When we’re busy, one of the first things we often neglect is reading the Bible. It might have become too familiar to us, or hard to understand, or we’ve just lost our passion for it. In 2 Timothy we read: ‘All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.’ Studying God’s Word is clearly very beneficial and the right thing to do. One thing we can do to recapture our love for it is to try studying it in a different way from our usual method. Here are some ideas: 1) By book. Read a whole book of the Bible a few times and try to work out the overarching theme of that book, without focusing too much on the detail. 2) By chapter. Read a single chapter, and look for the main message. If you were giving that chapter a new heading to summarise it, what would it be? 3) By verse. Read one verse (you could even read it in different Bible translations) and focus on what you can learn just from that single verse. 4) By topic. Choose a topic that interests you, such as God’s promises, prayers, people who ignored God, food…the list is endless. Research and read everything the Bible says about that topic, and see what you can learn about God’s perspective on that topic. 5) By word. Choose a word, and research every time that word is used in the Bible. Does it highlight anything new to you? 6) By cross-referencing. Choose a verse, then use a cross-referencing tool online to find other verses that mention similar things, revealing new connections.

What Now?

Choose one of the study methods in today’s reading, and try it for a week. See what new things you can discover and learn from God’s Word.