The first thing you should know is that all sorts of things will pop up to keep you from doing anything with the Bible. So push ahead and open it up anyway. It’s an amazing book worthy of exploring.
Where should you start? Here are a couple of suggestions:
* Genesis – Starting in the beginning gives you the answer to how everything came to being.
* Luke – Luke was a great historian, VERY thorough in his research. The book of Luke of is a great biography of Jesus. Why not start by getting to know the Messiah? [Might as well follow that up with Luke’s sequal Acts, aka, The Acts of the Apostles, that tells how the Church got started.]
* John – This is another great biography written by John, one of the original disciples of Jesus and quite possibly Jesus’ closest friend during His ministry years who saw it all.
* Ruth – If you are nervous about reading the Bible, thinking you won’t understand it, or it will be too long and difficult, you could start with this short story about some of the ancestors of Jesus.
What are some ways I can study the Bible?
* Our best teacher is the Holy Spirit. However you choose to study the Bible, start each study session by asking God to send you the Holy Spirit to teach you and help you understand what you are reading.
* Read it. You could start with the history books of the Bible and get a feeling for the people, places, events. Find out the amazing ways that God provides for His people. (The history books I’d start with are Genesis, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts.) Or if you love poetry, read the Psalms. They include a lot of history and what God has done for His people.
* As you read the Bible, keep a journal. Write down questions you have or things you learn.
* Work through a Bible Study guide like those found on FaithGym.
* Look up the background for the book you are reading. Who wrote it? Who was it written for? Why was it written?
* Read an online commentary about the verses you are reading (like Matthew Henry’s at BibleHub.com).
* Write a paraphrase of the verse you are reading.
* If your Bible has cross references, look those up and see if you can find the connections between the verse you are reading and its cross-reference.
* Map the verse. (See some ways of doing this here.)
Some things to think about:
* Daily looking into the Bible is the best way to study. Some days you might really understand what is going on. Other days you might not. But keep reading. Keep trying.
* Start small. Don’t try to read the whole Bible through from beginning to end. (Unless you really have a burning desire to do that, in which case, don’t let me stop you!) Start small. Read just a few verses and make sure you understand those few verses.
Faith Gym 