Hello. I'm new to this particular form, and have been lurking in "religion" for awhile. Well, I'm almost 18, and have attended church as a child, and after falling away a little bit started attending again in highschool.

Now, my friends who got me back into the church, have always encouraged me to study the bible. Now, I wasn't exactly sure how they go about it, but they could always rattle off a few select verses (John 3:16 for example), but would never really "dig deep" into moral issues or explain their memorized verses in the context of the time they were written.

Now being my usual boring historical self, I just read the whole Bible cover to cover. However, now that I'm talking about my beliefs more to my friends with less faith, and to a number of mildy interested athiets, I find that my ability to tell some biblical stories in context seem less important than actual bible verses, so I'm just curious, to those of you who memorize scripture, how do you go about it?

Thanks in advanced!

C.C.

I always pray before I read the bible.  Also the bible that I have has footnotes so that I can cross-reference different books/verses.  The hardest part for me is the old-school style that its written in, so I end up reading the same versus over and over again.  As for memorizing scripture I am not very good at it.

Good luck in your searching, I hope I have been of some help to you.

Quoted: Hello. I'm new to this particular form, and have been lurking in "religion" for awhile. Well, I'm almost 18, and have attended church as a child, and after falling away a little bit started attending again in highschool. Now, my friends who got me back into the church, have always encouraged me to study the bible. Now, I wasn't exactly sure how they go about it, but they could always rattle off a few select verses (John 3:16 for example), but would never really "dig deep" into moral issues or explain their memorized verses in the context of the time they were written. Now being my usual boring historical self, I just read the whole Bible cover to cover. However, now that I'm talking about my beliefs more to my friends with less faith, and to a number of mildy interested athiets, I find that my ability to tell some biblical stories in context seem less important than actual bible verses, so I'm just curious, to those of you who memorize scripture, how do you go about it? Thanks in advanced! C.C.

First let me say kudos on your quest to become closer to God!

I second Eroc's comment about praying before you read scripture.  

I have a slight problem with the statement I highlighted in red, hopefully we can clear it up a bit.  Taking a verse or two and memorizing them out of context can be dangerous.  As you stated, just because someone can rattle off chapter & verse doesn't mean they understand the message!  You are much better off, IMHO, being able to paraphrase or get to the "gist" of  the whole story or chapter or whatever.

When I was in vet school we were taught not to try to memorize every little detail, especially things like drug dosages.  It's far more important to know the major ideas, and know where to look up the rest.  If you try to memorize a drug dosage and get it wrong, the results can be fatal for your patient.  Of course, the drugs & other details that I use daily, I know off the top of my head after 10 years in practice.

I look at bible study the same way; I don't try to memorize verses (I'm no good at it either).  As I read, certain passages speak to me, or have more significance or have to do specifically with defending my beliefs, so after a while they stick.  I also have a lot of good websites that I can look things up on, and find the appropriate verses relating to that topic.

Don't know if that's the answer you were looking for, but I hope it helps.

firstly (and praying before study works into this) wisdom comes from God (not from experience or education or 'paying your dues' ) and it is said in

James 1:5 (New International Version) New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society     5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

with wisdom you'll be able to answer according to their need.



I know some will have a problem separating wisdom from experience but a simple money based example would be that if wisdom depended on experience then every older person should be wealthy and no younger person would be.

Welcome,
See if you can find a Moody Bible institute radio station in your area.(should be around the 80somthings on the dial)
Moody radio has done much to grow my faith over the years with great preachers in the afternoon.
James McDonald, John MacArthur,  Alistair Beg, Erwin Lutzer, Ravi Zacharias to name a few.
If you like to read check out C.H Spurgeon as well.
I started his daily devotions (Morning and Evening) when I was your age.
It gives you a single page to read twice a day.
Its has been long thought of as a classic devotion .
And of course God Word it self! Dive in my friend!
Just a few verses that are on my favorite list for you to check out.
2 Timothy 2:4
Psalms 119 :9
1 Chronicles 28 : 9
And of course for any young man the book of Proverbs gives great advice.
Just remember always compare men’s preaching and writings to Gods word.
There is a lot of deception out there today.

Quoted: Quoted: Hello. I'm new to this particular form, and have been lurking in "religion" for awhile. Well, I'm almost 18, and have attended church as a child, and after falling away a little bit started attending again in highschool. Now, my friends who got me back into the church, have always encouraged me to study the bible. Now, I wasn't exactly sure how they go about it, but they could always rattle off a few select verses (John 3:16 for example), but would never really "dig deep" into moral issues or explain their memorized verses in the context of the time they were written. Now being my usual boring historical self, I just read the whole Bible cover to cover. However, now that I'm talking about my beliefs more to my friends with less faith, and to a number of mildy interested athiets, I find that my ability to tell some biblical stories in context seem less important than actual bible verses, so I'm just curious, to those of you who memorize scripture, how do you go about it? Thanks in advanced! C.C. First let me say kudos on your quest to become closer to God! I second Eroc's comment about praying before you read scripture.   I have a slight problem with the statement I highlighted in red, hopefully we can clear it up a bit.  Taking a verse or two and memorizing them out of context can be dangerous.  As you stated, just because someone can rattle off chapter & verse doesn't mean they understand the message!  You are much better off, IMHO, being able to paraphrase or get to the "gist" of  the whole story or chapter or whatever. When I was in vet school we were taught not to try to memorize every little detail, especially things like drug dosages.  It's far more important to know the major ideas, and know where to look up the rest.  If you try to memorize a drug dosage and get it wrong, the results can be fatal for your patient.  Of course, the drugs & other details that I use daily, I know off the top of my head after 10 years in practice. I look at bible study the same way; I don't try to memorize verses (I'm no good at it either).  As I read, certain passages speak to me, or have more significance or have to do specifically with defending my beliefs, so after a while they stick.  I also have a lot of good websites that I can look things up on, and find the appropriate verses relating to that topic. Don't know if that's the answer you were looking for, but I hope it helps.

I know what you mean. It's just when I talk about it, people don't always believe me unless I can tell them the exact passage it comes from, and they seem to listen more to people who can just rattle off verses. This is of course limited to highschool lunch table talks, so my experience is a bit limited.

Read it, but at the same time, don't look at passages as individual statements. The context of the passage may give it different meaning than what face value is.

There are few passages I remember word for word. There are many more that I remember bits and pieces of, but more often simply the meaning of a particular passage.

Also, keep in mind that the Bible is actually 66 seperate books(at least the KJV is), and not one book simply because it's bound between two covers.

Quoted: I always pray before I read the bible.  Also the bible that I have has footnotes so that I can cross-reference different books/verses.  The hardest part for me is the old-school style that its written in, so I end up reading the same versus over and over again.  As for memorizing scripture I am not very good at it. Good luck in your searching, I hope I have been of some help to you.

EROC,

That is the best advise possible!

Prayer will open your heart and mind to receive what is written in scripture.
Your heart can be touched and your eyes(spiritual)can be opened to truths you
need.

I also find it extremely rewarding to cross-reference scripture. Hopefully your Bible has footnotes and cross-reference points. these show how truth has always been the same throughout the history of the earth.

Good luck in your "quest"!

Someone up there knows your searching!

Take care,

Uncle Al

Mine has the footnotes, and while I didn't crossreference when I first read through it, I found the repetition in the gospels really helpful in remembering some of the stories. I'll keep that in mind. First up is I'm going to reread revelations because I just didn't understand much the first time around. Then I'm going to read some proverbs, and then revisit more new tesitmate stuff. Thanks for the help!

I agree that prayer before study is essential. If you're having problems with the language of the KJV, be aware of other translations. The King James version is not the Bible; it's a TRANSLATION of the original. It's one of the most popular because there is no copyright and is available cheaper than some of the others. Some of the other translations are more fluid in verse, others are more exact in direct translation. Talk to your class leader for his/her preferences, or if you study alone, someone in the Christian Bookstore you visit should be knowledgeable as to what which are. I prefer the New International Version and I have others just to compare verses. But for poetry alone, I believe that Psalm 23 is best in the KJV.

It's a lifelong path. Enjoy it. And don't forget the free gift inside!

As far as memorizing Verse, don't memorize them to be able to show off, although you may impress people this is not the way.  The verses that "speak" to you, you will find you will be able to retain.  Books find people, not the other way around.  "Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Quoted: ...If you're having problems with the language of the KJV, be aware of other translations...

For anyone who may be interested, I really like this website:

biblos.com/

Click on English Online Parallel bible and you can compare 17 different translations verse by verse.  You can also view the entire chapter of each translation in it's entirety.

This is not the best study tool however, because there are limited footnotes.  And it does not include the 7 Deuterocanonical books, but it's neat to compare the texts.

Quoted: As far as memorizing Verse, don't memorize them to be able to show off, although you may impress people this is not the way.  The verses that "speak" to you, you will find you will be able to retain.   Books find people, not the other way around.  "Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

most definitely.  try doing a word study (read all of the pasages that contain a specific word) and see if any of them cause you to really reflect on certain passages...  you'll find yourself repeating them to yourself, like some folks do with course concepts or business ideas, and the ones that speak to you will find their place in your heart...  

and +1 on the "I'm glad you're studying it for yourself instead of just parroting back specific passages" thoughts

ETA: one of my favorite websites = www.blueletterbible.org