Imagine someone delivered a load of lumber to your backyard with a note saying “Here’s some free wood. You can build anything you want with it.” I don’t know about you, but I’d jump for joy and do a happy dance. I can think of so many things that I would build if I had a ton of lumber for it. But, answer me this, would you try to build something with all that free wood without using any tools? No? Why not? There are a million different things we can build, but they all require some basic tools, right? Saw, hammer, nails, drill, and a level just to name a few. I guess we could just stack the boards and build something, like a giant Lincoln Log cabin, but it sure is gonna be ugly, probably leak, and will let critters in.
Studying the Bible is no different. There are so many things that we can build in our lives using the Bible. We don’t have to use study tools, but we can build something beautiful, air-tight, and secure if we use the right tools. Let’s take a look at some of the tools we can use to study the Bible, and build something amazing on our foundation, which is Jesus Christ.
Notebook - You can’t very well build something without a blueprint, can you? A simple notebook is priceless in studying the Bible. You’ll be surprised at the information God will give you while you’re reading scripture. You want to have a pen and paper ready to write it all down. It just makes sense to keep all your notes together...in a book...you know...like in a notebook.
Highlighter and Pen - Please, please, please use a pen/pencil and a highlighter. I promise you, it’s ok to write and highlight in your Bible. God doesn’t mind a bit. Our Bible’s are precious and personal, but they are not what we worship. We worship God. We read and study His Word. If at all possible, use the same Bible for your studying. I’ve found that I can remember where certain scripture is, not because I’ve memorized the book, chapter, and verse, but because I remember the general section and where it is on the page. Like if it’s on the right side of my open Bible, the second column, about halfway down the page. More often than not, I’ve already highlighted it at some point, and boom, I find what I’m looking for.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance - This is a must-have tool, in my humble opinion. This book is massive and thorough. It has every verse listed in it, but they are arranged by word. Let’s say I want to do a study on praise. I can look up the word praise in the Strong’s and it will list every verse that has the word praise in it. Or, I may be looking for a verse, but I can’t remember exactly where it is. If I can remember one or two words that are in it, I look those words up and find the verses that way. It also gives the original word. Remember that the Bible was not written in English. The Old Testament was in Hebrew, and the New Testament was in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin. I can look up the word praise, find the verse I’m looking for, then see what the original word was and its definition. You’ll find that sometimes we think we know what a verse is saying, but when we look at the original meaning, it means something a little different.
By the way, I know what you’re thinking. Can’t I do the same thing using the internet? Yep, you sure can. I like to have the book, though. I’m old school. I like to have my Strong’s open next to my Bible. I like to feel the pages in my hand. It’s a personal preference. You can find the exact one I have here.
*You can also use “Vine’s Complete Expository & Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words”. I find it to be confusing, and it does have commentary included throughout.
Bible - Of course, we need a Bible. That’s a no-brainer. I want to touch on a few things, though. When choosing your Bible, please try to get a Topical Bible. I use a Thompson Chain Reference Bible, and I love it. I can read the scripture and in the margins, it will give reference scripture, numbers to look up topics in the back, definitions, etc. It’s so useful. It is not, I repeat, not a Commentary Bible. A Commentary Bible can have a lot of those same features, which is fine, but it also has, you guessed it...commentary. A commentary is simply someone’s opinion. It’s not fact, it’s not scripture, it’s not Gospel. Try to stay away from those. We want to study our Bible with the right tools, and we want the Holy Ghost to lead and teach us. We want facts, not opinions when studying.
Do get a King Jame Version Bible to use as your main study Bible. I discussed that here, in an earlier post.
I received my Bible as a gift years ago. I checked and found that you can find one here for a decent price. They are pretty expensive. If you can’t get a Thompson, that’s ok. Just don’t get a commentary. I’d rather use a Bible with no references over a commentary Bible.
Dictionary - This is invaluable! I can’t tell you how many times I thought I had a clear understanding of a word I was reading, but out of curiosity, I looked it up in a dictionary and found I had it wrong. You can easily find the definition of words online if you don’t have a physical dictionary.
Extras - You’ll find that there are lots of different resources to help study your Bible, depending on what exactly you’re studying. History articles and books are super helpful. They can help us to understand what the culture was like during Biblical times. A book of charts and maps is cool, too. I have a book that lists all of the people in the Bible. It gives what their name means, when they were born, what happened in their life, how they impacted others, etc. It’s a must-have when doing character studies.
These are just a few of the tools at our disposal. Try to become skilled at using them. It will take your Bible Study to a whole new level. I might do a more in-depth look at how to use “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance”. Let me know if you’re interested!
Until next time, Keep On Keepin’ On For Jesus! - Ann
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