HABITS

STUDYING GOD’S WORD - DIFFERENT METHODS
It is important for us to remember that as we read the Bible we are looking for ways to apply the Bible to our lives and how we live out the ways of God in our world. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, it is useful for teaching, correcting, and training the believer in righteous living. Studying without applying - we must apply it.

Before you read the Bible - pray and ask God that he would use his word to speak into our lives, our circumstances, and that we would have the strength to apply it to our day to day lives.

What kind of Bible to get - there are some translations I would suggest for you so you can understand the text the best TNIV, NLT, or The Message (which is laid out like a story) or a parallel Bible which has 2 or more versions laid out right beside each other. I always recommend a study Bible that comes with helpful information on the culture of the times - and useful information.

METHODS -
Quiet Time = If you are looking just to read/apply the Bible by reading a couple verses or chapters at a time. Read over the portion of text that you want to read during that time a couple times. Ask God what he wants to teach you - go back through and look for phrases or words that stick out to you. Then write down how you can apply this text or what you learned.

Context Study = Asking the questions who? what? where? when? why? The Bible was written in a specific time and a place to help us understand the context we must dig a little deeper than just reading over the text. www.followtherabbi.com has some great resources for helping you understand the times of the Bible. You can also you the cross reference in the middle of your pages to see what other text might give background - insight - or are related to the verses you are reading

Topical = in the back of most Bibles there is an index/concordance that list topics and where they are found in the Bible. You can also go to www.gospelcom.com to lookup any words or phrases to see where they are used throughout the Bible. This is helpful if you want to learn about a certain subject and what the Bible has to say about it.