Lately I have heard soooo many people say they have never opened their Bible. GREAT people who have been going to church most of their lives and/or say they are a Christ follower.
There are some REALLY great books out there that will teach you HOW to read the Bible to get the most from it. My challenge to you is to START to read it by first opening it. Once you get in the habit of opening it, then get a book on how to study it.
I wanted to let you know how I got myself to open the Bible. The first is finding one you like and can carry. I have a small backpack NIV Bible that I started with. There are a lot of versions available. My suggestion is going to the YouVersion app or Bible Gateway and type in a verse that you like. Check out all the different versions and see what suits you. People around you will argue that their version is better, but I would rather YOU enjoy what you are reading…so you want to do it more. You want to make sure it is a size you can carry, so you can take it with you wherever you go.
Now, to start off, you will be tempted to buy Bible Tabs… I would suggest NOT doing that. As that will have you giving up on learning where the books are before you even try.
Next, once you have your Bible. Take a minute to “Google” search some of your favorite verses. Find them, then highlight or underline them.
Then, if you go to a church like mine, they hand out notes like these at service –
Your goal is to bring your Bible to church with you. As soon as you sit down, start digging in. Look at the first verse on the page, and look to see where you can find it in the table of contents. DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED that you have to look at the table of contents! Everyone has to start somewhere! Find the book, chapter and verse you are looking for and highlight or underline it. For example, I would start with the verse above, 1 Timothy 6:12a.
Now, you will see that there is an “a”. That means they are talking about the first part of the verse. the (NASB) is the version of the Bible they used for the verse. If you have a different version that is OKAY. I go to the verse and underline it, then if it is a verse like 1 Tim 6:12a I will put exclamation points, arrows, etc… as that is a GREAT verse to memorize! Now, if I like the verse, the way it reads in my Bible, terrific, if I like the handout’s version more, I will write ( checkmark + NASB ) which tells me to “check” the NASB version.
I go on to do all of the verses at the service. Above there are 26 verses included in this one lesson! If I don’t have time to underline them all, I do it in the car on the way home or during my time with God during the week.
After I have underlined all of the verses, I take the remainder of my quiet time that week to look at the verses before and after the ones that I really connected with. I underline anything that jumps out at me.
This method got me so very excited to look in to the Bible more! I was learning so much, which in turn lead to even more questions, so I purchased a Study Bible. In the Study Bibles, they have a lot of great information AND verses that reference other places in the Bible that are connected with the area I’m reading!
If you just read this and thought, “That is great, but I still won’t open my Bible”…don’t judge me for saying this…but you need a bathroom Bible. The bathroom is the one place WE ALL go to and spend time in. Put one on the back of the toilet and as soon as you sit down, open it. If you need more direction, put a Bookmark like THIS in it to give you suggestions on what to read. It’s another way to start to read it!
I hope, you see how easy this is can be with HUGE rewards. To have a good relationship, you have to work on getting to know the other person. To have a relationship with Jesus, you need to get to know Him through the Bible. YOU WILL BE BLESSED.
Here are a couple of great books on how to read the Bible that I would suggest –
Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods
To watch this service for the fill-ins and to practice CLICK HERE.
What I learned today…not to assume everyone reads the Bible. Ask and influence them to either read it or share what they were reading and learning. It is truly a game changer in life as all the answers we need are in it. We just have to open it and digest it!
What I Learned Today... 