Find tools and tips to study the Bible with joy!
Studying the Bible can be overwhelming. However, in this post, I want to share tools you can use for Bible study for beginners. So if you want to learn how to start reading the Bible, you’re in the right place!
There are so many wonderful tools we have at our fingertips that can help us deepen our knowledge of the Word and, most importantly, our love for the God of that Word!
By engaging in a deeper study of the Bible, you are joining the millions of believers throughout the centuries who also drank deeply in order to quench the thirst of their own souls.
What a joy to have the light of God’s Word guiding our steps day by day!
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” – Psalm 119:105 (NLT)
We don’t study the Word to build up knowledge or simply to prepare a message but to get to know God intimately.
How to Start Reading the Bible
God has given me a hunger for reading, memorizing, and studying His Word.
My husband and I are reading the Bible this year using the YouVersion app where you can read a plan with other people. If you haven’t done something like this before, it’s so powerful. Built in accountability and I love reading his comments each day while also sharing my own.
We’re using the Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble which I highly recommend. Her focus is to find Jesus in all the Scriptures. Instead of looking for ourselves, let’s look for God and His character. It’s powerful!
I also memorize passages of Scripture using techniques I’ve learned from the site Bible Memory Goal and have received accountability in their online community. I highly recommend it if you have a desire to memorize Scripture.
As I’ve been reading and memorizing the Word, my hunger to study it has also increased.
Alisa Keeton uses the Olive Tree Bible Software app. She loves that all of her notes are kept in one place!
I’ve been walking with the Lord fully committed for 31 years, and it’s been 41 years since I was baptized. And all my notes through the years are scattered in different Bibles and journals. I would have no idea where to even find them all. 😂🤣
You can similarly use Blue Letter Bible and add notes, but I found Olive Tree to be a better user experience for taking notes.
If anything, I recommend getting a Bible that has Strong’s concordance numbers linked. I got the ESV with Strong’s, and it makes word studies in the app so much quicker and easier.
We don’t study the Word to build up knowledge or simply to prepare a message but to get to know God intimately. I was literally in tears this morning as I was doing my Bible study as He was speaking to me and revealing more of Himself to me.
Let’s ask God for more hunger for Him!
Prayer from Thomas Cranmer, “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
3 Free Bible Study Tools
In this video, I demonstrate a few of my favorite ways to use Olive Tree, Blue Letter Bible and Bible Hub. I’m still learning the tools, but thought it would be helpful to share what I have discovered so far in my research.
Bible Study for Beginners
An easy way to get started studying the Bible is to think about it as the 10 C’s of Bible study. I hope this is helpful to you!
1.) Connect with God in prayer
2.) Context: Read it and understand it as a whole
– What genre is the book? Check out the “How to Read the Bible” series from BibleProject
– Look at the surrounding scriptures
– Consider reading an overview of the book
3.) Compare translations: Use a word-for-word translation as your main source
4.) Commentaries: Commentaries are incredibly helpful in understanding passages’ historical and theological context.Try consulting a commentary after you wrestle through the text on your own.
5.) Create your notes
6.) Check definitions
– Word-studies
– Dictionaries
7.) Cross-references
8.) Concordances – Strong’s is one Bible concordance, which contains an alphabetical index of words used in the Bible and the main Bible references where the word occurs.
9.) Consider other sources like atlases and maps
10.) Converse with God
– Thank God for revealing Himself to you in His Word.
– Ask for Rhema word – God communicating personally to us, through the Spirit’s voice in our hearts. (*This should not contradict Scripture!)
– Ask how this Scripture can inform your life and faith in Jesus.
Note: Interpret the Bible using the Bible by studying cross-references and concordances
10 C’s of Bible Study
1. Connect
2. Context
3. Compare
4. Commentaries
5. Create
6. Check
7. Cross-References
8. Concordances
9. Consider
10. Converse
In Closing...
If you have a desire to study God’s Word, this is one indication that God is leading you into deeper intimacy with Him. As we study the Scriptures, we get to know God’s character and the way He’s calling His children to live in this world.
When the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread while fasting in the wilderness, he simply quoted Deuteronomy 8:3,
“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
God has created us so that our souls can be nourished by the Word of God which is spiritual food.
The Bible is an endless smorgasbord of delights to satisfy our souls. As we partake of those delights, our Biblical appetite will continue to increase.
Here’s to growing closer to the heart of God as we feast on His Word!
Shelley Hitz is a certified Revelation Wellness Instructor from Platoon 26, author of the best-selling book, “Broken Crayons Still Color,” and an author coach who helps writers self-publish and market their books. With over 12 years of experience as a physical therapist, she now works full-time with her husband in their business. Join her Momentum Challenge to jumpstart your fitness journey with just 15 minutes of daily exercise and discover how small actions can lead to big results. Learn more at ShelleyHitz.com.
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