The Bible,Where do I start?
By: Evelyn Brooks
The Bible is a Christians everything book. It is Gods covenant with man. Covenant means a contract, or a compact. It implies a binding agreement or a promise. A covenant is sealed with blood and is considered a done deal, broken only by death. The word testament means covenant. Our Bible is divided into what we call the Old and the New Testaments or covenants. Of course we know that our New Testament or covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus; therefore it is our promise book or binding contract with God. God is willing and able to keep his covenant or promises to us.
Every word in the New Testament is still in effect for today. You may hear some say certain parts of it have passed away but this is absolutely untrue. This dispensation of time began with the beginning of the church and will continue until Jesus returns. Everything you read in the New Testament is for you today!! It is written personally from God to you. All you have to do is understand this and believe it in order to receive it. However; even though we are under the new covenant the entire Bible is still very much true and useful for us today.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All scriptures is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The entire Bible is a love story between God and His beloved man, with God working out a plan of redemption for man and most often man rejecting Gods plan. The entire Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New Testament. In other words the entire old Testament prophesies and the new Testament fulfills those prophecies. Again, much can be learned and gained from both Testaments.
To get your mind going and to help you begin to comprehend what the Bible is to us, let us pretend for a moment that your very wealthy uncle has purchased for you a lifetime membership in an exclusive club. This club has unbelievable benefits. You know nothing about this club or its benefits. A manual comes with the membership describing all the benefits and how you might enjoy them. You have a choice either you can let all these benefits go unused or you can pick up and read the manual.
When we become born again we become an heir of God and joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17 We become the child of the creator of the universe. We were born into the richest family in the world. All the riches of this family belong to us now! The benefits that come from our relationship with God are endless. (see psalm 68:19, Psalm 103:2 and Psalm 116:12) But the only way we will ever receive these riches into our life is by reading and understanding our manual, the Bible. It was given to us by God. But we must read it to benefit. Once we know of and understand our benefits, we simply receive them by faith; which is the way we receive everything from God. We had to have faith in order to become born again. We will talk much about how to have and use our faith to receive from God a little later. First we must build a foundation of understanding.
Receiving the benefits of our covenant will help make us complete in Christ, living the victorious life we are expected by God to live, walking in joy, peace, health, prosperity, taking full authority over Satan and his demons, being strong and full of the wisdom of God. The choice is ours. I am not telling you that you must read your Bible in order to go to heaven. That is not scriptural. You must repent of sin, believe in Jesus as your Savior and confess Him as your Lord to be saved, but if you want to be a strong, mature, victorious Christian; you must read and understand the Bible.
In quick review I want to list some of the reasons we must study Gods word.
1. To know and receive Gods many benefits.
2. In order to fight and overcome darkness. See Eph. 6
3. So that we won't fall prey to temptation.
4. For Gods direction
5. For Gods wisdom
6. For understanding
7. For faith
8 To please God. How can we please God if we don't know what He expects from us.
9. So that we will know first hand Gods truths. What if someone teaches us something wrong? We need to know for ourselves Gods truths.
10. To prepare and overcome every storm of life victoriously.
Of course there are many more reasons, maybe you can think of a few yourself.
What version or translations of the Bible should I use?
This is a question commonly asked. The correct answer to it is whichever one you prefer and whichever one you can get the best understanding from. The Bible is not much good to you without at least a measure of understanding. There are many good versions or translations. I prefer the New International Version or the NIV for study and reading. I like to memorize from the King James version because it is so poetic. I have and use many different versions and like to compare scriptures from one to the next for best comprehension.
Just for your understanding -- all original texts of the Bible were written in either Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic. The only reason we have Gods word is because of the translations. The first English interpretation is the King James Version. However it was written over 600 years ago and many of the word meanings have changed over the years and many of the words has even been completely deleted from our vocabulary. Therefore; it may be more difficult to understand than a more recent translation. Some people are very dogmatic about their chosen version of the Bible, but you must understand that each translation is just that--a translation of the original. One is not holier than the next. Each one in the front lists the scholars that did the translating and gives other information about that particular version. Having several translations for comparisons sake and best understanding is best, but again choose the one that you prefer for your main Bible. The one you are most comfortable with.How to get the most from Gods word
1. Simply read - Fact gathering - learn the stories.
2. Meditation - Carefully consider or think about what you read. During this time the Holy Spirit will talk to you and teach you and give you understanding on how you can apply Gods word to your life.
3. Study - Use helps like a Bible dictionary, Bible encyclopedias and concordances. We like Strongs exhaustive concordance. It gives the Greek and Hebrew translation of every word in the Bible plus its original definition! This is a wonderful tool. It can be purchased from a Christian book store for about $20.00. It is well worth the money. There are many other tools to use in study, like Bible computer programs and even on-line Bible tools that can be used for free. I will include the link for one at the end of this study. (For most people, in-depth study will come a little later after they have got the basics down and their hunger for Gods word has grown.)
4. Memorization -Scripture memorization is very important. It gets Gods word on the inside of us and equips us mightily. If we don't memorize scriptures word for word, we need to at least become very familiar with key verses. But I encourage you to discipline yourself to at least memorize key scriptures for the different topics that relate most to your specific circumstances. If Gods word is hidden in your heart no one can ever take it away from you.
5. Speaking Scriptures: Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing Gods word. We know we can have nothing from God without faith, even salvation. We hear the word by reading it out loud or silently. This is done by picking the scripture that speaks to your circumstance or problem and reading them over and over and by mediating on them until they go from your head to your heart and faith is birthed into your heart. This is when by faith you can receive whatever it is you need from God. There is much to learn about living a life of faith and we will devote many lessons to it soon. But don't wait, find these scriptures that answer your specific problems and start reading and mediating on them now and feel your faith begin to grow.
Where do I start?Basically you can begin anywhere you want in the Bible. I would suggest if you are newly born again, to begin in the gospel of John. When you have finished John, back up to Matthew and read straight through the New Testament then start at Genesis and read all of the Old Testament. If you have been saved a while or have a good understanding of the new birth, begin in Matthew and read all of the New Testament then begin in Genesis and read all of the Old Testament. Some people prefer to read a chapter out of the old and the new every day until they finish. However you prefer is okay. The main thing is that you be faithful to reading daily.
Practical application
1. In a prayer, recommit your commitment to God and yourself to give Him part of your day in Bible study and prayer. Ask Him for His help and guidance. Ask Him to help you grow. Ask Him to teach you truth.
2. Decide where you are going to begin and start reading some everyday if you have not already. Again a little is better than none. Pick what you can comfortably handle. I assure you, it will get easier in time and you will increase it because you want to, if you just don't give up.
3. Try to spend at least some time just thinking about the new things you read in the Bible. While you think, talk to the Lord about it. You will be amazed at how you will get understanding of the scriptures from the Lord as you meditate.
4. If you are going through difficult circumstances, began hunting scriptures that speak to the problem. An example is if you are sick, find promises of health and healing. Write them down and begin to read them over and over through out your day. Memorize them. Maybe stick them in your pocket or purse or leave them in your car to read over them at every opportunity. Faith in Gods promises will begin to rise up.
5. Pray- It is always good to pray for others, but there are times in our lives when we need to pray for ourselves even more than for others. Unless we are okay---how can we fulfill our commission from God to help others? And who knows what we need from the Lord better than we do? My suggestion is to buy a spiral notebook to be your prayer notebook. Begin by spending some serious time thinking about you and your needs from the Lord. Write down these needs. It may be things like Lord help me to love you more, help me to love others more or show me your will for my life or I need a new car or teach me to trust you, or Lord I need a healing. No matter what the need is write it down and begin to talk to God about it. If it concerns you, it concerns him. Of course you need to make lists of prayer needs for others but right now I want you to focus on you and your needs from the Lord. Looking back on my own path of spiritual growth, I see that especially in the earlier days seeing where I lacked and asking God for His help was tremendously beneficial. I wouldn't have made it without this and truly God is the one who taught me to spend time praying for my own needs especially spiritual needs. You will find that as you grow and become spiritually strong you will spend less and less time praying for yourself and more and more time praying for others. Also use this notebook to record things that the Lord says to you during your prayer and study time.
Feeling Overwhelmed? I hope not. Remember, one step at a time and one day at a time. Relax and enjoy the journey. I promise, it is a most exciting one!!
Here is the Bible tools Link I promised you. If you have any problems with it, e-mail me for help. Also if you have any questions about the lesson, E-mail me. I will be glad to answer any questions.
Blueletter Bible Search ToolsHere are some Scriptures about the Word. These are just a few, there are many more.
Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Eph 5:26 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Reading Gods word cleanes our hearts just as water cleanes our bodies when we bathe!
Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.....
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.
Romans10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word.
Proverbs 4:20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words, Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a mans whole body.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.2 Tim. 3:16 All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Isaiah 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Psalm 103:2 Praise the Lord o my soul and forget not all his benefits.....
Eph. 6: 10-18 ( this speaks of Satan - our enemy. Notice that the armor of God is completely made up from the word of God.) We will do a study on this soon.
Mark 4: (all of it but especially 1-20. This parable is all about the word of God. Jesus says if you can't understand this parable you can't understand any of them concerning the Kingdom of God) This is wonderful and we will soon take an in depth look at it.