Struggling to read/study the Bible?

I really believe that there is nothing more important in a Christians life than spending time with God, listening for his voice and living out what we hear.  We don’t need to go to great, great lengths to hear God’s words for us.  The Bible is God breathed. The Bible is God speaking to us.

There is a great episode on the SUNI Schools Podcast called ‘Connecting’.  These are some of the ideas talked about on the Podcast.  Hopefully, you will find yourself drawn to one or more of these helpful ways of  engaging with God’s Word.

LIKE TO DRAW? Take a passage. Think about. Draw out what you read. This is good if you’re artistic.

LIKE TO TALK? Are you a conversationalist? A chatter? A talker? Meet once a week with a group of friends. Bring passages you’re reading. Talk about it over coffee/tea…

LIKE TO WRITE AND SCRIBBLE STUFF DOWN? Graffiti your thoughts as you read a passage. Write around it. Print off the passage (biblegateway.com). Put it in a good font. Read it and ‘scribble around’ it. Scribble thoughts. Underline words that strike you. Circle phrases that are repeated. Exclamation marks where God speaks a message directly to the people in the passage. Put a star at the bits you really like in the passage. Engage with the words.

LIKE TECHNOLOGY?  LIKE LISTENING TO STUFF ON YOUR COMPUTER/IPOD? Listen to good podcasts/messages online…SUNI Schools Podcast is a good place to start!   You can even find audio versions of the Bible if you would rather listen than read…find a good one.

LIKE TO JOURNAL? Thinking things over alot in your mind and writing your thoughts down in a journal is maybe something you do… why not read a passage, grab your journal, grab a pen…and spill out your thoughts. Write your thoughts down, speak to your journal. Write down your thoughts on questions like ‘what does this passage mean for me’?  Develop it to make it a prayer journal…

I hope something here is useful.  Try some of these things out.   Have you any other helpful hints or ideas?  What good podcasts have you listened to?  Leave some comments.

Today I had Caleb (our oldest boy, nearly 2) at the pool for a swim.  Now, I tend to be quite a cautious Dad.  I try to prevent Caleb falling if I possibly can, I’m always on the lookout for potential danger…basically, I tend to be a wee bit too protective…and maybe it’s not always such a good thing.

Anyway, back to the pool…

We started off as usual: Caleb and I in the water, me very close by…on full alert, doing my best to make sure the wee man doesn’t get in to any danger.  Well, about 10 mins in to today’s swim Caleb got out of Daddy’s arms reach, he stumbled and went under for about a second!!  His whole head went under and when he resurfaced he was spluttering and coughing…nightmare.  I thought the swim could be over before we really even got started.  But…to my surprise and amusement Caleb spat all the water he could get back out and…smiled.  A big grin too…the kind of smile that lights up his whole face.  From that moment on he began to really enjoy himself.  The water was no longer just so worrying.  He seemed more confident.  I began to let go of him.  To be honest, I felt I was taking a bit of a risk knowing that at any moment he could stumble back under.  But the wee man was having a ball!!  As I let him go he just took off…he stormed about the pool, he splashed, he jumped…up and down the slide he went.  His confidence just seemed to grow by the minute.  I must add that I never left him, what kind of dad would I be if I did?!  I was never far away…but I let him take off.   An hour and a half later we left the pool.  So much fun.  Late for dinner.  Cross Mummy.  But hey, we had a ball..

I came home and couldn’t help but think how good a time we had.  I felt that as a Dad I need to be a bit more ‘risky’ with my boys…let them go a bit…they need to ‘spread their wings’ as they grow and develop.  They need me to put my trust in them as they live with a bit more ‘risk’; but as I do that they need me to always be close by.  Surely this will help them grow into the men I’d love to see them become?

Is this the way God is with us?  He wants us to ‘spread our wings’ (spiritually speaking).  To take risks.  To go a bit deeper.  To follow through with some of the plans and visions he puts on our hearts.  Maybe he is just urging us to believe and to go for it.

Maybe he wants you to believe in Him for the first time?   To put your trust in Him and start living for the greatest cause there could ever be?

Or maybe you are a Christian and there is stuff that you know you need to do…

As God captures our hearts, as He lets us go at it, and as we have fun and find adventure exploring those plans, dreams and visions, He is never far away.  He is the Father that loves us.

What risks does he want you to take as you put you trust in Him?

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. [Luke 5:4-7]