Create a Bible Plan
With our busy lives, it is necessary for us to plan our day. We plan our children’s activities, special events and other things. We are going to walk you through a plan for studying the Bible.

How to Study the Word

1. Select a Bible
It is important to select a Bible that is right for you. Make sure you spend some time researching Bibles because this will hopefully be the Bible that you have for life. Bible comparisons and suggestions

2. Create a Bible Reading Plan
Many of you are probably like I was when I first starting reading the Bible. I picked up the Bible and just began to reading whatever page I opened it to without any plan or goal in mind. My reading time changed from day to day as well as what I read. My attempt to learn more about God was unsuccessful because I would just pick random verses which unfortunately had me taking things out of context. There is a reason why God put the Bible in the order He did. It helps us to follow some of His thought process. Did you know that God speaks of Christ’s coming in Genesis? Just think how chaotic it would be if on Sunday mornings if your pastor didn’t have a plan to the service. Let’s imagine you sit down in pew and then your pastor comes out and start preaching. Then after about 5 minutes he says,” Let’s have praise and worship”, 5 more minutes pass, then he proceeds to preach again for 10 and someone comes us and gives the announcements. I think you get the picture. Because of the lack of order in the service, most people will leave without getting the full message of the day. If your reading is planned and systematic, you will gain a better understanding of the context of a passage and come to learn the whole counsel of God rather than just bits and pieces.

I like what God revealed to Pastor Danny Hodges the author of spending quality when He became bored with parts of the Bible. He explains,” I used to skip parts in the Old Testament when I got to those long lists of names and genealogies. I would think to myself, “Why in the world did God put that here?” Well, God showed me. He gave me a thought one day, and I know it was from Him. As I was beginning to skip over what I considered a boring and meaningless list of names, He said to me, “Those names don’t mean anything to you but they mean a lot to me, because I know every one of them.” God showed me how personal He was. Now every time I read them I’m reminded of how personal God is. He knows us, and He knows every person that has ever been created. He’s a very personal God.” I have to say, that I was guilty of the same thing until God convicted. I realized that in every verse, there is something that God is revealing to us and I cannot afford to miss anything. Suggested Bible reading plans

3. Select a daily devotional
In addition to reading the Bible directly, it is a good idea to use a devotional. A devotional is merely a guide in studying the Word of God. Remember that this is supplement and not a replacement for reading the Bible. I use these when my day doesn’t go as planned and I want to make sure that I get the Word in during the day. My husband and I do a devotional each morning to start off our day then we go into quiet time and read our Bibles separately. I have come across some great devotionals over the years. Recommended devotionals

4. Study the Bible
There are many ways to study the Bible. To get you started I have
a few recommended methods.

Inductive Bible Study

L-I-G-H-T-S to the Word of God

5. Reflection
It is so important for Christians to reflect upon what they have read. Remember this is not a novel, even though some books can read like one but an instructional guide. God is speaking directly to you while you are reading so it is important for you to reflect on what you have read and determine how this affects you as a Christian. God tells us to not be just hearers of the Word but doers of the Word. God expects Christians to obey His Word; His complete Word. So determine how you can apply what you have read to your life. If God calls out a particular sin, see if you have this sin in your life. So basically this reflection time is for your to examine yourself. Make sure you are honest with yourself because God already knows what is in your heart. He is just waiting for you to admit it and ask for His help to change it.

I find it quit helpful when I write down what God reveals to me when I study the Word. This allows me to keep track of His instructions, determine if I have obeyed Him and how much time it took me to do it, and it allows me to go back over my learning’s at a future date and share them with others.

6. Application
Studying the Word of God is only the beginning. God expects us to apply it to our lives. In step 5, you identified how you can apply this to your life and now you have to actually do it. James tells us in James 1:22-26

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 his face in a 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.

My pastor always says that God is more concerned about our character than our comfort. Change is hard! God knows that changing is such a hard thing to do and that is why He sent us the Holy Spirit to bring to mind all those things that He reveals to us. Remember that you cannot change yourself but God can. So now pray about what God has revealed to you, ask God to forgive you and then ask Him to help you change. He has promised to help us if we listen to Him.

I hope this has helped you with getting started with studying the Word. Keep this in mind: the more you expose yourself to His Word, the more He will expose His Word to you!