Monday

How to Study Your Bible


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I'm joining up with some other ladies in my Domestically Challenged, Divinely Equipped tribe to write a series on spring cleaning. Every time I thought about what I would write about, it seemed that the Lord kept bringing me back to spring cleaning my heart so to speak. God's Word has a way of pointing out the changes that need to take place in my heart and helps me tidy up my character. So while this isn't your typical spring cleaning post, I do hope you find it to be helpful.

For awhile I had been struggling with what to read in God's Word and how to read it. Seems funny to admit because I've been a Christian for quite a few years and yet here I found myself wondering how to read God's Word. But then my heart was stirred to study the Bible in a more simple format which, ironically, has turned out to be very powerful in my life. As I was studying, I began thinking that surely I'm not the only one who struggles with knowing what to read for my "daily devotions". From that thought came the burden to share what I am doing with others in hopes that they may gain a firm foundation in the study of Scriptures and then be able to share it with others.



This approach has been a tremendous blessing not only in my life, but also in the lives of my family. God's Word is living and powerful and time and time again, a conversation has come up in our home where I was able to share something I had been learning in God's Word. It has truly helped equip me as wife and mother.

I'm currently working through the following format and I hope that you find it helpful, too. It might seem so simple that it's silly or ineffective, but I think that most of the time we overcomplicate things. Simple can not only be effective, but also doable. If we have a complex Bible study system it might seem overwhelming to do or we talk ourselves out of doing it because it takes too much time. Additionally, with this approach, my only focus is simply the Word of God. That's not to say that devotionals written by other people are wrong (I've actually written a couple of ebook style devotionals and my daughter is working on getting hers published by this summer) or ineffective but there is something simple and pure about putting God's words straight into my heart.

With this approach, I study until I'm full so to speak. I started in the book of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament. It is also known as one of the four Gospels. I'm taking a systematic approach and read one verse at a time and then jot down what that verse is saying. Sometimes I write it word for word in my notebook as I did with Matthew 7:2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." Other times I write it down in a way that applies to me. (For example, I wrote "Hypocrite! Deal with my own sin first before I think I can address the sin in other people's lives" after I read Matthew 7:5 which says, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." It just depends on the verse and how it speaks to my heart.




Taking this slow, systematic approach has been very beneficial because I am writing out God's Word and then taking the time to think about how it applies to my life. Even on the days that I don't feel like I need to read God's Word when I sit down to read it, I quickly find out how much I do. I hope to work through the entire New Testament this way. It might take me 20 years but it will be well worth it! ;)

If you're struggling to find a way to read and study God's Word maybe give this method a try. Let me know if you do and how it goes for you. ❤


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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much!! I’m so happy you post it and thanks for adding new thoughts on blog. I’m honored :)

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