Ever wonder how the pastor comes up with all those gems you hear on Sunday mornings? Of course, besides God leading him, he’s been trained to study the Bible in ways most Christians weren’t. I thought it would be good to lay out some ways to study your Bible so you can discover some of these gems yourself and learn more about the God we serve.
I’ll start with the simpler methods and progress over the next few weeks to some more detailed but and more rewording methods.
Bible study is a lot like mining for gold. You can walk around the claim looking at the ground and maybe pick up a nugget or two here and there, but you don’t really glean the major rewards until you start digging.
Always start your devotions and studies with prayer. That’s rule number one! If you don’t you miss out on the author Himself explaining what you’re reading. (2 Pet. 1:21)
Your daily devotions can produce some nuggets just reading Scripture. Let me suggest this to start with: if you are reading a portion of Scripture that speaks to you, go back to it after your devotions and paraphrase that passage. It might be a single verse or an entire chapter, but put it in your own words. This will make you look more closely at the passage which will naturally cause you to gain more information from it.
My favorite passage of Scripture is Jude 1:24-25. It reads,
Jude 1:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
If I were to paraphrase it, it might read something like this:
“Jesus can keep me from stumbling and will be thrilled to introduce me to the Father. Jesus is God our savior, and I wish glory, majesty, dominion, and power to Him forever.”
So, pick a favorite verse or short passage and try this method today. See if it doesn’t bring Scripture more to life, more to your heart. Next week, we’ll grab a pick and shovel to dig a little deeper still.
Verse sited:
2 Peter 1:21 (ESV)
21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 