Let’s say you are studying Paul’s letter to the Colossians. It is important to get the big picture before getting bogged down in particular passages. My suggestion is to read it through quite rapidly in one sitting. Try to take in: the flow of the book, the major themes, recurrent ideas or phrases, the “feel” of the scriptures, and so forth. If you were reading Colossians (four chapters), you could do a rapid reading, or even a skimming through, in one to three minutes. Then go back and read it again more slowly. As you notice how each passage relates to the whole, you will come to appreciate the book in a whole new light.

In general, the best advice is not to rush. Find a time where you are not harried and distracted by other concerns, when you can devote sufficient time to Bible study to get something from your reading.

Remember to pray before you begin your study. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s word to you in fresh and exciting ways. Pray that your eyes would be opened to what the text really says.

Understand that we all come into any situation with pre-concieved notions, biases, and prejudices (pre-judgements) about a situation. Ask that the Lord to give you insight into what these are and that He will help you get beyond what you THINK you know and into the true knowledge He wants you to have. Pray for wisdom, discernment, and the fear of the Lord.

Remember that Jesus is the Word of God, and that the Word is living and powerful (John 1:1, Heb. 4:12). If you approach your Bible Study as getting to know Jesus better, you will gain a deeper appreciation for what Scripture has to say.

Leaders know the importance of planning.  Nehemiah’s first objective was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem starting with the gates. (Neh. 3)  He motivated the people to work with him and, at different times, measured their advancement (Neh. 4 – 6).  His plan allowed for interruptions.  (Neh. 4 – 5)  He constantly surveyed the situation as the rebuilding of the wall was taking place.  Despite the many obstacles, the Jews complete the wall in 52 days! (Neh. 6:15-19)  Here we see another one of those desirable characteristics of the leader, the ability to plan.

Setting goals is serious business.  The Apostle Paul made plans (see, for example, Acts 15:36; Rom 1:13), and so did the other apostles (Acts 6:1-3).  Even Jesus himself made plans (Matt 10:5-15; 16:21; 26:17-19).  Surely, we cannot claim that these men were not Spirit-led in their planning.

For this reason, it is helpful to use a daily Bible reading plan.  This plan should help you to read for the sake of learning, not simply just, so that you can accomplish your next reading.

There are many helpful Bible reading systems available from your church, denomination, local Christian bookstore, or even on the web.  Evaluate several and then choose a plan that systematically takes you through all parts of the Bible and follow it.  The point is, find a plan, and stick to it.  Then you won’t have to spend your study time in “menu planning” and you can experience “the joy of cooking”.

Be very careful that your plan is not so rigid in your schedule that any little ‘crisis’ ruins your day.  People sometimes stick to their plans even when the only reason for doing so is to save face.  However, the Apostle Paul did not share this rigidity.  On more than one occasion in his missionary travels, Paul planned to invade a region with the gospel but the Spirit of God prevented him (Acts 16:6-7).  Herein is the balance: although Paul planned, he was sensitive to the Lord altering his plans.  We ought not to be so anxious about life that we make rigid plans that are beyond our capacity to keep, nor should we be so lazy as to make no plans at all.  Rather, with all humility, let us submit our plans to the Lord, and work for his glory.  We should use our minds and set goals, but we must do so in humility, recognizing that God alone controls our destiny.

So, make a plan for your Bible study time or find a plan that fits you and remember that our God is a God of order so set realistic goals for your Bible study time.  More importantly, come to your time of Bible study expecting to hear God speak, to learn, and to change, and you won’t be disappointed.

To God be the Glory, forever and ever, Amen.

When you find that your mind has wandered, it is important to go back and read that passage again until you understand what you are reading, even if it takes several readings. It is better to read one verse with a clear understanding than to read an entire chapter with your mind drifting to other things. Sometimes it can be helpful to read the bible aloud if you find your mind wandering. This can help you maintain your concentration. A larger print bible can also help with concentration because it is easier to read and the pages of the Bible are not as cluttered with type.

If you find yourself unable to concentrate for a period of time, don’t quit. Write down a reference of the verse that perplexes you, and keep on reading. Schedule another time for a more exhaustive study to research the difficult text. Avoid interrupting your plan, as a general rule, just to ponder an obscure thought that you are wrestling with to the detriment of understanding.

Be persistent. Don’t let the devil defeat you in your Bible study. Just go back at it the next day and the next and the next. There are going to be ups and downs in your Bible study as there are in everything else in life. The best tip for effective Bible study that I have ever heard is to just keep reading and studying. Don’t allow discouragement to set in.

Why not pray first, before you begin your study? Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and pray. Prepare to open yourself to the wonders of God’s word! Ask the lord to help you keep your mind on his word and to help you grow in His knowledge, wisdom, and discernment. Explain your problem to Him, and ask Him to help you concentrate on His word.

Sometimes we enter our time of study completely burdened, don’t we? We forget that the Lord wants us to cast our burdens on him ( 1 Peter 5:7 ). We often forget that he delights in comforting us, his sons and daughters. He wants us not to be anxious about anything ( Philippians 4:6 ). If you are anxious when you begin your personal Bible study time, do not be surprised if your thoughts jump to your area of anxiety. Take a few moments to pray, even if your plan was to pray afterwards. We can never spend enough time in prayer.

With perseverance, prayer, and planning, we can devote ourselves to persistent Bible study with thirty minutes to an hour per day.

P.S. Be careful about using a computer during your Bible study time. I use my computer to study the Bible, because it is so efficient and the information is so vast, but it is too easy to get distracted with other things on the computer.

Some of us (though not many) can study successfully in any environment. For most of us, however, the choice of setting will be vital. Sometimes a library can be a nice study area, but the libraries tend not to be open very late or open early enough in the morning. A park can sometimes be an option, especially if your just reading, but only during the daytime and only during nice weather. 

Ideally, you should set aside a spot in your home. You don’t need much space; a corner of a room with a bookshelf or a table to set your coffee on, a comfortable chair (but not so comfortable that you are tempted to sleep), sufficient lighting, ample ventilation, and the perfect temperature (not to hot, not to cold) will do.  

Remember to keep the TV & Radio off. Unless you have commercial free mood music (as long as you can keep from singing along). As in driving a car or operating heavy machinery, it is crucial to stay alert. The most distraction free you can keep it the better. Nothing promotes reading/learning better than the right atmosphere! 

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)¹⁸ “Impress these words of Mine on your hearts and souls, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  

In order to bind these words on our hearts and souls we must learn them first. Learning comes through careful and repeated study.

Do you want a literal (word for word) translation or a paraphrased (what the author “thinks” the Bible says) version? Will you use this Bible for Study, Reading, or in a Church setting? There are so many questions now to ask when purchasing a Bible as well as which English translation do I choose. Nowadays there are numerous readable (and reasonably accurate) translations available to the reader of English. With so many translations out there, which one is right and is there a bad translation or not? Below you will find a list of the more popular translations followed by a short description and a few personal opinions concerning the translation. If you have finished reading the Bible completely, you might try moving on to a new version to reinvigorate your Bible studies. Why not make such a shift at the beginning of the year? 

These are not in order of favorites only as I came across them in my writing. 

Holman Christian Standard Bible: The Goals of this Translation are to equip serious Bible students with an accurate translation for personal study, private devotions, and memorization. To give those who love God’s word a text that is easy to read, visually attractive on the page, and appealing when heard.  

English Standard Version: The ESV is essentially a literal translation (word for word) and attempts to capture the precise meaning of the original text and carry over the full range of meaning into the English language. Translated by a team of over 100 scholars, it was released in 2001 and is recommended for textual study. 

New International Version: Best selling English version in the world. It strives for a balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought translation. Most consider it a highly accurate and smooth reading version. A team of 108 translators worked on the project and it was first published in 1978. This is the version used in most of today’s Churches. 

New American Standard: The NASB is considered a strictly literal version and adheres to a word-for-word equivalent while striving to obtain a fluent and readable style. It is recommended for serious textual study. A team of 54 translators produced this version in 1971, with an update in 1995. 

The NET Bible: The NET Bible is a completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes! It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translators’ notes (which outnumber the verses two to one ) make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator’s shoulder at the very process of translation. The maps are taken from space and provide rich color and cartographic detail. This translation is both word-for-word and paraphrastic, however the quality is generally high. 

King James Version: The KJV (also known as the Authorized Version) is a word-for-word translation originally published in 1611 at the request of King James I of England. The translators mostly aimed at making a clear and accurate translation from the original languages. The ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts had not been discovered until after 1850 making it impossible for the KJV translators to make use of them. Still, the KJV is the most widely owned and used English translation in the USA. This version is written heavily in Old English so you will have to keep on your toes as you study it. 

The last two are Paraphrased Bibles but nonetheless popular: In my opinion a paraphrase of the Bible should not be used as a Christian’s primary Bible. We must remember that a paraphrase is a retelling of something in your own words so a paraphrase Bible is what the author “thinks” the Bible says, not necessarily “what” the Bible says. A paraphrase of the Bible is different from a translation in that a translation attempts (to varying degrees) to communicate as “word-for-word” or as “thought-for-thought” as possible. A paraphrase Bible takes the meaning of a verse or passage of Scripture and attempts to express the meaning in “plain language” – essentially the words the author of the paraphrase would use to say the same thing. 

A paraphrase of the Bible should essentially be used as a commentary on the Bible, a way to get another perspective. A paraphrase can be used alongside a Bible translation to give insight into what the Bible means. A paraphrase of the Bible, though, should not be viewed as scripture, but rather as an author’s idea of what the scriptures are saying and what it means by what it says. 

New Living Translation: The NLT strives to give priority to meaning rather than a word-for-word version. The goal of this work was ‘to enhance the power and clarity of The Living Bible’ and create a ‘translation as good for study as it is for devotional reading.’ It uses vocabulary and language structure commonly used by the average person. This version was produced by a team of 90 scholars and was released in 1996.

The Message: This easy-to-read and recent version by Eugene Peterson attempts to convert the original languages into the tone and rhythms of American speech, while retaining the idioms and meaning of the original languages. Great for devotional reading and getting the overall meaning of a text. The N.T. was released in 1993, and the O.T. in 2002.  

These are just a few of the more popular versions; English has dozens more! 

Brothers and Sisters, we live in a world that has made it ever so easy to call oneself a Christian whether you know who we are following or not.

I ask you to consider the following scriptures: 

Romans 10:17 (NIV): ¹⁷Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 

Romans 15:4 (NIV): ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV): ¹Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ²This is what the ancients were commended for. ³By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 

By careful and persistent Study of God’s word we too can be “Sure of what we hope for” because we will know what this Hope is exactly.  

Bible Study Tip #2 to follow next week…