If the sun rises then that is the perfect day to be in His Word!

Have you ever wondered why you don’t know which way to turn?
Do you ever have a lack of direction?
Most often when I do… it is because I have not been in God’s Word that day. When I let a day pass… I’m letting go of His purposes. When I get too busy for God’s Word I’m too busy to live wisely. When I’m not feasting on the Bread of Life every day, I’m slowly starving to death.

But it is not too late, especially for today. We still have today so let’s get on track. We can worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Let’s get on track for today.

Here is a quick start guide for personally studying scripture. No rules here, just some practical tips.

Daily Bible Study
I encourage you to read the Word often… soak it up, surround yourself with it… you can’t read enough of it… read-read-and read more. But, I also challenge you to dig deep every day by studying and analyzing a small portion of scripture… just 4 to 8 verses at a time.

The difference between reading the Word and studying the Word is you take notes when you study.

Don’t do the “open, flip point” routine to select a passage to study. Instead, start with a book of the Bible in the New Testament and work your way through it one paragraph at a time. Each day, study the next paragraph. If you don’t have an idea, consider starting with Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and use an easy to understand translation of the bible. One of my personal favorites is the New Living Translation (NLT) and my two favorite versions of that are The Life Recovery Bible, NLT, and The Life Application Bible, NLT.

In a notebook or journal, write the bold topics (below) and fill in the information (or visit PowerPackOnline.com for printable pages)

Here are the bold topics and a brief explanation below of what to do.
Look at it… what is the paragraph saying?
2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT) Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
Look for truths to remember, promises to claim, sins to avoid, actions to take, habits to form, etc. Write down what you find.

Life It… How does my life measure up to what I found in the paragraph?
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Journal the answer to that question.

Live It… What specific actions must I take today to better line my life up with God’s paragraph?
James 1:22 (NLT) But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
Journal the actions you will focus on today.

It is great to read large portions of scripture at other times during the day but if you are trying to study chapters of the Bible each day… You will have a hard time trying to focus on and put into action (live) that much of His Word each day. So focus on one paragraph a day for study, He will use that to make changes in your thinking to your actions.

Study a paragraph daily and over time God will transform you into the new creation He desires.