Latest / Coffee and Bible Time Podcast / Does the Old Testament Feel Hard to Understand? Start Here | Tammy Priest

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Does the Old Testament Feel Hard to Understand? Start Here | Tammy Priest · Coffee and Bible Time Podcast

• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: When I heard God's voice, I said, okay, I believe.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but I didn't understand really who he was or what he had done.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to start to get to know him.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Just shortly after I became a believer, it was time for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: And the rabbi spoke from Leviticus 16 and talked about the high priest taking the blood of the perfect lamb into the Holy of Holies to make atonement.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: And in that moment, it finally clicked for me.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I believed in Jesus, but I hadn't understood how my Jewishness combines, how do these two tie together?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: I believed it was true, but I didn't see how they were connected.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And in that instant, I just remember sitting there thinking, oh, it's the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that changed everything.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: At the Coffee and Bible Time Podcast, our goal is to help you delight in God's word and thrive in Christian living.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Each week, we talk to subject matter experts who broaden your biblical understanding, encourage you in hard times, and provide life-building tips to enhance your Christian walk.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: We are so glad you have joined us.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine this.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: What if the Bible you'd been reading your whole life suddenly became a completely different book?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Not because the words changed, but because you began to understand Jesus in a way you had never known him before.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, today we're talking about how understanding our faith's Jewish heritage can help us know Jesus better and transform the way we read our Bibles.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: My guest today is Tammy Priest.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Tammy is a Jewish follower of Jesus who grew up deeply rooted in her Jewish faith.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: She was at Mitzvud on top of Masada, led her synagogues, youth group, and even taught Hebrew school.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Her Jewish identity wasn't something she was trying to leave behind.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was something she deeply loved.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: But when Tammy was 21, she reluctantly attended a church service with some friends and experienced something that would change the entire direction of her life.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: She is here today to share her story and teach us how to make deeper connections between the history we see in the Old Testament and what God is doing in our lives today.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tammy, welcome to the podcast.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Ellen.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's so wonderful to be here with you today.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I am so excited for this conversation.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you start by taking our listeners back to that church service when you were 21?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about that impactful day.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, as you mentioned, I had no desire to be there.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was very uh against being there, as a matter of fact.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: But through a long course of events, I ended up getting dragged along to this church service.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'd never been, you know, to a church service before except for weddings.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, and I'd never heard that voice before, but the second I heard it, I knew exactly who it belonged to.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And even though it went against everything that I thought I knew, I said, okay.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it was amazing and it was terrifying at the same time.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: What part about it?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, tell us about the amazing Yeah.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So what was so terrifying to me is that I realized it was true.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: And and I understood in that very moment what it would mean for my family relationships, all the people that I loved so much.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's that's what made it scary.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um I wasn't afraid to believe in Jesus, but I was afraid to make that belief known.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure just thinking of that, the reaction of what your family might be would be terrifying.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: You've said that becoming a follower of Jesus, though, is actually deepened your love for your Jewish heritage.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us more about that and what Christians should understand about that.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, when we look at um the gospels from our modern Western context and don't understand the ancient Jewish context of those moments, then I think we lose the richness of the things Jesus was saying and doing.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so as I had started studying the gospels, I would recognize these very significant moments and feasts and things in my life that I held very dear.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Just seeing the Jewishness of Jesus and how he met people, his brethren, in those very specific places was really impactful for me and let me know that I wasn't leaving Judaism.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was embracing the Jewish Messiah.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the things that really helped me gain more insight into that was watching the chosen series.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that really just seeing Jesus live out the traditions of the Jewish faith, the visualization of that enriched me so much.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I can only imagine from your perspective how incredible that must be.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's one of the things that I wanted to help readers get a sense of.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted them to see what it felt like to be in the hearts and minds and sandals of these people that were encountering Jesus and what they were expecting and hoping and thinking as he said certain things and did certain things.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tammy, let's compare sort of and contrast your feelings before and after this process related to people making you feel that you had to choose between being Jewish or following Jesus.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: So clearly you were afraid when you got the information because you were you were worried, you had some preconceived idea of how people would react.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about that.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's interesting.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I never felt in those moments or ever really that I had to choose between being Jewish and being Christian because I felt like, well, it's the most Jewish thing I could do to believe in the Jewish Messiah who was the Christ.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um the issue is I think people don't know what category to put me in.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so in my community, I had, you know, rabbis that would not allow me to step onto a stage where I was supposed to be offering a blessing over a relative.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people said, well, either you're Jewish or you're Christian.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: And if you believe in Jesus, you cannot be Jewish anymore.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, that's not where I am at all.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not where Jesus' first followers were.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: They were fully Jewish and following him as I'm doing now.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: How have your relationships been since that time?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like people have have they seen the transformation in your life and started to understand the impact that Jesus has had on you?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think so.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: It was really rough going for a while with a lot of my family.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And the beauty is that God restored all of those relationships.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: No one has come to share my faith in Jesus, but all of those relationships have been restored.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the interesting thing is my grandmother who lived in Brooklyn, she and I were very close.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: I was close to both my grandmothers, but it got to the point where she and I would talk about God.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: We wouldn't talk about Jesus, but she would have conversations with me about things in the Old Testament.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it got to a point where she would sometimes call and ask me to pray for her.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so what that told me was that on some level, she understood that we both were worshiping the same God.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: I had not left Adonai.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And she believed that I was praying to the same God that she was praying to.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that was just an incredible moment when I realized that that's where we were.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: But like I said, no one in my family has proclaimed any kind of faith in Jesus at this point, but they've all been very encouraging and supportive of me in this effort.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And my hope is that Jewish people who read this book will learn more about ancient Judaism because you know I spent a lot of time in the Talmud and all sorts of research making sure that as I was putting people into the hearts, minds, and sandals of first century Jewish people, that I was getting it right.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: I learned a lot.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's my prayer that if someone who's Jewish picks up this book, that maybe they would be interested in learning more about ancient Judaism.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's interesting because part of our family married into a Jewish family.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I can remember at one gathering that we had, I was had just been going through the book of Esther.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it turned out that one of the family members' mother had been part of an organization called Hassad.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I was able to share this study a little bit, and he kind of looked at me like, wow, like how do you know that?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so it is amazing that as Christians, if you really take the time to dig into the Old Testament to learn about those Jewish traditions and just the history, that you can actually have conversations, like you said, with your grandma.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: And and just piggybacking on that, that's the way we get to have these kind of gospel conversations with people is to have relationship with them.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk a little bit about reading the Bible as a messianic Jew.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Was there a particular scripture passage or moment in the Old Testament that made you think, wait, I've been reading this differently than I am now?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, interestingly.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: So when I heard God's voice, I said, okay, I believe.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but I didn't understand really who he was or what he had done.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to start to get to know him.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: And just shortly after I became a believer, it was time for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so I went to the service on campus in Charlottesville on grounds, and the rabbi, of course, spoke from Leviticus 16 and talked about the high priest taking the blood of the perfect lamb into the Holy of Holies to make atonement.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: And in that moment, it finally clicked for me.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: I hadn't understood, you know, I believed in Jesus, but I hadn't understood how my Jewishness combine, how do these two tie together?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: I believed it was true, but I didn't see how they were connected.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And in that instant, I just remember sitting there thinking, oh, it's the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that changed everything.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: I looked at Yom Kippur completely differently and it helped me understand that connection.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so incredible, Tammy.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because my story for becoming a Christian, even though I grew up in a Christian home my whole childhood, I got to this point where I was like, I believe there's a God, but I just didn't understand what it was about Jesus.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I I I just, I don't know.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I just I didn't get it.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't until I learned about the old testament that God is a holy and perfect God and why they did sacrifices so that they could be made sinless in the eyes of Christ through that sacrifice.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then it it it blew my mind, and that's how I came to Christ was because I couldn't do it without understanding the the background and the reason why.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's so amazing.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have to ask about the New Testament that you see really brought to Israel.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us you've gone back right as a pilgrim.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about that experience.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I loved in your book where you talked about going into the bathroom and like sitting on the floor at night, stepping over people's backpacks and just taking out that little New Testament.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about that experience.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I love this story because it just shows the kindness of God.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: So when we left that church service, I said to one of the people that was with me, I need to talk to you when we get back.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: And the only reason I knew to talk to this particular friend was because I knew he was a born-again Christian.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: And the only reason I knew that is because people kind of made fun of him behind his back, which is a whole lesson for us to be willing to put ourselves out there because you never know how it might anchor somebody and let them know that they could that you're a safe person to talk to.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: But so I went and talked to him afterwards and I said, You're you're not gonna believe what happened.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so I tell him this.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, he had been praying, and I learned that all sorts of people have been praying for me that summer.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, I don't want to tell you what to believe.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to give you a Bible.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Here's, you know, basically it was like a little travel, New Testament.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, I want you to read John first and then read Romans, and you can come to me with any questions.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so I started reading John, and I was reading it slowly because I was trying to like savor every bit of it.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And seven days exactly from the day that I heard God's voice in that little church, I left with my family to go back to the Holy Land with my whole extended family to celebrate my grandparents' anniversary.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: There were the 12, I think, of us, 12 or 13.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I was not ready to tell anybody what I had just experienced and that I believed in Jesus.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: That was not ready to happen yet.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I snuck this little New Testament into my suitcase.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And at night, when everyone would go to sleep, I would get up and I would, you know, tiptoe into the bathroom of our hotel room.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, this is obviously in the day before cell phones.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had this little book and I had a flashlight, and I just sat there on the floor and I would read about Jesus.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then I would wake up in the morning and walk the same dust that he walked and look out over the Sea of Galilee and go to all these places, go to Capernaum.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I was experiencing the gospel as I was learning it for the first time, and that was an incredible gift.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: I've never had to try to put the two together in my mind.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: I just, I was learning it while I was there, and that was incredible.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is such a gift from God to be able to, for the first time reading that, be there.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost like God's saying, not only is the Holy Spirit coming into you, but I'm gonna show you.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: I am gonna show you where Jesus walked and his ministry.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just, wow, what an incredible gift.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, your book that's called Jerusalem Calls really gets into the Jewish feasts.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think one of the beautiful things about your book is showing Christians that the Old Testament feasts aren't random, outdated traditions.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: They can actually really help us understand Jesus.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: So why would you say a Christian woman today should care about learning about these feasts when perhaps it just seems a little bit historical or they don't really understand?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think, you know, as we see Jesus meeting people where they are and we understand exactly what's happening in that moment, then we see just how purposeful he is and just how much more incredible the things he was saying are.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: One example that I give to people is, you know, when Jesus says I'm the light of the world, it's not just kind of a saying, like, I'll light your path with my presence or my wisdom, or you know, I'll help you, I'll help guide you.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's it was a very Jewish way of saying, I am God, because God is the one who wraps himself in light.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: God is the dawn of creation, all these things.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so in ancient Judaism in particular, if you said that you were the light of the world, that was claiming to be God.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why things like that, when you understand the context, it just makes what he said and did just so much more powerful, which just I think increases your faith.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: I've had women come up to me and men come up to me after, you know, maybe a Passover event that I lead or some other talk that I've given.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: And they've said, I will never look at this passage the same way again.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: I will never take communion the same way ever again.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that just lets me know that God is working the way I'd prayed He would, and that people are seeing the richness of Jesus' words and his love and purposefulness for us.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been to one of those Passover dinners that was put on by a Jewish man or messianic Jew, and I highly encourage if anyone ever gets an opportunity to do it, you should do it because, like you said, Tammy, it's such an incredible, eye-opening spiritual experience.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: One of the feasts that you get into in the book is Shavu out, which is connected to Pentecost in the New Testament.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And there's just this fascinating connection between the giving of the Torah and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: Unpack that for us and help us understand what it reveals about God and his plan.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of Christians don't realize that Pentecost is an annual feast in Judaism and it was commanded back in the Exodus wilderness.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so every year we celebrate it as Shivuot.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: So in Hebrew, Shavuot is weeks, referring to the seven weeks between Passover and Shivuot or Pentecost, and Pentecost means 50th, and so it just refers to this as the 50th day after.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: So there's the Greek word for it and the Hebrew word for it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: But the connection is, you know, the 50th day after the Exodus was the day of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Shavuot is that anniversary.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so what's so incredible, and this was definitely one of those moments where I read it and went, oh, this is unbelievable.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Because you have all these people in Jerusalem thinking back and worshiping and praising God for the day that He gave the covenant on the mountain with fire and thunder and flames, and then suddenly here they are worshiping, and the same thing happens again.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so now you've got these flames coming down on people, and suddenly, instead of the spirit being above us, suddenly the spirit was within people.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was the giving of the law on the mountain in stone, and now on that particular Pentecost in the book of Acts, the Spirit was putting a covenant on people's hearts, in people's hearts.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's this amazing connection that I think most people don't realize between, you know, the Pentecost of Acts and the Pentecost of the Old Testament.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I remember that was a mind-blowing learning when I first learned it because I've actually done a study that goes through all of the Jewish feasts and the connection they have in the overarching story of the Bible and how it all fits in.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so fascinating.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think we miss about Jesus when we read the Bible without understanding its Jewish context?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because maybe there's people here who just haven't taken the time to look at the Old Testament.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to them?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think again, just that we miss the depth and the richness of all these things.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think when we we just kind of look at something on the page, if we don't understand it or don't have any context for it, we kind of glide over it to the part that we do understand.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: But when we grab a hold of what was happening in those moments, you know, why were people so angry during Jesus' declaration on the last and greatest day, you know, things like that, we suddenly see, oh, this is what they're studying and this is what they're preaching about, and this is what they're doing with all this water.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: No wonder Jesus said it this way.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: And no wonder people reacted the way they did, because again, he's claiming to be God in a very Jewish way.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think it just enriches our understanding of the gospels and it just for me, it just makes Jesus all the more amazing.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, so true.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so many of us have family members or friends that are Jewish and want to introduce them to Jesus.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: What advice would you give?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because we want to maintain great family relationships and um not shove, you know, things down people's throat, but at the same time, we want them to know the Jesus that we know.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Underlying all of this is understanding that it's the Holy Spirit that that draws people.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so we are part of that work, but we don't have to put pressure on ourselves to say exactly the right thing every time.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I think, you know, you use the word relationship, and that is the key to all of this.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I talk in the book about doing like a project.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like people just wanted to kind of check me off their list and say, well, I share the gospel, but it's all about relationship.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so I encourage people to do things like, you know, Passover is a really good example to say, hey, it's Passover.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Could you tell me more about Passover?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Could you tell me about the Seder?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I follow Jesus and the Last Supper was a Passover meal, and I'd love to learn more about what that looks like.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: And in doing that, you are showing respect for that person, you're showing respect for their faith, and you're also showing, hey, we are connected.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that might spark some interest, maybe not in that very moment, but it it sets some foundation for further conversations.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: I had no idea that this Last Supper, which I didn't know anything about, was a Passover meal.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think sometimes, especially in the South where I am, people just assume everybody knows who Jesus is, but not everybody does.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I think just starting those curious conversations is what I like to call them, just that start relationship and show connection.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I I totally agree.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, if we just keep praying, God will do the work, right?
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we're doing our part.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: By being a witness of Christ-like loving and sharing where and when it's appropriate.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: But God will do the work.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, as we wrap things up here, if you could leave our listeners with one thing to remember the next time they open their Bibles, one thing about Jesus, God's word, or the Jewish roots of your faith, what would you want that to be?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: I would just encourage them to slow down and just savor God's word.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Sit with it and say, why is God doing this this way in this moment?
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: And just be willing to take it really slowly.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have a lot of scriptures and we have a lot of time, at least to look at what these verses are telling us about who God is and who we are in Him.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Never, if you have a question, don't just gloss over it.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Just stop right there and start looking and seeing what it is that God is is communicating through that passage.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And there are also a couple great Bibles that I'm aware of, and I'm sure there's more that if this is something you're listening and you're like, oh, I want to dig into that more.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's two Bibles I can think of.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: One is called the Complete Jewish Study Bible, and we'll put a link in the show notes.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the other one is the key word study Bible, which has various um words underlined in either Hebrew or Greek, so that you can, there's a concordance in the back where you can go and see what the original language definition is for that word.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: So there's tools like that.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, Tammy, your amazing book, Jerusalem Calls, where we get to walk along in your shoes.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: I especially love how you describe your experiences of going to Israel and what you've learned from the Old Testament and how it still applies to our lives today.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, where can listeners go to learn more about you and your new book, Jerusalem Calls?
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they can go to my website, which is beginningwithmosis.com, and they can also go to, you know, I have Instagram, Substack, a variety of things like that.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then Jerusalem Calls is on every major bookseller online, and there are more descriptions of the book there.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I would recommend people starting with those places.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love that I got your book.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in addition to the hard copy, I also was able to listen to you read it through the Audible.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that's an awesome option too.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right, Tammy.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, before I let you go, I need to ask you some of our favorite questions here.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: What is your go-to Bible and what translation is it?
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: This is my go-to Bible.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's on my desk all the time.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: It was given to me by the couple who um kind of mentored me and adopted me as their kind of spiritual daughter.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's an NIV study Bible, and they gave it to me for my 21st birthday just a few weeks after I met Jesus.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so special.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, excellent Bible.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have any favorite Bible journaling supplies?
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do you like to journal?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I've got this little star highlighter and my multicolored pen that has like six colors on it.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: These are my tools.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh fun.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, awesome.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, Tammy, what is your favorite app or website for Bible study tools?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: My go-to is blueletterbible.com, and it's also on an app.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: And that, you know, any passage you can look at it in different translations.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can compare translations, you can look up the Hebrew and Greek, all those things.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that that's a great place to start.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: It sure is.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent resource.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Tammy, thank you so much for being here and sharing your very personal story and your heart for God's work with us.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Ellen, for having me.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's been such a joy to share today.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this, our friends who are listening, is just such a beautiful reminder that the more we understand the story and the context of scripture, the more we can see the incredible ways that it all points to Jesus.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if something from today's conversation encouraged you or gave you a new perspective on scripture, we would love for you to leave us a comment or review and let us know.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: We read every comment and maybe we'll even share your thoughts on a future episode.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: We will see you next time on the Coffee and Bible Time podcast.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: Have a blessed day.