What’s your Bible study method? For some, it is to read the Bible through in one year. I know one fellow who has done this for twelve years! Maybe you decide to read one book over a period of time, absorbing small bites at a time. Others have a devotional book that includes Bible passages each day. Perhaps you’re just glad if you can read the Scripture passage and the lesson for next Sunday’s Bible class. Or maybe you read the Bible passages and notes for a weekly Bible study every Tuesday night or Thursday morning, etc.

Any format or time frame that gets you closer to Bible study is a good thing, but if it’s just so you can check that off your to-do list, let’s do some rethinking. For the Word of God to truly have its place in your heart, I think we need to ask the question—what does it mean?

I’m the devotional book person. My book of choice is “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young. I’ve menioned this before. Her writing just seems to hit my “needed that” spot every day. She includes three or four Bible references to go along with it. When I look them up, maybe 8 times out of 10, I have that verse(s) underlined. I’m on my third year going through this 365-day book because it still speaks to me even the third time around.

Every third Sunday, I teach in our Sunday morning Bible study class. Quite honestly, that’s when I do the greatest in-depth study. I think “Why did Jesus say this? Or what did Paul mean by that? What was going on in Daniel’s mind when he was taken from his homeland to Babylon? What was Joshua thinking when he planned to tell the people that they were going to walk silently around Jericho the next day, and the next, and the next?”

Dig for depth. Dig for understanding. Learn why they’re doing what they’re doing. What are they thinking? How are they approaching God? What are they learning that I need to learn? That, my friends, is when it gets to be real Bible study. What did it mean then? What does it mean for my life now?

So many wonderful jewels He has for us when we dig for them. And speaking of prayer (in the last two blogs), oh how the study of His Word opens the door for deeper prayer.

Studying His Word by ourselves enriches our walk with the Lord. And studying it with a group brings a new freshness as God enhances our understanding by the prospective of others.

Whatever you do in order to get into His Word, I pray you will continue to ask, “What is the setting? What is the back story? What is someone learning? What does it mean to me?”

I think that is why I love to write about Bible characters. Digging into their life experiences. Studying their culture. Discovering how Jesus touched their lives. Making them come alive as the real people they were.

Would you share with my readers what you do to make Scripture come alive in your life? A study plan, a devotional book, or a group study. Scroll down to share.

~ Joyce ~