Whether you read the Bible regularly or haven't dusted your copy off in a while, you're sure to find some creative and helpful ways to help make it more applicable to your life today. Here are 50 practical ideas for approaching God's Word, ready for you to try out and - when you find some that work for you - put into practice in your everyday life!
Have you ever read a book about spiritual growth and development that left you wondering how you were going to put what you just read into practice? That definitely will NOT be a challenge with this one! Filled with easy-to-understand and very do-able ideas, you are certain to find something new and fresh - or tried and true! - that works for you and your walk with Jesus.
So many of us have believed the lie that we don't have time for a book as old as the Bible, or that there's nothing we can get out of it that applies to our lives today. We are pulled in a thousand different directions, and it can be tempting to take shortcuts whenever possible to save time and just get through the day. When we finally do collapse for a few minutes of downtime before crawling into bed, the mindless scroll we find on social media is so enticing. The truth we have lost sight of is this: there is no better way to release the power of God’s Holy Word in your life than to invest your time reading it. No matter how many other things promise to help, no matter how tempting it is to take a quicker path, nothing will substitute for reading the Bible for yourself.
But how do we start changing our habits and building new ones? We start by taking just a few small steps every day! In this age of the “go big or go home” mantra, starting small seems like such a waste of time. But you will be amazed at how spending time in God’s Word - even just a few minutes every day - will greatly improve your ability to hear God as He speaks into your life through the Scriptures.
Do you want to know God better? The Bible is the revelation of God that we have been given. And we have been given the Bible from God Himself! If you have struggled to spend time in God’s Word, here are fifteen ideas to help make doing so easier and to make the experience more meaningful.
Idea #3. Read a passage and substitute your name in place of pronouns like “you” and “we” and “they”.
One way to invest more deeply in God’s Word is by making it more personal. It is far too easy to read it as a third-party spectator, observing the lives of the many characters at a distance and viewing its teachings as general principals offered up hopefully to those who might stumble upon them in a particular time of need. It takes a focused mindset to read the Bible as a personal text from God to you! One great way to make your reading more personal and applicable is to re-read passages while substituting your name in place of pronouns. It may take a little work to read a passage in such a way that it sounds natural, but you’ll find that the work is well worth it as God’s promises, warnings, and encouragements become much more personal and meaningful to you. Here are a few examples to help you with this method:
• For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
Personalized -> For God so loved Kim, that he gave his only Son, that if Kim believes in him, Kim will not perish but have eternal life.
• But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. – Malachi 4:2
Personalized -> But for Holly who fears my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing it its wings. Holly shall go out leaping like a calf from the stall.
• See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. – 1 John 3:1
Personalized -> See what kind of love the Father has given to Eli, that he should be called a child of God; and so Eli is.
We are not “changing Scripture” when we practice this exercise — we are personalizing it, so that the impact upon our lives is felt more fully and deeply.