I’m able here to refine my observations and look at other facets of writing. I’m always looking for the lesson I’m to learn as God shapes and molds me to his will through his Word.Īs I dig deeper into a multichapter book, I’ll follow this process chapter by chapter, but here we’ll see more detail since we’re looking at a smaller section of text. Then let those markings guide your eyes from place to place as visual cues, making a list of what you learn at each occurrence.Ĭharacters come to life in their adventures, prophetic messages become clear, and the word reveals its deep insights into God, his character, his ways, and his dealings with people. My favorite way to do that is to interrogate the text, asking the “5 W’s and an H” questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? The text has the answers to questions formed from these words, and they’ll shout their answers out to you if you’ll let them. Of first importance is observing carefully what the text says, and for that I need to slow down and read with a purpose. Letting the author reveal his purpose and message his way is paramount. And these lead to understanding the structure of a book. These may repeat throughout the book or only in sections or chapters. Their repetition shows the author’s emphasis-what he’s trying to communicate. Repeated words and phrases are keys to understanding the messages in letters and prophets, so I color-code them or mark them in distinctive ways, so they jump off the page. Read Scripture criticallyĪs I read, I pay attention to repetition. Again, reading the text will help me see what key ideas the prophet is bringing to his audience-and to me. If it’s prophecy, the opening will usually reveal that. And in that case, my next step is to read it all the way through as if I just received that letter in the mailbox, written to me. I’ll easily discern if it’s a letter because the form and the identification of the writer and the recipient are apparent. I start with the text, and I let the text tell me about itself. I also want to see if the author states his purpose in writing.Īnd that’s the start of the Precept Bible Study Method, an inductive approach to Bible study. For longer ones, I read enough to determine whether it’s narrative, prophecy, letter, poetry, or another genre of literature. For shorter books of the Bible, I read through the whole book. ![]() I need to discover what kind of literature it is so I can approach it accordingly. (Every study I have ever done has been by our Father’s direction.) Every book of the Bible has its own unique purpose.Īnd then I start reading that book. I begin with prayer, asking God to speak to me, to direct me to the book he wants me to study and to help me understand it. Now let me tell you how I study, and how Precept Ministries is teaching people from about 185 countries in close to 83 languages to do the same-people from all walks of life and persuasions. I often tell people any ol’ bush will do to set on fire with the fire of God. You say, “But I don’t have the intelligence or education to understand it.” If you are a Christian, you are indwelt by the Spirit of God. The word of God is my plumb line by which I measure everything I hear and read. In Peter’s final letter, he told us it is everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). ![]() There are 66 books in the Bible, and I believe God wants us to know all 66. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedInīefore I share with you how I study God’s word using the inductive Bible study method, I want to share with you why I study it this way.Īs Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:47, it is my life! Jesus, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, said we are to live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
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