How to Start Reading the Bible Everyday

Welcome! This article is my comprehensive guide on how to start studying the Bible. If you want to learn how to study the Bible for beginners, you're in the right place! I come to you non as a pastor or Biblical expert, merely as someone who has made this same journey myself. When I came to the Bible as a new believer, I had no inkling what to brand of it. At present I have a BA in Organized religion (with a focus in Biblical Studies) and a regular Bible study practice. I likewise read the Bible front to back concluding year. This guide has been updated in 2022 with new insights from that experience!

How to Showtime Bible Report: My Experience

I'll exist honest with you lot: I have't ever loved, or even liked, Bible study. Back before I knew how to start studying the Bible, I couldn't tell Numbers from, well, a math textbook. I did my first Bible report online when I was 17, and I distinctly remember the instructor telling us to flip to Acts ii. "Acts in which volume?" I thought, confused every bit everyone in the video dutifully opened their Bibles to the same folio. It was like she told me to open to "poetry two" and I was expected to find it.

That'due south right — I was and then new to the Bible that thought an "Act" was the word for a verse. Now, x years afterward, and I have a degree in Organized religion with a focus on Biblical studies, and have written a few Bible studies myself. God sure does cull the strangest people.

This to say: if you're new to all of this, I've been there.

Whether you're a new laic, a lifelong Christian who's simply starting to explore the Bible, or simply looking because you're curious, reading the Bible by yourself for the kickoff time can be intimidating. I know how hard it is to find resource that explain what you need to know without overwhelming you. Or, worse, making you lot feel like you'll never, always get it. Simply yous can, and you will. Today, I want to prove you a few different Bible written report methods that tin help yous acquire how to showtime studying the Bible. Just first, allow's lay downwardly some basics.

How to Outset Bible Study: What to Expect from Bible Reading

I heard this great chestnut from a YouTube video a few months ago. We often come to the Bible hoping or even expecting to get that amazing, awe-inspiring feeling of connection with God.Only that moment is like going out to your favorite restaurant on your altogether — it'southward exciting, memorable, and you look forrard to it all twelvemonth. Past comparing, most of the time, our everyday meals are simple, unmemorable, or even boring. Our everyday meals may non stand out, but our bodies notice if nosotros skipped them.

By the same vein, we may not have an incredible moment of connexion with God every time that we open our Bibles. But we still benefit from the everyday moments of Bible study that may feel less memorable. Every time you open up your Bible, yous're opening yourself up to a deeper connection with God. You're nourishing your mind and soul. You're strengthening your faith, even if it doesn't feel like it. Just considering you don't feel much, don't give up.

What to Wait From Yourself

And here's another affair. If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone else'south Bible, marked-upwardly with notes and bleeding with highlighter, and thought "WOW! I want THAT!", I could buy myself a fancy commentary set or ten! To be sure, I beloved how encouraging it is to encounter other people's Bible study photos and videos. But inspiration can turn to envy really apace when we start comparing ourselves to others. (I specially detect this with Bible journaling.)

It can be damaging to hold yourself to the standard of someone else'due south Bible report. This is especially true when you're just learning how to start Bible study! Remember: this isn't nigh having a "perfect" Bible or being a "perfect" person. God meets us where we are. We don't have to climb the mountain or go to the temple to talk to God. We are blessed to serve a God who came to united states. 1 who put on peel and sandals to walk in our shoes, feel our pain, know our hearts. Westeast serve a God who stoops to meet the states.

In the same mode, y'all don't need to mark up every inch of your Bible to spend fourth dimension with God. You don't need to read Hebrew or speak Greek. Y'all can still proceeds important letters and lessons from the Word without trigger-happy information technology apart. Focus on what y'all can do sustainably. If you lot tin only spend five minutes a mean solar day, every day reading the Bible, that would be better than doing a huge 2-hour study one time a week. Run into what fits you lot, your life and your learning mode. Do what you tin can.

How to Start Studying the Bible: Essential Resources

In that location are hundreds of commentaries and devotionals that can help you learn how to starting time Bible written report. But fundamentally, all y'all need is a Bible. Even that tin can be easier said than done, though! Here are some of my tips.

Translations

The Bible has been translated in many different means, and a lot of the translations have different styles and histories. There is not a single best selection. Not all of these are "better" or "worse" than another. Which 1 y'all use often is merely a reflection of the community, family, or church you come from. That said, knowing which translations yous similar best may assist you during your study, since yous can look up different translations of the same passage if yous're confused.

Here are a few pop translations of the Bible in English language. If English language isn't your first linguistic communication, then endeavour to observe a translation you like in your native language!

This is kind of funny, but to aid empathize the relationship of these different translations, permit's talk about chocolate. Imagine that the original Biblical text in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, is cacao powder — the purest essence of chocolate. If some of the mutual translations were chocolate — versions of that essence that are made edible for the modern person — they could exist described like this:

Dark Chocolate — the closest yous can go to the original linguistic communication in English language

NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) – This is a very close translation that is used past well-nigh academics and Bible scholars. If you ever want a study Bible or want to see the closest translation of the text, this is a good place to go, but some of the linguistic communication can be hard to understand for newer readers.

Milk Chocolate — a close translation that is hands understandable for modern readers

ESV (English Standard Version) – A translation that tries to combine literal translation with being easy to understand in everyday modern English. This translation is common with mainline protestant communities.

NIV (New International Version) – A translation that tries to combine literal translation with being easy to understand in everyday modern English language. This translation is common with evangelical communities.

HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) – A translation that tries to combine literal translation with existence piece of cake to understand in everyday modern English. This translation is common with evangelical communities.

White Chocolate — a loose translation that emphasizes understanding over literalness

The Message (MSG) – This is a translation of the Bible that focuses on existence understandable for a modern-day audition over existence an verbal translation of the text. This tin can be a nifty, easy-to-read supplement to your Bible reading to help yous understand your verse in mod English.

Websites and Apps

If you need free resources as you navigate how to study the Bible for beginners, bank check out some of these. The following apps and websites are great complimentary add together-ons to your Bible study. They can help you gain more than context or information from your reading.

BibleHub is a great resource that lets you look at a variety of translations of the same text side-past-side. They also pull up some notes from study Bibles and cross-references. If yous whorl to the bottom of a page for a item verse, you can observe commentaries on it, but a lot of these commentaries are older and written in an one-time-fashioned style of English that may exist hard to sympathise.

Logos is an iOS and Android app that lets you wait up Biblical passages and commentaries. I personally love Logos for the sleek design and easy-to-use interface, but it has fewer gratis commentaries than some other apps.

Blueish-Letter of the alphabet Bible is a popular website for Biblical commentaries. I personally find the website harder to navigate than some others, simply appreciate how many commentaries they have freely available.

Physical Tools

This part is pretty uncomplicated. Use what you take and what makes the virtually sense for you. I similar using the following tools as add-ons to my Bible report:

A notebook or journal
Pens and pencils
Highlighters
Post-its

Some people besides like using stickers, stamps, washi tape, or other decorative elements to help them dig in. Whatever helps you get to it is what will be the best fit for you!

And so with that said, let'due south expect at a few methods yous can use to jump straight into studying your Bible.

Quick-Beginning Method for Bible Study

There are a ton of methods for how to written report the Bible for beginners below. Ultimately though, the best i is the one that works for you. For many of usa, that means a Bible report method that:

Isn't confusing
Doesn't overwhelm the states
Helps u.s.a. understand and grow

If that'south what you lot're looking for, this quick-outset guide can aid you.

Set a time.Set aside some time to read your Bible. If y'all're just starting out, try for fifteen or twenty minutes. You tin always build up to more.

Gather your materials.Grab your pens, pencils, highlighters, or notebook. Put your phone on silent. Become ready.

Pray.Gather your thoughts. Inquire God to assist you with your Bible report today.

Read.Read that day's selected poesy once, slowly. You can use a Bible study, Bible reading plan, or book yous're reading. I really like following the Bible Recap plan for reading the Bible in a year. It's free and comes along with a podcast to help you empathize!

Write downwardly thoughts and questions.Now reread the passage and pay attention to what it's saying. Is it telling yous a fact, or setting up to tell a story? Is someone speaking? Who? Are there words or phrases that stand out to yous as important, strange, or interesting? Write downwards your comments and questions, either in the Bible or in a dissever notebook.

Optional: Look up the answers to your questions using Google or a commentary.

For some people, the notes they take on who's speaking and what they're maxim is plenty. But others desire to learn more, and if you do, the resource above in the Websites and Apps section will help yous learn more. Look up the passage you're reading in one of the commentaries, or Google a phrase that interested you with the passage side by side to information technology (Like this: "A urban center built on a colina Matthew five:14"). Call up that what yous discover may be helpful, but it'southward not always definitive — non everyone giving communication on the Internet is right. Notice the sources you trust, and run into what they accept to say that can help you.

Reflect. When yous've worked through the passage, put down your pen or highlighter and reverberate on what you've learned. What does this passage teach you about God or yourself, if anything? How could y'all act its message out in your day-to-day life? Run across if you tin can summarize what you learned in 1-ii sentences. You may too cull to turn to God and say a prayer of gratitude for what you learned, or ask for guidance in helping to understand the passage.

How to Study the Bible for Beginners: Other Methods for Bible Study

This is a foundational method for Bible study, just at that place are many others that could be helpful for you lot. Don't exist afraid to endeavour one of these each twenty-four hour period on that day's passage to see what y'all learn.

Bible Verse Mapping

If you're a visual learner, Bible verse mapping may be right for y'all. The bones idea is taking a single verse of the Bible and breaking it down visually. There are different ways to do this; here are a few examples from my experience and from the cyberspace. You can read most more of them here .

How to Start Studying the Bible — Sara Laughed — How to study the Bible for beginners

Sunbeam Map

Trace a circle into your journal and write your verse inside it. At present, using a ruler, make dissimilar sections around it on the page. The different sections can exist whatever you lot find most useful, simply I like using these:

Translations — other translations of the same poesy where some keywords may be different.
Keywords — words that stood out to me and what they hateful.
Context/History — data near where in the story of the Bible this takes place, or nigh the historical context of this time flow (Logos is a great resource for this kind of data).
Hope/Lesson — What is God promising me here? What does this poetry teach me virtually God, Jesus, or myself?
Walk — How can I walk out the bulletin of this verse in my daily life?
Summary/Response — What did I acquire from this passage? What do I pray God will teach me about this passage?

SOAP Bible Study Method and Other Acronyms

At that place are so many of these amazing acronyms to help you with your Bible study. The one I've seen nigh often is Lather (Scripture, Observation, Awarding, and Prayer), but there are dozens of others that you can try. I don't personally employ ane of these methods right at present, and so I'thou non the correct person to guide you through them, only this guide is a thorough walk-through of 11 of these methods.

Earthworks In: How I Personally Study the Bible

This is the method I utilize when I actually want to go all-out and acquire equally much every bit I tin from my Bible. For this, I'm essentially using the Quick-First Method merely adding multiple layers of enquiry and study.

Beginning, I read through the passage slowly, underlining interesting phrases, putting boxes or circles around major keywords, and adding squiggly lines under things that confuse me or that I find curious.

Then I slowly become through the passage, looking up every keyword, sentence, or phrase using my Logos app and sermons that I find online.

Next, I have notes in the margins and box them off, with arrows pointing from the section of scripture to my notes.

I imagine if I were the ane writing this story, in a bare-bones way. Are at that place things the Biblical text is telling me that I wouldn't add together myself, if I were just relaying the story? If so, those things are probably important.

Example: How to Commencement Bible Study

One example is John 4:1-ii: "Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus himself didn't cognominate them—his disciples did)."

If I was relaying the bones story, I would have just said "Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard he was baptizing and making more disciples than John." The fact that the author adds "though Jesus himself didn't cognominate them" ways that there'south something important at that place.

I did some Googling/research and information technology turns out that that's actually a really of import notation! It seems like Jesus didn't perform h2o baptisms so that no Christian could lord their status over some other, because nosotros are all of equal status in Christ (Galatians 3:28). By paying attending to what stands out, I'm able to detect petty details that I wouldn't if I only looked at the large picture.

Annotation large theological concepts

I also note "big ideas" that stand out to me theologically.

For example, many Jewish people walked around Samaria considering of their disdain for Samaritans, then when the Bible says that Jesus "had to walk through Samaria," it doesn't mean geographically — maybe it'due south considering he knew he had to meet the Samaritan adult female to give her this new beginning.

And then what that teaches me is that God will out of His way, into the darkest places, to meet people and offer them rebirth.

Note-taking

So I highlight the scripture portion, arrow, and box of notes all in the aforementioned color so I can stay organized. I don't color-lawmaking for the most role (my one exception is that I e'er use the same shade of orangish to note cross-references, when 1 voice references another). This is and then that I don't become beholden to my own arrangement, and instead permit the focus of my study exist on learning and not following my own colour-coding guide.

After I finish a page or reading department, I write my personal takeaway on a post-information technology note. Usually it's a lesson I can utilize to my life or something to remember that I learned about God that twenty-four hour period.

What I learned from reading the Bible in a twelvemonth

Since reading the Bible in its entirety in 2021, I've found a new rhythm for Bible study. I'm now much more comfortable picking up the text every solar day. Sometimes I use a commentary or guide alongside. I pray, I read, and then I reflect in the margins or on a post-it.

What I dear about writing in my Bible as I larn is that the text becomes like a conversation between me and God, where I can tape my thoughts and questions, and where God is speaking to me in my life and learnings. The physical Bible becomes a tape of my spiritual growth, as well.

How exercise y'all written report the Bible?

That's all I've got for at present. I hope that these methods will guide others in how to written report the Bible for beginners out there. May it inspire yous to find what works best for yous in your own Bible study. Thank yous for taking the time to read this guide to how to start studying the Bible. If you lot have whatsoever questions or comments, please don't hesitate to comment below. Let me know: how practise y'all do your Bible study?

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Source: https://saralaughed.com/how-to-start-studying-the-bible/