Do you know how to study your Bible?

We hear it all the time – “If you want to have a deeper relationship with God, you need to be reading your Bible…”

But do you really know how to study the Bible?

I’m not an expert, I’ve had zero theology training, but researching and studying and making connections is just kind of what I do, and I’m good at it. It’s one reason why being a lawyer appealed to me – I really like doing research! The Bible, in a way, is like a big research project for me. I have enough respect and knowledge of it to know to tread carefully, but I also have an interest in puzzles and connecting pieces so that looking into the scriptures can be really, really fun.

I took it for granted for a long time that other people knew how to study the Bible (and I’m not saying that there’s only one way!) But, I genuinely believed that all Christians understood how to open it up, read, use cross-references, do word studies, combine the Old Testament views with the New Testament realities, etc. And then a couple of years ago, I met a young woman who desperately wanted to learn more from the Bible. We started talking and she asked if I could explain what the little notes were down at the bottom of the pages. “They’re cross-references,” I said matter-of-factly. “What’s a cross-reference?” she asked innocently.

She didn’t know.

At another event, a friend wondered aloud how I knew about something and I mentioned that I had done a word study. “I wouldn’t even know how to do something like that!” She replied, astonished.

I felt shocked and saddened that these women were missing out on the incredible depths of scripture! They had been attending Bible studies and church for years, but no one had ever taught them how to look at scripture on their own and really dig into the nitty-gritty of it. And, I don’t just mean reading a verse and feeling encouraged by it, though that is usually the best way to start your day! But I mean reading a verse or a passage and really truly pulling out all the depth and goodness and richness of a handful of words. We are so fortunate that God provided scripture in the Hebrew and Greek languages, which are able to present beautiful word-pictures and denote more exacting meanings that what we have in English. The most well-known example of this is the word “love.” The ancient Greek had at least 4 distinct connotations for the word we simply translate “love.” Four! But if you don’t know that, your understanding of a verse may be limited to our lame English word, which we use for everything from our dog to pizza to our newborn baby.

When you have a better understanding of your Bible and a stronger grasp on it, you really start to own the Word of God. It becomes part of you, you recall passages with the same fondness that you would a beloved book from your childhood. You look forward to reading your Bible. You get excited about things you read (even if there’s part of you that doubts whether it’s all true).

So, do you know how to study your Bible??

Have you been attending bible studies for years yet don’t know what to do when you’re on your own? If you take that bible study away, can you formulate your own questions and do your own research?

What are your struggles when it comes to reading your Bible? How are you currently getting into the Word today? What questions about studying scripture have you always been afraid or embarrassed to ask?

(And, if you haven’t read your Bible in a while, you are not alone!!! No shame here. No judgment.)