How to Study the Bible and ...why reading isn't enough.
Get serious about it!
Grab a notebook and
highlighters. Don’t be afraid to write in your Bible, either
Grab tools that can help you
understand what you are reading, such as concordances, Bible dictionaries,
Hebrew-Greek keyword study Bibles, parallel Bibles, etc. (You can actually find
many resources for these tools for FREE online at sites like biblehub and
biblegateway.)
Don’t just read a verse and
walk away! Ask questions about the background for that verse. Read the
surrounding context (verses before and after). Find out the audience that
particular book was written to so that you can understand the purpose of the
words on the page.
Learn how to do
verse-mapping (one of my favorite Bible Study methods!) and other methods of
bible study until you find one or two that work best for you.
Here’s why I like Verse Mapping – it makes God’s Word more
personal and helps you connect with how God wants to use that verse in your
life. You aren’t just reading or memorizing words. You are interacting with the verse on a whole
different level that makes it come alive for you!
Verse Mapping is a method of
studying the historical context, transliteration, translation, connotation and
theological framework of a verse in the Bible.
Plain and simple? Verse
mapping is getting real about studying the Bible. All of it. It’s not just
reading. It’s researching everything you can in a verse to learn more about Who
God is, and how He wants to speak to you through His Word.
So grab some highlighters and colored pens and get
started!
First write your verse on an index card or a clean page in
your journal or notebook. Leave plenty of space around it, between the lines
and between the words. Then choose some or all of these ideas to work with your
verse:
Personalize it. Cross out words like “you,” “we,” “whoever,”
“them” and write your name above it.
Highlight parts of the verse that jump out at you.
Read the verse in context – the whole chapter or passage
where it appears in your Bible. See how
it ties in to the verses before and after it.
Read the verse in at least two other translations. Note on
the card words or phrases from other translations that help you understand or
apply the verse. If you don’t have other
translations laying around the house, a couple of good resources for several
translations are BibleGateway.com, BibleHub.com and YouVersion.com.
Find cross references and note anything that brings new
meaning. Cross references are verses that have similar words or phrases. Your
Bible may have them listed in the center column or as footnotes at the bottom.
The online resources listed previously can also help you find cross
references.
Circle a word or two and do a word study on it.
.
Look up the word in your dictionary and see if the definition
gives you any insight
Use a topical index and/or concordance in the back of your
Bible to find other verses where the word appears
Look up synonyms (same meaning) and antonyms (opposite
meaning) in a concordance or online Bible tools site to find other verses.
PRAY
We want to be led by the Holy Spirit; we
can’t take a step without Him leading the way. So pray. Talk to Him.
Listen to worship music and praise Him for as long as you need to. Do whatever
works to invite Him into your study space (listen to worship music, close
the door, turn off all sound).
This should be time that you
spend together— with Him revealing more of who He is to your heart. It’s meant
to be personal, and wholly unique to who you are.
Think a New Thought Today…
Be
blessed and be a blessing!
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