Tips For Bible Study Part 1: Create A Custom

Real bible study is probably one of the most common things that we as Christians struggle with.  For various reasons Christians fail at this and never develop bible doctrine for their own lives and their families.  While the hope is that we are all part of bible believing, teaching, and preaching churches; it is still our job as individuals to have personal time in the word of God to grow our faith (Rom 10:17) and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18).  So for this installment lets keep it simple.

Create a Custom

Luke 4:16 - And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

The first part of having a successful bible study in the Lord is creating a custom.  Jesus had a custom of going in the synagogue on the sabbath day.  This means it was a routine or habit.  There are two basic parts of creating a custom for our personal bible time: a time and a place.

• Time - Having a consistent time is more important to some than others, but it is still recommended nonetheless.  Although I know we are all busy with work and family and kids, we should always purpose to have a specific time to get into the scriptures.  If we do not, so often it becomes one of those things that we sincerely desire to do, but be fore we know it, it's 1 am and we haven't so much as read a single verse.  Obviously if you are single or without young children this is much easier.  If you do have young children I suggest still setting a time where the husband and wife can either do it together or alone.  It may be something where the wife has her time from 6-7pm every night and in that hour the husband is in charge of the kids, as an example, and vice versa.
• Place - A place is also important.  Again, it should be consistent.  It should also be a place where you can have the necessary materials readily available.  It is also important that the place have all the atmosphere you need to study and/or read.  Personally, I cannot focus if it is dead quiet; I need noise to help me focus otherwise my mind begins to wander.  So I study in my basement office where I can turn the TV on for background noise or I turn on KNVBC on my computer.  Either way, quiet or noisy, get a consistent place with your desired atmosphere.