If you’re looking to study your Bible on an in-depth level, it’s going to take much more than an early morning devotional. This post is going to introduce you to a few easy tools that will help you on your study journey.
Obviously, the number one thing you will need for your studies is a good Bible. There are tons of them out there; study Bibles, journaling Bibles, prayer Bibles; you name it, it’s probably somewhere out there on the market.
I recommend looking into a study Bible, as well as a journaling Bible.
The study Bible is going to have commentary that corresponds with the verses that you read; the journaling Bible has space to the side where you can write anything from your own commentary to prayers and artistic expressions of your faith.
One extremely vital tool that every student of the Bible needs is a set of reference material. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy, but it will be enough to help you understand the harder parts of Scripture. Keep in mind that commentaries and dictionaries absolutely do not take the place of the Bible itself. Always read the Bible first, relying on the Spirit to teach you; use reference for supplementary teaching.
Commentaries, such as Matthew Henry, give you in-depth insights into the meaning of a passage or verse.
Concordances, such as Strong’s Exhaustive, show you every instance of a chosen word in the Bible. For example, if you were to look up the word faith, a concordance will take you to every place where the word is mentioned. Concordances are especially helpful if you are doing a word study.
Dictionaries are similar to concordances, except they will go even further and give you the definition of a term. If you’re doing said word study on the word faith, a dictionary will give you a biblical definition. It’s okay to use a Webster’s dictionary, but be wary of being led down a road far different than what the Bible is teaching.
Other references such as atlases and maps will give you an idea as to where certain events were happening. Geography is important, especially in prophecy and historical accounts of the Old Testament.
It would be wise to keep a simple notebook and writing utensils nearby. God commanded the people of the Bible many times to write what they heard in a book; it is certainly necessary for us today to do the same.
Any kind of notebook will work. Some Christian companies publish Bible study notebooks for that very purpose; they are designed in such a way to guide you through your study. I personally use composition notebooks and my war binder.
When highlighting, I use the BIC highlighters from the dollar store as well as my pencils and pens. Often if I’m doing an in-depth study, I use a color-code, but for the most part I simply use what I’m being led to use.
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Do you have any favorite Bible study tools? If so, please share them in the comments below.
In the meantime, I’m looking to share more actual Bible studies in the future; please feel free to let me know what kind of studies you’d like to see, as well as any other kinds of content. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for more uplifting, Christian content!
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