Tips
for studying your Bible :)
How to keep
the Word fresh and alive to your heart in the everyday cycles, while avoiding
the temptation/pattern to turn it into stories (as the world loves to do)
Hello
brethren (meaning brothers *and* sisters in Christ),
I've
had this on my mind to write up and share for months now, but have been working
on how to explain it and gleaning tips from others to share as well. So, I see
about 10 ideas that don't seem very common, but I believe they need to become
common pattern again. These are things that I learned somewhat when growing up
and continue to grow in. But, before I write them out, could I ask a favor?
Pray that me and my family can fight through the tangles of life and stay in
the Word too. I know that request may sound odd from someone who has been
digging into God's Word for many years of my life, and teaching it for quite a
few years as well - but pray for us. You see, as you probably already know, the
honest genuine Bible teachers need prayer to stay in God's Word and walk in
cutting-edge holiness too, because satan
seems to attack them the hardest. It's so easy for us all, as humans, to
wander - and satan and his demons sure know how to throw in distractions and attacks.
So, I'll pray for you and you pray for me, okay? :) Good, thanks. And, you're
welcome. :)
Okay,
so 10 tips. Now, I tried to put these in some sort of order of
helpfulness/importance... but that's kinda hard to do when talking about *how*
to study the Bible and keep it in our lives, daily, weekly, etc, because I know
my audience includes a wide range of people - from working Dads to grandpas,
from working Moms to stay-at-home Moms to grandmas, as well as the variety of
singles and other family situations. So, you'll have to pick through this and
find what tips work well for you right now. The whole point for me in this is
to help you get back in the Word by providing you with ideas you might not have
thought of. Because, as we all know, the only way we can keep from going
backwards with the tide of this pagan world is by staying in God's Word daily
or often. So, with that said, let's look at these.
1)
Read a chapter of the Bible per day,
or several a week.
Short notes: The key to
this point is you don't have to rush it and/or keep up with some grand schedule
and then feel bad when you weren't able to stay on track. The key isn't to keep
up with some man-made system, but for and I to have alone time with God -
quality time at some point with our Creator so that we can learn to love what
He loves, despise/hate the sins that He despises/hates, and to love others in
grace and truth as He loves us (that word is agape, btw :) ).
2)
Write a sentence or 2 about what you
read in the Bible.
Short notes: Set up a
journal as part of your ongoing conversation and communion with God. Write
something about what the text says, something you can learn about God's
character, something you can learn about how to be more like Him, something to
change, and something to pass onto others. Maybe even find a verse from this
passage you just read to put on a postcard and remind yourself all through the
day so you can work on hiding God's Word in your heart.
3)
Read through each book of the Bible,
one at a time.
Short notes: I have
noticed that sometimes, for myself and for some other people, reading two
different Books in the Bible at the same time can make it harder to retain. At
other times, and for some people, it works just fine. So, if you're having
trouble retaining what you read, you might consider just read through a Book of
the Bible at a time. What I personally suggest for all believers is read
through the whole of the New Testament several times (at least) to grasp the
message of the Whole Bible. The reason I suggest that pattern is that the Old
Testament is concealed, and the New Testament is revealed - meaning, if you
study Jesus' words thoroughly before studying too deeply into the Old
Testament, then you'll be able to piece together the shadows of Christ in the
Old Testament and the prophecies that foretold Christ. Also, The New Testament
is written in the New Covenant (Matthew 26:18; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1st
Corinthians 11:25). Much of the Old Testament was God claiming a people for
Himself (the Jewish people), teaching them His law, and then arguing with their
hardened hearts who wanted to look good outwardly, but not have a genuine
salvation covenant by faith in the then-coming Messiah (who has now come about
2000 years ago). So, there is much to learn about God's character in the Old
Testament, but going back under and to try to keep perfectly the Mosaic law is
not one of those (though it is a popular rut people throughout history have
done). ~ Simply put, studying the New Testament will help you clearly understand
the Old Testament, in context.
4)
Read through the Bible in a 2-year,
3-year, or 4-year plan.
Short notes: I have
personally found and have heard from others, that rushing through the Bible,
though it can be fun, it can also be too fast to actually digest on it and
meditate on it, analyzing it to learn who God is (because the world lies about
Him all the time), analyzing more about sin, and how to grow more away from
patterns of sin/rebellion against God (because the world lies about what sin is
all the time), and to find out who we are as people, and how to serve Him and
help others (because the world is trying to distract us, and confuse us, and
divert us back into the sins that they love). So, consider reading through the
Bible slower. Maybe read through the Bible in 2 or 3 or 4 years. Or maybe read
through the New Testament in 1 or 2 or 3 years. Find a pace that works for you
and keep it up, as best as you can
5)
Write notes in a Bible-journal of
things that caught your attention. Notice how God protected someone who
sought to please Him. Notice how they talked to God and how you can learn from
that. Notice how they told someone about God and their need for salvation.
Notice a promise to claim, when you are walking in obedience to God. Notice
details that describe the depth of God's Word, and/or the gospel, and Biblical
discipleship. Things like this. My suggestion is try to write a sentence or two
about each chapter you read. It will help you retain what you've read longer,
and it helps the Bible become an actual conversation with God, rather than what
the world wants it to be - reduced down to a devotional thought per day. Ask
God to show you how to make it more real to your heart, and He will.
5)
If you miss a day or two, just pick
up where you left off.
Short notes: I find that
if I'm reading through a Book of the Bible, or some plan like that, and I (for
whatever reason) miss a day or two, then I can tend to feel like I have rush to
catch up, and I see many others feel the same way. Instead of rushing, just
pick up where you left off, at the same pace you were doing. Rushing can tend
to get us to read more than we can process and mentally think on to be able to
put to use in our lives and the lives of those around us.
6)
If you come across something that is
too hard to understand, skim/fast-read those few verses, and then keep reading
at your normal pace again.
Short notes: I think this
is key. You see, I hear often, when I ask if they read through the Old
Testament (especially the New Testament), that people get bogged down by a
section. Part of this is satan and his demons hate the Bible and do *not* want
you reading it. Yes, there is an active spiritual battle over your soul and
those you love. When you hit a hard part, pray first for God to clear your mind
so you can read it with understanding, and then read it again - or maybe make a
note to come back to that paragraph to study it later, and then keep reading
along. The devil fights you actually reading the Bible. The old serpent doesn't
seem to care if you or I read the cheap fake "devotionals" these
days, because there is nothing deep or convicting or purifying about most of
them. But, this father of lies does not want you reading God's Word. And yet,
if you are an adopted child of God, then you have made an eternal covenant with
your Creator, and you need to converse with Him often, and let Him speak back
to you, through the Word of God (The Bible). It's a 2-way conversation. But
often, people love this world and it's entertainment so much, that it
spiritually and physically crowds out quality time in the Word. This world's
pagan entertainment will push you away from God's Word, or God's Word will push
you away from this world's pagan entertainment. It's that simple. But so is walking
in victory over sin. :)
7)
Memorize Scripture. Here are some
ideas of how.
> Write a verse on a card, or a piece of paper
or a post-it note, and put it in 1, 2, or 3 locations that you spend a
lot of time in. Putting God's Word (especially the convicting verses that you
and I need to grow in) is powerful for helping you overcome sin, and maintain
your fellowship and prayer-conversation with God. The devil fights to keep you
in sin and not able to hear your Creator or obey His Word. This is a good way
to fight back. Keep Scripture in front of you.
> Find a song that quotes Scripture
and sing it till you memorize it. Ask someone to write a song that will help
you memorize that Scripture. Or, find a way to put that Scripture that you need
to grow in, to music. You may consider borrowing a tune from something else,
but my suggestion from experience, is avoid using a really bad pagan song...
sometimes satan and his demons can use a
non-Christian song that you know to keep your mind wanting to dos something you
know is wrong (in the original lyrics).
>Repeat a verse 2 or more times a day.
Write it out every day or a couple times a day. Quote it to at least 2
people. Find ways to repeat that verse until it's hidden in your heart. Then
come back to it later and re-memorize it. It's a process. But with this country
seemingly becoming more loud in their paganism day-by-day, we need to have
Scripture in our mind and in our conversations, just as Ephesians 5:19 says to
do.
>
If you're trying to memorize a chapter
of the Bible, like Matthew 13 or something, read it 30 days in a row,
while asking God how to get more understanding from it each day. Maybe read it
many times in a row in alongside your other reasonable reading amount.
9)
Play the Scriptures around your home
- 24/7 is best.
Short notes: My family
started doing this years ago. At first it was hard to do, but in a short time,
we are used to it, and it helps so much. It's amazing. But, I should warn you,
satan doesn't want you in God's Word or God's Word in you, so he will try every
possible excuse to get you to turn it off because it's noisy, or you need to concentrate,
or... a whole list of lying excuses just to get you to stop taking in and
thinking God's Word, God's definitions, and how to preach, teach, and explain
God's Word to your family and friend, and this pagan culture.
10)
Avoid modern devotionals. The moderns
ones are a plague of lukewarm-ness and unBiblical
definitions.
Short notes: They lack so
much these days. They literally reduced God's Word to only the nice things -
reducing more than half of the content and teachings of God's Word. You really
need to avoid them, and all popular teachers. If the world allows them to have
a major voice world-wide and they are on popular TV stations, etc, it's because
the world considers their message lukewarm or benign enough that they don't
mind them talking. Find someone who hates sin, loves Christ, and loves people
the way God does. If the teacher you are listening to, and/or reading his/her
devotional is talking about how to help you feel more joy, rather than focusing
on helping you deal with sin in your life so you can have that joy, then the
person is a liar, peddling God's Word for profit. ~ Simply put, just get in the
Word yourself. We make time for what's important to us, and if getting closer
to God is important to you (which you're reading this, so I'm sure it is), then
make time for spending quality time in God's Word. And ask God for wisdom to do
so.
11)
Avoid almost all modern books of men
about the Bible.
Short notes: If the
book is selling well, notice that it's popular with the world, and that means
it has gaps or loose definitions about sins, that God's Word does not. You will
find satan wanting you to read a whole lot of books of men about God's Word
instead of God's Word. I have found God literally stop me from reading very
many books of men about God's Word. Many of the modern ones are very good at
teaching unBiblical definitions. And I've heard God has stopped others from
reading very many books of man about God's Word too. If reading that book does
not challenge actual sins in your heart (not the lying definitions of
"doubt" and false definition of "anger", but actual sins),
then simply put, that book is partial lies at best. My suggestion, from
experience and others tips, is if you are reading a book of man about God's
Word, consider reading equal portions of God's Word as you are in the book. ~
And you need to drop, leave behind, and never go back to novels, fantasy novels,
and works of fiction. The devil, satan, loves to use those to confuse you and
me with false and lying definitions, so that we become more like the world,
rather than more like Christ - in holiness, boldness, and clarity on right vs wrong, truth vs error.
12) Play the Bible in your home, in your
bedroom where you sleep, at your work, or in your car.
Short notes: So, again,
find ways to get God's Word in your life and remove things that are crowding it
out. If you are only waiting till Sundays to hear the Word of God, then you are
spiritually drying up and will die. You've got to get God's Word in your life
on an active basis, and you will - as you get more in God's Word, find how many
ways the liar/deceiver is trying to keep God's Word out of your heart, your
life, and your conversation. Keep pressing forward.
So,
that's some tips that I've used and/or learned from others, and I hope you
found at least one tip you can glean from. Please know this is *not* an
exhaustive list. So, did you find this list helpful? If I got something wrong,
please let me know and I can correct it. Or if you see additions I need to make
- write me/us :) ~ I always welcome friendly feedback :)
I
leave you with one key passage - that you might consider making a life-passage.
I consider it a life-passage, because it's foundational.
"7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh
will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the
Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while
doing what is good [right and holy], for in due season we shall reap if we do
not lose heart." (Galatians
6:7-9)
Praying
for you ~ Thanks for praying for us!
your
growing brother in Christ,
a
growing servant/life-slave of Jesus,
and
a growing disciple whom Jesus loves,
SH
(Steven Henry)