Bible reading methods

[phoenix_kid82]

Hi

I love His word. It's so powerful, & it's alive. When i'm reading it, God's there speaking to me directly about so many things

I have a method that works for me, which i'll share here. I haven't read the whole Bible yet, but i want to. But i feel i'm rushing a bit, like i need to slow down and meditate on things a bit more to really take in what God's wanting to teach me.

I'm curious to know if others have methods that work for them, things that the method helps them with, things that they struggle with and if they've found a method that's help them overcome that.

I plan to stick to my method, but hopefully incorporate things that will help me really have His word on my heart and really help me make His word my foundation. I don't want to skim over things that can change me and cause me to grow and be more like Him. There are so many profound truths in His word.

I read a study NIV, and i like to read the small print cos i want to understand the full context of what i'm reading.

I read a book at a time, from beginning to end, but not from Genesis to Revelation. I read a book here and a book there in a way that seems random. Then i started alternating between OT and NT to get a balance.

I also high light things. Yellow is for something that encourages and edifies, orange for something that challenges and convicts me, pink for things that speak directly into my current situation or that prophesy my future or help me understand the past and where He was (looooooooong story aka testimony 4 His glory halleluliah amen). And green for the small print or other things, things i need to know to relate it to a cultural context or full meaning of a word or name at the time it was written.

Some people have trouble understanding the Old Testament, but i love it. My current favourite is Ecclesiastes.

So please share, any contribution is appreciated.

Wasabi_Cupcake

 

[StAnselm]

This sounds pretty good Wasabi. I can't bring myself to use a highlighter in my Bible, but I can see how it might be very useful. I personally read two books at the same time - one from the OT and one from the NT.

You're right, I don't think it's essential to read from Genesis to Revelation - the order in our English Bible isn't even the original order anyway - but we have to be careful that we don't miss bits. Leviticus and Ezekiel often tend to be over-looked.

One thing you might want to try is doing some reading in larger slabs (say, a few chapters at a time - in order to get the lie of the land, so to speak), and other read just a few verses at a time, really meditating on them.

Ecclesiastes is a great book, isn't it? Im not sure I understand it fully, but if you want to discuss it on another thread I'd be more than happy to do so...

 

[LiberatedChick]

I won't use a highlighter in my KJV bible but I bought an NIV bible yesterday because I was having trouble with understanding some of the KJV language (last time that happened I was around 10-12 years old and I gave up and drifted away because I couldn't understand it). Anyway, got a different translation to help me and bought some highlighters too and I have been highlighting sections. Haven't done different colours for different types of teaching but instead just been highlighting the sections that I believe are of major importance to me and that I wish to remember, or at least be able to easily look up.

 

[mythbuster]

Watchman Nee's Bible study method's.

1) General study of all the books of the Bible consecutively to acquire an overall view.

2) The study of a particular book.

3) The study of particular subjects, such as the kingdom, the rapture...

4) The study of particular words, such as redemption, salvation...

5) THe study of allegories, such as Sarah and Hagar.

6) The study of types, such as the tabernacle, the altar...

7) THe study of parables, such as the seven parables in Matthew 13...

8) THe study of numbers, like three, seven, eight...

9) The study of prophecies concerning Israel, the Church, the Gentiles...

10) The study of characters.

11) The study of history.

12) The study of psalms and songs to learn how to praise and pray.

13) The study of similar portions of the the Bible.

14) A study referring to Hebrew and Greek texts.

15) A study using the writngs of others the receive their help, inspiration, and balancing point of view.

16) A study to aquire knowledge and receive light. He had a special copy of the Bible for this pupose for making notes.

17) A study for life, to receive daily bread for the spiritual life. He used a different Bible for this purpose with no notes.

18) A study done by speed reading. When he was twenty he read the New Testament once a week for a year.

19) A study done by reading slowly to ponder over portions of the word..

20) A study done by memorizing certain verses or portions to store the Word in the heart.

nospellcheck!

from Watchamn Nee.
A seer of the divine revelation in the present age, by W Lee.