All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
In the past few posts, we learned a few methods to study the Bible. Some of those are verse mapping, S.O.A.P, and the inductive method. If you decided to use any of these methods or a combination of them, that’s a good start.
Maybe you want to go deeper into God’s word and may wonder how or where to start.
In the following paragraphs, I will reference the book Living by the Book by Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks.According to the authors mentioned above, there are three steps: observation, interpretation, and application.
Observation- When you come to scriptures, you are looking for facts, clues; you assume the role of biblical detective.
Interpretation -you are looking for the meaning. You understand what you are reading.
Application -you ask the question how does it work? It is allowing God’s work to transform your life.
The question is, how much time do I need to spend studying a book, and where should I start?
According to Hendricks, in Bible study, five weeks is usually enough time to make significant headway. In five weeks, you can read the book several times. You can observe its structure, identify the key terms, investigate the central characters, do some background work with secondary sources, and decide on some practical ways to apply the truths to be book to your life.
A few suggestions to get you started are Nehemiah, Jonah, the gospel by Mark, Philippians, James, or 1 Peter.
There are few things I want to share from my experience. Be patient when you start studying a book, read, reread and read some more. I read the book about five to six times in one sitting to get an overlook of the book.
I started with the book of Philippians.
Do not think that you will master any Bible book in four to six weeks; ask any pastor how long it takes to master a book, and they will tell you more than a month.
Schedule a set time to study. I know it can be hard at times, but if you select a schedule and stick to it, you will reap benefits. I do my bible study from 7 PM to 9 PM because it is the best time to study God’s word. You do not have to spend two hours; you can start with fifteen to thirty minutes.
Do not look for perfection. Bible study or Bible journaling is not about perfection is about learning about God’s character and applying it to your life.
Always begin with a prayer when you are going to study God’s word.
Blessings,
Angela Garcia
