Often times in the teaching that we receive, we hear these giant concepts but not real practical suggestions for application. The purpose of this blog entry is to give you some real concrete tips for studying your Bible.
We all know that the Bible is an important part of our relationship with God. It is our daily bread. But, if you don’t know how to feed yourself, you will starve. Too often, we wait to go to church and expect our weekly dose of bread. Jesus prayed to the Father asking Him to give us our DAILY bread. We have to learn to feed ourselves through the week and not depend on others to feed us. I hope this gives you some practical tips for studying the Word on a daily basis.
BEGIN WITH PRAYER
We are so blessed. We have the opportunity to go before our holy God. He has given us His Spirit to teach us and to guide us. Without the Spirit working within us, we cannot have true understanding of the Word of God. The second chapter of 1st Corinthians, verse 10 says “…God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” In the 14th verse of the same chapter, we see that the things of God can only be spiritually discerned. We have to be in the Spirit to understand the things of God. I am not asking you to have a 2 hour prayer session every time you pick up your Bible. But begin with a few words of adoration. Ask for cleansing. Then ask the God to open your understanding through His Spirit. This is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our teacher. We don’t need anyone else!
READ TO KNOW GOD
This section is particularly convicting to me. I often pick up my Bible in the moments of chaos and weakness and search for something for myself. I read with the intention of getting something for me. The Word was given to us that we may know God and we should read the Bible with the intention of knowing Him better. In the process, we will undeniably be lifted up, but that cannot be our focus. An intimate relationship comes from knowing someone fully, their thoughts, their character, their attributes. Read your Bible with this purpose alone, “To know God on an intimate level.” Ask yourself these questions as you read. What did this scripture tell me about God? What attributes of God do I see throughout this passage? I can usually list several when I really look at scripture in this way. Know God by knowing His Word and read His Word to know Him.
FIND OUT WHAT WORDS MEAN
We all learned to use a dictionary in school, a skill you still need to apply. Looking at definitions of words will give you a better understanding of what the author is telling you. Don’t take the definition of a word for granted. A dictionary is a valuable tool and I have a free one for you to use! www.eastonsbibledictionary.com This link is for an online Bible dictionary. Are you confused by a word used in a text? Look it up! Even if you know what it means in general, look it up. It will broaden your understanding. Words like sanctification, justification, propitiation, atonement can be really intimidating. Breaking them down will make reading your Bible a whole lot easier. Even if you know what they mean, the definition can speak to your heart and your mind.
MAKE TIME
It’s the hardest part in our busy schedules. If you have to get up early, do it. If you have to give up something, do it. If you have to sit in your car in the garage to get a quiet place, then go to your car (just don’t leave the motor running). Making time for God is important and rewarding. Once you do it, you will find yourself getting lost in His precious Word and growing in your relationship with Him. You will long for that quiet time with Him.
START AT YOUR OWN LEVEL AND YOUR OWN PACE
Reading the Bible through in a year is a wonderful thing to do. But not everyone is at that level. Don’t go from not studying at all to trying to study for two hours every day. You will probably not be successful. When you begin an exercise program, you don’t start by running a marathon. You would kill yourself. Similarly, you don’t begin reading, without first learning the sounds that each letter makes. You have to start at your own pace and your own level. If you are a babe in Christ, don’t start in the book of Revelation, start with Matthew. Don’t try something completely unrealistic. Start with ten minutes. If you find yourself longing for more, add ten more minutes. You don’t have to read a certain amount of scriptures during your study time. Take your time and let the Spirit speak to you about each scripture. Even if you only get through one Scripture during your ten minute session, you have grown in Christ. Don’t get caught up in how much you read. It’s not a race!
I really hope that these tips helped you in some way. They may have been a “no-brainer” to you or maybe they were completely new concepts to you. Either way, I hope you found them practical and realistic. You don’t have to have fancy commentaries or special books (I am not opposed to these). You need only the living Word and His Spirit speaking to you to grow through the study of the Word. Let the Author tell you what He meant through His Spirit.
If you need help in the area of how to study to the Word, find someone who can help you. Talk to one of your Women’s Ministries Leaders, talk to your class teacher, or to a trusted Christian friend. Finding out how others approach their study may be helpful to you. May you come to truly know God in your study of His Word.
www.biblegateway.com is also a great online resource. It allows you to read different versions of the Bible or search by keyword. I find this site very useful.
No comments:
Post a Comment