As we enter 2010, a new decade and new opportunities arise. Here are some thoughts on the Bible - the greatest book ever written, to help build that foundation on which life can be lived the way it is designed to be lived.How to study the Bible
1. Look for purpose - God's plan for salvation
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you
3. Read attentively (the Bible can be read from Genesis to Revelation in 80 hours)
4. Make a reading plan - do you want to read through the Bible? Leave 80 hours for it. Schedule that time. How much time can you give each day? How many days a week?
5. Appreciate the Bible's uniqueness - The Old Testament is the foundation; The New Testament is the superstructure. A foundation is of no value unless a building is built upon it. A building is impossible unless there is a foundation. So the Old Testament and New Testament are essential to each other.
One Book, One History, One Story
- The Bible is one book, and you cannot take it in texts and expect to comprehend the magnificence of divine revelation. You must see it in completeness.
- Each book has a message, and we should endeavour to discover what that message is.
- In one sense, we should treat the Bible as we treat any other book. When we get a book from the library we would never treat it as we do the Bible. We would never think of reading just a paragraph, taking some ten minutes, reading a little at night and then reading a little in the morning, and so spending weeks, perhaps months, in reading through the book. No interest could be maintained in any story by such a procedure.
Christ, the Living Word
- The Old Testament is an account of a nation (The Jewish nation)
- The New Testament is an account of a Man (Jesus)
- Christ lived the most perfect life ever known... Then He died... Then He rose from the dead. he is alive today. He is not merely a historical character, but a living Person - the most important fact of history and the most vital force in the world today. And He promises eternal life to all who come to Him.
* taken from "What the Bible is all About - Bible Handbook by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the [person] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" - 2 Timothy 3:16-17