READING or STUDYING the Bible?

 

When you simply READ the bible you aren't going in-depth, you are merely looking at the words and knowing these stories and lessons, but you're not always comprehending what is happening.

When you STUDY the bible you are comprehending, asking questions, getting to know the people, and how each verse, story, and lesson pertains to you and your life.

So how do you study the bible instead of just reading it? Well here are a few tips

 

  1. Get a bible you'll actually want to read.

Of course the words inside the bible are more important than what the outside looks like, but having a bible that fits your personality and aesthetic can help with the desire to want to pick it up and read it. You can find some inexpensive ones on Amazon.

 

  1. Decide what to read.

Start a plan or start with one specific book or person you want to learn about. You can download the bible app (which is free) and find a plan that is helpful for you, or you can start by looking at a specific book or person. The books I recommend starting with are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, and Ruth. Or you can also read one chapter of Proverbs for each day of the month, say it’s March 5th, so you read Proverbs chapter 5. Or one time I decided to learn more about Ruth, so I read all of Ruth, and Proverbs 31 since Ruth is very much a Proverbs 31 woman.

 

  1. Have a friend.

You can either start a plan or book with a friend or just have them be an accountability buddy. They can check in every day to make sure you are reading your bible, or if you do not understand a passage you can text them the passage, talk about it, and research it together.

 

  1. Write down what you learn.

A very popular method for bible study is the S.O.A.P method. S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. You read the passage for that day (it is helpful if it has multiple verses) and you write down the verse that stuck out to you, for example, let’s say you decided to study the book of James, you read chapter 1 and decide verse 8 “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” is the verse that stuck out to you, so you write it down. Next for observation, you would put why it stuck out to you, or what it means to you, then you would write down how you can apply that verse to your life, and then you would just write a little prayer to go along with that verse. 

  1. Pray.

Asking God for guidance while reading can be very helpful for your bible reading experience. Asking God to speak to you through his word can help you understand what you’re reading better, and God can make things stick out to you. Say you’re reading Proverbs chapter 17, and before you start reading you ask God to speak to you, so you read that chapter and the verse that stuck out to you was Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times” so you decide “God showed me this specific verse because I haven’t been a great friend lately” or “I need help deciding if my friends are a good crowd to be around, and this verse is showing me they are not great friends” 

 

  1. Seek wise counsel.

Going to church or even finding others that you know read the bible and asking them questions can be very beneficial. If I have a bible question that I know someone can answer I will ask them. For example, I was studying the book of Daniel one time, and my dad LOVES the book of Daniel, it’s his favorite book of the bible, well there were times when reading when I did not understand what was being said, like how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the blazing furnace, the king officials said “it looks like the fourth man is a son of the Gods” Daniel 3:25. They were talking about Jesus but Jesus hadn’t been born yet, so how could they have known? So I asked my dad and he was able to tell me that because the book of Daniel is one of the major prophets, and Daniel was a prophet, Jesus was being prophesized in this verse.

 

  1. Don’t overwhelm yourself.

You do not have to sit and read the bible for 3 hours to study it, and let’s be honest, who has the time to sit and read the bible for 3 hours straight? You absolutely can do that if you want to, and have the time, but it is completely okay to just read 1 chapter, a few verses, or just read for 15 minutes. As long as whatever it is you are doing is helping you comprehend, and study it.

So come on, Let's Get Cozy With Jesus.