I have a healthy appetite for the pure unadulterated Word of God. I don’t want a diluted watered-down rendition…give me the meat! I am greedy that way I guess, however, this is one of the main reasons I created the Selah Method.

But, it hasn’t always been that way. I used to think that studying the Bible was difficult and so I opted for Bible studies. Don’t get me wrong; I believe Bible studies are an effective way to become acquainted with the vast, riches of the Word. But for me, a Nebraska girl, the difference between a Bible study and studying the Bible is like watching someone eat a steak and telling me how good it tastes and me taking a bite for myself, chewing, savoring the flavor, swallowing it and letting it nourish me. Need more convincing? Read Hebrews 5:12.

You might be asking what the difference is between Bible study and studying the Bible? Let me explain.

Bible Study: The process in which the author leads you through various passages, questions, and fill in the blanks to reach a particular conclusion the author has come to beforehand.

There is nothing wrong with that, as long as it lines up with the Word of God. We need good Bible teachers to write Bible studies for us. However, I have concluded that instead of “doing” Bible studies I need to be studying the Bible.

Studying the Bible: The systematic process of study by reading, defining keywords, themes, and cross-references and then gaining application and direction from the Author.

You may have noticed there are two parts of studying the Bible using Selah; Pause and Listen.  The first part is taking time out of your busy life and pausing to read and learn about a passage of scripture.  The second part of this method for studying the Word consists of listening to the Holy Spirit. How does this apply to my life? Where am I being convicted? How can I obey? Is what I hear lining up with scripture?

So, why do we neglect to study the Bible? R.C. Sproul said it clearly, “Here then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.”

Laziness is part of the problem, but another might be insecurity about how to study the Bible or even where to begin. One reason is we do not want to mishandle the Word of God (2Tim 2:15)! But, studying the Bible isn’t that difficult. It starts with reading the Word and a pen and paper, a curious mind, and a study Bible. If you want more information on helpful resources, read my blog post The 9 Best Resources for Studying the Bible with Selah.

If you long for a closer walk with the Lord and want some help on how to organize your study of the Bible, take a look at our Selah studies.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash