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04-23-2010, 09:28 AM
“So You Just Can’t Get Into Reading the Bible” (http://www.wave94.com/audio/apples/2010/01_11.mp3)
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Everybody says, ‘Read the Bible. You’ve got to read the Bible.’”
“Well I read it, but I don’t understand it. I don’t even know what I’m reading half the time.”
I hear this a lot, and I just heard it from someone over the weekend.
Some say, “I’m just not good at reading.” Others say, “I can read, but I don’t get much out of it.”
And then we throw the Bible at them.
So what about these people? Are they relegated to being second class Christians? Are they doomed to get all their Bible information second hand?
I don’t think so, and I have a plan for those people. If you want to read the Bible but just can’t get into it, here is a plan for you.
First of all, you need to know that when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside you.
Second Timothy 1:14 says the Holy Spirit “lives in us.”
Ephesians 3:16 talks about His Spirit in our “inner being.”
So the Spirit of God lives inside you, and Jesus said in John 16:13 that the Spirit “will guide you into all truth.”
In verse 15 Jesus said, “…the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
So what does that mean? Well it means you can study the Bible and learn from it because the Holy Spirit inside you will guide you!
Okay, so I said I had a plan for you, and I do. But it’s built on that foundation, that when you pick up the Bible to read it, the Holy Spirit is going to do something.
Now, when you pick up your Bible, start in the New Testament. The Old Testament has a lot of good stuff, but you have to know the context, so it’s better to start in the New Testament. And if you don’t have a better idea, I say start at the beginning, in the book of Matthew.
Before you begin, take time to pray. Talk to God and surrender your study time to Him. It’s sort of like coming respectfully into the presence of the Teacher.
Then it’s time to open up and start reading. And now here is something that bogs people down. They start reading and it starts to get foggy and soon they are just lost. They don’t get it, they lose interest and they finally quit.
So, as a new student of the Bible, don’t worry about understanding every single thing you read. And don’t worry about gulping down giant portions of scripture.
Just start reading, and here’s what I want you to look for. I want you to look for what I call “a bell ringer.”
You can start with a prayer like this, “Lord, I’m going to read Your Word, and I’m going to read until I hit a ‘bell ringer,’ that particular truth that You want to leap out to me today.”
I have done this many times, and here is what will happen. I will read a few verses, and it may run into a few chapters, but then all of a sudden a particular verse or phrase will leap out at me. It’s like the clouds part and the sun shines on that one truth.
It’s when you stop and say, “Mmmm, that’s good!” And you read it again. And again.
That, my friend, is the bell ringer!
I believe that is the Holy Spirit guiding you into all truth. He is “lighting up” one thing for you, something for you to learn and to apply to your life.
Now you can stop reading. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only read one verse, when the light comes on, you can stop.
Write it down. Put it on a card. Tuck it in your pocket. Stick it on your mirror. Make copies and put it up everywhere. Make it your Facebook status. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Think about how you should apply it.
And then you can find out what others think of that verse. Ask your pastor or a Bible teacher. Read some commentaries. These can help keep you from misunderstanding or taking a verse out of context.
But this is the truth of God from scripture. It’s food for the soul.
See how that works? You don’t have to understand everything you read. And you don’t have to read page after page after page. You just read until you hit that one thing, something I believe the Holy Spirit will guide you to.
I’m not saying this is a complete and comprehensive Bible study plan, but it’s a start. It’s a way to get into the Bible when you just can’t get into it.
Hebrews 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
With this plan, you are doing that. You are diligently seeking Him through the study of His Word.
So do you want to read the Bible, but you just can’t get into it?
Then here is a plan for you. Pray, then start reading until you come across that bell ringer.
http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=883
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Everybody says, ‘Read the Bible. You’ve got to read the Bible.’”
“Well I read it, but I don’t understand it. I don’t even know what I’m reading half the time.”
I hear this a lot, and I just heard it from someone over the weekend.
Some say, “I’m just not good at reading.” Others say, “I can read, but I don’t get much out of it.”
And then we throw the Bible at them.
So what about these people? Are they relegated to being second class Christians? Are they doomed to get all their Bible information second hand?
I don’t think so, and I have a plan for those people. If you want to read the Bible but just can’t get into it, here is a plan for you.
First of all, you need to know that when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside you.
Second Timothy 1:14 says the Holy Spirit “lives in us.”
Ephesians 3:16 talks about His Spirit in our “inner being.”
So the Spirit of God lives inside you, and Jesus said in John 16:13 that the Spirit “will guide you into all truth.”
In verse 15 Jesus said, “…the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
So what does that mean? Well it means you can study the Bible and learn from it because the Holy Spirit inside you will guide you!
Okay, so I said I had a plan for you, and I do. But it’s built on that foundation, that when you pick up the Bible to read it, the Holy Spirit is going to do something.
Now, when you pick up your Bible, start in the New Testament. The Old Testament has a lot of good stuff, but you have to know the context, so it’s better to start in the New Testament. And if you don’t have a better idea, I say start at the beginning, in the book of Matthew.
Before you begin, take time to pray. Talk to God and surrender your study time to Him. It’s sort of like coming respectfully into the presence of the Teacher.
Then it’s time to open up and start reading. And now here is something that bogs people down. They start reading and it starts to get foggy and soon they are just lost. They don’t get it, they lose interest and they finally quit.
So, as a new student of the Bible, don’t worry about understanding every single thing you read. And don’t worry about gulping down giant portions of scripture.
Just start reading, and here’s what I want you to look for. I want you to look for what I call “a bell ringer.”
You can start with a prayer like this, “Lord, I’m going to read Your Word, and I’m going to read until I hit a ‘bell ringer,’ that particular truth that You want to leap out to me today.”
I have done this many times, and here is what will happen. I will read a few verses, and it may run into a few chapters, but then all of a sudden a particular verse or phrase will leap out at me. It’s like the clouds part and the sun shines on that one truth.
It’s when you stop and say, “Mmmm, that’s good!” And you read it again. And again.
That, my friend, is the bell ringer!
I believe that is the Holy Spirit guiding you into all truth. He is “lighting up” one thing for you, something for you to learn and to apply to your life.
Now you can stop reading. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only read one verse, when the light comes on, you can stop.
Write it down. Put it on a card. Tuck it in your pocket. Stick it on your mirror. Make copies and put it up everywhere. Make it your Facebook status. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Think about how you should apply it.
And then you can find out what others think of that verse. Ask your pastor or a Bible teacher. Read some commentaries. These can help keep you from misunderstanding or taking a verse out of context.
But this is the truth of God from scripture. It’s food for the soul.
See how that works? You don’t have to understand everything you read. And you don’t have to read page after page after page. You just read until you hit that one thing, something I believe the Holy Spirit will guide you to.
I’m not saying this is a complete and comprehensive Bible study plan, but it’s a start. It’s a way to get into the Bible when you just can’t get into it.
Hebrews 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
With this plan, you are doing that. You are diligently seeking Him through the study of His Word.
So do you want to read the Bible, but you just can’t get into it?
Then here is a plan for you. Pray, then start reading until you come across that bell ringer.
http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=883