(c) ANNA M. K. HAZEN 1999-PRESENT – in perpetuity

2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

When we were children, we went to school, or were taught at home. We learned from books. We learned from our parents. We learned from others.

But God is invisible. How can we learn from someone invisible? By reading what He gave certain people to write down for us. Here are just a few verses to show you.

Exo 24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Eze 43:11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

2 Pet 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (God).

When we want to learn about someone who lived in long ago ages, we can’t talk to them in person, but we can read about them. But the difference here, is God IS alive, and lives IN each and every person who truly believes in Him! We can KNOW Him and have an awesome, loving relationship with Him. But in order to know Him, we first have to hear or read about Him… That is unless He chooses to make Himself known to us in person!

Rom 10:13-14 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

When you have the idea in your head to learn about God, this means He is drawing or better yet, dragging you to Him… He wants you to come to Him! God sent His Son, Christ Jesus to do exactly that!

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all (men) unto me.

Notice the word “men” is italicized! This means that this word was NOT in the original text. Jesus said that when He arose into Heaven, He will draw ALL: men, women AND children, unto Him! Not just a certain few! If you’re financially wealthy, or have certain status… NO! He said He would draw ALL unto Him!

1 Tim 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men (mankind) to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 Tim 4:10b …because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men (mankind), specially of those that believe.

It is this author’s view that reading is a kind of hearing. Hearing can be done two ways… 1) by listening with your ears something someone is saying, and 2) by reading. When we read, it goes into our minds and hearts, and we can either accept what we read, or reject it. When we read The Bible, we are reading what God has and is saying to us. As we read, God makes Himself known to us. We can know His character, His likes, His dislikes, what He expects of us, what we should do in the situations we have in life, and much more.

When we read The Bible, as when we study our school books, we learn how to live our lives better; more productive. But then, we have to put what we learn into practice. We can’t just read it and forget it. It’s like studying math in school. We always have some use for it in just about everything we do. We put it into practice.

As we read the Bible, and especially if we truly open our hearts to Him, God will help us understand what we are reading. Let me give you an example.

Several years ago, during my daily reading of His Word, I was reading, in the book of Revelation, about the two witnesses. Then, in my heart God spoke to me and said, “Go to Deuteronomy 34:4-8”. I did this. Then He said, “Now read Gen 5:24.” I did. Then He told me, “Now read 2 Kings 2:11.” I did this. Then I read each of the chapters completely to get the full understanding. Then He told me, “These are My two witnesses.” I was awestruck and amazed; the main reason being the fact that God actually spoke to me so clearly!

I shared this with you to emphasize the fact that as you read God’s Word, He will help and guide you into understanding It. And into knowing Him better.

When we really dig down deep into God’s Word, and I mean going by the languages the original writers wrote in, like Akkadian, Hebrew and Greek, we can really understand what was said. Also looking at the punctuation, and context helps to give it a clearer meaning. THIS is studying… digging deep… reaching for those precious gems of words. Simply reading God’s Word just doesn’t cut it. This is good for those who don’t really know God personally as yet. But for those who do, it gives us what we most desperately need; an understanding of God, and His TRUTH.

HOW TO STUDY

1. Pray. This is the first step we should take in everything we do. Ask for guidance and understanding. God will even tell you where in His Word, you will find things! He may also suggest other books that you may have in your possession.

2. Read the Bible through once to get the concept of what was written. To get a Bible for your computer for free, online go here. You can download many Bible helps too. Some items are pay only. But many are free. The KJV comes with a Strongs Concordant and a few other items. Read the Concordant. It will open soooooo much knowledge and understanding to you! Personally, I prefer the Youngs Concordant as it is more accurate.

3. Study the verses carefully. Make sure you understand the context of what is written. Keep the following in mind:

A. The Bible interprets itself three (3) ways.

1. In the verse itself: meaning that the verse speaks for itself.

2. In the context: It is understood in the previous verses and those immediately following.

3. It is also in another place in the Bible. When God establishes something He always says it twice. The word two means “to establish”. So when you read the complete Bible, you’ve actually read it twice! It is established.

B. Understand what you read. Misunderstanding what is read is one important way people get confused by what they are reading. Use the Biblical Hebrew and Greek dictionaries as a help.

a. Pay attention to the words in the verse. Look them up if you are uncertain of their meanings. Many words in the KJV are in italics. This means they were NOT in the original text. Try reading the verse ignoring those words and see if it doesn’t make better sense to you. More likely than not, it will.

b. Punctuation. In the original texts, there were no punctuation marks, no chapter breaks and no paragraph breaks. So when the KJV was made, they added punctuation “to make it easier to read”. However in some verses the punctuation is seriously wrong and changed the whole meaning of it.

For example: Let’s take a look at:

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, Today shalt you be with me in paradise.

There is no way that the thief could have been with Jesus “TODAY”, since Jesus would be in the grave for three (3) days and three (3) nights!!! But if you move the “,” to AFTER the word “Today”, it makes much more sense!

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee Today, shalt you be with me in paradise. In other words, Jesus was saying… “Verily (truly) today (on this day,) I am saying to you, You shall be with me in paradise.”

So, even though most of them are correct, try reading the verses without punctuation marks.

Example of Chapter Heading. As mentioned above, chapter breaks were NOT in the original text. Let’s look at:

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Here, it goes on to the next chapter… Yet the first word of that chapter is “THUS”… meaning a continued thought.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

If the chapter has to end, it should end here with the period. However, we must remember that there were NO chapter breaks in the original text. Those were ADDED by man much, much, much later, in the 15th century A.D.!!! Thinking they were making the Bible easier to read, they just “messed it up”. Also note that many of the chapters begin with the word “And”. This word also denotes a continued thought. It would be like you going up to a perfect stranger and saying, “And I live on such and such street.” They’d look at you like you were nuts! What happened to the rest of the sentence? Who are you, what are you talking about, etc…

4. Take notes. Taking notes helps you to put it into memory. Have a binder filled with paper and dividers. Put a title on each divider for each topic. Then put your notes in each section. This will also help you remember.

5. When you study a specific topic, memorize the verses by saying them several times out loud. For example: Say you are doing a study on faith, Gather up the major verses, then repeat them:

For example. Say this, “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen Hebrews 11:1.” Say where it is in the Bible, then say the verse, then repeat where it is. Do this at least 5 times for each verse. When you do this daily for a week, you will have memorized it before you realized it.

6. Have a YOUNG’S Bible Concordant open and available. I recommend Young’s, because, to me, it is the more accurate that I’ve found to date. A Bible concordant gives the definitions and the meanings of each word that’s in the Bible, in either Hebrew or Greek.

7. Study for at least one hour each day, making sure you review what you studied the previous day for the first few minutes

8. Every so often during the day, rehearse the verse in your mind without looking at them.

9. Quiz yourself. As you read, write questions out on a piece of paper. Then, once a month, on another sheet, write the answers, without using your Bible.

I hope this has been a help and a real blessing to you. If you have ANY question, as you study, email me or post on the Questions and answers page and I will be more than happy to help you.

Keep your wicks trimmed and your lamps filled with oil!

The KING is coming soon!