Who? What? Where?

Moses.  Abraham.  Noah.  Joshua.  David.  They’re all names we’re familiar with from great Old Testament bible stories.  They are the biggest names before Jesus!  Come on, who doesn’t know who these people are?  What about the big names in the New Testament like Matthew, John, Peter, Paul, Mary?  (Not to be confused with the old music group Peter, Paul and Mary!)  Surely everyone knows who they are.

They don’t. (And quit calling me Shirley)

Expecting everyone to know these names and their biblical stories would be equal to me expecting you all to automatically know the stories of people like Lisa, Brenda, and Brandy.  Chances are that you know people with those names, and probably know some stories about them.  But they aren’t the ones I’m speaking of.

Why is it so easy to remember that Jane may not know the Betty that we’re speaking of, but we cannot seem to comprehend that Jane has no clue who Moses is or why we think he’s so darned important?  Are we so naïve as to believe that when God begins revealing Himself to a person, they get an automatic download of all “childhood” Bible stories?  We, the church, obviously know that isn’t true but it is how we act.  It seems to me that we get so caught up in teaching what Jesus is, that we forget to teach who He is and why He is.  Those concepts, the who and why, begin at the beginning of time.  At creation.  And they continue through all 66 books of the bible.  Knowing Jesus must include knowing the other characters of the story.  All of them.  From the staring roles of Adam and Moses to the seemingly unimportant extras named Benaiah or Onesimus.

Now you may think I’m throwing stones, but let me assure you I would have to throw one at myself first.  I have met teens who aren’t familiar with a story or two.  I figured they just weren’t old enough to have learned all the stories yet.   But a couple of weeks ago the entire concept poured down on me like a rain storm. 

Two weeks ago, a small group of women sat in my living room for our first Origins Women’s Bible Study.  One person brought her Bible to the Bible study.  Drip.  Fortunately, my bookshelf contains a various assortment of bibles and I quickly handed them out.  When we began the DVD lesson, I sat myself down with my bible, pen, notebook and study guide.  I was ready to learn, to soak it all in, to take notes.  The instructor on the video began giving the answers to the first study guide question, and I was the only one writing.  Pens! Where were their pens? Drip. Pens were distributed and we continued.  “Turn with me to Ephesians,” the video announced.  And the Bibles that had been passed out earlier were being thumbed through from the beginning.  I could hear the quiet whispers asking where it was.  Drip.  Is there a table of contents in the Bible?  Drip Drip.  Was it in the front or the back?  Drip Drip Drip.

The instructor spoke a great deal about the faith of Moses and later the faith of the priests to step into the waters of the Jordan before they would part.  I quit taking notes and watched my little group of woman sink deeper into my couches, blank stares on their faces.  Had I picked the wrong study to begin with?  Was this going to be too much for them?  How am I going to make sure they get something out of this study?  And I felt that invisible rain pour down on me.

Have you ever been outside when it begins to sprinkle?  We probably all have similar reactions to hurry and get covered before it gets harder. We don’t want to get wet.  The makeup will run, the hair will fall, and the leather shoes haven’t been treated yet.  We choose to hide from the rain.  But have you ever been in a sudden downpour?  No notice, no time to get out before you’re completely soaked clear through.  It becomes obvious you can’t get any wetter, so you may as well enjoy the quickly forming puddles.  When I realized what was happening in this Bible study, I chose to stand there and let it soak me.  It washed away preconceptions that clouded my vision and my heart.  I felt God say to me, this is what I want them to know and you are going to teach them along the way.   Oh Hallelujah!  How I love jumping in God formed puddles!

I let the video teaching finish and I turned to face the blank stares of the women in my living room.  I took a deep breath and asked if anyone was familiar with the story of Moses.  Crickets.  We were out of time, so I explained very briefly and encouraged them all to read the book of Exodus to learn about Moses.  They all quickly wrote “Exodus” on their study guides as they left for the evening.

I spent time over that next week praying and asking how to best help these women learn.  I went to the Christian book store and purchased a “books of the Bible” bookmark for each of them.  I hoped that this would encourage them to learn the books.  I did more in depth research of the stories and scriptures that were covered in the daily lessons so I could answer questions.  I asked God to show me what they don’t know and to not allow me to assume that they do or do not know something.  And He did.  I read the assignment of Romans 4 with new eyes and knew I would need to explain who Abraham was and what circumcision meant.   I watched the video on my own before the group met and took my own personal notes at that time so I could be available to answer questions or assist people as they watched the video.  I helped the women find and mark the scriptures that would be referenced in the video before we started.  And I loved every minute of it. 

The ladies were thrilled with the bookmarks.  And Romans 4 made a whole lot more sense to them after knowing the background of Abraham and circumcision.  Because I was willing to open my eyes and take the extra time to teach a few things, these ladies were able to see how to apply scripture to their life.  The excitement level of the group was pegged and these women are so excited to learn.  They are expecting God to move in their lives and they are watching for that evidence daily.  They admit that the homework of the study seems overwhelming, but they’re doing it and they’re learning.  They are making new friendships with each other and are excited to see each other.   And I get to take this trip with them!  I’m so excited that I can hardly contain myself sometimes.   God has given me an assignment to feed His sheep… me… wow.  Unbelievable.  Oh, how I just want to shout Hallelujah!