Most of the time, you'll just have to start reading and wait for the Holy Spirit to kick in. That is, if you can read…
Recently, I started a Bachelor's course in Theology on the internet. A good PDF is all I need to get me going. I like to print them out and highlight the sentences that speak to me and that I find interesting. Then, I like to take notes on my computer. It's not hard for me. I can read through my notes and the PDFs I have printed as much as I think I have to read them, and I even make flashcards using Anki. What gets into my head is really not my job. It is the Father's job. I know I am hard working, so I just wait for the ✨ MIRACLE OF THE LEARNING PROCESS to happen in my head without my knowledge. I believe in my potential and try not to stress about anything. I always take my vitamins, and I think it's nice to create a habit of getting as much sleep as possible to make yourself productive. As I understand it, human beings are totally holistic, so there's no way to get out of this situation. We have to get a good night's sleep.
'Make an effort to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker, who doesn’t need to be ashamed but is one who interprets the message of truth correctly. ' (2 Timothy 2:15)
I think the best way to start a real bible study with precision is to go through it brick by brick (chapter by chapter) and try to deconstruct everything in the order that you'd like it best to find the meaning of it's true words and your way through it all, like Smeagol through the marches. You need to get a grasp of its richness in detail. You need to get a sense of it. To pause & meditate. To 'find yourself' in one of those stories. This makes me think a bit about the story of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. As the pilgrim persevered, he got what he wanted:
'But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. '(Matthew 24:13)
The Bible that we use these days is all online & available on the internet. We have it in many languages. We can dispose of it like toilet paper. It is possible for us to copy each chapter of it separately on a tool like Notion, for example, and make it like our Bible reading diary. We would use it for the purpose of making your own comment below each Bible verse with a different color, which is possible to do on Notion. This way, we won't miss any detail or special insight or revelation that we have, and we can cross-reference those with other parts of the Bible. ✨ Even if you don't know what to think about a specific part of the Bible, you can make prayers on them and express to God how you feel about them, tell Him what they mean to you, and how they can serve you in your daily life. This is about your relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, most of all. This is your special moment.
But how can we cross-reference Bible verses by themes or subjects? For some people, it sounds easy to do, but the Bible is long. I started to simplify this process by using a tool called Workflowy. They have a free version, and also Notion has it. On Workflowy, it's easy to make lists, and it's easy to copy Bible verses that you find interesting, but what's different is that you can hashtag each item from the list by using different words to research those verses later. For example, if it's a Bible verse about friendship, you would use #friendship to make that verse researchable. This kind of study practice takes a lot of work, but if you have the time, you can share your files with your fellow Christians to save us time! This would make everyone happy, including you! We're all in this together! Discord is packed with Christian servers, and I'm on a bunch of them. It's OK for you to interact! You must always be polite and take on those prayer requests that they post.
But how do we memorize those Bible verses that we only cherish when we need them the most? These are those lifesavers that not only you need but also those ordinary people in your daily life that God has put in your path for you to make a difference to them also need. I'd say make another list and put those Bible verses that you intend to memorize in it (this would include references). After that, it's easy to make your own flashcards and take them with you wherever you go. I use Anki to make my flashcards, but you can make them by using something different & creative. Only you know what's essential for you and what would make you feel better about this whole new habit that you're trying to create. It depends on your personality, too. Changing is hard.
And how do we research the Bible while we're not completely knowledgeable about its content, not just its intent? We have to use the internet again. Yup. Don't try fighting it. By doing exactly what I've told you here in this post, you could have your own researchable database in less than a year of progress if you take as many notes as possible. Nonetheless, if you feel insure, you can't deny what's available too. I like to make use of Bible.com and DuckDuckGo to make my research because I write a lot, and I'm a volunteer counselor for TouchPeace.
Anyway, there's no reason for us to remain ignorant of the Bible when there's so much that we can do online to make ourselves the same as pastors or pastors' wives. We don't need their authority on everything just to live our lives as Christ did and be sanctified by His word. The world would become a better place in this way.
Good luck to us, and be safe & blessed. 🙏🏻
'The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful. Instead of doing those things, these persons love the LORD ’s Instruction, and they recite God’s Instruction day and night! They are like a tree replanted by streams of water, which bears fruit at just the right time and whose leaves don’t fade. Whatever they do succeeds. That’s not true for the wicked! They are like dust that the wind blows away. And that’s why the wicked will have no standing in the court of justice— neither will sinners in the assembly of the righteous. The LORD is intimately acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is destroyed. (Psalms 1)
* Read the full content on Gumroad.
No comments
Post a Comment