How I Do Bible Study

Biography: I've been a "born-again" Christian some 30+ years. I've always studied the Bible during this time. I clearly remember that before I became a Christian, I could not read the Bible. First, it had no appeal to me. Second, I could not understand it, even when I tried to read it. It may as well have been written in Swahili. Third, I found it very depressing, since the verses that kept coming to my attention were Jesus' words, "There men shall weep and gnash their teeth."

After bowing my knee to God through Jesus Christ, having been drawn by the Holy Spirit to Him, giving Christ my full allegiance, I was amazed to discover that I could read the Bible; it made sense to me; and it spoke to my heart! It became a living book in which I could hear the voice of God.

I have no formal Bible training, other than attending both church and a mid-week service throughout these years, extremely regularly.

My theology has mostly been formed through my own reading of scripture. Over the years I have relied heavily upon the works of D. M. Lloyd-Jones, whom I love with all my heart, and Arthur Pink. My own understanding of scripture parallels their presentation. Spurgeon is a great friend.

I have studied beginning Greek, kitchen table self-taught style, using tapes, texts, and workbooks by authors such as Machen and Zodhiates.

I have several Bible reference works. My favorites are the Interlinear New Testament, the Septuagint Old Testament, my Greek Analytical Lexicon, The Amplified Bible, 26 Translations, Hebrew Interlinear, and of course, Strong's Concordance. I read the study notes at the foot of my Bible pages. I have Bibleworks 5, which is a great convenience.

"Psalm 119: A Meditative Prayer" was just that. It was a prayer, a dramatization, for which I used nothing at all except the text. I wrote this some years before this blog began, but I posted it on the blog later.

Everything else on the blog is recent. Something amazing happened to me in 2009. I had gone through the worst of a spiritual crisis, but was still in a state of turmoil and struggle. In January, I began reading Zondervan's little pocket book, "31 Days of Wisdom and Praise." This book is NIV, pure biblical text, no commentary, no references to other scripture, no notes. It covers the entire Psalms and Proverbs in one month.

In March, during my third reading of this book, something amazing happened to me on my insides. I came to totally believe in the goodness and love of God and that I was one of the many to whom His goodness and love were directed. I went through an entire week on a magnificent crest of joy and peace such as I had never experienced in my entire life. Although the peak eventually passed in a few months, my entire life has been changed ever since. If I didn't know and believe myself and my friends that I had already been "born-again", I would say that I had been "born-again". It was that good. I guess in heaven I'll find out for sure exactly when I was born-again.

Later that year, I began this blog. I pray and meditate on the Word during quiet time and throughout the day. I ask the Lord to show me His heart and to help me understand.

Mostly for my blog, I just write down what I get out of my quiet times with the Lord in the morning using my 31 Days NIV Psalms. I do not check commentaries, nor do I base my writing on the study notes in other Bibles, although out of curiosity and to double check I may confer with them. I mostly use cross-references to other scripture and the various translations I have available. I sometimes check the meaning of the original languages, and I may double-check with Spurgeon to see if what I see may be something he saw as well. I consider him a greatly beloved authority.

Mostly, however, the gleanings are my own, just me and the Lord--praise Him and all glory to His name. I owe everything I have to Him; He is my all-in-all; He is my life and the light of my countenance. He's great!