WEBVTT 00:00:09.233 --> 00:00:10.933 Rebecca: Hey, guys. Welcome back to the podcast. 00:00:10.966 --> 00:00:13.366 I'm here with Zack Wendell. 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:17.433 We're talking about your new book, "The Bible Simplified." 00:00:17.466 --> 00:00:21.466 Give us a little quick description on that. 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:23.532 Zack: Thank you so much for having me. 00:00:23.566 --> 00:00:25.099 First off, this is--awesome to be here. 00:00:25.133 --> 00:00:26.933 Oh my goodness. 00:00:26.966 --> 00:00:28.533 New book, it's called "The Bible Simplified." 00:00:28.566 --> 00:00:31.832 It basically builds your foundational understanding of 00:00:31.866 --> 00:00:33.800 the entire storyline of Scripture. 00:00:33.833 --> 00:00:37.399 I think so many people are overwhelmed and confused by the 00:00:37.433 --> 00:00:40.400 Bible and they don't know where to begin with it, and I really 00:00:40.433 --> 00:00:43.832 want to boost your confidence to make you confident in your faith 00:00:43.866 --> 00:00:46.433 so that, yeah, you can pick up the Bible and you actually know 00:00:46.466 --> 00:00:48.166 what's going on in it. 00:00:48.199 --> 00:00:51.066 Rebecca: I'm just so passionate about this because I grew up in 00:00:51.099 --> 00:00:56.233 church and I did not understand how to read the Bible, 00:00:56.266 --> 00:00:59.432 especially the Old Testament. 00:00:59.466 --> 00:01:00.766 Oh my goodness. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:03.666 I mean, I would open it and just be like, "What on earth." 00:01:03.699 --> 00:01:06.400 And I'm so passionate about this because it wasn't until I went 00:01:06.433 --> 00:01:09.199 to Bible school when I was 19 and I was taught these things 00:01:09.232 --> 00:01:13.866 about historical context and these different varying factors, 00:01:13.899 --> 00:01:17.533 and I remember so many of us in the school we looked at each 00:01:17.566 --> 00:01:20.533 other and were like, "Why don't they teach this in church? 00:01:20.566 --> 00:01:22.632 This would help so many people." 00:01:22.666 --> 00:01:23.966 Zack: So much. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.333 I don't get it. 00:01:25.366 --> 00:01:26.733 Rebecca: No, and there's really--what I love about this 00:01:26.766 --> 00:01:30.100 resource--'cause I remember even talking to my professors because 00:01:30.133 --> 00:01:32.866 they're these scholars that have these doctorates and they were 00:01:32.899 --> 00:01:36.466 able to teach the Bible with such depth and clarity and there 00:01:36.499 --> 00:01:40.232 was so much like--almost like meat or depth to the teaching, 00:01:40.266 --> 00:01:42.332 and I remember going to them and being like, "Well, what 00:01:42.366 --> 00:01:44.866 commentaries do you use?" 00:01:44.899 --> 00:01:49.666 But they're at such this high scholarly level that I'm like, 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:51.300 "I--my mind is not there." 00:01:51.333 --> 00:01:54.566 And so we need something like this that's going to come down 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:59.399 and help the normal, common person like me understand 00:01:59.432 --> 00:02:02.433 Scripture because there is a history and there's a lot of--I 00:02:02.466 --> 00:02:05.100 mean, like thousands of years of history and there is a culture 00:02:05.133 --> 00:02:09.332 and there is a people as Gentiles in the New Covenant, 00:02:09.366 --> 00:02:12.232 you know, looking through but yet it all does connect, and 00:02:12.266 --> 00:02:13.600 there is a purpose. 00:02:13.633 --> 00:02:17.566 And when you can see things as a whole together, there--it's like 00:02:17.600 --> 00:02:21.266 the Word comes alive and you get excited. 00:02:21.299 --> 00:02:23.332 Zack: Yes, yes, absolutely. 00:02:23.366 --> 00:02:26.999 That's why I have such a passion for it because it's like if I 00:02:27.032 --> 00:02:30.333 would have had a book like this or an understanding of Scripture 00:02:30.366 --> 00:02:33.833 in general from an early age it would have changed my entire 00:02:33.866 --> 00:02:38.199 trajectory of my life and my relationship with the Word. 00:02:38.232 --> 00:02:42.700 So if I can create anything that would benefit those people that 00:02:42.733 --> 00:02:47.500 are in my shoes 15 years ago, I'm going to because I want to 00:02:47.533 --> 00:02:49.199 see their lives transformed. 00:02:49.233 --> 00:02:50.533 Rebecca: Yeah. 00:02:50.566 --> 00:02:52.133 And what's cool is that, you know, one of the things--and 00:02:52.166 --> 00:02:54.266 we'll get into your story, but one of the things they say is 00:02:54.299 --> 00:02:58.066 the thing that you suffer with or the pro--you--the problem you 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:01.666 experience, God's calling you to help solve, and so that is 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:03.000 your story. 00:03:03.033 --> 00:03:05.199 You were in this predicament, but look what came out of it. 00:03:05.232 --> 00:03:06.532 So let's get into your story. 00:03:06.566 --> 00:03:10.033 So growing up, grew up in a Christian home, saw God 00:03:10.066 --> 00:03:11.666 move miraculously. 00:03:11.699 --> 00:03:13.933 Zack: Yeah, totally from a really early age. 00:03:13.966 --> 00:03:16.866 So my mom is a four-time cancer survivor. 00:03:16.899 --> 00:03:20.599 So when I was 4, she was sent home with a 5% chance to live 00:03:20.632 --> 00:03:24.700 because she had stage 4 ovarian cancer and was healed from that. 00:03:24.733 --> 00:03:27.166 It's like, "Wow, praise God. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:28.533 Incredible." 00:03:28.566 --> 00:03:31.133 Then she had a tumor on her sciatic nerve and was 00:03:31.166 --> 00:03:33.232 miraculously healed from that. 00:03:33.266 --> 00:03:36.366 And then she had colon cancer with three-quarters of her colon 00:03:36.399 --> 00:03:38.333 removed, was healed from that. 00:03:38.366 --> 00:03:41.866 And then when I was 15, she had breast cancer, double mastectomy 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:43.232 and was healed from that. 00:03:43.266 --> 00:03:46.433 So literally from 4 to 15 I'm seeing my mom in and out of the 00:03:46.466 --> 00:03:50.966 hospital, never knowing if she's going to make it and--but 00:03:50.999 --> 00:03:53.833 through the whole thing I knew that God was good and that he 00:03:53.866 --> 00:03:57.633 had a plan behind it and that she was still around in order 00:03:57.666 --> 00:04:01.299 to--for some reason, whatever that was in the moment. 00:04:01.332 --> 00:04:05.933 So she always just taught me that, "God is good, and he has a 00:04:05.966 --> 00:04:07.266 plan for all of this." 00:04:07.299 --> 00:04:11.199 So that was really the foundation of who I became as a 00:04:11.232 --> 00:04:17.000 person and really, like, what my mentality is in life, but--even 00:04:17.033 --> 00:04:21.133 though I saw him move in amazing ways and I grew up in the church 00:04:21.166 --> 00:04:24.766 and I knew these stories and I had Bible verses memorized, when 00:04:24.799 --> 00:04:29.133 I hit 17, when I hit college, it was like I'm trying to do things 00:04:29.166 --> 00:04:30.533 on my own a little bit. 00:04:30.566 --> 00:04:33.766 I think I was just so influenced by the people around me and 00:04:33.799 --> 00:04:38.199 culture and wanting to do cool things and a lot of Christians 00:04:38.233 --> 00:04:41.132 that I knew weren't that cool, I think it was. 00:04:41.166 --> 00:04:43.366 Like, that's what it was. 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:48.033 And so had this, like, moment where I was trying to do 00:04:48.066 --> 00:04:51.366 everything myself for years, and it wasn't really until I hit a 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:56.366 low spot in 2014 where I was like, "Okay, God, if you're 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:01.800 good, if you're real, I'm going all in on this and I need you to 00:05:01.833 --> 00:05:05.866 show up, prove to me that this is from you; prove to me that 00:05:05.900 --> 00:05:10.900 you are good, that this is the plan, that this is who I should 00:05:10.933 --> 00:05:14.266 associate my life with." 00:05:14.299 --> 00:05:17.500 And then I said, "God, I'm going to give you 2 years. 00:05:17.533 --> 00:05:18.833 Prove that you're real." 00:05:18.866 --> 00:05:22.066 And ended up moving out to Australia to study the Bible 00:05:22.099 --> 00:05:26.566 really intensely in this program where we studied 12 hours a day, 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.900 6 days a week, like, as deep as you possibly could 00:05:29.933 --> 00:05:32.133 and--yeah, literally. 00:05:32.166 --> 00:05:35.666 By the end of it, we had like a whole commentary written on 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:40.466 every book of the Bible and that process completely changed 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:41.832 my life. 00:05:41.866 --> 00:05:44.699 I'd say it was day two out there when I'm really understanding 00:05:44.732 --> 00:05:48.700 the history and the context of Scripture that everything 00:05:48.733 --> 00:05:52.732 shifted for me and I was like, "Oh, this is way bigger than I 00:05:52.766 --> 00:05:54.100 thought it was. 00:05:54.133 --> 00:05:57.399 This isn't just a book of stories, this is a history book 00:05:57.433 --> 00:06:02.566 of things that happened to real people in a real time and it's 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.466 meant to be used in order to show me where I'm going in my 00:06:06.499 --> 00:06:11.233 life and what God's really doing in the world and I get to be a 00:06:11.266 --> 00:06:13.566 part of that, which is incredible." 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:15.666 Rebecca: It's wild when the things you kind of hear about 00:06:15.700 --> 00:06:19.532 the Word of God your whole life become real to you and you see 00:06:19.566 --> 00:06:21.333 it through new eyes. 00:06:21.366 --> 00:06:23.300 It's like one of the most exciting things. 00:06:23.333 --> 00:06:26.266 I remember being in Bible college and I began to learn the 00:06:26.299 --> 00:06:30.132 concepts of revelation and how God reveals himself, the Holy 00:06:30.166 --> 00:06:34.233 Spirit reveals God through his Word, how it comes alive and it 00:06:34.266 --> 00:06:38.533 completely shifted things for me and then I became so excited to 00:06:38.566 --> 00:06:40.566 study Scripture because it wasn't something I was 00:06:40.599 --> 00:06:41.900 doing alone. 00:06:41.933 --> 00:06:44.633 I was inviting the Holy Spirit into it 'cause--you know, Paul 00:06:44.666 --> 00:06:47.033 says in Ephesians, he says, "I pray that your hearts would be 00:06:47.066 --> 00:06:49.666 flooded with light--the eyes of your hearts be flooded with 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:52.466 light so that you'd be able to understand these things." 00:06:52.499 --> 00:06:57.232 And so these spiritual--this revelation that Paul 00:06:57.266 --> 00:06:59.933 pontificates through all of these Epistles, you know, the 00:06:59.966 --> 00:07:03.599 revelation of Jesus, is something that you cannot 00:07:03.633 --> 00:07:05.433 understand in your own mind on your own. 00:07:05.466 --> 00:07:08.066 It's something in humility you have to receive through 00:07:08.099 --> 00:07:11.466 revelation and through studying his Word, and it is--it will 00:07:11.499 --> 00:07:14.132 take you on almost like a treasure hunt where you can find 00:07:14.166 --> 00:07:18.300 the deepest pearls of wisdom that will completely transform 00:07:18.333 --> 00:07:19.633 your life. 00:07:19.666 --> 00:07:20.966 Zack: Absolutely. 00:07:20.999 --> 00:07:22.333 That's why you can't just read the Bible one time. 00:07:22.366 --> 00:07:24.333 You need to fall in love with it for the rest of your life. 00:07:24.366 --> 00:07:28.033 You could read it 100 times and get something different from it 00:07:28.066 --> 00:07:29.399 every single time. 00:07:29.433 --> 00:07:33.599 So the same Holy Spirit that inspired the text is the Holy 00:07:33.633 --> 00:07:35.732 Spirit that we have. 00:07:35.766 --> 00:07:37.066 So--literally. 00:07:37.099 --> 00:07:38.766 So, of course, he wants to teach us things. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.433 So that's the coolest thing ever. 00:07:40.466 --> 00:07:45.399 The fact that he was part--like, he wrote it through people, and 00:07:45.433 --> 00:07:47.832 he wants to help us understand it. 00:07:47.866 --> 00:07:49.199 That's awesome. 00:07:49.233 --> 00:07:53.166 Rebecca: I love in John 14-16 where Jesus is kind of 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:55.366 downloading, explaining to--he's about to go to the cross and 00:07:55.400 --> 00:07:59.266 he's trying to kind of give as much to his disciples before he 00:07:59.299 --> 00:08:02.499 goes, and he goes in this whole thing about the Holy Spirit and 00:08:02.533 --> 00:08:04.766 he says, "I'm sending you someone. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.166 He will lead you into all truth." 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:10.966 And he says, you know, he's--in the Greek, that word 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:12.599 he--basically parakletos. 00:08:12.632 --> 00:08:15.099 "He's just like me," you know. 00:08:15.132 --> 00:08:17.200 But what's so cool, he says, "He's going to lead you into all 00:08:17.233 --> 00:08:20.300 truth and he's going to basically teach you about me." 00:08:20.333 --> 00:08:22.766 And so that's who God has given us. 00:08:22.799 --> 00:08:25.566 And I think it's in Romans it says the Holy Spirit searches 00:08:25.599 --> 00:08:28.032 the deep things of God and then reveals them to us. 00:08:28.066 --> 00:08:30.166 And so there's this thing where it's like Holy Spirit has been 00:08:30.200 --> 00:08:34.800 given to us that we may understand Jesus better. 00:08:34.833 --> 00:08:37.599 And so people try to separate, but they're--you know, it's like 00:08:37.633 --> 00:08:39.199 no, this--no. 00:08:39.232 --> 00:08:41.466 Zack: You can't, it's both. It's literally Spirit and Bible. 00:08:41.499 --> 00:08:42.833 Like, we need both in our life. 00:08:42.866 --> 00:08:44.200 Rebecca: We need both. 00:08:44.233 --> 00:08:47.299 And sometimes people emphasize one or the other and ni--it's 00:08:47.333 --> 00:08:48.666 not to be isolated. 00:08:48.699 --> 00:08:50.000 Zack: No, not at all. 00:08:50.033 --> 00:08:51.932 It can't just be Spirit, and it can't just be Bible. 00:08:51.966 --> 00:08:54.366 It has to be the two together 'cause otherwise you're going to 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.733 miss out on so much in life. 00:08:56.766 --> 00:08:59.233 Like, God's going to do incredible things through us. 00:08:59.266 --> 00:09:03.333 And if we only know the Word and don't have the Spirit, oh man, 00:09:03.366 --> 00:09:08.466 life is going to be so much less of an adventure than it could be 00:09:08.499 --> 00:09:11.200 with the Spirit moving through us, and so, yeah-- 00:09:11.233 --> 00:09:14.499 Rebecca: It becomes more of a head thing and you have to be 00:09:14.533 --> 00:09:17.232 careful 'cause it's like learning is not bad, information 00:09:17.266 --> 00:09:23.100 is not bad, but that alone it's not relation--it's God. 00:09:23.133 --> 00:09:25.166 Jesus transforms us through relationship. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.966 We don't get--we can't transform ourselves through 00:09:27.999 --> 00:09:30.333 our mind-reading. 00:09:30.366 --> 00:09:34.266 We have to combine--he says, "Abide in me and then you'll 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:35.633 bear fruit." 00:09:35.666 --> 00:09:37.366 So we can't do anything apa--he says, "Apart from me you can 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:38.699 do nothing." 00:09:38.732 --> 00:09:41.366 So we have to be rooted in him. Now, we still need to study. 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.066 Paul says to Timothy, you know, "Study yourselves to show 00:09:44.099 --> 00:09:45.733 approved by the--you know, the Word of God." 00:09:45.766 --> 00:09:48.433 And so that study is so essential, but, like you said, 00:09:48.466 --> 00:09:51.933 it's that beautiful combination 'cause I--you know, with people, 00:09:51.966 --> 00:09:55.500 if they get so focused on knowledge, I've noticed people 00:09:55.533 --> 00:09:57.933 tend to become stale. 00:09:57.966 --> 00:10:00.932 Like, you need the love of God, and they can become 00:10:00.966 --> 00:10:02.500 sometimes prideful. 00:10:02.533 --> 00:10:03.832 So that's one extreme. 00:10:03.866 --> 00:10:06.466 On the other extreme, if you're--if it's just Spirit and 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:08.599 it's--a lot of times it's not even the Holy Spirit, it's just 00:10:08.633 --> 00:10:12.632 people's kind of weird interpretations of the Spirit. 00:10:12.666 --> 00:10:16.566 You need the Word of God to ground and balance that out or 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:18.866 you're just going to be like koo-koo, yeah. 00:10:18.900 --> 00:10:21.666 Zack: And I feel like there's a certain people that go really 00:10:21.699 --> 00:10:25.499 deep with studying, but then the average person doesn't even know 00:10:25.532 --> 00:10:26.866 where to begin with studying. 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:29.033 Rebecca: That was me, yeah. I was like, "What do I do?" 00:10:29.066 --> 00:10:30.366 Zack: Right. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.599 There's like so many resources available that that alone can be 00:10:33.633 --> 00:10:36.366 overwhelming, and most of the scholars don't know how to talk 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:39.100 in like normal, everyday language. 00:10:39.133 --> 00:10:42.333 So I'm reading through things and I'm like, "I want to know 00:10:42.366 --> 00:10:46.000 this and I want other people to know this, but I can barely 00:10:46.033 --> 00:10:47.333 grasp it." 00:10:47.366 --> 00:10:50.566 Rebecca: It's a gift to be able to take stuff up here and go 00:10:50.599 --> 00:10:53.200 down, and not many people have that gift. 00:10:53.233 --> 00:10:54.699 I had a professor in school. 00:10:54.733 --> 00:10:56.066 He was teaching. 00:10:56.099 --> 00:10:58.532 It was--our Bible--my Bible school was so small 'cause I was 00:10:58.566 --> 00:11:01.132 like in the first class of its launching. 00:11:01.166 --> 00:11:03.833 And so I was in a class with master's and undergrad, and we 00:11:03.866 --> 00:11:06.532 were undergrad and my professor started teaching and we all just 00:11:06.566 --> 00:11:07.999 looked at him and we're like, "We don't understand a thing 00:11:08.033 --> 00:11:09.333 you're saying." 00:11:09.366 --> 00:11:10.700 And he literally in that second goes, "Oh." 00:11:10.733 --> 00:11:14.466 Went down a couple of levels and then we understood, yeah. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:17.766 Zack: You have to say things a lot of the times as if it's for 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:21.800 like a 6th grader just so that, like, most people can understand 00:11:21.833 --> 00:11:24.266 it and--yeah, exactly. 00:11:24.300 --> 00:11:26.733 And look at how many people he impacted. 00:11:26.766 --> 00:11:28.099 Incredible, yeah. 00:11:28.132 --> 00:11:31.533 Rebecca: But you don't have to sacrifice the depth or the 00:11:31.566 --> 00:11:36.199 scholarly, you know, dedication because there is that accuracy. 00:11:36.232 --> 00:11:39.500 You don't have to sacrifice that by putting--and that's why "The 00:11:39.533 --> 00:11:42.366 Bible Simplified," you're taking these deep and these 00:11:42.400 --> 00:11:46.633 intellectual things that are going to be--that are going to 00:11:46.666 --> 00:11:48.732 help people and you're putting it down in a way that they 00:11:48.766 --> 00:11:50.099 can understand. 00:11:50.132 --> 00:11:52.299 Zack: And it's really about, like, filling in the blank a lot 00:11:52.333 --> 00:11:54.899 of the time and showing where we're at, like, in the 00:11:54.932 --> 00:11:56.533 storyline, for instance, like-- 00:11:56.566 --> 00:11:57.866 Rebecca: I love that. 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:00.133 Zack: First time you went to Israel, how did that change your 00:12:00.166 --> 00:12:01.533 understanding of Scripture? 00:12:01.566 --> 00:12:02.899 Wasn't it insane? 00:12:02.932 --> 00:12:07.733 Like, actually seeing things in person is like, "Whoa, this 00:12:07.766 --> 00:12:09.100 is real." 00:12:09.133 --> 00:12:10.699 Rebecca: Not just like a movie that I've seen or like a 00:12:10.733 --> 00:12:12.033 cartoon, yeah. 00:12:12.066 --> 00:12:14.300 Zack: And it comes from, like, filling in the gaps and actually 00:12:14.333 --> 00:12:17.332 having a vision and understanding of what was going 00:12:17.366 --> 00:12:18.700 on at the time. 00:12:18.733 --> 00:12:22.500 And so for me with this book and for most of my content I'm 00:12:22.533 --> 00:12:24.933 looking at everything and I'm like, "Okay, why--" I'm asking 00:12:24.966 --> 00:12:26.832 the why question all the time. 00:12:26.866 --> 00:12:28.900 Like, "Why is this written the way it is? 00:12:28.933 --> 00:12:30.232 Who is it written to? 00:12:30.266 --> 00:12:32.866 What it--what were they going through at the time?" 00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:37.832 And by filling in those gaps, it'll make books like Hosea make 00:12:37.866 --> 00:12:40.933 so much more sense when you're at church on Sunday and your 00:12:40.966 --> 00:12:44.233 pastor's talking about it and it's like, "Oh, that's what's 00:12:44.266 --> 00:12:45.566 going on." 00:12:45.599 --> 00:12:47.632 Because if we don't have the context, we're missing out on so 00:12:47.666 --> 00:12:50.899 much 'cause literally everything Jesus said and did was a 00:12:50.932 --> 00:12:52.999 fulfillment of the Old Testament. 00:12:53.033 --> 00:12:55.800 So we need to know the Bible as a whole. 00:12:55.833 --> 00:13:00.033 It was--it's a story from beginning to end and there's 00:13:00.066 --> 00:13:02.566 different styles of writing in it and by-- 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:03.933 Rebecca: Yeah, even that. 00:13:03.966 --> 00:13:05.266 You can speak to that. 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:06.599 There's like wisdom literature. 00:13:06.633 --> 00:13:08.266 There's poetry. 00:13:08.300 --> 00:13:10.833 There's like Paul writing, like, a letter to the church. 00:13:10.866 --> 00:13:13.499 And so even that helps you understand. 00:13:13.532 --> 00:13:14.866 Zack: Absolutely. 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:17.200 Like, you can say like, "Oh, I take the Bible literally," but 00:13:17.233 --> 00:13:19.933 then you'll read metaphors and it's like, well, clearly 00:13:19.966 --> 00:13:21.299 you don't. 00:13:21.332 --> 00:13:23.099 Like, you need to understand it in the context. 00:13:23.133 --> 00:13:24.466 There's poetry. 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:28.366 A third of the Bible is poetry, 50% of the Bible is story, and 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.566 then the rest is like discourse, like trying to get a point 00:13:31.599 --> 00:13:33.233 across or a teaching. 00:13:33.266 --> 00:13:36.999 And if you don't read it in that regard, then you're going to be 00:13:37.032 --> 00:13:38.599 thrown out a lot of the time. 00:13:38.633 --> 00:13:42.999 But for us in the West, we have a Greek understanding of life. 00:13:43.032 --> 00:13:47.632 So we approach everything from, like, data and facts and we want 00:13:47.666 --> 00:13:51.566 to know proof, but the Bible's written by people with a Hebrew 00:13:51.599 --> 00:13:55.766 and an Eastern mindset to an audience that's also Hebrew 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:57.100 and Eastern. 00:13:57.133 --> 00:14:00.499 So for us we can't approach it the same way that we would any 00:14:00.533 --> 00:14:03.100 of our texts in the West. 00:14:03.133 --> 00:14:08.199 We can't be like, "Well, Genesis 1 is like a science textbook," 00:14:08.232 --> 00:14:10.933 when they're like, "Well, this is a poem about the 00:14:10.966 --> 00:14:12.366 Creation account." 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.433 But it--so when we understand that, that it was written in a 00:14:15.466 --> 00:14:18.100 different mindset, it'll change the way that you read it, 00:14:18.133 --> 00:14:19.433 I believe. 00:14:19.466 --> 00:14:21.600 Rebecca: Yeah, I remember learning about that because you 00:14:21.633 --> 00:14:24.333 just grew up with the mindset you have and so it's like, "In 00:14:24.366 --> 00:14:26.599 America we're very individual-minded. 00:14:26.632 --> 00:14:29.266 In the West, we're very--" Like you said, that--kind of like 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:30.800 that Greek, like, mathematical. 00:14:30.833 --> 00:14:34.332 We want to dissect things and everything perfectly goes into 00:14:34.366 --> 00:14:37.900 their box and their categories and their spaces and in--one of 00:14:37.933 --> 00:14:40.032 the things--you can correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I 00:14:40.066 --> 00:14:42.232 remember one of the things with an Eastern mindset is they're 00:14:42.266 --> 00:14:47.433 okay that God can be merciful and kind but he's also just. 00:14:47.466 --> 00:14:50.700 You know, they--and they're okay with mystery and it's like they 00:14:50.733 --> 00:14:52.599 don't--everything doesn't have to fit in their perfect 00:14:52.633 --> 00:14:54.166 little boxes. 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:57.166 And so that's one of the reasons why we struggle because it is 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:58.533 written in that way. 00:14:58.566 --> 00:14:59.866 Zack: Definitely. 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.932 Yeah, it's that tension of, like, love and holiness, but for 00:15:02.966 --> 00:15:07.832 us we're like, "Well, God can't be angry if he's all-loving." 00:15:07.866 --> 00:15:09.166 It's like, "No." 00:15:09.199 --> 00:15:13.466 Like, God actually doesn't like the wicked and, like, they will 00:15:13.499 --> 00:15:14.800 be punished. 00:15:14.833 --> 00:15:17.599 The Bible, like, says so much about that, and we get that in 00:15:17.633 --> 00:15:18.966 the parables. 00:15:18.999 --> 00:15:22.166 There's what, like 26 parables that Jesus teaches? 00:15:22.199 --> 00:15:26.800 And the majority of them are not taught in church because they're 00:15:26.833 --> 00:15:30.599 uncomfortable for us in the West to hear a lot of the times 00:15:30.632 --> 00:15:34.166 because they are, like, so much more focused on judgment or 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:35.800 holiness, but like-- 00:15:35.833 --> 00:15:38.766 Rebecca: Yeah, he really gets into that. 00:15:38.800 --> 00:15:42.166 But you said on another program something that I love to talk 00:15:42.199 --> 00:15:44.966 about, which is you love the book of Matthew because it gives 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.466 this Jewish perspective of Jesus. 00:15:47.499 --> 00:15:50.600 And for me growing up, the Gospels were so confusing and I 00:15:50.633 --> 00:15:53.466 feel like it's like everyone's like, "Start here," which I--you 00:15:53.499 --> 00:15:54.932 totally can start there. 00:15:54.966 --> 00:15:57.966 But I was confused and then I took a class in Bible school 00:15:57.999 --> 00:16:02.033 that talks about the Jewish Jesus and it talks about how he 00:16:02.066 --> 00:16:06.699 is a ra--he was a rabbi and how his teaching style--what is 00:16:06.732 --> 00:16:10.599 rabbinical teaching like during that time period and the Gospels 00:16:10.632 --> 00:16:13.032 began to make so much more sense to me. 00:16:13.066 --> 00:16:16.766 Like, this phrase where it's like if your eyes are dark or 00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.600 whatever it is and the--it's like a completely 00:16:18.633 --> 00:16:19.966 different understanding. 00:16:19.999 --> 00:16:23.666 And so if you take--if you lack historical context to that time, 00:16:23.699 --> 00:16:26.299 you'll interpret things in a weird way. 00:16:26.332 --> 00:16:28.700 So these things that he was saying that was just like going 00:16:28.733 --> 00:16:32.066 over my head I was like, "Oh, that's what that is." 00:16:32.099 --> 00:16:33.633 Because I was just like, "I don't understand what he's 00:16:33.666 --> 00:16:34.966 talking about," yeah. 00:16:34.999 --> 00:16:36.300 Zack: Yeah. 00:16:36.333 --> 00:16:38.166 Like, we'll read the Gospels and it'll be like Jesus goes up to 00:16:38.199 --> 00:16:39.733 these guys and says, "Follow me." 00:16:39.766 --> 00:16:42.966 And they leave everything behind to go follow him and you're 00:16:42.999 --> 00:16:44.533 like, "What's going on here? 00:16:44.566 --> 00:16:46.166 That doesn't even make sense." 00:16:46.199 --> 00:16:48.266 And whe--then when you understand what's actually 00:16:48.300 --> 00:16:51.333 taking place, like, these guys would have grown up, they would 00:16:51.366 --> 00:16:54.933 have studied the Bible so intensely, they would have had 00:16:54.966 --> 00:16:58.900 the Torah memorized by the time they're 12 or 13 and then if 00:16:58.933 --> 00:17:02.299 they were good enough they would have continued on in school or 00:17:02.332 --> 00:17:06.066 they would have continued to memorize and study even more and 00:17:06.100 --> 00:17:09.533 at that point most people would have gone and worked at their 00:17:09.566 --> 00:17:12.833 family business because they weren't good enough and--but the 00:17:12.866 --> 00:17:17.266 ones that were, they would go to a rabbi and say like, "I want to 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:18.633 study under you." 00:17:18.666 --> 00:17:21.566 And the rabbi would test them and see if they actually would 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:25.899 be a good disciple; and if they were, then the rabbi would say, 00:17:25.932 --> 00:17:27.233 "Come, follow me." 00:17:27.266 --> 00:17:31.132 And they would leave everything behind and follow him. 00:17:31.166 --> 00:17:34.866 And so you have all of these fishermen and a tax collector 00:17:34.899 --> 00:17:38.599 that are working in their family business because they never felt 00:17:38.632 --> 00:17:41.900 like they were good enough because society said that they 00:17:41.933 --> 00:17:45.533 weren't and now you have a rabbi coming up to them saying, "Come, 00:17:45.566 --> 00:17:46.900 follow me"? 00:17:46.933 --> 00:17:49.333 Of course you would leave everything behind because that's 00:17:49.366 --> 00:17:52.833 what you lived your entire childhood wishing for and hoping 00:17:52.866 --> 00:17:55.666 for and everybody said you weren't good enough, but now 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:57.499 he's saying that you are. 00:17:57.533 --> 00:18:00.500 Those understandings shift the Gospels so much. 00:18:00.533 --> 00:18:02.833 Rebecca: Yeah, and then it makes so much more sense and you 00:18:02.866 --> 00:18:04.366 realize, like, this is considered like one of the 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.733 highest honors. 00:18:05.766 --> 00:18:08.933 It's like of course you'd follow the rabbi around, you know. 00:18:08.966 --> 00:18:10.633 Zack: Absolutely. Yeah, incredible. 00:18:10.666 --> 00:18:12.299 Rebecca: What would you say about the parables? 00:18:12.332 --> 00:18:16.399 Giving some context, were those stories that were--like commonly 00:18:16.432 --> 00:18:19.166 used and so they were something that the culture was used to 00:18:19.199 --> 00:18:20.500 hearing or? 00:18:20.533 --> 00:18:22.866 Zack: I think it was very common for people to speak in parables, 00:18:22.899 --> 00:18:26.833 and it beco--it comes from that Eastern mindset of like speaking 00:18:26.866 --> 00:18:32.933 in stories and in symbols and--for us we're like, "Jesus, 00:18:32.966 --> 00:18:36.332 why can't you just tell me what you're actually trying to say?" 00:18:36.366 --> 00:18:37.666 And he's like, "No." 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:40.299 So like, "God is like a shepherd," and we're like, "Come 00:18:40.332 --> 00:18:42.999 on, just tell me what you mean." 00:18:43.033 --> 00:18:46.299 But it's--that's how people understood things at the time. 00:18:46.333 --> 00:18:48.600 So we need to read it in that context. 00:18:48.633 --> 00:18:51.233 Rebecca: Yeah, and I think too because there--that is part of 00:18:51.266 --> 00:18:53.400 the reason you're like, "Why is he talking like this?" 00:18:53.433 --> 00:18:54.733 It's like almost, like, in riddles. 00:18:54.766 --> 00:18:56.100 You're like, "I'm so confused." 00:18:56.133 --> 00:18:58.466 And then you learn this is kind of how rabbinical teaching was. 00:18:58.499 --> 00:19:02.700 But also I think God never--it's always like--I feel like he's, 00:19:02.733 --> 00:19:05.300 like, leaving off these little bread crumbs in Scripture and 00:19:05.333 --> 00:19:08.699 it's like an invitation into something deeper with him 00:19:08.732 --> 00:19:12.299 and--'cause he's seeking out, "Who will actually search 00:19:12.333 --> 00:19:13.632 for me?" 00:19:13.666 --> 00:19:15.333 'Cause the Bible says in Hebrews, it's like, God is a 00:19:15.366 --> 00:19:17.600 rewarder of those who diligently seek him. 00:19:17.633 --> 00:19:20.266 And so I think he's always, like, welcoming us in and 00:19:20.300 --> 00:19:23.166 wanting us to go deeper with him into his Word, but it's like, 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.766 "Who will actually do it?" 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.099 Zack: Right. 00:19:26.132 --> 00:19:27.866 And I don't think we really understand what it means to be a 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:29.866 disciple today and-- 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:31.199 Rebecca: No. Can you speak to that? 00:19:31.232 --> 00:19:33.799 Zack: Yeah, it was like--it was an honor to be covered in, like, 00:19:33.833 --> 00:19:37.666 the dust of your rabbi; meaning that you did all of life with 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:40.999 them, that you ate with them, that you learned under them, 00:19:41.033 --> 00:19:44.466 that you traveled with them, that everything you did 00:19:44.499 --> 00:19:45.999 what--had to do with the rabbi. 00:19:46.032 --> 00:19:48.600 And for us a lot of the times in church is like, "Okay, you have 00:19:48.633 --> 00:19:50.166 a discipleship program. 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:52.099 You're going to learn about the church, you're going to learn 00:19:52.132 --> 00:19:54.199 about your giftings, and you're going to learn a little bit 00:19:54.232 --> 00:19:55.532 about God." 00:19:55.566 --> 00:20:00.532 But in reality it's like this was a fully life-consuming, 00:20:00.566 --> 00:20:05.332 transforming thing for these people where they would change 00:20:05.366 --> 00:20:08.199 everything that they did in order to live life under 00:20:08.232 --> 00:20:09.566 that rabbi. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.533 So for us today looking at that and hearing that, it's like, 00:20:12.566 --> 00:20:21.066 "Man, how can I make my day in Orlando, Florida dedicated to 00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:25.066 being a disciple of Jesus in the modern times?" 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:27.500 And I think it's something that a lot of us wrestle with, is 00:20:27.533 --> 00:20:29.199 like, "What does that actually look like?" 00:20:29.232 --> 00:20:31.766 But it comes down to spending more time in the Word and 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:37.266 spending more time in prayer and loving God in order to love the 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:38.966 people around us even better. 00:20:38.999 --> 00:20:41.699 But it's a heart posture a lot of the time. 00:20:41.733 --> 00:20:44.300 Rebecca: It is a heart posture, totally. 00:20:44.333 --> 00:20:47.099 And it's that desire if you--it's like humility 'cause 00:20:47.132 --> 00:20:50.399 he--Jesus says, "You have to become like a child to enter 00:20:50.432 --> 00:20:51.766 my--you know, into my kingdom." 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:56.066 And so a--totally humility, but God is so--he wants to spend 00:20:56.100 --> 00:20:58.233 time with us more than we want to spend time with him 00:20:58.266 --> 00:20:59.600 every time. 00:20:59.633 --> 00:21:01.066 So he's always there. 00:21:01.100 --> 00:21:03.733 He's always waiting for us to just come be with him. 00:21:03.766 --> 00:21:08.132 And so if we take that heart posture of, "I want to know 00:21:08.166 --> 00:21:11.599 you--" And I think about that verse, "Call on to me and I will 00:21:11.633 --> 00:21:14.333 show you great and unsearchable things." 00:21:14.366 --> 00:21:16.832 And so God is like beckoning us. 00:21:16.866 --> 00:21:20.033 You know, the eyes of the Lord search to and from the earth 00:21:20.066 --> 00:21:22.966 looking for those whose hearts are fully devoted to him. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:26.166 So God's searching for those people and he wants that 00:21:26.199 --> 00:21:30.299 relationship, and God, you know, I think--you know, shifting 00:21:30.333 --> 00:21:34.033 per--shifting subjects is that one of the things for me 'cause 00:21:34.066 --> 00:21:36.999 I love that you talk about, like, this big picture and I 00:21:37.032 --> 00:21:39.400 think, like, that's such an important thing when looking at 00:21:39.433 --> 00:21:42.833 the whole of Scripture, and for me a huge theme in the Bible is 00:21:42.866 --> 00:21:46.599 that God is a Father and he wants a family. 00:21:46.633 --> 00:21:49.900 I feel like that is, like, one of the things like--and when 00:21:49.933 --> 00:21:53.299 Jesus comes to earth, it's like--when he says pray--this is 00:21:53.332 --> 00:21:54.666 the Lord's Prayer. 00:21:54.699 --> 00:21:56.766 It's--we could call God--there's so many titles we could call 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.366 him, but he teaches us to say our Father. 00:21:59.399 --> 00:22:01.000 Zack: Right. Incredible. 00:22:01.033 --> 00:22:04.066 Like, I want that as a dad, you know. 00:22:04.100 --> 00:22:07.366 Like, I want that loving relationship with him, but I 00:22:07.399 --> 00:22:10.533 think a lot of people today might not have a good 00:22:10.566 --> 00:22:11.899 relationship with their fathers. 00:22:11.933 --> 00:22:15.433 So when they hear that, it can be a little confusing or not 00:22:15.466 --> 00:22:20.032 really sure what that even means or looks like, and so yeah-- 00:22:20.066 --> 00:22:21.799 Rebecca: And Jesus even had to, like, say to them, 00:22:21.832 --> 00:22:25.233 he was like, "If you being evil like your father, you know, know 00:22:25.266 --> 00:22:28.033 how to give good gifts to your children, how much more--" And 00:22:28.066 --> 00:22:31.466 so he's already showing that differentiation like, "My Father 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:34.466 is so much better than even this." 00:22:34.499 --> 00:22:37.966 And, you know, we kind of get to pull back the curtain in John 17 00:22:37.999 --> 00:22:41.199 and you see this beautiful relationship between Jesus and 00:22:41.232 --> 00:22:44.432 his Father and, like, this great love, and basically we see that 00:22:44.466 --> 00:22:48.333 because God loved us so much that, you know, he's doing the 00:22:48.366 --> 00:22:52.099 sacrifice for--you know, to make the way back to him through 00:22:52.133 --> 00:22:53.433 his Son. 00:22:53.466 --> 00:22:55.799 Zack: Absolutely, as a gift and all we have to do is 00:22:55.832 --> 00:22:57.166 accept that. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:59.666 That's pretty incredible, you know, literally. 00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:01.066 Right, right. 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:02.433 Rebecca: He did the hard work. 00:23:02.466 --> 00:23:04.966 And then the beauty of the gospel, oh my goodness. 00:23:04.999 --> 00:23:08.599 When I began--I was like--when I began to study that in Bible 00:23:08.633 --> 00:23:11.832 school, I my--in my--I guess, like, my spirit just came alive 00:23:11.866 --> 00:23:15.933 and in my mind I was like, "This is the most genius thing I've 00:23:15.966 --> 00:23:17.299 ever seen." 00:23:17.333 --> 00:23:20.233 Like how Paul says through one man sin entered the world so 00:23:20.266 --> 00:23:23.300 that through one man righteousness may come and so we 00:23:23.333 --> 00:23:26.099 see this beautiful plan of redemption from the beginning of 00:23:26.133 --> 00:23:27.866 time that God had for us. 00:23:27.899 --> 00:23:30.699 Knowing that we were going to mess up, he already had a plan 00:23:30.733 --> 00:23:32.133 to redeem us back to him. 00:23:32.166 --> 00:23:35.199 Zack: For sure, and we get to be a part of that today. 00:23:35.233 --> 00:23:38.000 Like, how cool is that; that we get to be part of bringing the 00:23:38.033 --> 00:23:41.699 kingdom to our surrounding, to our neighborhood, to our jobs, 00:23:41.733 --> 00:23:43.066 to our family? 00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:46.999 Everywhere we go, we are a representation of Jesus today. 00:23:47.033 --> 00:23:49.133 And I don't know about you, but I want to be a good 00:23:49.166 --> 00:23:52.766 representation of him and I think the only way that you can 00:23:52.800 --> 00:23:55.399 understand him and who he is more and what that 00:23:55.432 --> 00:23:58.566 representation looks like is by spending time with him, spending 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:03.899 time in the Word and in prayer and allowing him to speak to us. 00:24:03.933 --> 00:24:07.066 I think a lot of the times with prayer is just like I have my 00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:09.666 laundry list of things that I'm telling him, but we don't 00:24:09.699 --> 00:24:14.266 actually take time to sit in silence and expect him to speak 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:15.600 to us. 00:24:15.633 --> 00:24:19.999 But the Bible says, like, "My sheep hear my voice and, like, 00:24:20.033 --> 00:24:21.533 they know me." 00:24:21.566 --> 00:24:25.966 So we know the voice of God, and I think we just need to learn to 00:24:25.999 --> 00:24:29.833 slow down and spend time sitting and saying, "God, speak to 00:24:29.866 --> 00:24:31.166 me today. 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:34.933 What do you have to say about my day, somebody around me? 00:24:34.966 --> 00:24:39.532 Maybe it's about you," whatever the case is, "but speak to me." 00:24:39.566 --> 00:24:42.366 And sit in that silence 'cause I really believe that he's 00:24:42.399 --> 00:24:44.000 faithful and he will. 00:24:44.033 --> 00:24:45.366 Rebecca: He is faithful. 00:24:45.399 --> 00:24:48.233 And I think that's such an important word for today because 00:24:48.266 --> 00:24:51.899 we're moving at a pace now--even in the last 10 years we've 00:24:51.933 --> 00:24:55.866 accelerated so much as a society and we have so many different 00:24:55.899 --> 00:25:00.166 streams of noise that is drowning out the voice of God 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:01.900 and things fighting for our attention. 00:25:01.933 --> 00:25:05.166 You know, I had Dr. Amen on, and we were talking about the 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.499 dopamine addiction. 00:25:06.533 --> 00:25:07.899 We're always seeking out that hit. 00:25:07.932 --> 00:25:09.466 It's awful. 00:25:09.499 --> 00:25:13.266 But all that being said, it really takes discipline and 00:25:13.300 --> 00:25:17.466 dedication to sit down and be still within your soul and your 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:21.499 mind, your heart because even when I go to have a quiet time I 00:25:21.533 --> 00:25:23.899 have to, like, tell my mind, "Okay--" 'Cause your mind will 00:25:23.932 --> 00:25:26.266 just start thinking about, "Oh, I got to do this, do this." 00:25:26.299 --> 00:25:31.766 And you have to--but that gift of time is so pleasing to God, 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.300 and he wants our time. 00:25:34.333 --> 00:25:38.200 He wants us to spend time with him, and it's so pleasing to him 00:25:38.233 --> 00:25:39.566 as a form of worship. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:43.633 And if we are still, he will speak. 00:25:43.666 --> 00:25:45.132 You just got to quiet your soul. 00:25:45.166 --> 00:25:47.299 Zack: I literally--and we have the time. 00:25:47.333 --> 00:25:48.632 Most of us do. 00:25:48.666 --> 00:25:49.966 Rebecca: No, we do. 00:25:49.999 --> 00:25:51.766 It's just like will you cut out--this is speaking 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:53.099 to myself-- 00:25:53.133 --> 00:25:54.433 Zack: For sure. 00:25:54.466 --> 00:25:56.433 Like, we need to say no to things and that's like 00:25:56.466 --> 00:25:57.766 okay, but-- 00:25:57.800 --> 00:25:59.100 Rebecca: And that's hard with my flesh. 00:25:59.133 --> 00:26:01.132 My flesh is like, "No, I want to be on social media. 00:26:01.166 --> 00:26:02.466 I want to watch TV." 00:26:02.499 --> 00:26:04.733 Zack: Something that I love to do is I put my phone on 00:26:04.766 --> 00:26:06.066 gray mode. 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:07.399 Have you ever done that? 00:26:07.432 --> 00:26:10.033 You like triple-click one of the buttons and it makes your whole 00:26:10.066 --> 00:26:13.299 screen and everything gray, and I think the way that our phones 00:26:13.332 --> 00:26:17.000 are set up is that the colors of us are--the colors of them, 00:26:17.033 --> 00:26:19.499 like, make us want to engage with it more. 00:26:19.532 --> 00:26:20.866 Yeah. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:23.333 And so if it's just gray, you don't want to as much. 00:26:23.366 --> 00:26:26.966 So if--like during my work day or during my time just in prayer 00:26:26.999 --> 00:26:32.333 with the Lord, it's like make it gray and then I won't be--have 00:26:32.366 --> 00:26:36.466 any trigger inside of me to want to go open up another app or see 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:37.799 something else. 00:26:37.833 --> 00:26:39.266 Rebecca: Well, there's a little like--little life hack for the 00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:40.633 audience there. 00:26:40.666 --> 00:26:42.499 I'm going to try that out, gray mode. 00:26:42.533 --> 00:26:43.833 That's so cool. 00:26:43.866 --> 00:26:45.866 You know, another thing that came to my mind as we were 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:51.599 talking is I was thinking about the apostle Paul, and he has a 00:26:51.633 --> 00:26:52.966 wild testimony. 00:26:52.999 --> 00:26:57.233 You know, he was a zealot killing Christians and he has an 00:26:57.266 --> 00:27:00.232 encounter with Jesus, but what a lot of people don't know because 00:27:00.266 --> 00:27:04.266 you have to kind of study the Scripture is that he after that 00:27:04.300 --> 00:27:07.532 encounter and then he gets--was it Ananias? 00:27:07.566 --> 00:27:09.432 I can't remember his name. 00:27:09.466 --> 00:27:11.400 He goes and prays for him. 00:27:11.433 --> 00:27:14.533 You know, he's no longer blind and then shortly after that Paul 00:27:14.566 --> 00:27:18.400 is, like, ready to go, and he's like out in Jerusalem, preaching 00:27:18.433 --> 00:27:21.799 and then the Lord like--is like, "Paul, wait," you know, 'cause 00:27:21.833 --> 00:27:24.566 he--I think he's going to get arrested. 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:26.366 Well, we don't know, and I don't know exactly. 00:27:26.399 --> 00:27:27.766 I want to say it's 14 years. 00:27:27.800 --> 00:27:29.733 Paul spent like 14 years-- 00:27:29.766 --> 00:27:31.999 Zack: Yeah, I've heard like 11 to 14, like anywhere in there. 00:27:32.032 --> 00:27:34.966 Rebecca: --in the desert and God is teaching him. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.933 So people don't realize that, like, all this incredible stuff 00:27:37.966 --> 00:27:40.999 that came out of Paul, like, God brought him through 00:27:41.032 --> 00:27:42.366 and taught-- 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:43.700 Zack: It wasn't immediate. 00:27:43.733 --> 00:27:45.066 No. 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:47.833 And I think that's what you get from studying and also just from 00:27:47.866 --> 00:27:52.732 seeing the places in person, is like time is so different, like 00:27:52.766 --> 00:27:54.200 location is so different. 00:27:54.233 --> 00:27:58.333 Like we just--we flip the page and it could have just flipped 00:27:58.366 --> 00:28:03.033 200 years without us realizing it in the storyline because it's 00:28:03.066 --> 00:28:05.600 like, "Oh, God did this and then God did this." 00:28:05.633 --> 00:28:09.066 Well, there's a huge gap between the two a lot of the time. 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:12.433 And so that's what I'm always trying to get across, is like, 00:28:12.466 --> 00:28:18.166 "Yeah, you need 14 years in the desert being, like, taught 00:28:18.199 --> 00:28:22.299 through the Holy Spirit and studying Scriptures in order to 00:28:22.332 --> 00:28:25.866 make it make sense," and yeah-- 00:28:25.899 --> 00:28:27.200 Rebecca: Exactly. 00:28:27.233 --> 00:28:29.666 And God does a process in us and he launches us when we're ready. 00:28:29.699 --> 00:28:30.999 Like, Paul had that passion. 00:28:31.032 --> 00:28:32.366 He's like, "I'm ready now," you know. 00:28:32.399 --> 00:28:36.033 But there's a wisdom in timing and him discipling you and 00:28:36.066 --> 00:28:37.466 preparing you and teaching you. 00:28:37.499 --> 00:28:40.366 And so a lot of times I think in our generation we want now, but 00:28:40.399 --> 00:28:41.933 it's a walk. 00:28:41.966 --> 00:28:44.666 It's a journey and even studying his Word. 00:28:44.700 --> 00:28:47.399 It's never about--the heart posture should never be about 00:28:47.433 --> 00:28:51.032 arriving to a certain point or, "I know so much information." 00:28:51.066 --> 00:28:54.499 And I remember, like, I wanted to understand everything when I 00:28:54.533 --> 00:28:57.432 got into Bible school and I understood that we could 00:28:57.466 --> 00:28:58.800 receive revelation. 00:28:58.833 --> 00:29:02.000 And so I'm studying Scripture through fresh eyes and--but I 00:29:02.033 --> 00:29:03.766 remember having this moment with God. 00:29:03.800 --> 00:29:06.599 I was in--I remember my mom was like, "Let's read--" I had my 00:29:06.633 --> 00:29:10.033 grandmother's Bible and my mom was like, "Let's read 00:29:10.066 --> 00:29:11.366 1 Corinthians 13." 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:13.500 And I was like, "This is like the one Scripture I do know. 00:29:13.533 --> 00:29:16.366 This is like the most quoted thing at weddings." 00:29:16.399 --> 00:29:17.732 So I was like, "Okay." 00:29:17.766 --> 00:29:19.232 You know, I was like, you know, I could study anything. 00:29:19.266 --> 00:29:22.766 And so we're reading it, but as we got down to the bottom Paul 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.333 says, you know, "I see dimly through a gla--or a mirror," 00:29:25.366 --> 00:29:26.700 whatever that is. 00:29:26.733 --> 00:29:29.033 He says, "I know in part, but one day I know in full." 00:29:29.066 --> 00:29:32.066 And God in that moment was like, "On this earth you're never 00:29:32.099 --> 00:29:33.433 going to fully understand." 00:29:33.466 --> 00:29:37.533 And it brought such humility in me and it brought me such grace, 00:29:37.566 --> 00:29:39.966 and I feel like we need grace 'cause we'll see people in the 00:29:39.999 --> 00:29:43.566 body of Christ who maybe have varying opinions or, you know, 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:44.933 ways of translating things. 00:29:44.966 --> 00:29:46.932 And there's things we don't compromise on, but I think 00:29:46.966 --> 00:29:49.899 there's other things we don't fully understand if we can just 00:29:49.933 --> 00:29:53.466 take that posture of humility knowing one day we'll know. 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:55.999 We'll know him in full, but until then there's some stuff 00:29:56.033 --> 00:29:57.666 that is kind of a mystery. 00:29:57.700 --> 00:29:59.699 Zack: Totally, which is tough for us in the West a lot of the 00:29:59.732 --> 00:30:01.566 times because we want to know. 00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:02.933 Rebecca: We want the answers. 00:30:02.966 --> 00:30:04.933 Zack: And if we don't have the answers, then a lot of people 00:30:04.966 --> 00:30:06.599 are like, "Well, it's not real, then." 00:30:06.632 --> 00:30:09.166 It's like, "No, there's--" We need to be able to sit in 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:10.533 that mystery. 00:30:10.566 --> 00:30:12.499 There's a lot of things--yeah, there's a lot of things in 00:30:12.532 --> 00:30:14.366 science that I don't understand. 00:30:14.399 --> 00:30:17.166 So, like, I don't understand gravity. 00:30:17.199 --> 00:30:20.033 I don't understand some things in the Bible and that's okay, 00:30:20.066 --> 00:30:23.732 and I think people just need to be okay with that as well. 00:30:23.766 --> 00:30:25.599 Rebecca: Yeah, and he says like, "My ways are higher than 00:30:25.632 --> 00:30:26.966 your ways." 00:30:26.999 --> 00:30:28.599 He's so much bigger than us. 00:30:28.632 --> 00:30:32.599 Like, our minds could never fully co--in this setting, like, 00:30:32.632 --> 00:30:35.833 there's just no way we could fully understand, and he's given 00:30:35.866 --> 00:30:38.400 us his Word and we have a relationship with him and we 00:30:38.433 --> 00:30:39.733 just need to trust him. 00:30:39.766 --> 00:30:42.933 And I think too that really walking--we're called to walk a 00:30:42.966 --> 00:30:47.733 walk of faith and if you have the mentality that, "I need to 00:30:47.766 --> 00:30:49.199 understand everything," I think you're going to become 00:30:49.233 --> 00:30:51.032 frustrated in life. 00:30:51.066 --> 00:30:52.399 It's just so much better. 00:30:52.433 --> 00:30:54.232 I've just come to a place where it's like, "I may never 00:30:54.266 --> 00:30:57.266 understand why things in my life are a certain way, but I 00:30:57.299 --> 00:30:58.633 trust him." 00:30:58.666 --> 00:30:59.966 Zack: Right, that's the root of it. 00:30:59.999 --> 00:31:03.633 If you trust that God is good, that he does have a plan, that 00:31:03.666 --> 00:31:07.066 he's going to use whatever you're dealing with for his good 00:31:07.100 --> 00:31:11.833 and you're in his kingdom and he's using you, then that's good 00:31:11.866 --> 00:31:13.199 enough sometimes. 00:31:13.232 --> 00:31:14.532 Rebecca: It's--it is good enough. 00:31:14.566 --> 00:31:17.099 I--you know, I think one of the things people struggle with in 00:31:17.133 --> 00:31:21.000 Scripture is understanding who God is because sometimes people 00:31:21.033 --> 00:31:24.966 think Old Testament God, mean, angry God; New Testament God, 00:31:24.999 --> 00:31:26.766 loving and merciful God. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:31.632 How do you, you know, through your--through combining 00:31:31.666 --> 00:31:32.966 these things? 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:36.133 It is one story, and he is one God; the same yesterday, today, 00:31:36.166 --> 00:31:37.632 and forever. 00:31:37.666 --> 00:31:40.466 How do you reconcile that? 00:31:40.499 --> 00:31:43.633 Zack: It's tough for sure, and I think that's the root of it; 00:31:43.666 --> 00:31:47.266 that we need to remember that he is the same yesterday, he is the 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:50.866 same today, and he is the same tomorrow and for eternity. 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:54.266 And so I don't know if there's a good answer a lot of the time 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:59.566 for all of that, for okay is like--God seems so, like, angry 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.699 in the Old Testament but then he's like so loving in the New 00:32:02.732 --> 00:32:06.532 Testament, and maybe that comes from--I'm just thinking out loud 00:32:06.566 --> 00:32:09.866 with this, but maybe it comes from our understanding of Jesus 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:13.799 in the New Testament in America today is like this peace-love 00:32:13.833 --> 00:32:19.266 hippie Jesus more so than like he's a just and he's a holy God 00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:22.899 and he's for sure loving; but we need to look at him through the 00:32:22.932 --> 00:32:28.866 lens of holiness first and that does mean that evil is punished, 00:32:28.899 --> 00:32:33.699 and in the Old Testament we decide clear--clearer with wars 00:32:33.733 --> 00:32:38.266 and taking over, and in the New Testament it seems more 00:32:38.300 --> 00:32:39.766 spiritual for sure. 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:43.999 But I think the root of all of it is that God is holy and he 00:32:44.033 --> 00:32:47.400 commands his people to be holy, and that means that we need to 00:32:47.433 --> 00:32:51.966 be fully dedicated to him and set apart from other cultures. 00:32:51.999 --> 00:32:54.432 Rebecca: Yeah, a people of his own. 00:32:54.466 --> 00:32:56.099 Yeah, totally. 00:32:56.133 --> 00:32:58.366 What do you think--what do you see are some of the biggest 00:32:58.399 --> 00:33:03.366 struggles with people today with God's Word, and how do you 00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:04.699 right-side that? 00:33:04.733 --> 00:33:08.033 Zack: Yeah, I think a lot of people don't know where 00:33:08.066 --> 00:33:09.366 to begin. 00:33:09.399 --> 00:33:11.466 I feel like they-- 00:33:11.499 --> 00:33:12.799 Rebecca: I say amen to that. 00:33:12.833 --> 00:33:14.132 Zack: Yeah, totally. 00:33:14.166 --> 00:33:17.066 A lot of people just are overwhelmed and they don't feel 00:33:17.099 --> 00:33:19.133 like they have enough time and so it's like-- 00:33:19.166 --> 00:33:20.466 Rebecca: It's a lot of words. 00:33:20.499 --> 00:33:21.800 Zack: Yeah. 00:33:21.833 --> 00:33:24.133 And so it's like, "Okay, if I only have time to meditate on 00:33:24.166 --> 00:33:28.599 one verse, then, like, I'm hoping that that helps me the 00:33:28.632 --> 00:33:29.966 rest of the day." 00:33:29.999 --> 00:33:33.532 When in reality, the Bible is written in stories and in 00:33:33.566 --> 00:33:38.666 letters and oftentimes they were read from beginning to end in 00:33:38.699 --> 00:33:41.432 front of the church or in front of synagogue for the 00:33:41.466 --> 00:33:42.766 Old Testament. 00:33:42.800 --> 00:33:47.833 And for us it's like we rarely do that, but we need to read it 00:33:47.866 --> 00:33:49.166 like that. 00:33:49.199 --> 00:33:51.466 I think Philippians takes, what, 15 minutes to read the 00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:52.832 entire thing? 00:33:52.866 --> 00:33:54.866 So why don't we read it from beginning to end? 00:33:54.899 --> 00:33:58.800 Instead of focusing on one verse, read what happens before, 00:33:58.833 --> 00:34:02.800 read what happens after; and I think by doing that you'll be 00:34:02.833 --> 00:34:07.233 much more solid on your doctrines and understanding of 00:34:07.266 --> 00:34:11.433 who God is because right now we can take one verse, take it out 00:34:11.466 --> 00:34:15.866 of context and build an entire theology around it and then it's 00:34:15.899 --> 00:34:19.499 like, "Well, it--does that line up with God in the rest of 00:34:19.532 --> 00:34:20.833 the Bible?" 00:34:20.866 --> 00:34:22.433 And oftentimes I don't think it does. 00:34:22.466 --> 00:34:25.333 So, context from the big picture. 00:34:25.366 --> 00:34:28.966 And so maybe that looks like maybe once a week you just read 00:34:28.999 --> 00:34:30.333 bigger chunks at a time. 00:34:30.366 --> 00:34:33.233 So it's like, "All right, this Saturday I'm going to read all 00:34:33.266 --> 00:34:39.700 of Galatians," or, "This month I'm going to read Matthew in one 00:34:39.733 --> 00:34:42.199 sitting from--like I'm going to sit down and it's going to take 00:34:42.232 --> 00:34:46.732 me 3 hours or whatever, but it's--I spend 3 hours 00:34:46.766 --> 00:34:48.233 watching movies. 00:34:48.266 --> 00:34:50.900 Why can't I do that with the Bible?" 00:34:50.933 --> 00:34:54.599 And yeah, a lot of people might be like, "Well, I start reading 00:34:54.632 --> 00:35:00.199 it and then I get distracted within two chapters and I stop." 00:35:00.232 --> 00:35:03.700 Okay, so for me I'll listen at the same time so then I'm 00:35:03.733 --> 00:35:05.933 hitting multiple senses. 00:35:05.966 --> 00:35:10.266 If I think that maybe, like, the Bible app is like monotone, 00:35:10.299 --> 00:35:12.333 there's--have you used Streetlights before? 00:35:12.366 --> 00:35:13.666 Rebecca: I love Streetlights. 00:35:13.700 --> 00:35:15.033 Zack: Yeah, so like Streetlights is awesome. 00:35:15.066 --> 00:35:17.532 So use Streetlights as you're going through and then you're 00:35:17.566 --> 00:35:19.832 going to hear it and see it at the same time. 00:35:19.866 --> 00:35:23.866 Rebecca: They put it to music too, and on YouTube there--okay, 00:35:23.899 --> 00:35:27.133 there's like this one specific version where it's like 00:35:27.166 --> 00:35:28.466 this guy. 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:29.899 It's in the New Living Translation and it's like this 00:35:29.933 --> 00:35:33.866 British guy reading it, and they put it to, like, music and it 00:35:33.899 --> 00:35:35.266 just totally keeps my attention. 00:35:35.300 --> 00:35:36.633 Zack: For sure. 00:35:36.666 --> 00:35:37.966 Right. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:40.166 So, like, there are things in place that we just need to know 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:44.399 about, and I think it's, like, lack of knowledge on resources-- 00:35:44.433 --> 00:35:46.733 Rebecca: And you're right about there--and there is something 00:35:46.766 --> 00:35:51.300 where, you know, it's--when you're listening to big chunks, 00:35:51.333 --> 00:35:53.499 you get such a more of a download, I kind of feel like, 00:35:53.533 --> 00:35:55.866 'cause you're getting kind of like the full... 00:35:55.899 --> 00:35:59.066 Yeah, instead of just like little bits and pieces. 00:35:59.099 --> 00:36:00.399 Zack: Absolutely. 00:36:00.432 --> 00:36:02.466 And for a lot of us we might be like, "Okay, I'm going to go 00:36:02.499 --> 00:36:05.366 through the entire Bible over the course of a year and I do 00:36:05.399 --> 00:36:07.333 the same thing year after year." 00:36:07.366 --> 00:36:08.666 Rebecca: Do you do that? 00:36:08.700 --> 00:36:11.333 Zack: I don't, because I like to switch it up so-- 00:36:11.366 --> 00:36:12.700 Rebecca: See, I like that though. 00:36:12.733 --> 00:36:15.266 You're not like--I think people get too focused on, like, 00:36:15.299 --> 00:36:18.099 methodology it's like, "I have to, like, do it this way." 00:36:18.132 --> 00:36:19.433 And it's like no. 00:36:19.466 --> 00:36:22.199 Zack: No, switch it--like whatever is your--is going on 00:36:22.233 --> 00:36:23.999 with you in that season, do that. 00:36:24.033 --> 00:36:29.133 So like in February I read the whole Bible in 30 days and--but 00:36:29.166 --> 00:36:32.766 I did it because then you understand the big picture in a 00:36:32.799 --> 00:36:36.399 different way than you would if it took you a year or two. 00:36:36.432 --> 00:36:38.699 Rebecca: What would you say the big picture is, by the way? 00:36:38.732 --> 00:36:42.466 Zack: Yeah, so it's God wanting to partner with humans, his 00:36:42.499 --> 00:36:48.332 creation, in order to make a place of paradise and he gave us 00:36:48.366 --> 00:36:53.700 a choice to spread his garden and we chose to partner with the 00:36:53.733 --> 00:36:58.199 ways of the world instead, and the rest of the story is this 00:36:58.233 --> 00:37:03.033 redemption process of, "Okay, God's going to choose a family. 00:37:03.066 --> 00:37:04.732 God's going to choose a king. 00:37:04.766 --> 00:37:08.166 He's going to send his Son who's going to be the Messiah there 00:37:08.200 --> 00:37:14.233 that's going to save all of humanity that believes in him 00:37:14.266 --> 00:37:16.299 and wipe away sin completely." 00:37:16.332 --> 00:37:19.433 And right now we're in this process where we're heading 00:37:19.466 --> 00:37:24.499 towards full redemption in a new earth; and that's incredible 00:37:24.533 --> 00:37:29.999 where sin will no longer be ruling anywhere around us, and 00:37:30.033 --> 00:37:31.366 that's awesome. 00:37:31.399 --> 00:37:35.833 So I think when you read the Bible in really fast chunks like 00:37:35.866 --> 00:37:39.932 that you see it from the big picture that it actually is and 00:37:39.966 --> 00:37:43.599 now when you're on day three you're like, "Wait, I remember 00:37:43.633 --> 00:37:46.666 reading something about this in Genesis 1." 00:37:46.699 --> 00:37:49.599 When in reality if it took you a year to read the Bible, you--it 00:37:49.632 --> 00:37:53.633 might take you a month to get to the place that you were at 2 00:37:53.666 --> 00:37:54.999 days later. 00:37:55.033 --> 00:37:57.600 And so you just miss so much more. 00:37:57.633 --> 00:38:00.266 I don't think everybody can do that or should do that. 00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:03.932 I just had the time and ability to at the moment. 00:38:03.966 --> 00:38:08.099 But yeah, each person is so different, whether it's taking 00:38:08.132 --> 00:38:11.199 one chapter at a time and you work--slowly work your way 00:38:11.233 --> 00:38:14.466 through it, but I think just spending time in Scripture is 00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:15.833 the most important thing. 00:38:15.866 --> 00:38:18.132 Rebecca: Yeah, and renewing your mind. 00:38:18.166 --> 00:38:20.800 And I was just thinking about--Paul says in Colossians, 00:38:20.833 --> 00:38:22.800 it's like, set your mind on things above. 00:38:22.833 --> 00:38:27.466 And so we have to--it's like if we're just living our lives not 00:38:27.499 --> 00:38:29.700 in his Word, we're going to just see things from an earthly 00:38:29.733 --> 00:38:31.500 perspective and he's calling us to live from a 00:38:31.533 --> 00:38:32.833 heavenly perspective. 00:38:32.866 --> 00:38:34.299 We're expanding his kingdom. 00:38:34.333 --> 00:38:37.200 So we have to see things his way, you know, and that's only 00:38:37.233 --> 00:38:38.566 from reading his Word. 00:38:38.600 --> 00:38:39.899 Zack: For sure. 00:38:39.932 --> 00:38:41.833 And we have like a negativity bias. 00:38:41.866 --> 00:38:45.632 So if ten things happen to us in the day, nine of them are good 00:38:45.666 --> 00:38:49.399 and one of them is bad, we focus on the bad one, which is 00:38:49.432 --> 00:38:51.032 like--that's not what Paul is saying. 00:38:51.066 --> 00:38:54.866 He's saying, like, focus on things that are good and pure 00:38:54.899 --> 00:38:59.533 and lovely and holy and of the kingdom. 00:38:59.566 --> 00:39:02.099 And so like that's where I want to be at. 00:39:02.133 --> 00:39:05.266 I want to be focusing on where God is moving in my life and 00:39:05.299 --> 00:39:09.266 around me because I believe that if we do that goodness is just 00:39:09.299 --> 00:39:12.333 going to grow more and more and it's going to be our main focus 00:39:12.366 --> 00:39:15.899 and we're going to see the presence of God in our lives far 00:39:15.933 --> 00:39:18.466 more than if we were focusing on the bad things that 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:19.799 were happening. 00:39:19.832 --> 00:39:21.466 Rebecca: How would you--what would you say the kingdom of God 00:39:21.499 --> 00:39:23.766 is, and how does it spread? 00:39:23.799 --> 00:39:28.000 Zack: Yeah, I think a lot of people don't realize that Jesus 00:39:28.033 --> 00:39:35.133 is a King and he's reigning and ruling and he has a kingdom and 00:39:35.166 --> 00:39:40.966 his kingdom is through him at--when he came the first time, 00:39:40.999 --> 00:39:43.966 everywhere that he was performing miracles and 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.366 teaching, his kingdom was being brought there. 00:39:46.399 --> 00:39:49.699 It was like little pockets of heaven everywhere he went. 00:39:49.733 --> 00:39:54.633 And for us today we have the Holy Spirit and so everywhere 00:39:54.666 --> 00:39:58.466 that we go and bring--we can bring his kingdom and that comes 00:39:58.500 --> 00:40:07.366 through healing and forgiveness and peace and joy and love and 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:11.466 worshiping God, and the more people that we bring into that 00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:16.966 the more the kingdom grows and eventually it'll take over. 00:40:16.999 --> 00:40:22.399 Rebecca: What would you say our role is as believers right now? 00:40:22.432 --> 00:40:23.899 Zack: Yeah. 00:40:23.933 --> 00:40:31.000 I think it's to love God, to worship him in all that we do. 00:40:31.033 --> 00:40:35.266 And I think that's missed a lot of the time, but we can worship 00:40:35.299 --> 00:40:40.166 him through music but then also just through our lives, through 00:40:40.200 --> 00:40:43.466 what we choose to focus on, through our jobs. 00:40:43.499 --> 00:40:48.133 We can--if you're a plumber, you can worship God through your 00:40:48.166 --> 00:40:52.000 plumbing just as much as if you're a pastor, and I don't 00:40:52.033 --> 00:40:54.333 think a lot of people realize that. 00:40:54.366 --> 00:40:58.366 And so worship is number one. 00:40:58.399 --> 00:41:01.600 Spending time, growing closer to him, and loving the people 00:41:01.633 --> 00:41:02.932 around us. 00:41:02.966 --> 00:41:07.066 So allowing his love to come in and then go out to the people 00:41:07.099 --> 00:41:11.500 around us as like an overflow, and that means bringing people 00:41:11.533 --> 00:41:14.099 into the kingdom and preaching the gospel and showing people 00:41:14.133 --> 00:41:18.166 that it is actually good news and--instead of just a bunch of 00:41:18.199 --> 00:41:21.166 rules that we need to follow, but it's something that you're 00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:25.233 signing up for and it--you're choosing to partner with God's 00:41:25.266 --> 00:41:28.699 way of doing things in his wisdom versus the ways of the 00:41:28.733 --> 00:41:33.899 world and at the end you're going to want to be a part of 00:41:33.933 --> 00:41:35.233 the good ways. 00:41:35.266 --> 00:41:36.933 Rebecca: Yeah, and part of his kingdom. 00:41:36.966 --> 00:41:40.366 And I just love that because people need to familiarize 00:41:40.399 --> 00:41:44.600 themselves with our identity and our role and our purpose. 00:41:44.633 --> 00:41:47.800 And I think when we understand that big picture, it will really 00:41:47.833 --> 00:41:51.666 shift how we live our lives and it will help get us off of 00:41:51.700 --> 00:41:57.100 focusing on temporary and focus on eternity and living a life 00:41:57.133 --> 00:41:59.866 that counts towards eternity, not just in this moment. 00:41:59.899 --> 00:42:01.466 Zack: Absolutely. 00:42:01.499 --> 00:42:02.799 Like, what actually matters for us. 00:42:02.833 --> 00:42:07.900 Like, "Do I really need a new car or can I, like, give my time 00:42:07.933 --> 00:42:12.533 and energy over here to help and serve and love the people 00:42:12.566 --> 00:42:15.766 around me?" you know, yeah. 00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:17.100 Rebecca: Yeah. 00:42:17.133 --> 00:42:19.132 Well, this has been such a great "conversation." 00:42:19.166 --> 00:42:20.499 I love what you're doing. 00:42:20.533 --> 00:42:22.799 For anyone that--you know, 'cause you did this. 00:42:22.832 --> 00:42:24.533 You also did--it's called the-- 00:42:24.566 --> 00:42:25.866 Zack: "The Bible Study." 00:42:25.900 --> 00:42:27.200 Rebecca: "The Bible Study." How do people get that? 00:42:27.233 --> 00:42:29.399 Zack: Yeah, on Amazon-- 00:42:29.432 --> 00:42:30.733 Rebecca: That's a Bible in one year? 00:42:30.766 --> 00:42:32.333 Zack: Yeah, so it's--it holds your hand as you read through 00:42:32.366 --> 00:42:34.599 the whole Bible over the course of a year. 00:42:34.633 --> 00:42:36.132 Rebecca: So two really great tools. 00:42:36.166 --> 00:42:38.433 I would just totally recommend you guys that are listening and 00:42:38.466 --> 00:42:42.932 watching to just tap into because I think if you can have 00:42:42.966 --> 00:42:46.432 these resources and have these things to help you it's just 00:42:46.466 --> 00:42:48.699 going to make it such a better experience and a more 00:42:48.732 --> 00:42:50.366 fruitful outcome. 00:42:50.399 --> 00:42:51.866 Zack: Awesome. That's the heart behind it. 00:42:51.900 --> 00:42:53.400 I want people to fall in love with Scripture. 00:42:53.433 --> 00:42:56.333 And if you can start with this foundation, it'll take you a lot 00:42:56.366 --> 00:42:59.166 further than anything that I had beforehand, so-- 00:42:59.199 --> 00:43:01.066 Rebecca: That's awesome. Well, thank you so much, Zack. 00:43:01.099 --> 00:43:02.433 Zack: Thank you. It's been a pleasure.