Ever feel completely overwhelmed when wanting to study the Bible? Such a huge book. Where do I start? How do I study? What kind of Bible do I get? You’re speaking to the choir. I’ve always wanted to study the Word but didn’t know how.
Reading the entire Bible
This has been a goal of mine from when I was a preteen. I remember being 12 years old telling my mother that I wanted to read the entire Bible. Every time I’d start off strong, one chapter per day, until I got to Exodus or Leviticus and gave up. To me, it wasn’t attainable, there was too much to read. This issue carried on into adulthood but the desire has always been there. Last year I was introduced to a Bible app called “Youversion”. I downloaded it and realized they had a set out plan to read the entire Bible in 1 year. I decided that 2012 was going to be the year that I read the entire Bible for the first time…and I DID IT! This guide carefully picks some chapters from the Old Testament, New Testament and a few verses from Proverbs in each reading plan for the day. It’s not labor intensive either, just about 15 minutes of reading everyday. It made my goal less strenuous and more attainable. I would recommend it! This year I decided to take it up several notches and enroll myself in the 90 day plan to read the Bible….4 times. My goal is to read the entire Bible 4 times this year. Crazy intense but I am currently wrapping up the 3rd round. Stay tuned…
Studying the Bible
Studying the Bible
Most times when we read the Bible, we read the text and put it down when we’re finished without really thinking about what we read, how it applies to us and what God is trying to tell us. We don’t take the time to STUDY the Bible. It’s so essential to study and meditate on God’s Word because anyone can take text out of context and try to sway others to believe a certain way that may not be true. It’s important to know your Word and allow God to speak to your spirit so that you can discern what you may hear others say. The time to study the Word is not only when you go to church on Saturdays or Sundays but should be a daily task to feed your spirit.
If you’re anything like me and haven’t studied the Word before, you’re not really sure how to do that. How do I inspect the text? How do I come up with questions to ask myself after reading the text? I was introduced to another reading plan through Youversion called Bible X that I started doing this summer. It’s 140 days of select readings, videos and questions that come along with it. This pushes you to not only read the text but to also think about what it’s saying, what it indicates about God, what it indicates about humans and creation and what it says about YOU. There’s a video lesson to teach and summarize what you’ve been reading over the past few days. I LOVE this plan; I’ve gained so much insight in what the Word means for the time in which it was written and what it means to me in today’s world. This is another one that I highly recommend it. Write your responses out, get a journal and keep it all in one place for purposes of review.
If you’re anything like me and haven’t studied the Word before, you’re not really sure how to do that. How do I inspect the text? How do I come up with questions to ask myself after reading the text? I was introduced to another reading plan through Youversion called Bible X that I started doing this summer. It’s 140 days of select readings, videos and questions that come along with it. This pushes you to not only read the text but to also think about what it’s saying, what it indicates about God, what it indicates about humans and creation and what it says about YOU. There’s a video lesson to teach and summarize what you’ve been reading over the past few days. I LOVE this plan; I’ve gained so much insight in what the Word means for the time in which it was written and what it means to me in today’s world. This is another one that I highly recommend it. Write your responses out, get a journal and keep it all in one place for purposes of review.
Finally, get an application like Youversion on your phone. It has hundreds of plans that you can participate in on a yearly basis so you’re never getting bored.
P.S: I just bought the Life Application Bible and it has dramatically changed the way I study when I read. It goes into more detail in explaining passages and what was happening (historically) around the time these stories were being told. Brings a whole other level of insight to the Bible.
Happy reading!
xo
Tasha
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