The aroma of coffee filled the room as the espresso machine buzzed an all too familiar tune. We hadn’t gotten much time together and life moves at a pace we are less than eloquent at pursuing for ourselves.
“Do you want to do a Bible study together?” She asked.
“Sure, what are you thinking?” I took a sip of my strikingly hot americano.
“Well, I was hoping you could teach me how to study,” she paused, “I hate to admit this but I don’t know the Bible well and honestly trying to read it, well, I can read till I’m blue in the face and it doesn’t make any sense at all.”
I could feel her hesitation, she had been a Christian all her life and in church longer than that and hadn’t truly ever been taught how to study the Word. She told me how she tried to do studies at church in groups and that those studies either didn’t finish or just addressed a simple topic. Sometimes those books seemed to be questionable as to whether they were doctrinally sound or not, but she wasn’t sure because she had no idea how to begin using the Bible to figure out if they were or not.
We spent the next hour talking through her goals for learning to study the Bible along with addressing her feelings.
Growing up I had also been in the church and sat through Sunday school and Sunday morning sermons. I had been a part of a flourishing women’s ministry and served the youth as a volunteer. I even married a youth pastor at the age of 23. But all those years, all those classes, all those sermons, no one truly taught me how to study the Word.
As we talked and shared our stories a deep ache began to roll around in my gut. How many women feel this exact same way? How many women are ashamed to admit they do not know the Bible and that reading it is tedious and pointless because it simply goes in one ear and right out the other? How many women feel guilt that they don’t want to even pick up the Bible? How many women begin reading in Genesis and by the time Leviticus rolls around they feel a deep desire to throw the Bible across the room and their hands up in the air?
The enemy has done an incredible job of developing guilt and shame deep in our hearts about our relationship with the Bible and then getting us to keep our mouths closed and our hearts hidden so that we do not seek help. Every step we take forward he has three ways to throw us backwards.
Women tend to be the glue that holds everything together and we also tend to not allow a deep weakness to be seen. In the Christian world to admit something like, “I don’t understand the Bible,” or “I don’t like to read the Bible,” or “I try to read the Bible, but it just doesn’t stick,” feels shameful, feels condemning. If we have the bravery to say these things they are often met with a statement or judgement. The way that those statements are looked at and addressed, often, pours more shame and guilt upon the courageous soul who was trying to be honest and vulnerable.
There is no shame here!
There is no guilt here!
I will never forget that semester I walked into my Old Testament class. I’m not quite sure why I took the class, a couple friends had signed up for it and I did want to read the Bible, but up to that point it just felt like a book I would never be able to get through let alone understand. I had hated school, and college wasn’t much better at that point, so the start of year two and that moment I sat in that chair up against that wall I truly had no clue what God was going to do.
That first day we had three or four pages of notes about the Bible along with the how’s and why’s behind the Old and New Testament. That was the day everything changed, a nonreader became a reader and a long time Christian fell in love with His Word. For the first time the Bible wasn’t so scary and the words on the page seemed to awaken a curiosity instead of a dread.
From that day forward I have never looked back, and the Bible is the most incredible thing I have ever read, no matter how many times I read it something else new and exciting jump off the pages.
The purpose of this blog is to get the ball rolling; to tackle the question how do I study the Bible? Our ultimate goal is to learn how to study and read the Word in a way that will allow you understanding along with a deep love to grow, THAT YOU CAN DO ON YOUR OWN!
This is not a simple fix or clearly defined journey for the giant elephant in the Christian world, but the hope is to bring you something that you can use to begin a journey that you will never forget and never ever regret!
There is no exact precise way to do this, but there are lots of tips and tricks we will share along with helpful information to make your journey one that is successful. Within the coming weeks and months, we will level up, so to speak, as we journey through learning to study the Word.
So, there is no judgement in these pages,
There is no guilt!
And there is zero shame! Today is a great day to begin a journey of learning to study and enjoy reading your Bible!
Abba, Father,
I praise you for your Word! You are the Alpha and Omega, the Creator of all things. The bravery it takes to admit I need help to learn to study your glorious Word will not be wasted. I ask for your wisdom to pour over the heart of the brave ones who will be seeking you and your story.
Warrior 1 Nine 