Pastor A

Yesterday we wrote that a lack of desire would hinder your Bible study. Today, we will look at two other possibilities as to why one’s Bible study is not vibrant.

A lack of discipline will hinder one’s Bible study. It seems we all have experience developing bad habits, but not much expertize in developing good habits. For all sorts of reasons, we are side-tracked from doing what we know is right. A prime example of this problem is the fact that a large percentage of Christians do not study the Bible regularly, yet find time to do much less important things.

If you have difficulty in the disciplines of your time, do not just resign yourself to failure. Start somewhere and ask God to help you progress from that point. Set goals for your personal Bible study; challenge yourself to reach these goals and then, keep track of your efforts. Don’t give up.

Another hindrance to Bible study is a lack of obedience. Through Bible study God will show you His will. Your responsibility is to follow His direction. This means doing exactly what He says to do, when He says to do it, and with the right heart attitude.

The Word of God must be activated in your life through obedience. I encourage you this day; get into the Word of God and engage in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Devil will make sure that certain things hinder you from studying God’s Word every day. And the attractions of the world will also vie for your attention. And if these two forces do not side-track you in some way, your own sinful nature will probably trip you. Perhaps this sounds like you do not stand a chance; that somehow you are going to be defeated. Not so! God is far greater than the Devil, the world, and your sinful nature. And He wants to help you be spiritually victorious in this area. But you must be aware of the hindrances because these will alert you to danger.

The first of three hindrances is simply: Lack of Desire! Many Christians fail at Bible study because they do not really have a desire or love for God’s Word. In too many lives, the Bible is a book that is picked up once a week, dusted off and carried to church as a sort of spiritual ornament. In contrast to this, millions of spiritually-starved souls behind the enemy lines of government oppression would give anything just to hold a copy of God’s Word in their hands.

The Old Testament relates an incident which happened about 600 years before Jesus Christ was born. For many decades, ungodly kings had reigned over the nation of Israel and dragged the people into idolatry. The Temple fell into a state of disrepair and the copies of the Word of God were lost. Finally, in 638 B.C. an eight-year-old boy named Josiah inherited the throne. He was instructed and influenced by men who served the true God; and when he was old enough to rule independently, he called for a return to true worship.

He set aside money to be used in restoring the Temple to its original condition. When the work began, one of the men found a copy of the Law and took it to the high priest. The scroll was then taken to Josiah and read before him. When he heard the words, he openly confessed his sin and then led the nation to genuine repentance.

Although Josiah was already involved in the work of destroying idolatrous shrines and restoring the Temple, he did not experience spiritual restoration in his own life until he heard the Word of God. See II Chronicles 34:14-33 for this part of the story.

You may be involved in all kinds of work for the church, but you will not experience the transforming power of God in your life until you desire, love, and obey His Word!

We have examined six steps thus far regarding successful Bible Study: 1) Select the passage, 2) Read the passage, 3) Meditate, 4) Memorize, 5) Personalize, and 6) Apply. Today let’s examine three more:

Step 7: Record. Once you become involved in systematic daily Bible study, you will begin to make many discoveries. But you will not remember some of these discoveries if you do not write them down. One word of caution: do not spend too much time writing. Jot down in your notebook or journal brief remarks about the things you have learned.

Step 8: Pray into your life. After you have read, meditated, and applied the Word, you should ask God to make the Word a part of your life. Pray that He will help you obey the commands, heed the warnings, and claim the promises. Be particulary concerned about developing the character qualities which honor God.

Step 9: Practice in your life. In Joshua 1:8, the Bible says that after meditating on the Word it is essential to “observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” The key to Joshua’s success was not his meditation. The key was his obedience. Joshua “observed to do.” It is not enough to read and meditate; you must then obey the Word. Then, God promises you will have “good success.“

How I wish I would have practiced this every day of my life. There would be far fewer scars from sin had I daily practiced these nine steps. The good news is that it is never too late to get started!

There are great preachers like Dr. Ron Comfort and Dr. John Goetsch who have memorized vast sections of the Bible. It is amazing how much Scripture these two men, in particular, have committed to memory. So in consideration of our own personal Bible study, we must consider yet another step:

Step 4: Memorize. Memorize the whole Bible? If you are like most Christians, it is improbable that memorizing one verse per day is taking place. The point to remember is that God is more concerned with the quality of our willingness that the quantity of our work. You can do just about anything you really want to do, including memorizing the Bible. God does desire that we do everything that we are able to do.

Memorizing Scripture is vital to fighting the decay of sin in your life. David wrote in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” He hid (memorized) key verses and passages. Be realistic with this step, but not lenient. The seed of the Word planted in your heart will eventually bear fruit in your life.

Step 5: Personalize. The Bible is God’s love letter to you, so do not read it like you would an Algebra textbook. Read it as the written communication from one Person to another. One way to help you do this is to insert your name and personal pronouns as you read. For example, you would read John 3:16, “For God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son that if I believe in Him I will not perish, but have everlasting life.“

Step 6: Apply. Always search for ways to apply the truths you discover. Ask yourself, “How does this Bible principle fit into my life?” If you are having problems with your family and you learn something new about love and forgiveness, then put the principle to work. If you come across a command you have been breaking, face up to it. Determine to always make some application of the Word in your life.

Have a great day and continue to take these steps in your life to achieve successful Bible study.

Yesterday we examined selecting the right passage; today, we will continue with two more steps necessary if we are to achieve success in our own personal Bible study.

Step 2: Read the Passage: This seems too simple, which is probably why so many people miss the mark in this area. A good rule to follow is: Don’t limit yourself to reading through the passage just one time. Read the entire passage at least three times. Each reading will reveal more to you; so search first for a general meaning, then a specific, then a personal one.

Step 3: Meditate: The serious student of God’s Word is not content to make just basic observations about the passage. He considers every word and thought, and weighs the importance of each one. In Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night,” this is called meditation. When Joshua assumed the leadership of the nation of Israel after Moses’ death, he did not fail to read and meditate on the Word of God both day and night. Consider Joshua 1:6-9:

“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.“

Imagine the burden of responsibility heaved upon him at this crucial time. Imagine the physical fatigue resulting from leading two million people out of a wilderness they had known for forty years. Yet he still found time to not only read the Scriptures, but to meditate on them.

It is certain that we are without excuse for reading and meditating on the wonderful truths found in the greatest book on this earth, God’s Word!

Just knowing the “why” of Bible study is not enough. You must also discover the “how” of Bible study. All too often, Christians commit themselves to the idea of Bible study without committing themselves to a plan for Bible study. Often this results in discouragement that ultimately leads to defeat. I would like to discuss at least nine strategic steps for successful study of God’s Word.

Step 1: Select the Passage: There are sixty-six separate books in the Bible with a combined total of more than 600,000 words; so selecting one passage to study can be difficult if you do not have a method. It is easy to fail at this point for in many instances, something like this happens…

A Christian decides to begin a daily Bible study. The logical place to start seems to be Genesis 1:1, so he reads through the first chapters of Genesis, which are very interesting. Then, on the third day, things begin to bog down with verses like, “And Cainan lived seventy years and begat Mahalaleel.” He cannot pronounce the names and does not know what “begat” even means, but he keeps on struggling through several more chapters hoping things will get better. Instead, he runs into, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.” Confused and discouraged, he concludes that the Bible is too difficult to understand, that it doesn’t relate to life in the 21st century.

Is he right? Of course not, but it is easy to understand how he reached this conclusion. However, he would not have had this disheartening experience if he had known how to select what to study. Certainly, he should not have started with Genesis 1:1 and proceeded to read straight through the following chapters each day. In the first place, he was only reading, not studying. And, the chapters he read are a more complex, historical narrative. But the biggest problem is that he read too much. Too much, that is, to study at one brief daily Bible study.

What should he have done? He should have read just a few verses (perhaps a maximum of one chapter) at each Bible study. Then he would have been able to concentrate on key words, phrases and verses. This would have enriched his Bible study by helping him to more easily understand and apply the Word to his life.

Preferably, he should have started with chapters or short books which are ideally suited to devotional Bible study. For example, he could study through the book of Philippians, taking as much time as necessary to gain the most spiritual benefit. This chould possibly require four or five weeks; remember, God is concerned with how much we “learn” from His Word, not have “fast” we read it.

Maybe it has been difficult for you to maintain a consistent, daily Bible study. Part of the problem could be that you just have not known how to get started. Tomorrow we will examine more steps for selecting the passage to study!

You might wonder; how do I begin to study the Word of God? What do I need? There are three “basic” requirements for daily Bible study as I see it:

1. You need a definite time and place. Many Christians favor an early-morning devotional time. Some say Jesus set this example when He “rising up a great while before day… departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35. If it is possible for you to have your devotional time early in the morning, this is certainly the best way to begin your day. But you need to be realistic.

If you are one of those people who get up at 7:00, but wake up at 10:00, then you would be better off to choose another time, later in the day. The important thing is that you choose a time and then include that time in every day’s activities. Consider it your daily appointment with God.

The place you choose is also important. To really be able to concentrate on the Word, you should be alone in a quiet place. Get away from the TV, radio, cell phone, ipod, and other people. If you live in a small house with a big family it may be difficult to find a secluded place. Just remember that God knows all about your situation, and if you seriously want to have consistent, daily devotions, God will help you determine the best time and the best place.

2. You need a good Bible. Don’t make the mistake of trying to read one of those “world’s smallest” Bibles during your devotional time. This is one sure way to lose interest (and possibly fall asleep). Make sure you use a Bible with printing large enough for easy reading. Help yourself by finding a good KJV Bible that “fits you.” Find a Bible that you love! Example the size, weight, margins, font size, color, Bible study notes, etc. Fall in love with your Bible.

3. You need a journal or notebook. This is used to briefly record your discoveries in the Word each day. It will be a sort of spiritual diary. For easier handling, the size and shape of this journal should be similar to that of your Bible. Carry your journal with your Bible to church and thus you can use to take notes from your pastor or the special speaker. Be willing to grow in your faith; therefore, utilize tools that accommodate this desire!

Let us consider first things first. What heart preparation is essential to effective Bible study? I believe that at least four things are necessary. We will look at two today and two tomorrow.

A personal salvation experience is essential! The Word of God can only be understood and applied by the person who is spiritually alive. And the Word itself tells us in Ephesians 2:1-5 that the person who has never experienced the Second Birth is spiritually dead.

Writing to the young church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul taught that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Paul concluded by stating that “we (Christians) have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2:14-16. What this means is that as we read the Bible, God will help us to think as He thinks, and so understand His word.

A personal relationship with the Author is essential! Some might say, “Well, all Christians have a personal relationship with the Lord.” But this is not true. For a relationship to be truly personal there must be communication and sharing, something we call “fellowship;” and our fellowship with God can be broken by sin. Consider I John 1:5-10, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” But God has promised that if we confess our sin, He will forgive us and restore our fellowship with Him.

Imagine reading a letter from a close friend. Somehow it seems as if you hear your friend saying each word. The letter has life because of your relationship to the one who wrote it. The Bible can come alive in the same way if we have full fellowship with the Author.