How to Read & Study the Bible for YourselfSample

When I moved away from home at 18, I had never cooked a meal for myself.

On my own and responsible for feeding myself for the first time ever, I quickly realized that it’s one thing to enjoy a plated meal prepared and served by someone else, and it’s quite another to cook the meal yourself. I could have all the right ingredients on hand, but I hadn’t learned how to turn them into dinner the way my mum could.

Now that I’ve been a pastor for 20 years, I’ve recognized that learning to read and study the Bible is like learning how to cook. There are ready-made meals available everywhere; as a content creator, I’ve “served” many of them myself. But I believe that we need to know how to source the ingredients, chop, stir, season, and taste on our own.

So, are you ready to head into the kitchen with me? It’s time for you to become a chef.

Our lesson for today is that the Bible should be our primary source document.

These days, we tend to consume Christian content after it’s been processed, packaged, and polished for us. We have constant, easy access to books, articles, sermons, podcasts, and more. But these should be viewed as supplements, not replacements.

Reading a book about a passage of Scripture is not the same as reading the passage for yourself. Sure, it can supplement your understanding or help you consider a new perspective. But you’ll get maximum nourishment from the source. Jesus said as much in response to Satan’s first temptation to turn stones into bread. Matthew chapter 4 records Jesus saying that we cannot live by bread alone but on “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Did you catch that? Every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Through the Bible, you have the ability to hear directly from God. Don’t trade that in for hearing secondhand, through someone else’s interpretation. Go straight to the source. Psalm 119 is a great place to start. It’s all about God’s Word. As you’re reading, consider verse 105. David calls God’s Word “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” In other words, Scripture illuminates the next steps we should take and the direction we should head.

Wouldn’t you like to know what to do now and in the future? You can! By reading God’s Word for yourself.