I've got a dumb question...

[Radagast]

Only if you're comfortable with reading 17th century English. If you don't want to bother with Shakespeare, the KJV won't be easier. You can try it if you like, but I was brought up on the NIV and I'm not a heretic.

The NIV is just as faithful to the original Greek as the KJV is, and a lot easier to read!

 

[TexasBluebonnet]

Hey!

Thanks so much for the replies. It's been great getting everyone's thoughts. I just wanted to say that I started reading Matthew. Yeah, I know but I want to start with the beginning of the NT all the way till the end. I may read it again a few more times or so to get a solid foundation. I have an NIV Archaelogical Bible and it's been full of info and facts and in-depth stuff. I do like the suggestions of reading a kids's Bible. I'm going to go shopping at Half Price Books this weekend to find one. Thanks again. It's been very helpful. If anyone has any more advice I'd love to hear it.

Elizabeth

 

[Rowan]

Hey!

Thanks so much for the replies. It's been great getting everyone's thoughts. I just wanted to say that I started reading Matthew. Yeah, I know but I want to start with the beginning of the NT all the way till the end. I may read it again a few more times or so to get a solid foundation. I have an NIV Archaelogical Bible and it's been full of info and facts and in-depth stuff. I do like the suggestions of reading a kids's Bible. I'm going to go shopping at Half Price Books this weekend to find one. Thanks again. It's been very helpful. If anyone has any more advice I'd love to hear it.

Elizabeth

Great! The Sermon on the Mount (it's in Luke too) will give you an excellent foundation.

My prayers for you!

 

[TheSuperNews]

I think combine prayer and reading the Bible at the same time. Start off praying for help in understanding it. Then I suggest first, just read to learn about Jesus Christ in the New Testiment. Get a red letter Bible and read what Christ said, and around about what he said to get the context. Read it slowly, and stop and pray thanks and praise to God for what you are reading. Let the words soak in, go ahead and use your imagination and try to visualize Christ saying the words in the context of the story...like the woman at the well story...very moving. Nothing will get you tuned into God like reading the words of Christ.

I would also suggest joining a bible study too. I attend a national bible study once a week from Sept to May. It is called Bible Study Fellowship(BSF), they have a website, and you can get on a list to begin this fall....very, very non-denominational approach...Sept 2007 begins a bible study of the book of Matthew.

 

[TexasBluebonnet]

Hey,

Thanks for the tips. I've had a hard time with it being real and being able to get into what I read. It's easy to say that it was so long ago and it doesn't feel revelant or like anything I can relate to. So, I like your suggestions. I appreciate the help and the web address. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

 

[Radagast]

... I just wanted to say that I started reading Matthew. Yeah, I know but I want to start with the beginning of the NT all the way till the end. I may read it again a few more times or so to get a solid foundation. I have an NIV Archaelogical Bible and it's been full of info and facts and in-depth stuff...

Reading the NT all the way through is good too!

And, as I said, the NIV is faithful to the original.

If you have any questions on what you're reading, feel free to post them here.

 

[heymikey80]

Hey,

Thanks for the tips. I've had a hard time with it being real and being able to get into what I read. It's easy to say that it was so long ago and it doesn't feel revelant or like anything I can relate to. So, I like your suggestions. I appreciate the help and the web address. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

Yeah, you're not alone there. Often it takes something that much more in depth to get adjusted.

Can I point out something else, too? Often the questions we bring into a chapter is not what God is wanting us to get out of it. So often I get wrapped around some little nuance of doctrine that a verse or chapter might say -- when the actual intent of the chapter is so very different from that.

I find that there's so much in each chapter, I can't really encompass it all by just reading it. It just pours over me in different ways each time I read it now.

There's a chapter available online for a book that showed me yet another way of seeing Jesus. I think this chapter's worth reading even if you don't get the book:

[PDFs: may take awhile to download]
http://www.seejesus.net/lwau_intro.pdf
http://www.seejesus.net/lwau_ch1.pdf

 

[HisGrace58]

MY READING SUGGESTION:
[SIZE=+1]FIRST: Study the book of John, then Romans and then Matthew. If you have trouble understanding the Bible, try reading the New Living Translation (NLT) or the New International Version (NIV). [/SIZE]