Lisa Harper is an author, speaker, Bible teacher and podcast host, and she recently joined us in Nashville to record episodes of the new NIV Application Bible Podcast. While she was there, we had a chance to ask her about her experiences studying the Bible, advice she would give someone starting their own Bible study journey, and why she’s so excited to make the NIV Application Bible her new personal Bible.
Featuring thousands of study notes drawn from the bestselling NIV Application Commentary series, the NIV Application Bible helps you understand Scripture and connect it to your world in a whole new way.
1. What’s one of the biggest challenges people face when studying the Bible and trying to apply it to their life?
Unfortunately, much like the old comic Rodney Dangerfield’s tagline, I think the Bible “doesn’t get much respect” and may be one of the most misunderstood books in history. Many dismiss it as a textbook filled with facts to memorize about God, or a rulebook filled with punitive decrees about things like not drinking or dancing, or simply as a collection of tall tales like Aesop’s Fables.
But the Bible isn’t a textbook or a rulebook or a collection of benign, morality tales — at its core, the Bible is a divine love story. From cover to cover, it describes the unconditional love our Creator and Redeemer has for us, His very messy, mistake-prone people. If we can start there, the challenge begins to dissipate.
2. Can you share a moment when Scripture truly came alive for you — when you saw its application in a new way?
I’ve been gob-smacked by the grace of God revealed through His Word more times than I can count. There’ve been countless “aha” moments when it felt like the Holy Spirit wiped the fog off what Apostle Paul describes as the cloudy “mirror” through which we gaze at God (1 Corinthians 13:12).
But the one that probably left the deepest redemptive dent in my heart happened when I studied the Song of Songs for the first time about thirty years ago. It’s a love story in the Old Testament about a real guy and a real girl, so it’s historical, but it’s also metaphorical. It’s about the kind of crazy intimate love we can have with Jesus. Which is exemplified by this verse in chapter four when the bridegroom in the story, King Solomon, marries his one true love and he passionately professes, “You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes” (Song of Songs 4:9).
I can still remember reading that and realizing, “Oh wow, this is about me and Jesus.” I’ve been in church since I was in utero and I put my hope in Jesus when I was five years old. But I experienced quite a bit of sexual molestation as a kid too, which led to decades of feeling dirty and damaged. So, while I believed Jesus had delivered me from my sins, I had a hard time believing He could truly delight in a woman with my checkered past.
The miraculous — albeit audacious — reality that the King of all kings chose to be an accessible “bridegroom” who allowed me to “steal His heart with a glance” utterly slays me. Marinating in the God-breathed poetry of the Song of Songs all those years ago is when I began to view God’s Word primarily as a love story instead of a rulebook.
3. How has studying the Bible changed the way you approach everyday life?
The Bible has changed everything about the way I approach everyday life. As a matter of fact, the other day I lost my patience with my daughter Missy and a few minutes after I snapped at her she asked sincerely, “Mom, did you read the Bible today?” I had to admit that I hadn’t that day — and it showed!
Everything we need for life and godliness can be found in this divine love story. Sure, studying the Bible is necessary because of my vocation as a mediocre Bible teacher but honestly if I don’t start my day aligning my oft-crooked heart with God’s promises and parameters, it goes downhill really fast!
4. What advice would you give to someone who wants to study the Bible but feels overwhelmed by it?
I think anybody who insists they haven’t been overwhelmed at some point when it comes to digging into this divine love story called the Bible either has amnesia or is a big, fat liar! Because some of these books were written over 2,000 years ago and you need to understand the socio-historical context to really get what was going on. Some of the poetical books — like the Song of Songs — include Hebraic similes, which can be difficult to decipher if you’re not super old and Jewish.
We can’t read the Bible the way we engage with Amazon Prime or Instacart. It’s all but impossible to get to the “good stuff” with the ease and immediacy we’ve grown accustomed to in our culture. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the heft and gravitas of God’s Word simply means you’re human … and you’re honest.
I think it helps to think of Scripture as leaning into a conversation with someone you love, who loves you even more. Plus, when we consider, “Wow, this is God Himself who breathed the universe into existence, communicating with me,” we’ll be more inclined to devote more time and attention to His loving, life-giving words.
And if you’re just beginning to engage with God’s Word, it’s probably not a good idea to start with Leviticus! Head to the Psalms because all 150 Psalms were originally written as songs, so it’s kind of like God’s Spotify list. The lyrics read almost like a devotional — they reflect real people with raw emotions who turn toward God. They’re relatable.
The Gospel of John is another great place to dive deeper into Scripture. Because John describes compelling encounters Jesus had throughout His incarnate ministry when our Redeemer was here on earth, which helps us better imagine ourselves encountering Him, too.
5. Why is it important to understand the Bible’s original meaning before trying to apply to your life?
I love this question! Okay, here’s a good example: Deuteronomy 22:8 (NIV) reads, “When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.” A parapet was a type of fence, so this verse tells us to make a fence on our roofs. Uh oh, I don’t have a fence around the tippy top of my house, do you? I guess that means we’re all unrepentant sinners based on our rooflines, right?
No, that’s not how we’re supposed to apply that verse! This passage in Deuteronomy was recorded during a season in ancient history when the interiors of most people’s homes were small, so they tended to entertain outside, often on their rooftops, which were flat. Therefore, when they had a dinner party or invited friends over to play Pictionary, there was always the possibility that someone would get drowsy after eating too many carbs or get too animated acting out a movie title and then topple off the roof and get hurt. Which is why God commanded them to build rails around their roofs so as to ensure the safety of their friends and family.
If we don’t consider the socio-historical context of Deuteronomy and try to superimpose that culturally bound imperative in the 21st century it doesn’t translate God’s intent — which wasn’t about architecture, it was about caring for others. One of my favorite theologians, Dr. D.A. Carson says it best — and I’m paraphrasing but this is pretty close — “Any text without a context is a pre-text for a proof-text!”
6. How do you think that the NIV Application Bible can help people who want to explore the Bible in this way?
The reason I’m so excited about the NIV Application Bible is that they’ve gone to great lengths to give us gobs of context: when every book in the Bible was written, who the original audience was, what they were going through at the time, who some of the key characters are in each story, as well as what God’s compassion for our great-great-great-and-then-some ancestors of faith reveals about His unconditional love for us today. That kind of relatability and readability will kick most of our being-overwhelmed-by-the-Bible feelings straight to the curb!
Learn What the Bible Means. Discover What it Means for You. Featuring thousands of study notes drawn from the bestselling NIV Application Commentary series (over 2 million copies sold), the NIV Application Bible helps you understand Scripture and apply it to your life in a whole new way.
The NIV Application Bible is also available as part of Bible Gateway Plus — try it free today!
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Lisa has been lauded as a compelling communicator, whose writing and speaking emphasize that accruing knowledge about God pales next to a real and intimate relationship with Jesus. Her resume includes over 30 years of church and para-church ministry leadership, including 6 years as the director of Focus on the Family's national women's ministry where she created the popular "Renewing the Heart" conferences, which were attended by almost 200,000 women, as well as a decade of touring with "Women of Faith," where she spoke to over a million women about the unconditional love of God.
