Hi, I'm Brittany Ann! I help busy Christian moms find simple, practical ways to create a strong faith, close family, and a life they LOVE -- without all the guilt and overwhelm. Join us for practical tips, trustworthy biblical advice, helpful resources, and a lot of fun!
You're not bad at Bible study. It's a skill.
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Several years ago, I decided I wanted to get in the habit of reading the Bible with my kids. And lets just say... it was not going according to plan. Before I could read a word, my son RAN from the room, curled up in a corner, covered his ears, and started humming loudly so he couldn't hear me. "No! The Bible is boring!" Ignoring his overly dramatic, attention-seeking antics, I read a chapter of Acts out loud anyway. Each morning, I'd read one chapter, explaining as I went. Until one morning (when the chapter ended on a cliff-hanger), the same child who had been so dramatically opposed to reading the Bible said, “Wait! That’s it? I want to know what happens next!” The Bible hadn't changed. His willpower certainly hadn't changed. He'd just decided the Bible was boring before he ever gave it a real chance. (Stinker. 😂) Sometimes, we grown-ups can do something similar. We don't usually hide in a corner and hum. (Usually.) But we treat the Bible as one more obligation we have to get through. Read the chapter, check the box, on to the next thing. Can't stop and linger. There's errands to run, dishes to wash, and laundry to fold. Too many things to do. But when we never stop and linger, we miss SO MUCH of what's there. We miss out on the joy. The beauty. The deep insights. The wisdom. The communion with God Himself, who wants to speak to us through His Word. That's where studying comes in. Here's what you need to know: Reading tells you what a passage says. Studying helps you dive deeper to understand what the passage means and how it applies to your life. Here's a simple way to start: 1. Pay Attention to the Type of Writing Is it a story? A poem or song? A list of laws? A letter? This matters more than you'd think. For example, when David cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" in Psalm 22:1, he's writing poetry. He's telling God how he feels, not reporting that God literally abandoned him. Read it like a news report, and you'd walk away with the wrong idea. 2. Ask Questions (that Fit the Type of Writing)
Some of these fit almost anywhere. (Yes, even Leviticus has a lot to show you about who God is. 😉) Others fit certain kinds of writing better. For example, stories tell us what people did do, not necessarily what we should do. 3. Make it Personal While the Bible isn't primarily ABOUT us, it is FOR us. Yes, read it to know more about God and our spiritual ancestors, but don't stop with just gaining knowledge. Use it to change how you live! Ask: What's one thing this could change about how I live this week? When you know what you're looking at and what to look for, it's so much easier to want to come back. You might even catch yourself wanting to know what happens next. Want to learn how to study the Bible for yourself? These three steps are just a start... In my free live workshop, Understand God's Word: How to Study the Bible and Know What It Means for You, I'll walk you through my whole process, step by step, so you can figure out what a passage means (even the confusing ones) and what it means for you. Bring your Bible and a pen, and we'll study a passage together, live on Zoom, Thursday, October 22nd at 7pm EDT. The workshop is free, and if you can't make it live, you'll get the replay for 24 hours. But you do need to register in advance.
--Brittany Ann Equipping Godly Women p.s. Tried one of the questions and nothing jumped out? That's completely normal, especially at first. It doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or that you're just not good at Bible study. Studying is a skill, and like any skill, it gets easier with practice. That's exactly why we'll practice together. Save your free spot here. |
Brittany Ann | Equipping Godly Women
Hi, I'm Brittany Ann! I help busy Christian moms find simple, practical ways to create a strong faith, close family, and a life they LOVE -- without all the guilt and overwhelm. Join us for practical tips, trustworthy biblical advice, helpful resources, and a lot of fun!
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