The Bible: Well, I struggle with it.

Soooo, I don't know how reading the Bible is for you ... dry, boring, exciting, interesting, dumbfounding? ... I think it has been ALL of those for me at different times, and in emailing a friend about it this morning, I wanted to put some stuff out there that has REALLY helped TRULY make the Bible come alive for me... Make me WANT to get in it, read it and DIG IN to what things really mean. SO, if you're interested, keep reading. These are the things that have ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS worked for me (even if you and I are completely different, it can't hurt to try it once or twice :O) ).


Getting Started
If you're new to reading the Bible and don't really know "how" or even if you've been reading for YEARS, I want to share what helps me HUGELY and really, really helps me connect EVERY TIME I open the Bible. When I do this process, it is always really rich:

1. Before you open the Bible, pray and ask God to open your mind and heart to hear anything that He has for you. I PROMISE there is MUCH He wants you to know and asking Him to speak to us before we open up the Bible really helps to quiet our hearts to hear from Him. This may sound weird and new to you, but again, it can't hurt to try :O)
2. Once you have prayed, read through the verse/passage in front of you and write down the things it says about God.
3. Soak that in. What do those things say about God ... really think about it. If there is a specific thing that impacts you, sit and talk to God about that... speak/write OPENLY as you would a GREAT friend... if it doesn't make sense/is hard to reconcile, TALK to Him about it. If you LOVE it and wonder if it's too good to be true, TALK to Him about it... if you just want to CELEBRATE that THAT is part of who God is... do that!!! There is no 'time limit' on this... you just keep engaging with Him as much or as little as you want.
4. Then, in that same passage, write down the words/phrases that impact you. Once you've identified them, you are going to do the same thing. Talk to God about why they impact you. It REALLY helps me to do that through writing because it helps me stay focused.
5. And that is IT. It really IS that easy!!! Sometimes I read something about God and can't get past that because I am so impacted by it, sometimes I whiz right on through and take a little something with me. Either way, there is no 'rule' to this, it is just to help really engage my heart with what I am reading.

Also, when you come to the Bible, come with an EXPECTANT heart... EXPECT to read something that really impacts you! LOOK for it!

Okay, Digging Deeper:
Crosswalk.com is the website I use to REALLY dig into scripture. If you want to dig even deeper, see what different people in history have to say, see what the core meaning of the words are, check out this site... it is my FAVORITE and I'll tell you why. I'm going to use Jeremiah 29:10-14 as an example: http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=Jeremiah+29%3A10-15&section=0&version=nsn&language=en

• SO, as you do the "Getting Started" steps and certain words impact you, you go to the link above and can click on that word (if it's underlined in blue) and it will take you to the original meaning of that word. Since the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek (I think Greek, but that doesn't sound right to me), a lot of times the English language isn't able to catch the DEPTH of the word.
• Soooooooo,when you click on this link it will take you to the depth of meaning, like this with 'plans' ... if you click on the word it pulls up this page: http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=Jeremiah+29%3A10-15&section=0&version=nsn&language=en Which really breaks down the word and you see even MORE of God's intentionality in that one of the meanings is 'design' ... that feels SO much more personal to even me. Be sure to go to that link, but there are SO many other words used there!
• Anyhow, with SOME words there is an original Hebrew that the word came from... a root of the root if you will... and with 'plan' that is the case. At the page above that explains 'plan' deeper, look up and to the right and you will see "Word Origin from" with a number that is blue. That number represents the core, core, core of the word. If you click on THAT you find:http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=2803&version=nas

And all of this is just with ONE word! I love, love, love doing 'wordstudies' on words that impact me/make me wonder, etc because once I dig deeper it gives me even more to talk to God about, gives greater impact in explaining the verse better, and can really resound with me more.

Okay, so that is JUST words.

Now, we're going to go back to the very first page: http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=Jeremiah+29%3A10-15&section=0&version=nsn&language=en.

• At this page you will find on the left all kinds of study options. I think you might REALLY be interested in commentaries. Commentaries (if you aren't familiar) are what people who have studied the Bible, the history of the time, etc, in depth have to say about the passage you are looking at.
• Once you click on the word 'Commentaries' a slew of options come up. Ones I would recommend: Matthew Henry's, Wesley's Explanatory Notes (at the bottom of the page), and the Geneva StudyBible. The others I really don't know much about.
• When you click on a commentator's name, you will then be able to see which books of the Bible they have made remarks about. Just click on the book you're interested in and you can read what all they have to say.

And that is really just the beginning of all of the tools you will find at Crosswalk! I LOVE THIS SITE! So, anyhow, let me know if you have any questions about anything, would like other suggestions, just whatever :O)

I really pray you have fun talking to God about this. That you enjoy this process!

I love the freedom we have in talking about everything with God, and especially about the Bible. To be honest and say, "This is GREAT!' or "God, I really struggle with this, I don't understand." and to ask Him for His guidance, to keep digging deeper, etc.

Soooooo, that's that. This is what I love, and, again, always makes me walk away glad I did it.

I hope you have FUN!!