Thursday, September 30, 2021
Suggestions for learning Scripture
I think it is important to know what God says so I believe we need to know Scripture. It will help us live and give us resources for helping others know God's will.
So here are a few suggestions for learning Scripture.
Read your Bible. A chapter a day. Right thru the Bible. Or a chapter from the Old Testament one day and a chapter from the New Testament the next day. Or read a chapter once a day for three days or a week. Find a reading plan or just make one up. The point is read your Bible. You will be amazed how much you will learn.
Be sure you spend more time reading your Bible than reading about the Bible. It is easy to assume that studying the Bible means reading a lot of commentaries or listening to a lot of sermons. I read a lot of commentaries and I hear a lot of sermons. Preach a lot of sermons and teach a lot of classes. None take the place of reading Scripture.
Do not study the Bible just to find your proof text. This is harder than it seems. Everyone has that experience of thinking there is a verse or passage that speaks to certain situations. So you search for that passage. That is fine but it is easy to slip into thinking that I know truth and there must be a Scripure that supports my position.
Always read it for yourself. Preachers and teachers sometimes say something about a passage that is not what it says. Not always intentional. We may think that is what it says, we may be conflating it with another passage, or we may be straining to make our point. Read it for yourself.
Read aloud. Sometimes my wife and I read Scripture to each other. Sometimes I read it aloud in my office. Where we attend church, Scripture reading is part of our corporate worship every week.
Memorize Scripture. I am trying to get better at this. I don't always remember in a week what I tried to memorize, but I think somehow it is still in my mind. And my heart.
Write Scripture. I never really have used this technique but a lot of people I respect use it and say it really helps you remember Scripture.
Learn Scripture. It will change your life.
