We do not go to the Bible merely to increase our knowledge of The Book, but as believers, we want to seek to know our Lord better, to improve our relationship with Him, to get our lives to be patterned after His and to help others do the same. And this is borne out of our love for Him.
When I was in secondary school at Edo College Benin City, we had an annual end of session program that packed several events. One of these events was a treasure hunt.
The hunt would start with some search teams being given a piece of paper each with clues that would have a lead to other clues. Each clue was a kind of puzzle which you had to crack to get to the others. They could take you around the entire campus until you finally got to the ‘hidden treasure,’ which usually was a gift of some sort, won by the first team to reach it.
Studying the Bible is like a treasure hunt. It is a conscious effort to unearth hidden treasures in God’s word. You do not pick up precious stones, like diamonds, on the ground. You have to dig deep if you are going to find anything of great value.
When you study the Bible, you search, you compare scripture with scripture; you ask questions and make the effort to find answers in the Bible itself.
Studying the word of God, unlike only reading the Bible, is more in-depth. Studying the word of God involves a deeper search, where humility and an open heart and mind help to produce the best results. You receive the engrafted word with meekness, which is able to save your souls. James, the apostle, would say.
Your subject of study could be a character: that is the study of an individual mentioned in the Bible. You can study the life of Jesus, Ruth, Paul, Pilate, and so on.
You could also do a topical study by taking on a subject and studying it. For example, if you are married or are planning to get married, you can study the subjects of marriage, husband and wife; children; attitudes in relationships; how to build a good home and so on. You can study faith, money, work ethics, and you can take on a subject where you are having issues.
You might want to get a topical study Bible to assist you along these lines. The Bible has guidance to practically every issue of life.
Also, you can do a book or a verse-by-verse study. For example, you can take on a book like John or Nehemiah and study it chapter by chapter and verse by verse.
Try to find out: Who wrote the book? Why did he write it? What is its main theme or message? Who were his primary readers? What lessons can you glean that you can apply in your own life?
Throughout your study, you can employ the question leads: why, when, who, how and what to generate questions that could help you deepen your search.
When you study the Bible, always ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and to help you understand what it is you are studying and to give you wisdom on how to apply whatever lessons you might learn.
Get a notebook and a pen to take notes of things that strike you. Get a good dictionary to define difficult words so you can get a better understanding.
Oh, I can hear someone saying, Solomon, I do not have that kind to time. I am saddened by this complaint, especially when one probes further to find out that the person making such complaint spends several hours a day watching movies, browsing the internet, reading novels and magazines or just generally reveling on social-media grapevine for endless hours.
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In all fairness, many people have jobs and commitments that do not allow them much spare time, while others, discouraged by the sheer volume of the Bible wonder, where do I start, when would I finish? Or they simply do not know how to go about it.
Actually, you never really finish reading the Bible throughout your lifetime. There is always some fresh insight to glean from it. And, as a friend of mine said, the meat of an elephant is never eaten all at once; rather you consume it little by little.
Don’t try to read or study the Bible all at once, in one day or one week. Well, if you have that opportunity, take it. But the best way to study the Bible is by taking it morsel by morsel. Little by little as Isaiah 29:8-10 says:
Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.
That is how you get to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word. It is gleaning “here a little, and there a little.” It takes consistent time and effort with a commitment to put what you learn into practice.
Let’s go unto speaking the word of God as one of the ways we can relate with it. Speaking the word of God is about declaring what the word of God says. When you speak the word, you agree with what God’s word has said. Of course, you must believe it in your heart before you speak it. Make it a practice in your life to always speak only in agreement with what God’s word says.
Confession is another word we use to refer to speaking God’s word. Confession means to “speak in agreement with.” When you confess the word, you are speaking in agreement with God.
Spoken words which are believed in the heart are powerful, for they have the potential to create their content in the lives of their speakers. Jesus said in Mark 11:23,
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Get my book, CONFESSIONS OF FAITH: Meditations in God’s Word. It will help you build a robust faith attitude as a believer in Christ through hearing, meditating and confessing God’s Word daily.
The word of God is not empty and powerless. It carries within it the power to create what it says. It is living and powerful. When you consistently speak God’s word with faith and patience, you can transform your life and the circumstances you face.
The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Friend, let us continue this discussion in the next and third part.
Until then, do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
Thank you.
References: James 1:21; Isaiah 29:8-10, NKJV; Mark 11:23; Hebrews 4:12-13, NLT.
Get my book, CONFESSIONS OF FAITH: Meditations in God’s Word on Amazon
Have you read You and Your Bible: Your Relationship with God’s Word- Part 1?
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