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Two Kinds of Bible Study

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At her blog Brown Sugar Toast, Christa Threlfall quotes an interview with Kelly Collier to explain two kinds of Bible study: by plow and by trowel. Both kinds should be part of your study diet.

Plow Bible study “moves through large portions of Scripture more quickly, looking for specific themes.” Trowel Bible study is “taking a passage or verse of Scripture and settling in to dig for a long time.” When we write about Bible study at Knowable Word, we normally refer to trowel Bible study. However, we also try to remind you regularly of the need for plow Bible study. For example, see the post on a Bible reading plan for readers.

Threlfall’s/Collier’s explanation of the two types of study will encourage you to press on. Check it out!

 

Basic Principles for Bible Reading

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Here’s a great but brief video from Michael Horton and the White Horse Inn with some basic principles for Bible reading.

  1. Engage the text.
  2. Don’t assume you know what it means.
  3. Look for the original meaning to the original audience.
  4. Learn from how other Christians have read this passage around the world and in different times.
  5. Remember the big picture is about Jesus Christ.

Check it out!

HT: Kevin Halloran

5 Reasons to Read the Entire Bible This Year

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Back in December, Jeff Robinson gave 5 good reasons to read the entire Bible in 2016. How are you doing with your reading plan? Do you think it’s still worth it to read the Bible this year? Let Robinson’s 5 reasons motivate you to press on:

  1. It helps you learn the overarching story of Scripture.
  2. It will improve your ability to interpret and exegete Scripture.
  3. It will keep you habitually in the Bible.
  4. It will ensure you are engaging (and being engaged by) Scripture at least as frequently as you’re engaging other books.
  5. It will force you to navigate those tricky, less traveled roads of Scripture.

Robinson explains each point and gives ideas for how to get started. Though it’s not still January, it’s not too late to get going. Check it out!

Avoid Sloppy Bible Reading

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John Starke has a good article about sloppy Bible reading.

What I mean by “sloppy reading” is that often I come to a text of Scripture thinking I’m reading in order to be informed about how I might believe and live, but actually I’m coming to Scripture for affirmation of what I already believe and how I already live. And so, I’m a sloppy reader who’s likely blind to my sloppiness. And it’s likely you are too.

He illustrates by showing what we should take away from Jesus’ statement that he came not for the healthy but for the sick. Starke exposes the ease with which we fail to see Christ—even in the Gospels—and he models grace-filled application for us.

Check it out!

Bible Reading Contest

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I believe it’s worth it to read the entire Bible quickly, and I’m willing to stand behind that belief. So I invite you to join me in my annual Bible blitz. The first 3 people to finish before me will win both a copy of Knowable Word and the study Bible of their choice from my buying guide. Note: If I decide international shipping costs are prohibitive, I reserve the right to email you a gift certificate or ebook instead of a physical book.

Rules:

  1. You must read (not scan or skim) all 66 books of the Protestant Bible. You may choose the translation and reading plan (canonical, chronological, etc.). You don’t have to stop and meditate on every detail, but I’m trusting you to be honest about reading and not skimming. Listening to an unabridged audio Bible is acceptable.
  2. You may not begin until January 1, 2016.
  3. As soon as you finish, you must email me at peter.krol@knowableword.com (or contact me through the web form) with the date you finished and what you thought of the speed-reading process.
  4. The first 3 people to finish before I do may select a study Bible for their prize package. If you request physical books instead of ebooks, I reserve the right to send you a gift card if I determine shipping costs are excessive.
  5. When I finish my speed-read, or when 3 others have contacted me (whichever comes first), I will update this post and close the contest.

To give you a sense of scope, here are the dates I finished my speed-reads over the last 5 years.

2011 – March 20

2012 – March 12

2013 – March 11

2014 – March 8

2015 – February 6

[2016 – February 5 — UPDATE: the contest is now over.]

The speed jumped in 2015 because I began supplementing my reading time with an audio Bible.

I’ll look forward to hearing from you. I hope you have as much fun with it as I do, and may the Lord draw us all nearer to him through it!

A Bible Reading Plan for Readers

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This is a great time to consider a new reading plan. While it requires discipline, it can also be great fun. I just reposted an article about the speed-reading Bible plan I’ve followed for the last 5 years. This article first appeared at The Gospel Coalition. In a few days, I’ll post a new contest to encourage you to try this delightful plan in the coming year.

Check it out!

The Basic Message of the Bible is Plain to All

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Here is something from Aaron Armstrong to be thankful for:

We shouldn’t act as though the Bible has hidden knowledge that only an elite few can access. That is the way of the mystical guru, who offers esoteric nonsense—absurdities in place of true wisdom. But the message of the Bible—at least in its basic message—is plain to all. Most anyone could come to the text of the Bible and understand the means by which God offers salvation (whether they agree with it or not is another question entirely). They can know the commands of God (whether they obey, again, is another question entirely). They can know there will be judgement, there will be a day when suffering and sadness end, when death is no more and all will be made new. Some elements are confusing, and some, frankly, make little sense to those living in the West today. Even so, there is no need for discouragement: what we can know, we can know.

Check out his full article.

The Bible Teaches Us to Use the Bible

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When we want to figure out how to use the Bible, we don’t need to complicate the process. The Bible itself tells us how to use the Bible.

Jesse Johnson quotes W.H. Pike, who writes of the many instructions the Bible itself gives about how to use the Bible:

  1. Read it (Neh 8:8)
  2. Believe it (Rom 10:8)
  3. Receive it (James 1:10)
  4. Taste it (Heb 6:5)
  5. Eat it (Jer 15:16)
  6. Hold it fast (Titus 1:9)
  7. Hold it forth (Phil 2:16)
  8. Preach it (2 Tim 4:2)
  9. Search it (John 5:29)
  10. Study it (2 Tim 2:15)
  11. Meditate on it (Ps 1:2)
  12. Compare it (2 Cor 2:13)
  13. Rightly divide it (2 Tim 2:15)
  14. Delight in it (Ps 119:92)

Pike’s article explains each point in a few sentences. Check it out!

Re-Ignite Boring Bible Reading

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David Murray writes about a common struggle:

We’ve all been there. Reading the Bible can become boring. Our eyes are on the page but our minds are everywhere else; because everywhere else is just so much more interesting. That black book without pictures just isn’t quite so exciting as the black device that can show us anything in the world in just a click.  We may pick up our Bibles, open the pages, and scan the lines, but our hearts just aren’t in it. We force ourselves to read our chapter(s) or fill up our allotted time, but we really can’t wait to finish and get on to much more fascinating and enjoyable things.

And he has some great ideas for coming out of the slump:

  1. Develop a routine
  2. Get enough sleep
  3. Ban the cell phone
  4. Read a different translation
  5. Read more slowly (or more quickly)
  6. Read a devotional first
  7. Use a study Bible (but be careful with it)
  8. Find accountability
  9. See your need
  10. Remember who is speaking
  11. Pray
  12. Serve your church

All Murray’s ideas are great and worth trying. I especially appreciate #12, as we often fail to realize our “boredom” comes from focusing on ourselves, and the solution doesn’t lie within ourselves. As Murray rightly suggests, getting out there and doing something for others will exercise our souls, make us hungry, and make visible our need for strengthening and guidance – thus leading us to “devour God’s Word more greedily.”

Check out Murray’s article for a fuller explanation of each suggestion.