As I was praying for our town this morning, an interesting picture came into my head. I felt like I was painting the town with a laser. “Painting with a laser” is a term used in combat. Some soldiers are equipped with hand-held laser tracking devices which guide artillery or missiles to the enemy target. The key is keeping the laser pointed at the target until the weapons are locked on to it. Prayer...bringing heaven’s artillery to bear on enemy strongholds to release oppressed people.

Stories are powerful. The movie “Bambi” put a dent in the hunting industry when it first came out. People’s lives are shaped by certain stories. After college, I came to a place in my life where I knew God needed to be first in my life. I asked Him to help me live in that reality and through various events (that I will not take the time to go into here), He gave me that help. I went to my pastor and told Him that I wanted to serve Christ. I was especially enjoying studying and teaching the Bible. He gave me two biographies. One was about D. L. Moody. The other was about C.H. Spurgeon. Both were preachers. After reading their stories, I really wanted to be a preacher. The rest is history.

God wants to shape the lives of the followers of Jesus with an even bigger story. That story is found in the Bible. I am convinced that Christ intends to transform a portion of this world through each of His disciples. I am also convinced that Christ intends to transform each of His followers by the Big Story that the Bible tells. Or to put it another way—God transforms us through His Word, so that He can transform the world through us.

That’s why I see that it is critical to immerse ourselves in the Scriptures and to read them as we would read a story, rather than as a book of spiritual principles. It’s important that we get caught up in the Story of creation, fall, Abraham, Israel, Christ, and the early church. This story is our story. And it’s a story that is transforming our world into the kingdom of the heavens.

To help people (especially young people) understand the unity of the Story, I have divided the Bible into episodes.

Episode I: One God to Rule Them All (Genesis 1-11)
Episode II: A People of Promise, A Land of Promise (Genesis 12 – Judges)
Episode III: A Throne of Promise (Ruth – Malachi)
Episode IV: The Promise Takes His Throne (Matthew-John)
Episode V: A New People of Promise (Acts-Jude)
Episode VI: A New Land of Promise (Revelation)