Deepening Our Relationship with God Through Scripture

Hello, wonderful and beautiful people of God! This is your friend and sister, Elizabeth Moe. Welcome back to my channel!

Now, in case you have been wondering who Elizabeth Moe is and what she is doing here, well, we talk about all things gospel on this channel. For today's video, we're going to be talking about a topic: studying and reading the Bible.

What do you do? Do you study the Bible? Do you read the Bible? Or do you do both? That is what we're going to be discussing today. I've got some points ready for us to discuss, so if this is the kind of video that you want to listen to, come on and let's get into it together.

Hey, if you're watching my videos for the first time or coming back, you are welcome! Don't forget to like, share, subscribe, and leave a comment for me. Bye!

A friend of mine and some groups of people have come together to tell me that reading the Bible is what they do. Other people say that studying the Bible is what they do, and to be very honest with you, I struggle to detach both of them.

I struggle to detach reading from studying because I see and I know that before you study, you've got to read something. So, I mean, if some people are just standing on reading and not going further to do the study, maybe that is what they are saying, or maybe some people are just doing proper studying. I can't really understand the difference; I can't really understand the point where they're coming from.

But I'm here to let you know that for me to really understand my Bible, I need to read it, and I need to study it. If that is what you do, you would also enjoy this video.

Now, as I go into this, I'm going to use an analogy. I'm going to use the analogy of mathematics. Yeah, I'm going to use the analogy of mathematics. You know, in mathematics, I'll take you back to your primary school days.

You know when you have a shape, like if you want to find the area, what do you do? You do length times breadth, am I correct? I'm not sure, but I think that is what you do. You need to go to the length, which might be like the depth of it. I mean, yeah, like the depth.

So you've got to do the length, and then you've got to do the breadth of it. By the time you do the length and the breadth, if you multiply it together, you will get the area of that shape, especially the rectangle. Length is what you do.

So for us to be able to understand the Bible, we need to do the length and the breadth of it. Now, reading the Bible is the breadth of it. The reason the Bible is the breadth of it is that it gives you a breadth of knowledge of what you're doing. That is what reading the Bible does for you.

Some people call it territorial knowledge. If you want to have the territorial knowledge of it, you want to understand everything that is in the surrounding of that particular book of the Bible that you want to read or for the Bible itself. Some of us are brave enough; we've gone to read the whole Bible. Some of us have only read a book.

Many people have only read the Old Testament in full, while some have read the New Testament in full. It is important to read the Bible or whatever book you want to read in order to gain a broad knowledge of it.

It is not only about reading, but also studying the Bible. The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. If you only read the Old Testament, you may not appreciate the New Testament, and vice versa.

The New Testament tells us that many stories in the Old Testament were written for instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come. If we never read the Old Testament stories, we will never gain insight, power, or freedom that become ours when we do. Therefore, the New Testament gives us a better understanding or appreciation of the Old Testament.

Some people find the Bible boring to read, but if you take just five minutes a day for 365 days, you will cover 30 hours of knowing what is inside the Bible. This will give you a breadth of knowledge of what is written in the Bible.

For example, if you read the Book of Leviticus, it is difficult to understand why God sent Jesus Christ to shed His blood. However, if you read the Book of Leviticus, you will understand why Jesus came. I appreciate Christ Jesus for coming into this world; otherwise, we would just be killing all the animals.

We need to pick up a version of the Bible that is easy for us to understand. Growing up in Nigeria, I learned using the King James Version, which I struggled to understand. I misinterpreted some things and put my own meaning in them.

As I grew up, the New King James Version came in, and it was easier to study. I also saw the Good News Version, the New Living Translation, the NIV, the Message, and the TPT. These translations helped me to have a better understanding.

When it comes to reading the Bible, some people find it easy in the morning, while others prefer the evening or when they are having their meals. Pick a time that works for you and make it part of your daily routine. Bible apps can also be helpful, as they can remind you when to read and provide Bible verses.

Reading the Bible can be a great way to encourage yourself. When you read, don't get bogged down by words you don't understand. Instead, give yourself time to work through them and ask someone for their interpretation.

For example, recently during a Bible meeting, we were reading a passage about the wind and where it goes. My friend was trying to put a mysterious spin on it, but I realized it was just saying that the Holy Spirit is in control of everything.

When we read, let's not be bogged down by words we don't understand. Instead, read for the things we do understand and underline the important parts. Then, take those parts back to prayer. Prayer is essential for understanding the Bible, as it is the Lord who has given the inspiration to write it in the first place.

If you have difficulty understanding the Bible, there are many resources available to help. You can ask trusted teachers or friends in Christ, search the internet, or visit websites that study the word of God.

It is also helpful to read with a plan. Decide what book or passage you want to study and read it slowly, aloud, or write it down. To gain an in-depth understanding of the scripture, use the acronym SOAP.

S stands for Scripture, O stands for Observation, A stands for Application, and P stands for Prayer. Read the scripture and observe what it is saying. Is it an encouragement, an order, or a prayer? Identify how it fits into the book or passage you are studying. Then apply it to your life and pray for guidance.

If it's Thanksgiving, leaning on my knowledge of the Bible, I can understand and know what to do. In this case, the scripture I read is an encouragement. To apply this, I need to look at my life and identify when I need encouragement. Once I have identified this, I need to go into my life and ask when I need this encouragement. God has written these things down for us to have a better understanding.

The next step is prayer. Prayer is a communication between myself and God. This is the time to thank God, share my problems, anxieties, fears, and doubts. We should also be praying for the people around us who need encouragement.

The last step is practice. We need to practice this in our lives every time. We need to go back to scripture, observation, application, prayer, and practice.

This is my message for today: reading and studying the Bible is important. Thank you for listening, and I'll come your way again soon.