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‘Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.’

(Joshua 1:8 NIV)

Studying the Bible.

Some people choose not to use the word ‘study’ when it comes to the Bible. It conjures up images of heavy, dusty, boring books to them, and they freeze.

Others prefer the word study because it gives them a sense of accomplishment, like they are learning something and gaining wisdom and understanding with every study session.

Whether you choose to use the word study or not, study the Bible we must.

As our title verse tells us, we are instructed in the Bible itself to keep the contents of this important book always on our lips, remaining engaged with it day and night.

If we never read and study what the Bible says and how it applies to our individual lives, we will never know how to do what it says and live by God’s standards.

We are also promised that we will be blessed when we study the Bible and take care to do all it says. Prosperous and successful the Bible says – who doesn’t want that?

More practically speaking, the Bible is made up of 66 books split between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament stretches from the world’s creation to God’s people in exile, waiting for the Messiah, Jesus. The New Testament covers the arrival of Jesus to when He comes back for His Church.

Each book has a theme, key characters, and valuable lessons and learning that we can take from it. The Bible is perfect, inerrant, and complete. It is the very words of God spoken through His prophets, apostles, and people.

The book of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says this:

‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’

We study the Bible so that we can know God. Some say it is His love letter to humanity. It is a precious gift to us as His followers and children, and once we grasp the importance of knowing it and learning from it, it will become a joy to study.

‘When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.’

(Jeremiah 15:16 NIV)

Now that we’ve established what study is and the importance of it, let’s look in more detail at the ‘how’ we can practically look into the Bible.