I’ve been in the (good) habit of reading my Bible on a more-or-less daily basis ever since I was a kid. Starting with Keys for Kids, moving into Youthwalk, and eventually the One Year Bible, reading the Bible daily was instilled in me almost as early as brushing my teeth daily.
I’m very grateful for my parents and churches for instilling this habit in me, though as I’m sure some of you can attest to, this type of daily Bible reading can also sometimes feel like a chore, and eventually the Bible can become overly familiar and stale.
A friend just introduced me to a set of application questions that have been very helpful in making the Bible come alive again and I wanted to pass them along (credit D. Powlison). Choose a book of the Bible to read through. Crack open a journal or notebook, take notes while you read, then write down the answers to the following questions. The parenthesis are helpful tips added by me:
(Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak. Ask Jesus to fellowship with you. Let the Holy Spirit search your soul.)
1. What are you facing right now? What sufferings? Stresses? Temptations? Blessings?
2. Who is God in this passage? What is He like? What does He say? Do? Offer you? Who are you in God’s eyes?
3. What truths in this passage do you need to pray over until they “ignite” in your heart? When will you pray? How will you pray? (pray out loud through your notes/answers) (Then make a very brief prayer summary you can remember throughout your day)
4. What will “faith working through love” look like specifically this week? Where do you need to trust God? Who do you need to love? How will you do this?
He is:
Author of Beyond the Battle: A man's guide to his identity in Christ in an oversexualized world
Host of the The Flip Side Podcast
Join an online men's small group led by Noah and team at BeyondTheBattle.net
Leave a Reply