How To Read The Bible

How To Study God's Word

Have you read any of the “Twilight” books? Did you know that the Twilight book “Breaking Dawn” sold 25 million books? “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” sold 65 million books. ”The DaVinci Code” sold 85 million books. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to “The Lord of the Rings” which sold 150 million books.

These have all been massively impactful books, so what about the Bible? How many copies of the Bible are there? How many have been published? So many are sold in so many languages and by so many publishers that it’s hard to track every year, but it’s estimated in just one year there were 582 million Bibles printed. In circulation in the world today, there are over 7.5 billion copies. There is no other book in history that even comes close. It was the first book ever published back in 1450.

Millions of people claim that studying this book has transformed their lives, altered their view of life, and changed their relationships, values, and eternity. Friends, you’ve got to admit it’s an amazingly powerful book that would have that kind of draw in people’s lives. Studies show that 93% of us own a Bible. Yet, while 93% of us own one of these amazing books, studies also show that only half of us say we never read it. Why don’t we spend more time studying the bible? Why do so many of us never read it and so many others just read it sporadically?

There are many reasons people give for not reading the Bible. Many would say they don’t have the time, they can’t understand it or they just lack the motivation to take the time to start. What if I told you that the bible could teach us how to build a life, build a marriage, raise our kids, get along with people; manage money, and resolve conflict? The Bible tells us about life after death and how to get right with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible is a moral compass to tell us right from wrong. This is an amazing book and the single most important tool you have to build your life on. Let’s consider what kind of results we could expect if we did read the Bible.

Let’s face it. This year each of us will be faced with making hundreds and hundreds of decisions. We’ll face financial decisions, relational decisions, spiritual decisions, voting decisions, possibly home-buying decisions; career decisions; educational decisions, college decisions, or graduate school decisions. Where do you find guidance when you’re making the second biggest decision of your life, the marriage decision? Where do you find guidance when a loved one dies, a spouse leaves, an illness devastates; someone you trusted betrays you, a teenager rebels, a substance abuser refuses to admit they have an issue, an accident cripples, or a soldier gets orders overseas? The Bible tells us, “Your words are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me, and keep me from stumbling.” Psalm 119:105 NLT. God promises if we will study this book, He will give us guidance. He will help us discover the path ahead of us.

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So now why wouldn’t you want to spend more time studying this book? My guess is many of you do. So your next question might be how can I study it more effectively? How can I get more out of Bible study? Here are some suggestions that might be game-changers for you this year.

King James Version

Get an understandable translation. I know a lot of you were probably given a King James Version of the Bible when you were a kid in Sunday School. The King James Version was written 400 years ago, in King James English. It’s a very good translation of the Bible if you’re over 400 years old. If you are over 400, you’ll probably understand it better at your age. But if you happen to be born a little bit later than that, why not get a modern translation? For years I’ve predominately used and preached from the New International Version, but not exclusively. Sometimes I also teach and study from the New Living Translation. You also might like the Message paraphrase. Go on Amazon and get a Bible that’s an understandable translation. You can also download the YouVersion App, which is absolutely free. This app has all kinds of different Bible translations and reading plans available. You can even turn on the audio and listen to the Bible being read. Get somewhere where the Bible is taught effectively. If you are not already, I would encourage you to find a church and commit to going. At Eastside Christian Church we will teach from this book every week so you can apply it to your life.

where to start reading the bible

Read the Bible systematically. What happens is a lot of people want to start reading their Bibles and think they should start at the beginning in Genesis, right? However, I wouldn’t recommend you start in Genesis if you don’t already have a comprehensive understanding of the Bible. If we were sitting over coffee and you asked me, I would tell you to start in the New Testament of the Bible in the Gospel of Luke. Luke is a biography about Jesus. Read one chapter a day at a set time each day. Luke begins with the birth of Jesus and follows his story. After you finish Luke, keep reading through the rest of the New Testament. Just a chapter a day. When you finish, go back and read the Old Testament which is the story of creation up to the birth of Christ. You’ll have a better understanding of the Old Testament after you read the New Testament. You can do this in less than 10 minutes a day. There are all kinds of Bible reading plans on the YouVersion App. There are plans to help you read through the Bible in one year. Another option is to check out our 21-day devotional.

Memorize some of it. You may think you have a terrible memory but let’s be honest we can all remember what’s important to us. We remember our kids’ names, important dates, songs from high school, or for you maybe its favorite team or player’s stats. We memorize whatever is important to us. Proverbs 7:2-3 (NLT) reminds us to guard his teachings as our most precious possession. Tie them on our fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within our hearts. Think how much scripture we could memorize if we took advantage of all the spare waiting moments of life. Like when you’re at a red light or waiting in line.

Focus on life change. This is ultimately why we study the Bible not to get knowledge, but to be transformed. Jesus said in Matthew 5:19, “Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Notice the word “practices”. What’s the use of getting the Bible in your hand if you’re not going to do something with it in your life and practice it? Do you know what the greatest danger of Bible study is? James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” You can deceive yourself, James says. You can hear a lot of people talk about the Bible and you can fool yourself into thinking that you’re growing spiritually.

Friends this truly is an amazing book! I can tell you I have no regrets in my life when I’ve followed the wisdom of this book. On the other hand, I have mountains of regret for the many times I haven’t followed the wisdom of this book. Speaking to you just a guy, not a pastor, but just a guy. I can tell you that I love this book. This book led me to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ as the forgiver and leader of my life. This book continues to teach me how to be a husband and a father and grandfather, how to handle my money, and how to reconcile bruised relationships. This book is showing me how to build relationships that last for eternity. This book has comforted me in heartbreak, strengthened me in times of weakness, and confronted me when I was messing up. This book has given me perspective on my past, wisdom for the present, and hope for the future. Best of all, this book describes the incredible place where followers of Jesus will spend eternity. I’ve reached a point in my life that I don’t know how I could possibly go through one day without the wisdom in this book.

So you’ve got a choice to make today. What are you going to do with this book? I hope in your essential equipment for this new year you will find yourself having a new motivation to take the Bible off the shelf. It’s worth any extreme you must go to study it, understand it, and apply it to your life.

Our team has compiled some of the most challenging, difficult, controversial, frequently asked questions we get about faith and Christianity as it relates to life, morality, current events, the end of the world, sexuality, and more. Week by week we’ll unpack seven of these questions in ways that I think you’ll find fascinating and informative. These questions are often the roadblocks for people when it comes to faith and Christianity. We’ve even titled the final week of the series, the subject you thought we would skip and not have the courage to address. You can check out all the messages at eastside.com/you-asked-for-it.

Author: Gene Appel
Eastside Christian Church
Anaheim, CA

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How To Read The bible

Resources as you begin the journey of reading the Bible for yourself.

Looking for a Bible reading plan to kick start your spiritual journey? In just two minutes a day, you’ll discover for yourself how pursuing God, building community, and unleashing compassion will radically transform your life.

Watch this message from Gene to learn some helpful suggestions when you are just getting started reading the Bible.