Many people just open the Bible and read a portion from somewhere as a routine thing. There is not much study and understanding is also less. When understanding is less, application is also less. In this, they don’t get proper spiritual nourishment. As they don’t get proper spiritual nourishment, spiritual growth is also limited. Due to spiritual malnourishment, they could be susceptible to various temptations. It is natural that they don’t have enough spiritual stamina to resist the temptations. Many of them yield to various temptations and finally they get trapped by the world. They are not able to lead a victorious Christian life. It is natural that they won’t be able to witness to others. Such people won’t get the satisfaction of leading new people to the LORD.

We can solve this problem by taking more spiritual nourishment. Sincere, serious and systematic reading and study of God’s Word will nourish us spiritually and help us to grow in Him.

In my younger days, my Bible reading was not serious and systematic. Afterwards, I started to read the Bible, underline important verses, meditate on the passage, and use different tools to understand it more. Later I started writing down all the important points to study the portions better. Following inductive Bible study method is very good. 3 steps:

1) Observation– What does the passage say? Asking some questions like who, whom, what, where, when, why..and try to find the answers.

2) Interpretation – what does the passage mean? What was in the mind of the original speaker or writer? What did the people who heard it or read it understood then?

3) Application What does this passage mean to me or how can I apply this in my life?

Now I keep a big bundle of ordinary white paper for writing. I started even writing chapter after chapter from the Bible. I even write down the verse numbers and follow all the punctuations. This is helping me to concentrate in the reading and in the study. As I do it slowly, this is helping me to meditate on the passage more and to understand the passage better. Writing down various reflections from these verses are also very helpful. The other day, I wrote down around 12 pages in A4 size paper from one day’s Bible reading portion. So my Bible study is becoming more and more meaningful and I am enjoying it more.

How about buying a bundle of paper or few notebooks today itself? Let us be serious and systematic in the reading and study of God’s Word. This will definitely help us to understand the Bible better and will help us to grow in Him. This will help us to share insights with others also. Let us together grow in Him.

Rev.C.V.Abraham