1. Know it's a UNIQUE book. It tells us all we need to know about God, ourselves, and Jesus. It's not just facts, it's God's LOVE LETTER to His children. See 1 Corinthians ch. 1 and 2
2. There are lots of different versions of the Bible; choose one you can understand. Learn to use a concordance; a listing of important key words and where they are in the Bible. A good Bible can be a major purchase so compare them before you buy one.
3. Before reading/studying your Bible PRAY for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding and guide you into all truth. It's not an easy book because we need the Holy Spirit to overcome our "human" mindset and ignorance. See Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 55:6-9, Matthew 5:6, Hosea 4:6
4. START NOW. Read your Bible daily, it is "Spiritual Food". We eat daily, so feed your spirit daily too. We are all busy so we must CHOOSE to make time for this; we will never "have time". Underline what "speaks" to you.
5. Start with something that interests you, so it will relate to your life in a meaningful way. Study a Book, a word, a person, or a theme. Try to get the "basics" before the "heavy" things of God. See Hebrews 5:12 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
6. Immediately apply what you have learned. A head full of facts is not the goal; becoming like Jesus, "conforming to His image" is our goal. It is when we apply the Bible to real life that it becomes real to us. Studying forgiveness? --FORGIVE, Studying prayer? --PRAY, studying witnessing? --WITNESS. God wants us to have "OJT" On the Job Training; if we wait to get our "act together" we'll never arrive. See James 2:17, 20 and 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4
7. Take your Bible to church, to Bible study, and have one handy just about always. You never know when you may need it or get free time to explore it, or share with someone else. Of course we are to "hide it in our heart" (see Psalms 119:11 and the rest of this psalm about God's word). Make it an everyday thing; don't save Bible study for just one day of the week. Learn to meditate on the Word.
8. Keep a notebook, or journal to write down whatever the Lord reveals to you. A verse will have a certain meaning to you at one point and later, under different circumstances God will shed new light on it and bless you again in a new way. Writing it helps us see those new shades of meaning and we can see how we are maturing in our faith. Writing also helps us clarify or think clearly about what God is doing in our lives. Keep a list of prayer requests and friends and situations to pray for. When the answer comes go over it with a highlighter and/or date it. It will build your faith. Write out your prayers and learn to pray using the Word.
9. If you don't understand something, pray for understanding and ask your Spiritual/church leaders/teachers perhaps in Bible study class. See Deut. 29:29, Luke 24:45, 1 John 2:20, 27. We are to learn from others but we are accountable for our own spiritual growth and must not make excuses. A baby is cute but if it never grows up/matures it is not so cute anymore. Matthew 22:37 tells us to love God with our heart, soul, and mind...All three.
10. Be open to look at the Bible without man's opinions, limitations, or restrictions. Mark 7:7
Giving credit where credit is due: This information was adapted from a handout I received over 10 years ago, the handout has no title or author or source(s) listed.
That One Little Prayer
7 years ago
2 comments:
This was a great post, i commend you. One of those kinds of post where a blogger just wants to pass it on to the next blogger.
Thanks Don! (smile) Your feedback and ecouragement are always greatly appreciated.
Post a Comment