:15, He is the promised Offspring. Every child that was born from the moment that promise was spoken, I'm sure the mothers and fathers said, “Is this the one? Is this the one?” We see failure after failure after failure, until Jesus is born. We recognize that He is as we look at His perfect life, so He perfectly kept the law. But He did more than just perfectly keep the law. 

He fully submitted to His Father's will and His Father's ways, which is such a convicting lesson for me, because I want to obey God's Word. I also want to trust Him that His ways are good and that His will is good. 

And so, what we see in the garden is when the second garden, not the first garden, the second garden, the night before Jesus was crucified, He cries out to the Father three times. And basically, what He's saying is, if there's any other way that this can be accomplished, take this cup from Me. 

Implicitly the answer is, “There is no other way. You are the way, the truth, and the life, no one's going to come to Me, but through You.” And so Jesus did what none of us do. He submitted his life to His Father's way and to His Father's will. He accomplished all of these things for us perfectly, kept the law, died a substitutionary death in our place. He was the perfect sacrifice.

And then we say it so cavalierly, but He rose from the grave . . . like He rose from the grave! I mean, nobody but Him can do that. He did it. He rose from the grave. He defeated not just sin, but he defeated death. Then he unites us to Himself. He's going to take us all the way home. I mean, He is the perfect hero in every way. He absolutely did and accomplished everything on our behalf for us and for our salvation. 

Portia: Amen, amen. One final question. What does it mean to live in hopeful and eager anticipation of the Bible's epic finale? 

Courtney: Yeah, we believe it, we study it, we learn about it. I mean, eschatology, the study of end times, the study of end things. We don't do that so that we can have really staunch opinions and argue with people, because first of all, it's going to be revealed. We're going to find out one day, right? We study it to have hope so that we can endure today because God has made certain promises.

I go back to like the words of Jesus in John's gospel, where He tells His disciples, “Hey, I am going away to prepare place for you. And I'm going to come back, and I'm going to get you. I'm going to take you to be with me.” 

I mean, those are real words spoken by a real man to real people. Then He appropriates them and John 17 to all of us. And so, we have to stop and think about that. 

So okay, He is in a real place. He's coming back. He's really going to take us to be there. So, what is that place like? I think we're supposed to spend the appropriate amount of time thinking about this. 

Scripture doesn't give us a whole lot. But man, what it gives us is beautiful. He calls it paradise. That's what he tells the thief on the cross today, “You will be with Me in Paradise.” It is eternal, and it is in the presence of God. 

When we look at Revelation 21, we see there's going to be none of those things that cause our hearts to break here. None of those things, and God's going to wipe all of the tears away from our eyes. He's going to dwell with us again. There is going to be such beauty and such presence of the Lord. We're going to know Him, see Him face to face with our eyeballs like I'm looking at you with right now. Those eyeballs are going to get to look at the face of Jesus and live with Him forever. I mean, it's a beautiful thing, and it encourages us to live faithfully, to live missionally, to live obediently, to live hopefully, here.

Portia: Ah, Courtney girl. I hadn't said this in a while, but I want to throw my shoe right now.

Courtney: I love it when you throw your shoe. 

Portia: I know that's so good. I bet our Grounded sisters didn't realize we were gonna be taking such a quick trip through the Bible through all of Scripture this morning. That was absolutely what we needed to hear. Listen, Courtney, I hear you have a new book coming out. I’ve got my copy.

Courtney: You got it girl, oh my sweater is matching it too. 

Portia: And this sweet little bracelet that you sent with it as well. The title is FromGarden to Glory, How Understanding God’s Story Changes Yours. When does it release? And where can we pick up a copy?

Courtney: That's coming out May 7, then you can get a copy wherever books are sold. So, we are very excited about that. It's such a joy and a privilege to soak in the story. So, writing it was transformational for sure. My prayer is that it just proves helpful.

Portia: Amen. Thank you so much for being with us today. Love you dearly. 

Courtney: Thanks, friends. Love you too. Bye. 

Erin: Portia, that was good.

Portia: Yes. It was good stuff. Listen, I am ready to just go curl up with my Bible study right now.

Erin: It was an infusion of excitement for the Word which we always need. So we're gonna keep talking about God's Word. Of course, that's what we do here. But let me challenge you as we come out of that really great interview. Let me challenge you with this: What if you could name all sixty-six books of the Bible in order? What if you could somehow put it all in a some massive book report? And what if you could pass an academic test on the minor prophets or the gospel or even the seven trumpets in Revelation, but your heart was not stirred? 

Well, the answer to those what if questions is that ultimately you would gain nothing. Kristen Wetherell says that reading the Bible is a discipline, but loving the Bible, that's a gift from God. I want you to watch this short clip with our friend, Kristen, and connect the pieces between our minds and our hearts. Let's watch.

35:41 - Video: Reading the Bible Is a Discipline, Loving the Bible Is a Gift from God (Kristen Wetherell)

Kristen Wetherell: It’s an action. It's something that I do. And it is something that I have to be the one to make the choice to open my Bible, or to sit under the preaching of God's Word. And yet, it's not only that, there is a supernatural reality going on when we open God's Word that we can't see with our eyes. God says that when we open His Word, it's like He is shining light into our hearts. And so, our part is that we come, we obey God's command to take up His Word and feast on it. But only God can do . . . 

So, He's ever synced up to supernatural light. We all know what it's like to get up in the morning and to have great intentions, right? You go down the stairs, and, “I'm gonna read my Bible today.” And you go to the couch, and before you know it, you're distracted. Your phone dings in the other room and you're running to see who it is, or your kids come down the stairs. We all have great intentions. 

But I think that is also really humbling, because we realize that unless God gives us that desire, we won't go to His Word, not on our own strength. We're so naturally dull, our hearts are naturally dulled to the most beautiful reality in the universe, that we need Him to stir our affections. And the way that He does that is by opening His Word. So, it's both and we come, God shines His light. That pattern fuels a desire in our hearts for more of Him. 

37:22 - Grounded in God's Word (with Erin)

Erin: Amen. Let's talk about that. A light, that light, a moment. I want you to open your Bibles to John chapter 1. As you're turning there, let me ask you a question. We've already given you a lot to think about a lot to chew on. Maybe we can put a bow on it with this question: why do you read the Bible? 

Now, there are answers that will lead you to open your Bible daily with passion and to walk away from those moments in God's Word transformed time after time after time. There are also answers to that question (Why do I read the Bible?) that won't. So it's important to know the difference. 

Let me illustrate it with a bit of a story. For years, my grandma, I call her Mimi, who actually recently went home to be with Jesus, she volunteered at a place called the Caring Center. It's a secondhand store in our little town. She loved to bring me things from the Caring Center. And one of the things that she would often bring me were donated puzzles. 

So, you’ve got the picture: it was a puzzle that somebody had purchased. They'd probably done it on their dining room table with their friends and with their kids, maybe over Christmas break, and then they're cleaning out of closets. I thought, Oh, I'll get rid of this one. It made its way to the Caring Center. Mimi picked it up knowing that I love puzzles, and she brought it to me. Well, the thought was precious. But I could never bring myself to start any of those puzzles that Mimi brought me because I could not stand the thought of investing precious hours into a used puzzle, only to discover that some pieces were missing. 

And that's a pretty good analogy for why I read the Bible, and why I want you to read the Bible, not just me. But why Scripture itself encourages us to open our Bibles again and again. The Bible is, among many other things, a sixty-six-piece puzzle. Now, why sixty-six? 

Well, you probably already guessed, I know you are Bible lovers already. There's sixty-six books in the Bible. And they vary in shape and size, like pieces of a puzzle would. And if we're honest, some of the pieces of the puzzle are favorites. Ephesians. Many of us love just the way Ephesians just kind of gets into our heart and makes us stand for Christ or some of the Psalms or even the Gospels maybe. And some, if we're honest, they're not. Some books of the Bible or passages of Scripture are easy to understand and easy to apply. And some of them may make our brains hurt. We don't really understand what it is that we're supposed to do if we're supposed to do anything. 

But according to 2 Timothy 3, All Scripture is God breathed, and it's all useful. And so, as we look at the Bible as sixty-six puzzle pieces in the box, we realize that none of those pieces are optional. None of those pieces are disposable. They all matter. And why do they matter? Do they matter? Because God just really cares that we read them all. Is there some system in heaven by which we're judged that we read through the Bible in a year X number of times. No the picture on the cover of the puzzle box is Jesus. 

And the pieces all matter because they all reveal something significant about who God is, which takes me to John chapter 1, verses 1–5. It’s a familiar passage, I'm sure. The focus of the passage is on Jesus. Listen to it in light of all you've already heard this morning. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

You've probably heard that passage at many a Christmas Pageant. Who's it about? It's about Jesus, the Savior of the world. But He's not just the Savior of the world. It tells us right there that Jesus is the Word, and He is revealed to us in the Scriptures. 

We do not read this book to know ourselves better, although that is a beautiful byproduct. We read this book to know Jesus better. 

And John went on, we read this book to understand that all of this . . . What do I mean by all of this? If you're just podcast listening, you can't see my hands, but I'm just gonna spread my arms wide as a gesture of encompassing all of it, everything. It's all made for Him. It's all made through Him. And I promise you that if you never cracked your Bible, you probably wouldn't reach that conclusion because sin makes us think all of this is for us. 

And so, Scripture rightly reorients us to Jesus who all of this is for. And Scripture reminds us that life is found in Jesus, and that He is the light that we're looking for; that He is the one that directs our path day after day after day. And so, what happens when we miss parts of the Word that the Spirit intentionally includes?

Now, make no mistake, the Bible doesn't reveal everything there is to know about God. The Book of Job tells us that we've only seen the outskirts of His ways. When faith becomes sight, there's going to be more to Him than we could have known even if we memorize every word of this. But this is what God has chosen to reveal to us about who He is. The Spirit has given it to man and preserves it for us that we might understand something about God. There's a lot about God to be discovered in His Word. 

So, what happens when we miss parts of what the Spirit revealed for us in the Word? 

Well, we get an incomplete puzzle. The parts that you know and love of God's Word are not necessarily wrong, it's just an incomplete picture. Like if I had taken those used puzzles that Mimi gave me and I'd worked hard and hard and hard on them and then discovered that four or five pieces are missing. Well, the part that I could see would still be true, but I would have an incomplete picture. And I don't want you to have an incomplete picture. 

So, the question to ask is, what is it about Jesus that you miss when you skip the begets? What is it about Jesus that you miss when you skim through the Gospels? Because you feel like you've heard those stories a million times? What is it about Jesus that you miss when you avoid prophecy, which by the way, is about 30% of Scripture? We don't study the whole Bible, because there will be a test in heaven someday. There won't. The test will be this: do you surrender your life to Jesus? 

It's a one answer test. There won't be a test on how much Bible you read. And we certainly ought not to read the whole Bible to impress one another. There were plenty of people in Jesus's day that devoted themselves to the Scripture, and they bragged about it, but they missed the Savior. I don't want that for me. I don't want that for you. So why did we read the whole Bible? We do it because we want to see all that God's Word graciously revealed about Jesus. 

You know what? I'm a Bible teacher. I love the Word of God. And yet ,my passion, if I'm honest, for Scripture, can wax and wane because I'm a woman of flesh. I can get caught up in lots of other things. And when that happens, it's a sure sign that I'm opening my Bible for something other than knowing Jesus. 

And so, I just want to take a moment right now and pray for God to give each of us a passion to know Him through His Word, because that's what it's all about—Jesus. 

Thank You for revealing Yourself through Your Word. That alone is really profound. You're not a God who's aloof. You're not a God who hides Himself from us, even though we're frail and really nothing compared to You. But You've chosen to reveal yourself. 

I pray for the sister who today has listened to this whole episode, and she just doesn't have a desire to open her Bible. She knows she should. In fact, she might even have already done that today. But her desire is just to get it done. 

I pray that You would remind her that it's about knowing You, seeing You as you really are and experiencing the kind of revived heart Byron was talking about because our hearts connected to You. So give us a passion for you and to know You through Your work. It's in Your name I pray, amen. 

Portia, give us the good stuff. 

Portia: Amen You already gave us the good stuff. Jesus, absolutely. So good. I'm so thankful. I just can't wait to be an old lady who has nothing to do but read her Bible. 

Erin: It'll still be rich. 

Portia: It'll still be rich Yes. When I am just probably struggling to get out the bed and walking with a cane, I ant my focus of every day to be just read read the Bible, to know Jesus. Love it. 

Okay, lean in guys, leaning gets skin close. Are you close? Okay, cuz I've got an extra dose of good news for you. Are you ready? True Woman 2025 is set to happen: October 2–4, 2025. 

Yes, we will be back together again. I am so excited if you love today's episode and all this Word-saturated talking that we've been doing. You are going to love this conference because it's going to be all about the Word. I cannot wait to gather with all of you to behold the wonder of the Word. So, right now all you need to do is save the date. 

I actually heard last week that there were women calling trying to get hotel rooms. Just pause, just wait a minute, we'll let you know when that's available. But do save the date, put it on your calendar. Make sure you are making plans to attend and make sure that you're subscribed to receive Revive Our Hearts emails so that you won't miss any details as they are released. 

Okay, we're gonna drop a link in the chat and in the episode notes for you to get all the info about True Woman 2025. 

Also, I want to remind you that our Spring Sale ends tomorrow. I don't know about you, but one of the things that I love to do is to give good gifts. And when I say good gifts, I'm talking about gifts that are encouraging and edifying, something that someone can use for a very long time. 

The Revive Our Hearts store is actually one of my go-to places. When I'm looking for a good gift for Mother's Day or Father's Day or graduation or a birthday, I can always find a great gift for my friends and family right at the Revive Our Hearts’ store. So, if you're looking for the perfect gift, go on over to the website, like right now. Sale ends tomorrow and there are deep discounts. Get something it may even be for yourself. That's okay, too. Go on and check it out. We'll drop a link to the Revive Our Hearts Spring Sale in the episode notes and the chat. Erin.

Erin: You have a way to get me excited about everything. But I was already excited about True Woman ’25. Courtney Doctor is gonna be there who we just heard from. She's gonna be a part of our preconference on the Word, on teaching the Word. Melissa Kruger is also part of that preconference who was in last week's episode. You're gonna be there. I'm going to be there. Dannah is going to be there. Like we see each other in 2-D all the time. But we're going to be together in 3-D and just sit and soak in the Word for three days. So, you can't send me anywhere in the world that I would probably rather go than that. 

So, we hope that you will join us Grounded sisters. You know what? When I think about Grounded, we don't know how you ingest it. Maybe you're watching us live. Maybe you're taking a walk and listening to the podcast version. What do we want you to do after? I want you to get in the Word. 

As such a clear action step from this episode, go open your Bible and ask what does this show me about Jesus? Do it now. I'm going to do it as soon as I can do it. We want you to walk out the things we've talked about today. Absolutely soak.

Portia: Absolutely soakin the Scripture, not because you're checking it off your Debby-do-gooder list.

Erin: Yep. 

Portia: But because that is a place where you truly get to know God as He is revealed. And so you know, I always call it my happy place. It's my happy place. 

Well, friends, let me ask you a question. Have you ever felt forgotten? Or left behind? How about left out? Or next week's episode is for you? I guest will be Christine Hoover. If you don't know her, you're in for a treat. Come on and join us back next week. 

Erin: Yeah, I wrinkled my nose because I’ve felt this thing of being left out; we all have. We're gonna point you to God's work and give you hope and perspective. So, let's wake up with that hope together next week on Grounded.

Portia: Grounded is a listener supported production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. 

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.