Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).
I have always enjoyed the process of learning. As a child, I remember enjoying going to the school’s library and checking out books on dinosaurs, astronauts, and anything dealing with science. My love of learning did not stop there but continues even today. I enjoy reading, studying, and expanding my mind about the world around me. Although I have been a Christian since 1988, I never made the effort to study the word of God – the Bible – the way I have other subjects until about seven years ago.
While in the process of preparing for my preliminary exams for my Ph.D. program, I began what every other Ph.D. graduate student has done in the past. I met with my adviser and committee members, I made a list of what I thought could be possible questions, and read books off of reading lists that had been prepared by my committee to help me prepare for the exams. Over the next six months, I read the books, discussed the readings with the members of the committee, and prepared my responses to the list of questions I had earlier prepared with the help of the committee.
About halfway through my preparations for the exams, I began to realize the truth about my own seriousness about my faith. I claimed to be a Christian, I did read my Bible nearly every day, and regularly attended church services, but rarely did I ever study the Bible with the intensity that I was doing in preparation for my preliminary exams. It was at that time that I truly began to realize what Paul meant when he wrote those words to Timothy: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).
As a part of our spiritual growth, it is important that we study the Bible. Just as an athlete increases their strength and endurance by working out, and just as a chef refines their talents by continued practice, as Christians, we must strengthen our faith through personal Bible study, prayer, and active service within a local church. We should do this not because our faith requires it, but because we desire closer fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I decided to do it not only because I felt it was what I should do, but because I wanted to as well.
To be honest, there is no right or wrong way to study the Word of God. It is a matter of what works best and provides the results you want. If you are intense with your study, you’ll not only get a better understanding of your faith, but will find yourself drawing closer in your relationship with God. What works for me is a bit of quiet time – like when my two-year old daughter is napping. I simply get out my Bible, a notebook, a pen, and a good concordance, such as The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
As I do my daily readings, I will make a note of any verse or phrase that seems to stand out at the time I am reading it. Once I have finished doing my reading, I then grab the concordance and will begin to look up key words within the scripture references I wrote down. Some of what I learn ends up here on this site while other things are more personal and either shows me areas of my life where I need to change some things, let some things go, or where I need to pay closer attention to God’s leadership. Over the past seven years I have seen my relationship with my Savior deepen and become more meaningful and purposeful. Over the next few posts, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned about the importance of meaningful daily Bible study.
