Advice you didn’t ask for

Hopefully, Part 1 (Click here to read it now if you missed it.), inspired you to jump deeper into God’s word, especially if you find yourself in a church wilderness. The next question is: how do I go about it?

I’ve invited two friends to join us in answering: Al Dancy, former worship leader and assistant pastor, and Sean Switzer, worship pastor at Cornerstone Church. The question: how should someone read the Bible, who hasn’t read it before or who might want to give it another go?

Dan (that’s me): First off, allow yourself to skim what might seem redundant or confusing, especially when starting out. Early books of the Old Testament are full of genealogy, for example, as in “Benjamin’s son is George, who had (or “begat” if you’re a King James obsessive) a son named Enoch, who had two sons name Lascivious and Bert….” If family lineage interests you (such as from Adam to David to Jesus) you will enjoy reading these sections. Otherwise don’t feel you have to study every name, or every rule Moses recites at the end of Exodus, especially if you find yourself idling and not moving forward. Skip over them for now. Something you read ten verses later will find root instead. Better to skip, than stop.

Al: If you haven’t read the Bible, don’t start at the beginning. Check out the Gospel of John, then move onto his letters: 1, 2 and 3 John. His gospel account best shows, in my mind, Jesus in the context of his mission, offering a great description of him as sacrifice. In the letters, we’re confronted with the concept of God being Love, and the expectation that if you are in Christ you will love. There’s enough meat in these four books to spark conversation that could last an entire year! I would never suggest new Christians, or first-time Bible readers, start at either end: Genesis or The Revelation of John.

Sean: How you approach it depends on how you might approach learning itself. My Dad is into origins, and enjoys studying original Greek and Hebrew. Some new believers might like this. They could read with a concordance, looking up “Grace” or “Love” or “Mercy” and be led to specific sections of scripture. This is great for people who like to chew their meat a lot. Others might want to start with more basics, such as the Gospels and, as Al mentioned, the three letters of John. I love Ephesians. It’s practical and offers great tools for new believers, such as putting on the armor of God, a powerful analogy for equipping yourself for the spiritual battles to come. I also like James for his discussion of relationships. He makes us seriously examine our own accountability. I’ve been reading this with my boys, ages 6, 7.

Dan: Raised Catholic, every Sunday I heard readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Gospels. I enjoyed reading the Bible front to back, finally seeing everything I’d heard during Mass finally put into context. I never fully understood how Jesus dying on the cross freed us from sin until I read how this had was done for centuries using lambs and other animals. Also enjoyable were the actual stories of David, Solomon, Sampson, etc, with more insight (and bloodshed) than the sanitized Sunday School stories of my youth.
However, I agree that if you’re new to scripture, stay away from most Old Testament books until you’ve understood the good news of Jesus first.

Sean: My mother-in-law reads Psalms and Proverbs daily. They give valuable lessons on life, but I strongly suggest you don’t stay there. Moving into the Gospels and studying the apostles’ teaching is the only way to truly learn about salvation…

Al: …and don’t go it alone. No parent just gives their newborn a bottle and says go at it. Bring someone along on the journey. Even if they don’t know any more than you, you can do the dance together. If they do know more… musicians improve their craft by hanging with better musicians. Basketball players compete against those highly skilled opponents to hone their talent. Grow and learn by hanging out with people smarter than you.

Sean: Download the YouVersion app, because of its simplicity and the immediacy of scriptures. Hundreds of guided devotionals give you focused views within the Bible, or allow you to read through chronologically.

Dan: The app also allows you to go study with other people. Choose a reading plan, and invite someone to join you. After each daily read, leave each other quick notes, thoughts and impressions. My wife and I have done a number of plans together. It’s great for men’s and women’s groups, too.

Sean: Whatever you use, choose a time where you will prioritize it. Early morning, before bed. Set an alarm for the middle of the day. Find a time when you’ll be fresh. If you’re not a morning person, don’t read God’s word at 5:00 AM.

Al: Also choose a translation which works for you. I like the King James…

Dan: (ack!)

Al: … but I also value the New Living Translation (NLT) and The Message. When I started reading the Bible, I began with the NASB myself.

Dan: Lots of advice, I know. People invariably find ways to read and approach the Bible that work for their unique circumstances.

There is one more tidbit of advice I’d like to offer: pray and ask the Spirit to speak to you through what you are about to read. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Counselor (in some translations, Teacher). It comes to “bear witness” with our own spirits. Jesus is not sitting with us on a boat explaining his parables. But the Holy Spirit is. Before reading, as him to reveal something in the words you’re about to read. You might pray, “Lord, send your Spirit to show me what I need to learn in today’s reading.” I guarantee you, his Word will be opened more than ever before.

#Bible #Gospel #holmanreport

Written by Daniel Keohane