This makes Bible reading fun.
Five golden tips.
Raymond R. Hausoul
The Bible is a travelogue of God and his creation. That story is rarely about pious good people. It is mostly about those who feel incompetent in their dealings with God. To give them courage, God encourages them with his inspiring words. But because the Bible is a thick book, many do not know how to get started on those many words. They read snippets from the Bible and miss how God wants to be present in their lives. So I'd like to give you five golden tips to help you get the words of God to your heart. For ease of reference, I show this from one top tool, the wonderful Dutch Study Bible app. This app helps tremendously to penetrate God's words so that you may see goodness in life.
❶ My first tip is to use an accessible Bible translation. Yes, it sounds cool to start reading the 1637 Statenvertaling, but many no longer understand that language. The Bible then quickly becomes a boring book that you are happy to put aside. The Study Bible app offers numerous translations for you to read. Choose what appeals to you the most. And no fear: this app shows you the original text and translates it word for word in a very thorough way. Useful in church or circle to take a moment to look more carefully at what God really had written down.
❷ A second tip is to consider the text type. You read a letter from Paul differently from a wisdom in Ecclesiastes. A hymn about the maiden in Song of Songs sounds different from a vision in Revelation. Each book of the Bible has its own character. How do you discover that? By reading an introduction to the Bible book. In the Study Bible app, you will find an introduction to each Bible book that will immediately put you on the right path and give you a taste for more. Give it a try!
❸ My third tip is: don't read the Bible at speed pace. God is not calling you to do that anywhere. He wants you to enjoy and allow yourself time to quietly explore one book of the Bible. So don't put a huge burden on yourself by trying to read everything in one go. I myself enjoyed Filemon for half a year, and for the next six months I am diving into Galatians. I am reading information about Galatians, listening to sermons about Galatians, and watching movies about the world of Galatians. So I am delightfully letting myself go with Galatians (as the book puts it: go-let go). By focusing on one book, you gain so much good. And the commentary in the Study Bible helps you in that adventure of discovery and protects you from one-sidedness in your own thinking.
❹ A fourth tip: Don't panic if you don't understand a Bible text correctly. Sometimes a text is difficult even for scholars. A word study or article that digs a little deeper then provides much insight. How dare Paul write that people are "cursed" when Jesus asks his disciples to love their enemies (Gal. 1:8; Mat. 5:44)? Word studies and articles will help you with that
and I know of an app that can be of tremendous value in that. Three guesses what it's called...
❺ A fifth tip: Ask questions as you read. How do wars in the Bible fit with God's love? Does anything point to Christ? What do you discover about God's kingdom? How is the text connected to other books of the Bible? What prompts thanksgiving and worship? It helps me to underline Bible verses with color. Red lines I put under the work of God the Father, blue lines under the work
of God the Son, yellow lines under the work of the Spirit, orange lines under texts about dealing with others, dark blue lines under keywords, and so on. It's just a suggestion and, yes, it can be done in the Study Bible app. With all that colorful creativity, your Bible does start to look a bit much like a coloring book. That's not a bad thing in an app. Make the Bible your workbook - only I wouldn't start doing this in great-grandmother's antique Bible.
