5 Ways To Enhance Your Bible Study Time

A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.

Charles H. Spurgeon

It’s inspiring to see a used up Bible but… 

that’s not the point. 

A worn, torn, and obviously used Bible shows how one used it, not just for reading and studying, but for LIVING. It often shows that its owner dedicated themselves to living out the Word through their lives, beyond the papers within the book.

But again, a used up Bible isn’t the point. The point is to eat up the truth so that you grow spiritually and in your relationship with God. That your time in the Word leads to transformation in Christ. Bible reading isn’t another task, but another way for us to know God more deeply. 

When Bible reading feels like a task, here are 5 ways to enhance your time in the Word (we’ll break each of these down later and I’ll share some ideas for each point):

1) read through the same passage in different versions
2) ignore the titles and subtitles that are printed in your Bible
3) highlight a common word or theme throughout a chapter or book
4) ignore the chapter and verse numbers
5) read/study the red letters only (the words of Jesus)

I often get asked, “how do I read when the Bible is so boring?” and I honestly can’t usually answer that because it has not bored me for a while now. But I look back on the many moments I just didn’t want to read the Bible because I wasn’t motivated, felt overwhelmed, or the method I currently used wasn’t working for me anymore. Which made me look for new ways to study the Word that made it more interesting and unconventional. But before we talk about five ways to enhance your Bible study time, let’s talk about a few reasons why we should study the Bible.

Reasons to study the Bible

If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.

Billy Graham

There are three main reasons we should study the Bible:

1. You learn about God. Who He is, what He does, how He speaks and when, why, etc. If you don’t believe in God, at least read the Bible to know why you don’t believe in Him. There have been too many instances in my own life that convinced me God is real, so I am passionate when I say the first reason to read and study the Bible is because you’ll learn about Him.
2. You learn about yourself. Who you are, your purpose and God’s will for your life, the things you need to work on to better yourself and progress in life. The Bible teaches us how to grow personally, spiritually, relationally, mentally, and emotionally. There’s wisdom and guidance on basic
3. You learn about others. There are different people in the world. Languages, nations, cultures, perspectives, understandings, learning styles, work drive, etc. And yet, the Bible says we all reflect God. The Bible teaches us about others and how our differences can help and strengthen us, even if you don’t get along with someone.

These three core reasons help us understand and follow Jesus’ command in Mark 12:30-31, ³⁰ and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

When we understand God, ourselves, and others, we grow and develop as individuals and ultimately live a life driven with purpose. We live transformed in Christ and continue in that. This is an ongoing process, and as we dig deeper, we find more gold.

5 Ways to Enhance Your Bible Study Time

There are so many methods and ways to enhance your Bible study time: from reading it back to back, to delving into specific books, following a guide or being part of a study group; watching YouTube, subscribing to an app, or using SOAP, or SWORD methods, etc.

Each of these and more help us go deeper in the Word to understand it. But sometimes we need something unconventional to challenge ourselves and our go-to routines. It may seem uncomfortable or weird, and that’s part of the adventure! There is no specific way to read or study the Bible, so please understand that these ideas are entirely within your discretion. You may like some, none, or all, and use some, none, or all. It’s completely up to you! My goal is to help you get in the Word and stay in the Word! To help you find ways that will make you want to keep reading and studying the Bible.

1. Read through the same passage in different versions.

If you keep doing things like you’ve always done them, what you’ll get is what you’ve already got.  

Unknown

The first way is to read through the same passage in different versions or translations. This challenges our knowledge of the Bible and what we believe. You’ll see revelations and connections you haven’t seen before and also see which is your favorite or least favorite translation. Remember to approach it with an open heart and a willingness to seek truth.

I’ve done this with the book of Proverbs. Every month for an entire year, I chose a new version (or translation) of the Bible and read a chapter a day daily (there are 31 chapters). This was more challenging than I expected. There were certain translations that stumped me, and others that surprised me.

Ultimately, reading the same passage in different versions will help you see new angles of truth you may have not seen before. Here are some ideas about how to do this:

• Read one book every month of the year (like Proverbs, the gospels, or epistles) and change only the translation month to month. Commit to one book or section of the Bible.
• Read one chapter in several translations. (let’s say you use the NASB translation. Pull up the YouVersion app or physical Bibles if you have multiple, and compare the NASB passage to NKJV, ESV, and NLT or other versions of your choice).
• Study one book with your most favorite and least favorite version of the Bible.

2. Ignore Titles and Subtitles.

One who walks in another’s tracks leaves no footprints. 

A Proverb

The second way is to ignore titles and subtitles that are printed in the Bible.

It’s great that most Bibles have titles or subtitle for every chapter or verse sections. It helps us find scripture topics more quickly and also what the upcoming section is about. However, this can also set you up to think a certain way and prevent you from grasping the fullness of truth. By ignoring the titles or subtitles, we can “label” sections and what we learned from them ourselves. (I sometimes cross mine out).

Just like the quote above says, there are no footprints in another’s tracks. Often the same goes for reading the title or subtitle given by another person. You’re following along the path someone else paved. Here are some fun practices to help you make your own footprints:

1. Without looking at the title, what would you name this section?
2. Grab a post-it note and cut out a small rectangle on the sticky part and cover the titles and subtitles in one chapter. Fill it in with your headline or leave it blank.
3. Read through an entire chapter or book consecutively and skip the titles. Assess your understanding of what you read.

3. Highlight one word or theme/topic in one book.

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

Herman Melville

The third idea is to highlight one word or theme/topic in one book.

I recommend doing this with the Book of Proverbs or the Gospel of Matthew or John as a start. There are so many consistent themes across these books (and the whole Bible) that when you highlight one word or theme, you’ll know where to find it when you need it. Use colored highlighters or pens to help you recognize these themes and memorize scripture more easily.

In the book of Proverbs, I highlighted the word or theme of righteousness. This helped me understand how Jesus is our righteousness and how I am righteous in Him and can become more righteous as I learn to reflect Him better. I also highlighted the words kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God in the gospels, which helped me understand the context and culture of each gospel book. Here are words and themes you can use to highlight for yourself:

1. Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God
2. Righteous/Righteousness
3. Integrity
4. Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit
5. Pray/Prayer/Praying

4. Ignore punctuation & verse numbers.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. 

George S. Patton

The fourth way to enhance your study time is to ignore punctuation and verse/chapter numbers.

The numbers are there to help us read the Bible more easily in our language and to find places more quickly. But when we read through it without them, we might get more out of it and see a bigger picture. The best place to start is in Paul’s letters, especially the shorter ones. Instead of pausing between each section or studying verse by verse, try reading a chunk from start to finish as if it’s a letter to you.

The Bible as the “book of the mosts.” Most stolen, most read, most burned, most translated, etc. As the most translated book in the world, you can ignore all the punctuation and verse numbers. They’re there to help us read the Bible more easily in our language and to find places quicker. But when we read through it without them, we might get more out of it and see a bigger picture. Here are other books you can do this with, as a start:

1. Any of the letters (Galatians, Ephesians, 1-2 Peter, etc.)
2. The Gospels
3. Psalms or Proverbs
4. The minor prophet books (Micah, Haggai, Malachi, etc.)

5. Read only the Red.

The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you’re playing by other people’s rules, while quietly playing by your own.

Michael Korda

One of the best things we can do is study the words of Jesus. There’s a great resource by Steven Scott, The Greatest Words Ever Spoken. This book contains ONLY Jesus’ words and is less distracting to read when you’re studying His words. You can use your Bible for this, too! It will look like you know the entire Bible, when in reality, you just looked at Jesus the entire time.

Conclusion

Again, a worn, torn, and obviously used Bible shows how one used it and lived. Dedicate some time to God’s Word and let it transform you and your life.

Let me know which of these five you’ll try out and how it goes!

-tan