Holy Bible - New Living Translation

Studying your bible is easy now with modern day technology.  There are also various bible study courses available from numerous organizations.  But you can simply read your bible and gain the inspiration, motivation and encouragement you need to deal with life’s everyday challenges.

Here are some basic tools to help you read and understand your bible.

1. Modern Translations.  There are many versions of the bible available today.  My personal favorite is the New Living Translation.  The New International Version (NIV) is also very popular, and then you have the New King James Version (NKJV).
2. Bible Dictionary.  A Bible Dictionary is also very useful.  Some dictionaries give you information on people and places to help you better understand how things were back in biblical times.
3. A concordance.  A concordance helps you to find a particular verse in the bible by searching for a particular word.  There are simple concordances as well as exhaustives.
4. Computer Bibles.  There are bibles available on CD Rom.  Some of these would give you different translations, commentaries, dictionaries, concordances and even sermons. 

Now there are bibles made to read through in a year from beginning to end.  But it is not really wise to try and read the bible this way, unless of course you really want to.  It is best to pick a section, book or chapter and verse and concentrate on that.  Sometimes I just open my bible and whatever page surfaces I read a chapter or verse from there.  Usually it is very helpful for something I am dealing with at that given point in time.

Always read the bible with an open mind.  Let God guide you as you go along.  Make notes as something you don’t understand at that particular point will be revealed to you at some other time in your studies.

Remember the Bible interprets itself.  Don’t try to put your own meanings into something your don’t fully understand.

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.  2 Timothy 3:16

“And the people of Berea were more open minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message.  They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul on Silas to see if they were really teaching the truth.”  Acts 17:11

Tools to Help you Understand the Bible

This is a very important aspect in developing your spiritual life.  Your quiet time should not be less than one hour.  You can break this down by spending 15 minutes praying, 30 minutes reading your bible and 15 minutes meditating.  Of course if you can devote more time to your quiet time, that’s even better.

You can add reading a spiritual book, listening to an audio sermon or gospel song.  Either way make God’s time the most important item on your agenda for the day.

If it is possible, try and make it the same time everyday.  It can be early morning or late evening.  Once you’ve developed a schedule it becomes easy.  Of course, with life being what it is, it may not be possible to keep this schedule everyday, however, whatever you do, try not to postpone it.  Always make time for your quiet time.

If you study the life of Jesus Christ, he always made time to pray and prayed often.

“The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray”.  Mark 1:35

“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer“.  Luke 5:16

“One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night“.  Luke 6:16

Jesus always made time for his quiet time.  Even before his crucifixion, he prayed three times in one night.  This was how he got strength to face his final hours.

“Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane and he said, “Sit here while I go on ahead to pray… He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will not mine.”  Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep… Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.”  He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open.  So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again.”  Matthew 26:36-44

Once you’ve gotten into the habit of spending quality time with God, you can face any situation in your life, and thus, strengthen your spirituality.

Holy Bible

Many people view the Bible as an out of date book.  But do you know that the Bible is still the #1 bestseller of all time?  To live a happy, spiritual life, the bible is the first book you should turn to for help.

Those who believe the bible is a dull, boring old book obviously did not have it presented to them in the correct way.  The bible is God’s instruction manual for mankind.  It gives advice on any difficulty you may be having in your life – marriage, family, finance, health, career, religious. 

Don’t look at the Bible as a religious book, but as a resource to help you live a peaceful, happy, righteous and spiritual life.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  2 Timothy 3:16

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