How (Not) To Read The Bible

"The secret of knowing the Bible is you don't know how to read the Bible"

When we think we know and understand the Bible, when we think we have mastered it and should be a teacher to others, this is a grave deception because God's Word is to master us and not the other way around.  Here are some things God is teaching me in how to read the Bible;

1.  Read the Bible in small parts and not large chunks.  Eat God's Word slowly.  Don't digest it too fast or it may give you indigestion.  Don't overeat because that is unhealthy.  If you learn the Bible by spending a longer and slower process on one book of the Bible, you will know that one book better than the little you know about the whole Bible.

2.  Read the Bible in community and not just alone.  Let the Holy Spirit be your tutor and teacher but remember that Jesus meets us where two or three are gathered together.  Read personally but don't neglect to read the Scriptures in community.  God Word is written in community and needs to also be studied in community.

3.  Read the Bible spiritually and not just literally.  The literal is the surface reading of the Bible.  But God wants us to go deeper like deep sea diver looking for lost treasure in the ocean of truth.  There are two spiritual sides to truth so don't just look at one side.  There are fleshly eyes where we read the Bible with self-love and there are spiritual eyes that read the Bible through the lens of God's love.  We should appreciate the literal but never stop there on your spiritual journey.  This is a starting point and God wants to take us all much deeper into the world of the Spirit and the world of heaven on earth.

4.  Read the Bible slowly and not quickly.  We do not gain biblical understanding by reading the Bible on the run or in a hurry.  Take the Bible in slowly and carefully.  Meditate on God's Word and slowly marinate in it as it immerses you into its own world.  If we read too fast we may miss what God's Word and Spirit is trying to reveal to us.

5.  Read the Bible with your imagination and not just your mind.  The mind wants to exercise human logic, reason, and uniformity but the Bible has so many more dimensions and layers to it.  We need to not just ask questions of logic of the Bible but we need to imaginatively enter into its story and let that story shape and direct our lives.  Learn to feel what the story is saying.  Imagine yourself in the story.  How does that perspective change what you see?  How does the Bible change how you see?

6.  Read the Bible with your emotions and not just your will.  Take the Prodigal son story for example.  Do we identify with the younger or older brother?  And what about the Father?  Do we identify with being a Father?  What's is it like to love a child that has gone out into the far country?  What's it's like to feel the Father's pain when his children does not appreciate how good they really have it at home?  When we enter into the Bible with all our heart, mind, emotions, and soul, then reading the Scriptures goes from being a duty to turning into a delight.

7.  Read the Bible out loud and not just in silence.  Read the Psalms out loud while walking or standing.  Sing the Psalms as a prayer to God or as a love song to God.  Read God's promises and shout them out.  There will always be times of silence in reading and reflecting on Scripture but there are also wonderful moments to read Scripture with your own voice while you hear God's voice which sounds allot like your voice, but tells you things you would never tell yourself.