Reading the Bible
Deep things are intriguing,” writes one author. I can think of a lot of' things that are deep. Oceans are deep, jungles are deep, even our conversations and relationships can be deep. So can our connection with God. In fact, God desires to take us deeper in our connection with Him through regular bible study and prayer. Would you join me for the next seven days in a quiet time experience that will take you deeper in your connection with God?
I invite you to open in your Bible to the passage for that day (See below) and spend some time contemplating the deeper things from God's word. I ask you to answer three questions of the text you are reading:
- What does this passage say?
- What does this passage mean? and
- What must I do based on this passage?
Let me explain how to answer these three questions.
- First make some observations about the passage. Ask the who, what, where, why, and how questions. Just make as many observations of the text as you can.
- Second, decide what this passage means. You can do that by completing this sentence. "This passage is teaching me about _____________." You should be able to confirm your statement by what is written in the passage.
- Third, determine what you are specifically going to do as a result of reflecting on this passage and its meaning.
- Finally, spend a moment and commit your day to the Lord in prayer.
What I have discovered is that a life built on this habit brings a deeper connection with God and lasting change. It’s a major step on the pathway to spiritual maturity. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 NIV.
Scripture to Read:
Day 1: Staying Close to the Lord — Luke 10:38-42
Day 2: Loving God and Loving Others — 1 John 4:7-11
Day 3: Experiencing Spiritual Renewal — Isaiah 40:28-31
Day 4: Waiting on the Lord — Psalm 40:1-8
Day 5: Hungering for the Word of God — 1 Peter 2:1-3
Day 6: Discovering the Pathway of Growth — Ephesians 4:11-16
Day 7: Pressing on to Maturity — Hebrews 10:19-25
If you've found this to be useful, then have a look at anotehr page, Developing a relationship with God.
Something that I have found helpful in getting closer to God is reading the New Testament once a month. It sounds like hard work but actually takes only 15 minutes a day. For this sort of reading, I use a modern translation like the Contemporary English Version. If you want to read through the New Testament in 30 days, then the reading plan can be found here.
Which version of the Bible?
My personal preference for devotional reading or study is the New Living Translation. If you use that in your daily bible reading, and either The Message or the Contemporary English Version for reading chunks of the bible, then you can't go far wrong!