Bible Study Tips
For those who are afraid to open the book.
Pray for wisdom and discernment.
Photo by Amber Kipp on UnsplashPray and ask for wisdom and insight. Don’t try to sit down and just read the Bible from cover to cover at first. Even if you were to do this, it would not be useful. It would be the same as picking up any other piece of literature from another time and civilization and attempting to just read it. Try this with Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and see how far you get.
Do read it as you would any other great literature. This means take it seriously, treat it with respect. Remember that just because it’s hard at times to understand doesn’t mean you won’t figure it out. In fact, when you study the history of Western Civilization, note that wars were fought over the question whether or not ordinary man should be permitted to read the Bible for him or herself. Literacy at one point was linked to men and women wanting to read Scripture for themselves.
Avoid lifting passages out of context. This doesn’t mean you have to read it from cover to cover before you can study parts of the Bible. That goes against my second recommendation above. But it does mean it is important to have a good idea how any particular book in the Bible relates to the whole.
Find a Bible-believing small group within a Bible-believing church and go to be taught, strengthened, and supported. Those who try to go it alone are most susceptible to buying into popular false narratives that will muddy their minds and keep them from knowing what to do with what they are reading.
Remember, love wins. Hate corrupts.
If you are frustrated and angry about the deterioration of the country and the world in general, you can still use this energy to move you to act in ways that are restorative and redemptive.