Tips for Reading & Studying God's Word
Updated: Oct 11
I wanted to put together something with a few links and tools that have been helpful to me.
Before you read the Bible, pray for wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:17
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,"
James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them - because they are spiritually discerned.
Luke 24:45
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Ask God to show you His wisdom in your reading.
·What are You trying to teach me, Lord?
·What can I learn about Your character and expectations of me in this passage?
·What can I glean from this to help me be more obedient to You – and live my life more like Messiah lived His?
·How can I use this to make my life less about me and more about You?
(Questions came from SeekingScripture.com)
"Even every one that is called by MY NAME: for 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐘 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." (Isaiah 43:7) To God be the glory!
When reading a book of the Bible:
1. Who is the book written by?
2. Who is the author writing to?
3. What is the purpose of the book?
4. When was the book written? (The bible is not in chronological order.)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
That means the Old Testament AND the New Testament.
Breaking down a verse and using various tools:
Let's use Philippians 2:12 as an example.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12
I love using Bible Hub. It shows you context, cross reference, study, commentaries, and different translations to the verse you’re looking up.
Click the link to read Phil 2:12 in other translations.
https://biblehub.com/philippians/2-12.htm
Then there’s Blue Letter Bible. That is much more advanced, imho, but it's handy if you want to know the meaning of a word in a verse and how it’s used.
Link to Phil 2:12 for more in depth study.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/phl/2/12/s_1105012
Other Handy Links:
Keys to Reading the Bible Effectively
https://www.patreon.com/posts/32503286
Spiritual Growth Documents And Resources
https://www.patreon.com/posts/spiritual-growth-15539993
I also like to use the ‘Got Questions’ website sometimes.
(Remember to test all things. No one, not even my site or the 'Got Questions' site has everything 100% right or agree on every thing. This is true even among bible scholars.) Here is a look at Phil 2:12 on the Got Questions site:
https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-and-trembling.html
Some of My Testimony:
https://www.wiseandgentle.com/post/welcome-to-wise-as-a-serpent-gentle-as-a-dove-testimony-time
Tools to become a follower of Christ (not get religious):
https://www.wiseandgentle.com/post/how-to-become-a-christian-follower-of-christ-not-religious
More in the comments below.
Give us day by day our daily bread.