Bible
In my last blog post I talked about the need for us to relieve ourselves of the guilt we often feel for not praying and reading the Bible enough. But just because I don’t think we should necessarily feel guilty about our devotional life, doesn’t mean I don’t think the Bible and prayer are important! They’re vital! The problem is often we don’t really know how to pray or access the Bible in a way which is life giving. So I thought it worth writing a follow up post with a few suggestions of how we can get more out of reading the Bible. This is less about encouraging people about why they should read the Bible and more about helping them with how they could read the Bible. Hopefully you find it helpful. Who knows… if you do maybe I’ll do a similar post on prayer too…
In every way the Bible is an awesome book. Its awesome in subject, its awesome in content, and its awesome in length (and often size and weight too!). But the awesomeness of it can be quite daunting. Where on earth do you start reading it? How on earth do you begin to understand or interpret it? And what on earth do you do with what you’ve read, understood and interpreted? These questions are often, I find, the major barriers to people enjoying the Bible. But while the last two are important, the biggest reason we struggle to enjoy reading the Bible is more to do with the first: we simply don’t know where to start.
I usually encounter three types of frustrated readers. There are those who were brought up on a diet of children’s Bible stories and so have a basic knowledge of some disconnected people and their narratives. There are those who have never touched the Bible in their lives and their only knowledge of the Bible is drawn from the parts of it that have worked their way into wider culture and the media. And then there are those who have such a familiarity with the Bible that at times they find it hard to read without feeling bored because they feel like they’ve read it all before and they’re not getting anything new out of it. For all three, and whichever camp you find yourself in, the desire, and the key to enjoying the Bible is to find something that captures your imagination and encourages you to read further.
Happily, I think there are several different starting points that can be adopted by anyone at any time that can help do just that. Often the place we go wrong is to always use the same approach each time we come to read. But if these methods don’t work or have become stale, they will put us off! So here are some loosely grouped suggestions of a variety of different approaches to try out instead. None of them require a theology degree or any special training, and hopefully there are a couple in there that you’ve not yet tried that can breath fresh life into your reading...
Chronologically: This may surprise you but the Bible isn’t actually compiled chronologically - its only sort of semi chronological. One of the downsides of this is that sometimes parts of it, like the laws, the lists of names and the songs, can feel disconnected from the stories and people. Chronological reading plans (or its even possible to buy chronologically arranged Bibles) help you see how the whole things fits together. If you’re a stickler for details this is a really fascinating approach.
Cover to Cover: This is an approach that lots of people start but few finish. Its made difficult because some of the books of the Bible are much more readable than others. And books 3 and 4, Leviticus and Numbers, are particularly difficult and arduous. That said, this is one approach you could take.
Bible in a Year: This is a more accessible way of getting through the whole text of the Bible articularly as most Bible in a year reading plans encourage you to read a bit of Old and New Testament in the same sitting - which takes the edge of those more tedious sections! Having said that, this can sometimes feel like an obligatory endurance test. If you find it become more of a chore than a pleasure, try a different approach!
Following a Theme: There are a number of threads that are constant through the Bible woven into the fabric of every narrative, letter, song, etc. I’ve found that its really interesting to follow these through - much like when you find yourself exploring the threads of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe fits together late at night on the internet… or is that just me…!? If you want a guide in beginning to explore these threads I highly recommend Storylines by Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft - its really cheap and a great intro what the key themes of the Bible are.
Following a Metaphor: Have you ever noticed that the Bible talks a lot about rivers, and shepherds, and fathers, and dwelling places, etc… There are some metaphors that are all over the Bible. Sometimes searching for each occasion that these metaphors come up and reading around them you can find yourself being carried right through the Old and New Testament. I’ve personally found this approach fascinating - its a great one for artistic types!
With an Emotion: Its absolutely OK that sometimes we pick up the Bible because we’re sad, or angry, or frustrated, or grieving etc. God created our emotions and wants to speak to us in the midst of us feeling them. The Psalms can be great here… Flick through the Psalms and find one that captures the essence of how you’re feeling. A challenge here though is not to zone in on the one or two phrases that you identify with but to read the whole song. These lyrics were written by people who had processed or were sorting through the emotions you’re going through… and so it can be almost therapeutic to soak in the whole text - like a conversation with a friend who has “been there” themselves.
With a Question: I very rarely find myself clicking the “random” button on Google or Wikipedia. If ever I’m using those sites its because I want to find something specific out! We should feel free to use the Bible in the same way… Sometimes we’re more inclined to read it if we have a question. Perhaps a starting point for this is to ask yourself what questions you have about what God is like. Use biblegateway.com, or an app to help you find where you should be reading for your answers. But make sure you read the Bible - don’t just get bogged down by reading other people’s answers - try and find your own.
Read the Books… like Books: The Bible is technically a library of 66 books written by lots of different people and compiled into one SUPER-BOOK. Instead of reading a verse or a small section, try reading a book at a time. Start with one of the gospels and focus on just reading that from beginning to end. Read it like you would a book - a decent chunk at a time. You may find you begin to recognise and appreciate the authors voice and style as you go.
Read the Letters… as Letters: Much of the New Testament is actually letters written by and to specific people talking about specific things. We can often be guilty of just reading a verse or section from a letter and miss the flow of conversation in it. Letters are written to be read in one go. How often do you get an email and stop after 3 paragraphs and wait 4 weeks before going back to it? Try reading some of these letters in one go, following the conversation. You learn an awful lot about the people the letters were written to, and why they were written, by doing this. And that can even help you with your interpretation. Some of the letters are quite long so maybe start with Philippians or Philemon and build up to Romans!
As a Biography: Lots of us know the names of certain biblical characters, and even some of the stories about them. But do we really know their full biography. Pick a character you’ve heard of or are intrigued by and try and find out everything that is written about them in the Bible Its amazing what you learn… I grew up thinking King David was an amazing, perfect, individual… turns out he was a murdering, adulterous, borderline sex-pest, who in many ways was a complete failure as a King… But God loved him anyway. He’s just one of many characters who its interesting to wiki - but using the Bible not Google!
Meditatively: Having suggested you read large chunks at a time, I’m now going to suggest that there is a place for reading a paragraph, verse, sentence or even one or two words at a time and really reflecting deeply on them. I used to have a teacher who talked about reading the Bible in the same way that cows chew cud… slowly, methodically, savouring the taste as it becomes increasingly sweeter. There’s a great process called Lectio Devina or “Divine Reading”, which can help you to do this chewing over well. A step by step guide to this approach can be found here.
Repeatedly: One approach is to read the same passage regularly for a period of time. Particularly if a passage really resonates with you. Similar to the meditative approach, as you keep going back you can keep finding new things.
Trying to Memorise: If you want to go a whole step further with the meditating, try memorising verses or passages. But remember, if this becomes a chore, stop. Also, this is about learning to enjoy the Bible and encountering God through reading it - not how much you can recite by heart.
Using an App: There are a ton of Bible reading apps out there. The one I highly recommend is YouVersion which enables you to pick the particular translation you like. The great thing about Apps is they have lots of inbuilt features, including custom and thematic reading plans like suggested above. They can also send you reminders, verses of the day, and you can also make notes and highlight and see what other people have highlighted and made notes of too.
With a Fresh Translation: Is the KJV no longer doing it for you? Maybe you’re a hipster who followed the trend and bought an ESV but aren’t really getting much out of it. Pick a new version of the Bible that helps you find it easy to read and understand. The Message or the New Living Translation are two versions written specifically for this. Tom Wrights translation is also excellent. Some people can be a bit condescending of the Message but if its difference between you reading the Bible and not reading the Bible I’m sure God isn’t bothered!
Comparing Translations: If you want to be a bit more studious it can be interesting to put several versions of the same passage side by side and read them together. Its interesting to notice the similarities and differences between different translations, and can also help you get your head around more wordy passages. You can actually buy Comparative or Parallel Bibles that have 4 versions of the whole thing side by side.
Aurally: We’re all busy, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with listening to the Bible whilst you’re driving or washing up, or walking the dog or down the gym etc. If you can find a version which hasn’t got lots of cringe-worthy accents or sound effects just try listening to the Bible.
Orally: You should also considering reading it out loud. Particularly the psalms or the letters or some Jesus’s teaching and stories are best discovered when you read them allowed like you imagine them being said originally. We can have a very monotone, monosyllabic, dull voice in our heads when we read the Bible but the truth is much of it is full of wit, and emotion and expression. So try reading them that way!
In a group: This is a great way of actually making sure you read the Bible regularly… have a group you read with and who keep you accountable. This can either be done together, face to face or following the same plan on your own and comparing thoughts and notes when you see each other. There’s a ton of resources out there for group Bible studies if you need something to help give you a particular focus.
Discovery Bible Study: DBS as we call it is one particularly group study approach we have adopted in my church. Its designed to help you not just read the Bible but learn it and obey it too. You can find a walkthrough of this reading approach here.
Not at Random: Last and in this case least, here’s one way of reading the Bible I think you should avoid! Some people like to open the Bible to a random page and start reading. The problem is with this is that it rarely satisfies. Again, the Bible was written deliberately as mostly books or letters. It was not intended to be accessed randomly. Even if what you read is satisfying, it rarely encourages you to go back for more, and when its dissatisfying it can be downright off putting. Not helpful!
PHEW! I’ll be honest, that list is longer than I expected it to be when I started writing it. But that’s got to be a good thing - who knew there were so many starting points to getting into the Bible. If you happen to find one or more of these particularly helpful or unhelpful, why not put a comment below. I’d love to hear what different people have found useful or useless.
The main point of all this though is that you find a way of getting something out of the Bible as you read it and the best way of doing that is to start reading it. I pray that as you do you, you encounter the God who is within, throughout and behind the words of this awesome book! Enjoy!
