If you’ve been around This Outnumbered Mama for a while, you know that I am a total Bible newbie. I have been crazy overwhelmed at the idea of Bible study, that for a long time I just avoided it. “I’m a baby Christian” I would say. “I don’t really know many Bible stories”. I knew the Veggie Tales versions, and Chris and I watched The Bible Series on Netflix, but actually sitting down to read the Bible? That was crazy!
My girlfriends in my mom’s group and I decided to do a Beth Moore study together, which was fantastic! It explained almost everything, and my friends explained anything that wasn’t crystal clear. It was a great way to start actually reading my Bible because it held my hand. But I’m branching out! One of my New Years Goals is to read my Bible 3 days per week. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it has shown me that I really do know how to study my Bible. Yeah. A real Bible!
A Bible Newbie’s Approach to Bible Study
Gather Your Supplies
Your Bible
Okay, so this one is really obvious, but it needs to be discussed. Do not start out reading a Bible version with thee and thou and ye shall’s if you’re a bible newbie. If you are anything like me, you will get a headache, decide that the Bible is too hard, and go eat ice cream and binge watch netflix. Make sure that you get a Bible that is readable. I like NIV and NLT, but try a few out on the youversion app and buy the one that you like best. It also helps if you can get a Bible with some notes in it. Even if the words are easy to read, some of the concepts in the Bible don’t make sense without a little help. Having good notes can help you understand the context of a book or chapter including who wrote it and why, what was happening in history, etc.
Other Random Supplies
I always keep a pencil and highlighter with me, and I mark up tons of verses. I also think that Bible time is special, so it should be accompanied by a delicious warm beverage. My favorite is white chocolate white coffee mochas. :)
Adjust Your Expectations
You don’t have to have a crazy epiphany every time that you open up your Bible. If you’re a mom of young kids like I am, you may not have a serene quiet time first thing in the morning before everyone wakes up. Baby M still exclusively nursing, which can make for some late nights and early mornings. I don’t function well before seven, and I definitely need three a cup of coffee before I get up. Especially in the beginning, give yourself grace. Understand that your Bible time one day might be reading the “verse of the day” while you cook dinner. Any Bible time is an improvement for Bible newbies!
Start Easy
There is value in reading the Bible cover to cover. Many people do it, and that’s really impressive. My advice? Don’t do it. You will probably start off great, I mean, who doesn’t love the creation story? Then you’ll get lost in the crazy geneologies and give up. I suggest starting in the New Testament. I like John. [Like, just John. Not First John or anything, I know it’s confusing!] It reads more like a story and it’s pretty much all about Jesus. Who doesn’t like reading about Jesus??
Mark It Up
Okay, I know that the Bible is perfect. I mean, it’s the Word of God. That’s pretty intimidating. That said, mark it up! Use your highlighter and pencil and write all over the page. I read through the chapter I’m reading once without anything in my hand. I read it a second time with my highlighter and I highlight anything that I think is really important. Then I read it again with my pencil to underline and write out notes. After you’ve read a chapter three times, you should have a decent understanding of it. Highlighting and taking notes helps me to stay focused while I’m reading and really try to think about what I’m learning from it. Did you ever read the same paragraph from a text book three times before you knew what it said? Same concept here. Sometimes I even write questions in the margin so I remember to ask someone about it. Yes, you can question what it says in the Bible when you’re a Bible newbie!
So this is my approach. It isn’t perfect by any means, and I hope to expand on it eventually. I just found that I spent hours and hours researching the “right” way to study my Bible. Those were all super intimidating to me, so my advice is to just start. Pray before you open your Bible, and just start. It’ll be great, promise!
How do you study your Bible? Do you mark all over it, or do you keep a notebook?
Hello,
I came to your blog because of an email from Cullen’s ABCs. I got rather discouraged by your post. As a newly saved Christian myself- reading any other bible other than the King James Bible was hard to understand. I encourage you to read up on the Bible Verison issue and how other bibles are inspired by Satan. The NIV bible changes so much. I too read that bible and now feel deceived by how it lied to me. I just would hate for you to be lead down that path too if you don’t even know anything about it. God Bless and congratulations on your new life!
Hello Erica,
Thank you so much for stopping by the blog, Cullen’s ABC’s is great! I want to take the time to thank you for your concerned comment. I have read up on the different Bible versions. While I definitely see merit in reading the same sections in several different versions to understand the full meaning, I do not believe that Bible versions other than the KJV are inspired by Satan. This post http://www.comereason.org/king-james-bible-only.asp explains in a researched-based way the reason that I believe other Bible versions have merit. I believe that the ultimate goal is for people to read God’s Word, and for many people if KJV was the only option, it would not be read. God has told us to spread His message, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 (KJV). To preach the gospel throughout the world and to every creature, I believe it is vital that every person have a Bible in their own language and skill level available to them. Again, I truly appreciate your comment, as it lead me deeper into my research and gave me a lot to think about. I do hope that you will stop by again.
Many blessings to you, Erica!
Your approach is not too much hopeful. As we all know that it is hard to understand the Bible for a newly Christian, so you should think about more deep research.
I am sorry that you don’t like my approach. This has helped me as a new Christian. <3
I love your advice to lower the expectations because I feel like people get bogged down when their expectations of emotional overcoming does not happen. Thank you so much for sharing this post!
I love that you talked about getting a readable Bible, especially for new readers. Getting newer versions also helped me to easily understand the stories written in it and now, I’m at the stage where I want to know the meaning and lessons behind them. It might be a good idea to sign up for an affordable online Bible study and see if I’ll be able to learn more.