How I Study the Bible

There are several devotionals out there, Bible Study plans, online, printed and even on your iPhone these days. But which one do you choose to go with? And which one will be most manageable to stick to for a whole year?

Here's what I have found that works really well for me. And if you haven't really been reading regularly and want to, I hope this post will motivate and encourage you to make it a daily priority.

Before reading the Bible, I always say a short, simple and sweet prayer, asking for God to help me understand His Word so that I may internalize it, remember it and be able to accurately explain it to someone else. I ask for His wisdom, and that the time I spend in the Word would be free from distractions.

Then I open my Bible and start reading!

Last year, I went pretty general and just chose a book in the Bible and stuck to reading it until I finished it. But before I began reading the book I chose, I would familiarize myself with the background of the text, the time it fell in relation to Jesus' time on earth, the culture and current issues that were popular in society, and the overall themes of the book. I find the ESV Study Bible very helpful in filling in these gaps. It'll provide you with a short amount of commentary that covers each of those things I listed. I find it very helpful to understand what's going on in the lives of those I'm reading about before I just plunge into the Scripture. :)

Basically from there, I just read however much I wanted each time. Sometimes it was a chapter, sometimes it was only 10 verses, and sometimes it was several chapters. It's up to you. But through the entire time of reading, I would pause on certain verses and underline them, write in the margins, read some commentary to really understand what a verse was saying, and sometimes I would stop and pray the Scripture I was reading. The point is not to cover a lot of ground and "finish a book" like you would for a school project, but to really mull over and wrestle with the text. If you understand it, you'll remember it. So really try to see what it's saying, don't just skim. You'll be amazed at what the Lord will show you–even in the texts that seem mundane or repetitive. There is a reason why all of it is in there for us to read today.

Another plan that I am going through again this year is The Chronological Bible. Mine is the NIV/1984 version. (Be careful about NIV versions. Make sure that if you ever get NIV that it's the 1984 year and not 2011+. The newest version is not true to the original language and meaning.) It may be best if you print out a Chronological Bible Study plan from online and just read through it in the ESV Study Bible.

What I love about the Chronological Bible is that the books are not arranged in canonical order (like how they are arranged in standard Bibles), but instead are arranged in chronological order, according to the time that these events happened in real life. We don't know for sure if all of the books are in chrono order the way they have them (like Job), but it's a pretty good set up for helping you really understand and read the Bible through as more of a story. Through this set up, you can more easily make connections and see how God has woven in central themes of love, light, sacrifice, etc. throughout the book consistently. You begin to recognize the foreshadowing of Christ's coming all throughout the Old Testament, and you begin to realize why certain things happened. It's really, truly amazing to read it this way.

My first time reading through the Bible was through the Chrono Bible, so I wanted to do it again this year. And I'm loving it even more this time around! I love how the plan is separated. It takes about 10-15 min to read each day's text, which is manageable for busy people and people who are just starting out. ;)

This year I am also reading a little commentary alongside in the ESV, and reading some John Piper sermons in alignment with the prescribed passages. I highly recommend this! It'll just help God's Story all come together even more for you.

So there you have it! That's how I study it. Not sure if it's the right way or the best way, but it sure does help me to understand God's Word, stay disciplined in reading it everyday and brings me closer to Him, which are all things that I need.