Monday Muse :: Bible Study
Saturday evening Reynolds was reading a book on our bed and he asked me, as he often does, to snuggle up next to him while he read. So I did. After he finished reading aloud to me he asked if I would wake him up early the next morning. “Tomorrow is Sunday, you know.” “Yes m’am” he responded, “but I want to get up and do Bible study with you tomorrow.”
There Are Few Things for Which to Get Up Early
There aren’t many things that I will get up early for – Bible study, traveling out of town {to a warm, beachy loacale}….and that’s really about it. I get up early every day, even on weekends, to study my Bible. Not because I have to, but because I want to, and know how good it is to be in God’s word every day. My heart, mind and soul are refreshed as I sit at my little desk and comb thru His truths.
So when Reynolds expressed why he wanted to get up early on Sunday, to study the Bible with me, I was all for it.
Progress, Not Perfection
I am in no way a Biblical scholar. I’m just a girl who knows what Jesus has done in my life and being near to him, via his Word gives me life. With that, I’ll tell you, just as I told Reynolds early Sunday morning, how I study my Bible…this is progress, not perfection.
Someone told me not long ago that the best way to study God’s word is with God’s word. Makes sense, right? We often use devotionals or other tools to help us study God’s word, but really all we need is the Bible itself.
When I heard this wise woman speak those words, I pondered in my own heart if I knew how to study like that. Without a study to help or guide me. At the time, I was spending probably way too much money at Daily Grace Co. and decided one day to add in an Abide Journal. Soon after I quickly learned how easy it is to study the Word with the Word.
My Study Routine
Most mornings when I sit down at my desk I allow the physical quiet to quiet my soul. I close my eyes and flush out the many thoughts that have already begun to crowd my mind. I pray, often seeking the Lord’s guidance on what to read for the day. Sometimes I shift from the New Testament to the old, Psalms, Isaiah. No rhythm or rhyme to my process usually. I land somewhere and read. Oftentimes I’ll stop and ponder a verse, cross-reference something – those notes in my study Bible are so helpful! And usually I find one little verse that speaks volumes to me.
That verse becomes my Bible verse of the day, that I post in my Instagram stories, and the focus verse of my study.
Using the Abide Journal
After I rewrite the verse in my Abide journal I begin using the questions provided to dig deeper into the verse. Yesterday morning Reynolds and I studied both Psalm 23 and Matthew 6 – specifically the Lord’s Prayer. I loved hearing him read the verses aloud, and then we would giggle when I would ask, “now what did you just read?” and he would say, “I have no idea.”
How many times have you read the Bible and thought, I have no idea what I just read! We are all in the same boat, trying to figure it out. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. And we don’t have to give up so easily when it seems over our heads. I showed Reynolds how to use the notes in his Bible, how to go back a chapter or two, to learn more about the context so he could better understand the words written. Sometimes that’s all we need. Keep going. Dig deeper.
Don’t Just Stay on the Surface
God’s desire for us is to know him better. My verse from today was:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Ephesians 1:17
As I used my little journal and dug deeper into this one little verse God showed me how he desires for me to know him better. He’s not a far off God who created the universe and just sits up in Heaven thinking about all the amazing things he’s done. No, he wants me to call upon his name – he wants me to read his word, to pray/talk to him, to seek him in all things.
What a gift!
Friend, don’t not pick up your Bible because you don’t know what to do with it. Open it to Psalms or Romans, or 1 Corinthians. Grab a pen and a piece of paper {or get yourself one of those little Abide journals}, and write down a verse. Then read all the little notes about that one verse and then ask yourself, what does God want me to know about himself in this verse?
And Then Ask
After you ask the question and answer it – for real write your thoughts down – ask God. Pray and ask him what he wants you to know about himself. He will not disappoint you. Jeremiah 29:13 says, ‘You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.’ That’s a promise he loves to answer.
That’s it! There’s nothing cumbersome about it; we just have to make time to do it. If you have questions about anything in this post, please let me know! I’d love to help any way I am able.
I love starting my day with the word of God. In recent times, I’ve taken to the Bible app. Usually I start with the Bible verse of the day or a devotional coupled by scriptures from a topic I may be studying. I pray and reflect on the word. Many times in my head there’s a whole church sermon going on, lol, based upon my reading and praying. God is so awesome.
Jasmine, this is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these encouraging words with us. And yes, it’s the BEST way to start the day!