The Bible is the written word of God. The Bible is our guide to knowing God, knowing His promises and love for us, how to properly live our lives, how to treat other people, how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, how to enter eternity with the Lord, how to avoid temptation, and anything else you can think of. The Bible contains it all. Although it was written over 1500 years ago, its teachings and guidance are timeless.
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, but it has been translated into English and multiple other languages. The Bible contains 66 books and has many authors. All the authors of the Bible were divinely inspired and given the words by God Himself. This claim is proven throughout the Bible.
The Bible is divided into two major parts; The Old Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament starts with creation, the book of Genesis, and continues right before the birth of Jesus Christ, the book of Malachi. The New Testament starts with the birth of Christ, the book of Matthew, follows the works and teachings of Jesus and ends with the book of Revelation.
Every Bible has a table of contents. Here you will find all of the books and the page number it starts on. Each book contains chapters and verses. The large numbers at the beginning of paragraphs are the chapters and the small numbers throughout the text are the verses.
Example: Proverbs 3:5-6. When you look in the table of contents you will find Proverbs in The Old Testament. The number 3 is the chapter number and the numbers 5 & 6 are the verses. Proverbs 3:5-6 reads:
“5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
There are many versions, or translations, of the Bible. The most common are: The New International Version (NIV) and The King James Version (KJV). I use the NIV.
If you are new to reading the Bible, do yourself a favor and don’t start at the beginning and read it through. The Bible can be very confusing at times. Before you even open the Bible, say a prayer and ask God to guide you and to open your heart and mind to His word with full understanding and the desire to obey His word.
Take your time. You are not going to read the whole Bible through within a couple of days. When reading, make notes, write down questions and write down sections that might be confusing to you. Read small sections at a time and really think about what it is saying. Ask yourself questions like: What does this say about God? What does this say about Jesus? How can this be applied to my own life and circumstances?
Do not open or search the Bible to try and justify an action or behavior you might be struggling with. God’s word is true. It is from Him. Be careful not to put your own spin on what you read. It can be very easy to take things out of context and misunderstand what God’s word says. I truly encourage you to join a Bible study group.
A great place to start reading the Bible is in the gospels, which contain the books of Matthew, Mark Luke and John, in The New Testament. These books cover the life and teachings of Jesus.
There are many great websites that offer the Bible online. My favorite is www.biblegateway.com. This site allows you to look up specific Bible verses, as well as, keyword and topical searches.
There will be times when you don’t feel like reading the Bible. There will be times when you struggle with what you read, whether you don’t see eye to eye with the teachings, get emotional or just don’t understand what its saying. Don’t give up. Being a Christian is a challenging task, but don’t ever forget that God loves you. You are one of His kids. He only wants what is best for you. He will never leave you and will always be there to guide and protect you. All you have to do is ask.
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