How to start reading the bible?

[pantingdeer]

I have pretty weak faith and have no real relationship with God but I still value the Bible and believe what it says. I’ve things at church and heard other contracting things online and so never really know what to believe anymore. I want to sit down for myself and read and hopeful God will help me discover the truth myself. I want to uncover this as to me life is boring and meaningless and the only true worthwhile I can do is try to get right with God.
I have never sat down and read my bible for an extended period of time and have only ever read a couple of books (years ago) in the entire Bible like Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Revelation.
I have no friends in real life and I hope that maybe I can pursue a Jesus and He will be my friend.
How can I start reading the bible? There are so many pages and so many books it seems like there’s no logical place to start. I’d like to read so that the books flow with each other and I grasp what’s going on instead of just reading random bits and bobs and then all the books never come together.
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says. Some people say you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and understanding and so I clearly don’t have this.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

Start listening to it first when you're driving, cleaning the house etc.

It will make it easier for you to get through when you actually start to read it :


https://biblebible.com/new-king-james-version-audio-bible-for-mp3-players-voice-only/

https://biblebible.com/audio-bible-for-mp3-android/

.

 

[royal priest]

Study it alongside a good commentary. Matthew Henry's Commentary is an excellent resource. You can read Bible and commentary for free on biblehub.com/

 

[Aussie Pete]

I have pretty weak faith and have no real relationship with God but I still value the Bible and believe what it says. I’ve things at church and heard other contracting things online and so never really know what to believe anymore. I want to sit down for myself and read and hopeful God will help me discover the truth myself. I want to uncover this as to me life is boring and meaningless and the only true worthwhile I can do is try to get right with God.
I have never sat down and read my bible for an extended period of time and have only ever read a couple of books (years ago) in the entire Bible like Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Revelation.
I have no friends in real life and I hope that maybe I can pursue a Jesus and He will be my friend.
How can I start reading the bible? There are so many pages and so many books it seems like there’s no logical place to start. I’d like to read so that the books flow with each other and I grasp what’s going on instead of just reading random bits and bobs and then all the books never come together.
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says. Some people say you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and understanding and so I clearly don’t have this.

Thank you for your honesty. The Bible is a spiritual book for spiritual people. Lord Jesus said that one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into truth. I suggest that you start with the book of John. It was written so that we might believe. A friend of mine advised me to make God's word my sole authority. That was many years ago. If something argues against the Bible, I reject it out of hand. I do not understand everything. No human does! But understanding is much overrated. A two year old can flick a switch and turn on the light. What does he know about electricity? Yet it works just as well as if he was an electrical engineer!

 

[eleos1954]

I have pretty weak faith and have no real relationship with God but I still value the Bible and believe what it says. I’ve things at church and heard other contracting things online and so never really know what to believe anymore. I want to sit down for myself and read and hopeful God will help me discover the truth myself. I want to uncover this as to me life is boring and meaningless and the only true worthwhile I can do is try to get right with God.
I have never sat down and read my bible for an extended period of time and have only ever read a couple of books (years ago) in the entire Bible like Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Revelation.
I have no friends in real life and I hope that maybe I can pursue a Jesus and He will be my friend.
How can I start reading the bible? There are so many pages and so many books it seems like there’s no logical place to start. I’d like to read so that the books flow with each other and I grasp what’s going on instead of just reading random bits and bobs and then all the books never come together.
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says. Some people say you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and understanding and so I clearly don’t have this.

I would first recommend reading Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. The book of Mark is likely the easiest to read and understand.

Always before opening His Word (every time) ... pray to Him and ask Him to send you the Holy Spirit to help give you understanding.

You can study topically ... here is a place where you can search (easily) about different topics (things you might have on your mind) all verses returned may not address specifically what you are searching on but many of them will. It searches both the old and new testament giving you a broad view.

At the top you can change the topic/subject.

What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?

here is an online bible study tool that is also easy to use. Here you can compare various translations and are other helpful tools.

www.biblehub.com

Keep studying .... at times some things may not seem quite clear ... don't worry about it .... as you continue on and build your knowledge things will come into better focus.

It takes some time .... but it will come together for you ;o)

His Word and developing a relationship with Him is indeed the way for meaning in life .... especially now that things are so chaotic. So you have made the correct decision ;o)

May the Lord richly bless you and bring you understanding as you begin your journey with Him. Amen.

 

[Amittai]

Yes. And in addition, use the cross-references (in a middle channel, at the side or at the foot) which are like the Bible's "intranet" to help you get depth on some topics.

But let it wash over you as well. And trot through the narratives and Jesus' and the apostles' discourses.

Check out interesting and puzzling topics with us here frequently.

I get surprising angles on Scripture all the time.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Audio bible works well, just getting the stories in context of all the other stories beats any reading plan.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I have pretty weak faith and have no real relationship with God but I still value the Bible and believe what it says. I’ve things at church and heard other contracting things online and so never really know what to believe anymore. I want to sit down for myself and read and hopeful God will help me discover the truth myself. I want to uncover this as to me life is boring and meaningless and the only true worthwhile I can do is try to get right with God.
I have never sat down and read my bible for an extended period of time and have only ever read a couple of books (years ago) in the entire Bible like Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Revelation.
I have no friends in real life and I hope that maybe I can pursue a Jesus and He will be my friend.
How can I start reading the bible? There are so many pages and so many books it seems like there’s no logical place to start. I’d like to read so that the books flow with each other and I grasp what’s going on instead of just reading random bits and bobs and then all the books never come together.
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says. Some people say you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and understanding and so I clearly don’t have this.

Start with the new testament, and just read it through. Then move to the Old Testament and do the same.

 

[Blade]

Me? I would read the book of John over and over a few times.

 

[Heavenhome]

Excellent advice has been given for you.

I would just like to add that the Bible says "Seek and ye shall find, if you seek with all your heart"
That is a promise and God always keeps His promise.
Andrew, you don't, nor ever need know everything about the Bible, just read it with a sincere heart.
God will reveal the truth of it to you.
When you believe in your heart that Jesus died to save you from your sins (we are all in the same boat there) and have asked for forgiveness, He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you.
You sound like a humble, earnest person whom I believe will have a strong relationship with God.

I really commend you for wanting to read the Bible without distractions or others ideas. Do you know I have often thought I wish I had read Revelation a few times before hearing others views on it.
A commentary such as suggested Matthew Henry is very helpful if you get stuck and need clarification.

The beautiful thing about the Bible is that you can read it for a lifetime and still discover new things in it that God is teaching you.

God bless you dear one and may He direct your paths.

 

[jacks]

The Bible is a big book and is hard to understand at times. I would suggest setting goals for yourself that are easy. Otherwise you may feel overwhelmed. Like "Today I'm going to read 1 page." (You can read more of course.) Then think about what you just read. Also some versions are harder to understand than others. Pick one that you like, don't worry if it is the "correct" one. You're in for a treat! Enjoy it.

 

[pantingdeer]

Start listening to it first when you're driving, cleaning the house etc.

It will make it easier for you to get through when actually start to read it :


https://biblebible.com/new-king-james-version-audio-bible-for-mp3-players-voice-only/

https://biblebible.com/audio-bible-for-mp3-android/

.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[pantingdeer]

The Bible is a big book and is hard to understand at times. I would suggest setting goals for yourself that are easy. Otherwise you may feel overwhelmed. Like "Today I'm going to read 1 page." (You can read more of course.) Then think about what you just read. Also some versions are harder to understand than others. Pick one that you like, don't worry if it is the "correct" one. You're in for a treat! Enjoy it.

I have a NKJV and NIV bibles.

 

[pantingdeer]

The Bible is a big book and is hard to understand at times. I would suggest setting goals for yourself that are easy. Otherwise you may feel overwhelmed. Like "Today I'm going to read 1 page." (You can read more of course.) Then think about what you just read. Also some versions are harder to understand than others. Pick one that you like, don't worry if it is the "correct" one. You're in for a treat! Enjoy it.

Thanks. I might try an easier translation to start so I can understand better. I have good English but I’m not particularly articulate.

 

[pantingdeer]

Excellent advice has been given for you.

I would just like to add that the Bible says "Seek and ye shall find, if you seek with all your heart"
That is a promise and God always keeps His promise.
Andrew, you don't, nor ever need know everything about the Bible, just read it with a sincere heart.
God will reveal the truth of it to you.
When you believe in your heart that Jesus died to save you from your sins (we are all in the same boat there) and have asked for forgiveness, He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you.
You sound like a humble, earnest person whom I believe will have a strong relationship with God.

I really commend you for wanting to read the Bible without distractions or others ideas. Do you know I have often thought I wish I had read Revelation a few times before hearing others views on it.
A commentary such as suggested Matthew Henry is very helpful if you get stuck and need clarification.

The beautiful thing about the Bible is that you can read it for a lifetime and still discover new things in it that God is teaching you.

God bless you dear one and may He direct your paths.

Thanks for your kind words. I don’t think I understood revelation at all when I read it.
It would be nice to try and understand it and make your own mind up. There’s so many opinions on revelation and the last days (and they each use scripture to back up) so it’s hard to know who to believe.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

I have a NKJV and NIV bibles.

Go with the NKJV or KJV.


.

 

[Shoyru]

Hi Andrew, I really like how you opened up with this question. I personally had this question too when I had just started taking my life of faith more seriously, but I was too shy to ask. For some reason, one of my friends knew what I was struggling with, and she shared these "food for thought" with me. I hope these would help you too, just as how it has helped me

She shared how we need to switch our perspective of the bible a little bit. Instead of seeing it as separate books, they are all one in message. If we just start with a random book and laser focus on it, then we would be missing the entire picture of the bible. After all, the reason why we're trying to start reading the bible in the first place is because we want to understand God as a whole, not in bits and bobs like what you mentioned.

I'll never forget how she said that the bible is like a blended up smoothie. Although it consists of many themes and stories, ultimately, it is all one. When you let a smoothie stand on the table too long, you start seeing layers, light layers on the top, heavier layers at the bottom. The light layers consist of light content, such as history and moral instructions, whereas the heavier layers consist of heavier/deeper content, such as prophecy and fulfillment. Through these layers, you can see the bible in a bigger picture, and ultimately, reading the bible would make more sense since it consists of one whole message.

I am afraid that my answer may be getting too long at this point, but long story short, after me and my friend had that discussion, I started to study the bible thematically with her. If you would like too as well, just let me know it has helped me a lot, and I don't see how it won't be able to help you too

 

[Isilwen]

I have a NKJV and NIV bibles.

Those are both fine translations!

 

[1213]

...How can I start reading the bible? ...
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says...

I think good way is to begin with the Gospels, because in the is the new covenant that God made through Jesus and it is also more about what is good and right. However, I don’t think it is a problem to start from Genesis, all though, it is much about the history, which I think is not as important as what Jesus said.

And especially if you begin with Genesis, I recommend to be patient. Don’t worry if you don’t instantly understand everything. Also, don’t be afraid of what you read and remain in truth always. I think most problems people have with the Bible are because they have not been truthful.

Other thing that I think is a problem often is that people make own explanations to what Bible really means. I think it would be best to allow Bible itself explain what it means. And for that I think it is good to read the whole book several times. Because then all small parts begin to form bigger picture and it is easier to understand correctly all the details. And this is why I think it does not matter as much where do you start, because I think in anyway, it would be good to read the whole book.

When I was young and read first times Bible, I found this helpful:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

I had difficulties to understand, but I wanted to understand Bible correctly, as God wants it to be understood and that is why I prayed God to give me wisdom. And I think God has given me much and I am thankful to Him for that.

 

[GTW27]

I have pretty weak faith and have no real relationship with God but I still value the Bible and believe what it says. I’ve things at church and heard other contracting things online and so never really know what to believe anymore. I want to sit down for myself and read and hopeful God will help me discover the truth myself. I want to uncover this as to me life is boring and meaningless and the only true worthwhile I can do is try to get right with God.
I have never sat down and read my bible for an extended period of time and have only ever read a couple of books (years ago) in the entire Bible like Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Revelation.
I have no friends in real life and I hope that maybe I can pursue a Jesus and He will be my friend.
How can I start reading the bible? There are so many pages and so many books it seems like there’s no logical place to start. I’d like to read so that the books flow with each other and I grasp what’s going on instead of just reading random bits and bobs and then all the books never come together.
Also how does one read the bible? I read the bible and usually never really understand what it says. Some people say you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and understanding and so I clearly don’t have this.

Blessings in Christ Jesus! Long ago, when I started to read the bible I prayed unto The Lord first and ask Him to give me understanding of what I was about to read. And He did. I would suggest you start in the gospel of John. Only one chapter, as in John 1. I remember Him telling me back then, a little at a time. If a person is hungry, and I see that you are, you do not give them a full plate of food, you give them a small portion, that way the next time they will be eager(hungry) for more. What I was not told back then, was that every thing I was reading(taking in) would some day come flowing out of me in the proper season. When reading John, if you choose to, do not be surprised if it touches your heart, for I have just asked for this to be so. Have a good night.