How Do I Understand the Bible? - Thematic

This is our final approach to digging deeper into the Bible. I have shared with you some of my favorite ways to study the Bible, approaches that I have found helpful over the years.

I would love to hear your stories of different Bible study methods you have tried and your experience with them.

So our final method is called the Thematic Study and revolves around following a theme through the Bible or a portion of the Bible. (If the theme is broad, you might want to limit your study to book or section of the Bible.)

The flow of the Thematic Study:

Begin with Prayer. Pause and ask God to teach you through His Spirit and to show you new insights and ways in which this theme applies to your life.

Choose a theme.

Find references in a concordance that deal with your theme.

Read the verses. You may need to read the surrounding verses to gain context and understanding.

To go deeper try comparing translations and define the theme word. (Bible Gateway makes it easy to compare the verses in a variety of translations.)

As you read, jot down answers to the following questions:

• What do you observe in the verse/passage? What do you learn about the theme?
• What questions are raised? What answers are found?
• When you've read the passages and taken notes, review what you've written.
• What patterns do you notice? What principles do you observe?
• Summarize what you have learned from this study

Suggested themes:
knowing God's will
obedience
praising the Lord in the psalms
Jesus' prayers
Paul's prayers
heavenlies in the book of Ephesians

Thank you for joining in this look at ways to understand the Bible better. 

Take a minute to share a comment about ways of reading or studying the Bible that have helped you. 

How Do I Understand the Bible? - Recreate a Journal

A fun follow-up to the Biographical study is to create a journal entry for the person you studied. It can also stand alone as a way to become more familiar with a Bible character or a particular event in their life.

As always, begin this study with prayer asking the Holy Spirit to give you insight and understanding.

Choose the person or event about which you would like to write a journal entry.

Using your concordance, find the verses where this person or event is recorded in the Bible.

Read the verses.

As you read, take note:

• Carefully observe the text
• Consider the background
• Ask what the person might have thought or felt
• Put yourself in that person's shoes
• Consider looking at it from a different perspective (e.g. in the march around Jericho you could write from the perspective of an Israelite soldier or priest, a resident of Jericho, Rahab, or an Israelite woman or child who stayed in camp or even an inanimate object such as a horn or stone in the wall) Don't be afraid to think outside the box and be creative. 

Write a journal entry from the perspective you have chosen. 

Suggested stories:

• Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3)
• Ruth leaving Moab (Ruth 1)
• Rahab after hiding the spies (Joshua 2)
• A person of Jericho as the Israelites march around the walls (Joshua 6)
• A Philistine describing Goliath's death (1 Samuel 17)
• Mary Magdalene's encounter with Jesus in the garden (John 20:1-18

If you would like to see an example of this study, visit "I Met a Man" - a journal entry I wrote from the point of view of the woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' robe. 

What Bible character intrigues you the most? What about him or her captures your attention?

How Do I Understand the Bible? - The People of the Bible

I have a confession to make, this is my favorite way to dig more deeply into the Bible. I love looking at the people of the Bible trying to understand what it might have felt like to be in their sandals, to think about what their world was like. When I use this style of study, I find that the characters become so much more real to me and I learn from the rich experiences of their lives.

A Biographical Study is looking specifically at the life of one person from the Bible in an attempt to understand who they were and the experiences that shaped them.

1. Choose a person. It is best to pick someone who is not mentioned in multiple chapters or multiple books. If your curiosity about one of the "big" Bible names (Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, etc.) draws you into studying one of them, another way to do so is to study their life one period as a time. (e.g. Moses - Moses' in Egypt before Age 40; Moses in the Dessert; Moses' Return to Egypt and Leading the Exodus; Moses and the 10 Commandments; Moses Preparing to Enter the Promised Land; Moses Leading the Israelites through the Wilderness for 40 Years; The End of Moses' Life - each of these periods of his life provide a rich and powerful study.) Also, watch out for duplicate names such as Joseph (son of Jacob and Jesus' stepfather) or Mary (Mary mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary mother of John Mark). You'll want to make sure that the references you are using all pertain to the same person.

2. List all references. Using a concordance list all the references that pertain to the person or the specific period of their life that you plan to study.

3. Pray asking the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you, to show you insights and truths from this study.

4. Read the references about this person. As you read look for clues to the following items. Write down your observations.

• Character development
• Crises faced
• Motivations
• Reactions to life's events
• Environment (location, culture, family)
• Significant relationships
• Spiritual life
• If OT, NT references
• Unusual birth or death

5. Summarize your observations and the lessons you learned. A helpful question to ponder as you do this is: Why did God put this person in the Bible and what can you learn from him or her?

Suggested people to study: Cornelius, Hannah, Dorcus/Tabitha, Caleb, Ruth, Daniel, Esther

What people from the Bible have especially impacted you? 

What about their life impressed you?

How Do I Understand the Bible? - Outline

I don't know about you, but I like variety to keep things fresh and, yes, even meaningful. I'd rather walk outside than on a treadmill, drive an interesting route rather than the fastest one, do something different sometimes just to shake things up. And, I'm the same with studying the Bible. I've been reading and studying the Bible for a long time now and at times it can get (dare I say it?) boring unless I change things up sometimes. That's why I'm suggesting an assortment of Bible study methods, so that whether brand new to the Bible or a long-timer who's gotten a little bored, you'll have some different ideas to choose from.

Most of these ways of studying the Bible are quite simple, yet each of them then deepen your knowledge, understanding, and experience with Scripture.

Today's is Outline.

When I was in sixth grade, my teacher required that we outline our history book for homework and two things happened. First, I discovered that after I had outlined a chapter I could ace the test with almost no additional study. (Loved that one!!) Second, I was drawn to the logical progression and understanding that comes with reducing something to outline form. I am beginning with the assumption that you know how to do a basic outline. (If that's not true for you, feel free to contact me and I'll be glad to explain how it works.)

When outlining the Bible, it is best to outline either a chapter paragraph by paragraph or a book chapter by chapter.

To begin this study, choose a chapter or book (preferably a short one to begin with) that you would like to understand more fully.

Pray. As I've said in the previous Bible Study posts, prayer to ask the the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you is always a crucial part of the process.

Read through the chapter or book for a sense of flow and how it fits together. At this time don't try to outline, just read it carefully to get the big picture of what's being said.

Read it again with an eye to outlining. If you're working through a chapter, give each paragraph a summary title as the main points of your outline. You may want to include key points from the paragraph as your sub-points. If you are outlining a book, give each chapter a summary title and then use your paragraphs as your sub-points.

Outlining is helpful for getting the big picture of the content and structure of a chapter or book.

If you'd like to take this study a Next Step, combine it with Observe and Question to help bring deeper understanding and to apply it to your life.

Suggested chapters:

Psalm 1
Psalm 23
Psalm 46
Matthew 5,6, or 7
Philippians 4

Suggested books:
Nehemiah
Jonah
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
James

What is your favorite way to study the Bible? 

What has helped you to keep your Bible study fresh and interesting?

How Do I Understand the Bible? - Observe and Question

Studying the Bible doesn't have to be big and scary.

Although the Bible is a BIG book, filled with lots of names and places that are unfamiliar, with some stretches that are not so interesting, it is also full of stories of valiant warriors, tender poets, miracles, and very fallible human beings. Many of the stories have rightfully been made into epic movies since they are stories of epic proportions.

The Bible is a wonderful blend of excitement, mystery, and truths that challenge our thinking and our reality. So how do we begin to understand what this big book says.

One way is to Read - Observe - Question. What does that look like?

Pray. Any time that we study the Bible, we want to invite the Holy Spirit aka the Spirit of Truth to help us understand what we are reading. (John 14:16,17, and 26)

Choose a Selection from the Bible to Read. The amount of time you want to spend and the depth of the study you want to undertake will largely determine the length of your selection. The length could vary between a few verses to an entire book. If you're looking for inspiration and encouragement, the Psalms would be a good place to begin. If you're looking for biblical teachings, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) or Epistles (Romans through Jude) would be good. If you're looking for the history of the world, the Jewish nation, or Christianity then Genesis, Exodus through Esther, or Acts would be helpful. Old Testament prophetic books are Isaiah through Malachi and in the New Testament Revelation is the primary prophetic book.

Read a Passage of the Bible. Read the passage you have chosen all the way through once without stopping. Pause.

Write down your initial response, observations, and questions.

Read it again slowly and thoughtfully.

Write: What else do you observe? What other questions arise? Do any answers surface?

Using your Bible Study Tools such as cross references, a study Bible, commentaries, and a Bible dictionary or encyclopedia search for answers to your questions. Bible Gateway is a website that offers several free resources as well as links to those for purchase.

Record your exploration, what you have learned, and your conclusions.

Apply. Ask yourself how this study has impacted your life and how it makes a difference in your day to day interactions with God and with other people.

If you try this type of study, I invite you to talk about your experience 

or what you have learned here in this online community. 

NOTE: I do not receive any type of reimbursement or benefits from any endorsements made in this post. 

How Do I Understand the Bible? - SCPTP

While we are often told that reading and studying the Bible are important, many are not sure where to begin or how to study the Bible. A simple way to learn more about the Bible is to read a few verses or even one verse at a time asking five questions. If you're new to reading or studying the Bible, this type of study creates a great foundation for deeper study at a later time.

How do you go about this study?

Choose a passage to read. This study works best when reading a single verse or paragraph in the Bible. Over time you can read a variety of short passages or you can choose to read through a book a paragraph at a time. This study works particularly well with the Gospels (Matthew through John) or the Epistles (Romans through Jude) in the New Testament. You may want to begin with a shorter book such as Philippians, Colossians, or 1 John.

Pray. Ask God to guide you through the Holy Spirit into a deeper understanding of His message to you through the Bible.

Read and Record. Read your chosen passage for the day. In a journal or on an electronic device jot down the date, reference of the passage you read, and then the answers to the following questions:

Is there a . . .

Sin to confess?
Command to obey?
Promise to claim?
Truth to understand and believe?
Prayer to pray?

Sin to Confess - Does the Bible address a particular sin, something that God says is not what He desires for us? If so, jot that down. To apply this question to your own life, ask yourself if this is a sin that you have given into. If so, God tells us to confess our sin and He will forgive us. (1 John 1:9)

Command to Obey - Is there something that God wants us to do? What is that? Record the answer in your journal. Think about how you can begin to do this thing God is asking of you.

Promise to Claim - Does God make a promise to you in this verse? Write down what the promise is. How can claiming that promise help you in your current circumstances?

Truth to Understand and Believe - What truth is captured in this verse or paragraph? Why is it important? What difference does it make in your life?

Prayer to Pray - Is there a prayer given? What does it say? What does it help you understand about how to pray? Are you willing to pray this prayer to God?

Let's do an example together:

We'll try a verse that is familiar to many, Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Is there a sin to confess? Not specifically.

Is there a command to obey? Yes, more than one: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" and "In all your ways acknowledge him". And, we are told not to lean on our own understanding (our own intellect, reasoning, or logic). How can I do this? Currently I am in the midst of working with my family to make some serious decisions. In those decisions I need to choose to trust God and to acknowledge His ability to guide us.

Is there a promise to claim? Absolutely, "he will make straight your paths." I can have assurance that as I trust God and acknowledge Him in these decisions that He will guide us and he will show us clearly the right thing to do.

Is there a truth to understand and believe? Nothing beyond those we've already identified.

Is there a prayer to pray? Not specifically, however praying Scripture and asking for God's help to trust and acknowledge Him, to avoid leaning on our own understanding, and claiming His promise to us, is appropriate and can make our prayer times more meaningful.

Have you ever tried studying the Bible this way? Was it helpful? 

What has helped you to study the Bible?

How do I Understand the Bible? - The Necessary Tools

 

How do I understand the Bible? It's so thick with unfamiliar words and confusing stories and teaching. I don't even know where to begin. As a teacher and coach, I have heard this question asked many times. And, it's an important one.

God gave us the Bible so that we could understand Him better and it is the sacred Scriptures of the Christian faith. Therefore, reading and studying it will help us in our relationship with God and in growing in our faith.

Over the next few weeks I want to share with you ways of studying the Bible that will help you increase your knowledge of its contents, your understanding of what it means, and how to apply it to your own life and situation.

A skilled craftsman knows the importance of having the right tools for the job - be it a woodworker, an electrician, a chef, a diver, a teacher, a writer, a glassblower, a surgeon, or an artist. The right tools make it much easier to produce a great work and in some cases, such as a diver or electrician, it may be a matter of life or death. So, if you want to know how to understand the Bible better, what tools do you need?

Studying the Bible does not have to be complicated or involve a great many books or tools, although as you delve more and more deeply into the Bible there may be books, software, or apps that you would like to purchase. However, to begin the list is rather short:

1. A Bible. A study Bible that contains a summary of each book (giving its history, author, and an overview of its contents), maps, charts, and a concordance (a list of where particular words are found) is especially helpful. My favorites are The Life Application Bible, The Quest Study Bible, and the NIV Study Bible. I have found each of these to have comprehensive and helpful tools.

2. A journal, notebook, computer, or tablet where you can track what you are learning.

3. Prayer and the Holy Spirit. Some passages of the Bible and some people described in the Bible are difficult to understand. Therefore, it is important that you seek the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in your study and to reveal truth to you and to help you avoid misinterpreting the Scripture.

These three things are sufficient to help anyone get started toward a basic understanding of the Bible, what it says, and what it means.

Perhaps you are interested in going deeper in your study. Perhaps you are puzzled by various things and want deeper answers or maybe you would like to help someone else understand the Bible better and you want to understand the Bible more completely yourself first. The following tools are helpful for those who want to go deeper. I have listed them in the order I would recommend attaining them.

4. A Concordance. While today many Study Bibles have extensive concordances, most do not have an Exhaustive Concordance. An Exhaustive Concordance lists every word in the Bible and all the verses where it can be found. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is one of the most famous concordances and is very helpful. Some websites such as Bible Gateway can also function as a concordance by allowing you to enter a key word into their site and it will list all the verses where that word is found. Bible Gateway also has a number of other very helpful resources including the option to view a verse or passage in multiple translations of the Bible.

5. A Commentary of the Whole Bible. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible is readily available in both book and online formats and is well-known and widely respected. As your study grows you may want to invest in commentaries on specific books of the Bible or sections of the Bible. Also, many Study Bibles contain commentary at the bottom of the pages. A commentary explains the meaning and background of the verses in the Bible.

6. A Bible Dictionary. This is a dictionary that focuses specifically on biblical and theological terms that may be unfamiliar. My personal favorite is the Zondervan Expository Dictionary of Bible Words by Larry Richards. I have found this to be both comprehensive and easy to understand.

7. A Bible Encyclopedia or Handbook. I personally have found an encyclopedia more helpful than a handbook, however both can help you to understand the cultural context and history of biblical events.

8. Bible Study Books. Many good Bible study books have been written in a topical, systematic theology, or book study format. These books are useful in guiding you through a particular study, usually asking you to read a portion of Scripture, providing an explanation of or thoughts on the passage, and questions to help you think more deeply about it. Fisherman Bible Study Guides provide a plethora of choices for both topical and book studies. The Navigators also have many excellent Bible study guides available.

What have you found to be challenging about studying the Bible?
What resources have you found that have helped you?

Pausing to Reflect

A fairly well-known spiritual discipline is called the Examen. The Examen is a time to pause and reflect on the events of a specific period of time - what did we do right or wrong? where did God show up? what is God saying to us? Some call it the Daily Examen and recommend taking time each day, either at night to reflect on the day ending or in the morning to review the previous day.

Liking to think outside of the box a little, I decided to experiment with a Weekly Examen. I had picked up a unique journal that I liked, but for which I had no specific purpose when I purchased it. With the left hand page blank and the right hand page lined, it was unique in my collection of journals. I bought it, set it aside, and then as I was learning more about the rhythm of the Examen, I knew exactly how I wanted to use it.

Each Saturday (well, theoretically . . . confession time . . . I am not always as consistent as I'd like to be and sometimes I have to play catch up with this), I review the previous week. I read through my journal entries and remember the events of the week. I look for a theme or lessons that God is bringing into focus. When I have determined a theme for the previous week, I draw a picture or write decorative words on the left hand page to depict that theme. Then, I write my reflections about the week on the right hand page.

I have found this to be a fun and enlightening exercise that helps me to stay aware of what God is teaching me, where I am struggling, and what I am dreaming about. Below are three examples of pages from 2013.

My theme for 2013 was "Emerging" and this page depicted a particular phase in that process. I realized that I was responsible to speak truth, to be proactive about approaching issues, from that emerged a sense of empowerment, confidence and freedom.

At another point in the year, I was pondering the different ways that we minister to others. As I thought about the ways we help others, I realized that Jesus used a wide variety of tools. The key was that He had discernment and knew exactly which tool to use at just the right time.

At the end of the year, I combined my Weekly Examen with a Yearly Examen and symbolized the idea of Emerging throughout 2013 including the specific things that had shifted.


As a person who enjoys both writing and visualizing concepts, I have found this to be a fun way to review the weeks of my life. Nonetheless, how you do the Examen is not as important as doing the Examen. Some people have a specific list of questions they review. Some write about it in their journal. Some talk it out with another person. There are a variety of ways to do the Examen and a variety of intervals at which to do it. I encourage you to experiment a little, give it a try.

Be on the lookout for what God is doing in your life.

How do you keep a check on what God is saying to you?

on how you're living your life?

Meditation

freedigitalphotos.net

Tonight I am thinking about meditation, specifically meditation on Scripture, as I approach the rhythms that create a space to draw closer to God. 

Many years ago I was challenged by Tim Hansel's book You Gotta Keep Dancin'. Tim tells his story of climbing a glacier, falling in a crevice, crushing several vertebrae in his back, miraculously hiking out, and subsequently living with intense, irreversible, chronic pain. He shares that he chose a verse of the Bible on which he would meditate - think about - until he found the music behind the words.

As a young woman, I decided to give this a try and found it to be very rewarding. I would pick a single verse that seemed to be particularly appropriate to something in my life and then I would ponder it, day after day for a pre-determined period of time. All the while listening for the music behind the words - the deeper meaning, what God was trying to say to me. For a few years I practiced this form of meditation regularly. Now, meditation is one way that I study the Bible in the mix of a variety of methods I use to keep my study fresh and alive.

Last year I meditated on Romans 12:2 for several days. I read it in various translations and then reflected on it in my journal. Here is an excerpt from one of those ponderings:

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,

but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will know what God wants you to do,

and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

(NLT)

Transform = 1. To change markedly in form or appearance, 2. To change the nature, function, or condition of; convert or be converted.

Conform = 1. To make or become similar. 2. To act or be in agreement; comply. 3. To act in accordance with customs or rules.

Copy = 1. An imitation or reproduction of something original; duplicate.

God calls us to be different from the world around us. He calls us to conform not to the customs and behaviors of this world, but instead to take on the attitude of Christ and to live according to Kingdom principles. We are to be like Christ rather than the world around us.

What does that look like in practicality? The Amish separate themselves in the way they dress, their use of vehicles and electricity. Others avoid jewelry and celebrations. What does this look like for me? What does this look like for women I influence and teach, how do I explain this? Some avoid make-up or modern clothing . . . . I sense that this is more about the inner person that finds expression in outer behaviors than it is about following a rigid set of rules. 

How do you include meditating on Scripture into your daily life? 

What are some things you have learned meditating on the Bible?

Solitude

This month I am writing about spiritual rhythms in our lives, activities that when done consistently over time create a space for us to grow in our relationship to Christ and to grow as spiritual people.

Solitude is one of my favorite rhythms. I find that I need as Ruth Haley Barton says in her book Sacred Rhythms, "rhythms of solitude, community, and ministry." I need those times to be alone to hear myself and God. I need those times of community when I am with others sharing life together. And, I need those times of ministry when I am focused on serving the God I love. When these three things are in balance, I experience greater fulfillment, growth, and peace.

Solitude is a place to know and experience God in our deepest being and to connect with our own souls. Our souls are often timid, unwilling to come out in places that are dangerous or overly loud and busy, yet in the quiet of solitude they may peek out of their hiding place and even appear when it is safe. When we are able to unplug and disconnect from our world of technology, social media, and overly busy schedules, we can hear our souls. An old-fashioned saying comes to mind, "We can hear ourselves think."

Often we are tired at a soul level from all the striving and busyness of life. This is when we most need to pause in solitude and keep still to hear from God. Rather than striving to make things happen ourselves, we need to wait on God to do His thing and to make things happen.

Journaling, having a quiet time, and my solo days are the mechanisms I use to choose regular times of solitude. In these times of solitude, I am able to look inward and upward in a way that refreshes my soul and in God's loving presence see what is hidden deep in my soul. Often in these times of solitude I hear God, find healing, or return to a place of peace rather than chaos.

Finding solitude is not always easy in our busy lives with work, family, and other obligations. 

How do you find times for solitude in your life?

Solo Days

Since I have been a bit MIA the last couple of weeks, I thought I would take a minute to explain why before I jump into today's topic. As I've mentioned before, my mom is elderly and she's had some health concerns lately so we've been providing even more support than usual. I have been spending more time helping to manage her care, therefore my brief hiatus from blogging. Hoping I am back again now.

Solo Days . . . ummm, what is that?

About twenty years ago I read a book called The Youth Builder by Jim Burns. In it he describes taking a mini-retreat periodically to help maintain his sanity in the midst of a busy, busy, busy ministry life. I was inspired to begin my own trek into this practice. As the years have passed, this discipline has become part of the rhythm of my life and I have refined the process to work effectively for me. In time, I dubbed this custom a "Solo Day."

A Solo Day is a day (or sometimes more than one day) set aside to refocus specifically on God and what He is doing in my life. It involves prayer, Bible reading, reviewing my life, journaling, and goal setting. It happens about every 3 months around the same day each of those months. In May just before my birthday, I review the entire year and consider the entire coming year.

Usually I begin with prayer, asking God to guide this time and to speak to me. Then, often (although not always) I read a large portion of Scripture (a whole book or several chapters) with the expectation that God has something to say to me through His Word. I continue with prayer and journaling about what God has communicated to me through the Bible.

Then I focus on three core questions:

1. Where have I been?
2. What is God doing?
3. Where does God want me to go next?

Where have I been?

I review the last 3 months. I reflect on outstanding memories. I review my journals. Occasionally I review my calendar. Here I am gathering data, looking for facts and events.

What is God doing?

This is the beginning of the interpretation of the data. I am looking for where God has been at work in my life and around me. Where can I see patterns of His activity? What have I heard Him say to me? What lessons has He taught me?

Where does God want me to go next?

This is the second part of the interpretation of the data and is bathed in prayer and processing. Where does God want me to focus for the next 3 months or the next year? How do I get there? I normally write down some action steps or goals to move me forward toward where I see God leading me.

Last week I had a mini melt down one morning and later in the day, I realized that it was near the date for my quarterly Solo Day. I was feeling stressed out and overwhelmed as I often do just before it is time for a Solo Day. I knew that I needed to put it on my calendar pronto and then keep that date. 

freedigitalphotos.net

For nearly twenty years my Solo Days have been a time to connect more deeply with God, to regain my focus, to discern God's direction, and to emerge with greater peace and encouraged to forge ahead. 

How do you help yourself stay focused?