Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Read the whole chapter here for context. 2 Timothy
I believe that memorizing Bible verses is helpful and important.. I also have to admit that I am not great at memorizing them. My purpose today is not to discuss memorizing scripture, but making sure that we understand the scripture that we come across as we study God’s word.
Earlier in Light My Path , I wrote about my practice of reading a verse of the day and applying it to my life and my prayers each day. Sometimes the meaning of a verse seems obvious, but often we need more context to be sure of the whole meaning. Sometimes it is necessary to read the surrounding verses, the whole chapter, or even more, to be sure of the meaning. Take the time to read more to make sure you are getting the full, or correct meaning of the Bible verses you read.
My favorite way to study scripture is to read a chapter of the Bible, and then read what is said about that chapter in a Bible Commentary. A commentary is a study aid that is usually organized chapter by chapter, or verse by verse. The commentary I have the most experience with is Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary. Matthew Henry (1662-1714) was a Welsh Presbyterian minister who spent most of his life in England. His commentary is available free online at Matthew Henry Commentary. It is also available online in a PDF form. If you prefer a shorter commentary than his complete commentary, try Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary. I find the concise version to be very helpful, especially if you are limited on the amount of time you have for your Bible study. I have about 30 minutes of dedicated prayer and Bible study each morning. I can usually pray, read a chapter, and what the Concise Commentary has to say about it in this amount of time.
Another great Bible study I recommend is reading the Bible in a year. There are many plans available on the YouVersion Bible App that we have discussed before. If you prefer a hard copy opposed to digital, there are many available anywhere Bibles are sold. These plans divide the Bible into 365 daily readings. Some have an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, and a Psalm each day. The one I am reading this year is Chronological. I am enjoying finding out which events occurred around the same time.
In order to rightly handle the word of truth, I think we need to read, study, and understand the word of truth each day. What methods are you using?