How to Read Your Bible

How to Read Your Bible

Church, it is a blessing to write to you once again. Let me tell you a little something about myself. I love studying the Bible. My love for studying the Bible is what led me to discover my call to ministry while I was at Ouachita Baptist University. I remember it was in a Bible Survey class taught by Dr. Ray Franklin that I first heard the entirety of the Biblical narrative told in one sitting. I had grown up in church so I knew most of the stories of Noah, David, Moses, Abraham, Elijah, Peter, Paul, etc. But it wasn’t until I heard how all the pieces connected that I truly saw the beauty and intentionality in God’s Word. And thus, I was launched into a real lifetime of Biblical study. I changed my major from Music Education to Biblical Studies and Christian Missions. I had fallen in love with God’s Word!

It’s Not a Text Book
I want to tell you another thing about me. In college, I became a little bit of a bookworm. Prior to this, I despised reading. It was mostly due to the fact that I like non-fiction and history more than fiction. But in grade school and high school, most of the mandatory reading was fiction. I do love books like Lord of the Rings and anything written by Michael Crichton but not much outside of those. So, when I got to college and was able to read textbooks and history, I really began to enjoy reading. When I was taught how to write research papers, I enjoyed that as well (I told you I was a bit of a nerd). For me, these books that my research had to be based on became a sort of mine, where I could delve into the depths to extract the cold hard mineral that is knowledge!

As part of my new Biblical Studies degree, I had to take classes on Bible Interpretation and Biblical Exegesis. In essence, these classes were built around how to read a passage properly in its socio-historical and literary context, find out what it meant for the original audience (authorial intent), discover what the universal principle was that supersedes times and cultures, and how it applied to us in our time and culture. For a guy that likes formulas and universal processes, this was perfect for me!

I remember being assigned passages in Ephesians, Deuteronomy, Romans, and Philippians and having to write an in-depth research paper on using all of these processes that I had been taught. I loved it! I could start up the drilling machine of biblical exegesis and tear it into the soil that is God’s Word. While most of my peers struggled to reach the word count or page count assigned by the professor, I struggled to trim it down many times.

But there were some problems. One was a pride thing. I began to wield this new-found knowledge of biblical interpretation like it was some sort of scepter which I could beat people over the head with. I don’t think I ever said it but I’m sure there were times when I thought while listening to a lay person teach or preach from the bible, “Oh this poor soul doesn’t know how to properly interpret things like I do!” So, the Lord had to really deal with that in me.

The other problem, which I still struggle with today, is that the Bible became a textbook to be studied and tested or quizzed over. As I stated before, it was a mine from which to extract the COLD hard mineral of knowledge. My reading of scripture became cold, lifeless, knowledge.

It’s a Meal
I do a quiet time every evening. But my problem as of late is that I’ve just been reading either out of just habit or for my own personal knowledge. But what I’m struggling to do is read it in order to be nourished by it. It’s no coincidence that when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness in Matt. 4 to turn stones into bread in order to eat that Jesus referred to God’s Word as something to be consumed for sustenance like bread. Jesus says, “It is written: ‘Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,'” (Matt. 4:4).

Eating is a real joy. It brings people together and bonding can occur. But at its most basic, food is for survival. Food gives us calories which are converted into energy, to fire our muscles, to complete tasks. When we don’t eat, our body lets us know that we need it. Our stomach growls. Our head begins to hurt. Our stomach seems to hijack our brains and scream “WE NEED FOOD.”

As children of God, this is how our souls should react when we aren’t consuming God’s Word for spiritual nourishment. As a pastor, I sometimes also catch myself reading God’s Word in order to preach it or teach it. But even this is not being spiritually nourished. You can be reading your Bible every night for hours on end, but if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons or your heart isn’t prepared, you might just be reading a textbook again. It is like starving and only tasting the food by licking it. You can sense the flavor, the tastiness of it, your soul recognizes that it needs it in order to survive, but it will never be able to digest it unless you ingest it. Reading for the sake of reading is not good enough.

Setting the Table
Because I am struggling with this as of late, it is fresh on my mind. So, let me share some practical things that have helped me get back on track.

First, pray. And when I say pray, I don’t just mean a little wimpy, “thank you God for everything. Forgive me of my sins. Amen,” type prayer. I would suggest sitting in silence before you even open your mouth or mind to speak and think about who you are about to speak with. This takes 30 seconds. I open my prayer in praise of who God is and how Holy He is. I then thank Him first and foremost for my salvation through Christ and His love for me, then all of the daily blessings He has given me. I confess my sins and ask for His forgiveness. I then humbly ask for His Spirit to help me understand what I’m about to read and for it to spiritually feed me. It is this last part that is vitally important.

Paul writes in 1 Cor. 2:9-12, “But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived god has prepared these things for those who love Him. Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit since the Spirit searches everything even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.” When we handle God’s Word, we are handling His very thoughts, and sadly, in our fallen state, our own thoughts and feelings cannot digest the very thoughts of God. We need a lot of help. This is why Paul argues that if we are going to understand the thoughts of God, we need His Spirit to do so. So, our prayers should submit ourselves to His Spirit’s wisdom and guidance. We cannot lean on our own understanding.

Second, make a routine. This should really be the first thing you do but I put prayer first because I think it is more vital. But, from my experience, when I am not intentional in setting my time with the Lord, I am not usually intentional in seeking God’s Word. It’s a bit ironic how much of the rest of our life we are comfortable running on a schedule but not our time with God. Most people set their alarm clocks to wake them up at the same time every day. They make time to shower and get ready for work. They go to jobs that have deadlines to be met. They come home and usually have more routines. But the biggest hindrance most people claim to have when it comes to not doing a quiet time is that they just don’t have enough time and/or are too tired. I certainly know that I’ve done that and I’ve needed to repent for giving God my sloppy seconds instead of my first fruits.

Third, find a good reading plan and stick to it. Personally, for me, I’ve come to really enjoy the reading plans that the YouVersion Bible app has. I’m also a bit of a purist and prefer to spend more time reading the Bible than a devotional that talks about the Bible. Don’t get me wrong, there are some godly authors and commentators that have written powerful devotions. However, I fear many Christians have lost the art of Biblical interpretation and rely too heavily on devotional writers to tell them what God’s Word says. Also, by handling God’s Word for ourselves, it helps us to better contextualize passages for ourselves especially if we choose a plan that goes verse by verse through a book of the Bible. But for those of you who do not prefer to read off a screen but enjoy a physical copy of the Bible, find a reading plan and find a way to set reminders of where you are. Honestly, the easiest thing to do is pick a book of the Bible and read a chapter every night, verse by verse. Journaling is also helpful in connecting your thoughts. Speaking of which…

Thirdly, journal. I know it takes more time and a little more effort but it is totally worth it. If you’ve ever spoken to anyone who journals they usually talk about how cool it is to look back over previous quiet times to see how far they’ve come. I can certainly attest to that.

As for how to journal, here are a couple of suggestions. I like to write my opening prayer down. It forces me to really contemplate what I’m praying for. Then when I get to God’s Word, I go verse by verse and summarize what it says in as detailed a way as I can. If the verse I’m reading says “they” I make sure to define who “they” is (I know that sounded like poor grammar but I promise it was correct). Essentially, I ask and answer the question, “who is the author talking to here.” This slows me down and causes me to make sure I know what I’m reading and not just going into autopilot. Then, I make sure at the end, I define how the passage I just summarized has a practical application in my life. Sometimes this is difficult. Sometimes the application is just knowing something deeper about God’s character. If that is the case, I usually try to let this either new or reminded truth inform my worship of God. If you choose this method though, I would recommend either setting some significant time aside to do this or maybe doing smaller sections.

And last but not least, spend some time at the end of a quiet time, just meditating on what you read. I know meditation seems like something only Buddhist monks do, but Christians have been practicing it for centuries and it truly is a lost art. Meditating on what you just read is like unbuckling your belt after a big meal and sitting on the couch to let it digest. It just lets you digest God’s Word in a slowed-down manner.

Ultimately, I hope this has been helpful in thinking through how you approach God’s Word in your own personal life. I hope you don’t turn God’s Word into a textbook for just spiritual knowledge but that you make your heart and mind vulnerable to the work of the Holy Spirit through the reading of God’s Word. I also pray that you don’t let quiet times just become an unconscious habit. Both of these are dangerous pitfalls to avoid. Let God’s Word feed you. Set the table and prepare to live off “every word that comes from the mouth of God!”

The Lord Bless you and keep you,
Pastor Trenton