Last month I did a personal fast and the scripture that God wanted me to read and study was the Book of Matthew. I’ve read Matthew several times and I have even studied it before. Reading and studying are two different things, but sometimes God leads us back to certain scripture and books of the Bible for deeper revelation, to discover something you may have missed, to reveal something that you actually need in the current season of your life and while reading it it just clicks differently. Although you’ve read it before it may not have stood out as much before because it wasn’t exactly what you needed at the time.
To be honest, when He led me to Matthew I responded, I’ve read this before, then I flipped through my study Bible and said I’ve actually studied this before and looking at my notes, markings, and highlights I said I could study this a bit more.
Thank you Lord! Just because we’ve read and studied portions of His word in the past, doesn’t mean that it won’t be applicable for the current or future season He is preparing you for. Don’t discount things that you’re already familiar with, because God can still provide blessings through it. His word never gets old and it never will.
Let’s get back to reading vs studying. Are you reading the Bible just to read? Are you on a 1 year Bible Plan just to say you’ve read the entire Bible? Or are you studying the Bible to truly understand it, apply it to your life, and have the ability to share it with others?
Imagine having read the whole Bible and never applied anything you learned. It is more valuable to have read and studied only 1 chapter of the Bible and apply it to your life and live out than reading all 66 books of the Bible while lacking understanding and application.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8
Now, I’m not saying you only need to read and study one book of the Bible, but don’t feel like you are less than because you haven’t read every single book in the Bible. Focus on understanding and applying scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on what scripture and books of the Bible He wants you to dive into next.
Reading the Bible requires setting out intentional time to spend and be in God’s word.
Studying involves reading the text, rereading the text, breaking down scripture line by line, identifying the purpose of the book, author, audience, timeframe it was written, key people in the text, key places, reading cross references, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and revelation when interpreting, interpreting and applying it in the correct context, and reading commentary to deepen your knowledge and confirm if what Theologians have written are aligned with what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you.
A great way to start is with the 5 W’s and H. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. A method to help you read and apply God’s word SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.
It may seem like a lot, but it’s not. You may think that you don’t have time to do all of this, but you do. You have the time! It doesn’t have to be 4 hours of reading and studying, but you do have at least 1 hour. Look at your screen time from the past month. How many shows have you watched and binged this past month?
Choose what’s most important to you and I hope that you land with God. Afterall we should be seeking God first and putting Him first in our life.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NKJV
I recommend that you get a good Study Bible, which provides most of the 5 W’s and commentary and make time for the One who makes time for you everyday. As you improve with reading God’s word, you’ll be able to discover the 5 W’s on your own then look to your study for confirmation to see if you were right.
Below I’ve included a chart of how long it takes to read each book of the Bible.
It takes 2.5 hrs to read the book of Matthew, but to study it could take a week, weeks, months, or even longer. Last month I looked up and I had been studying 3 chapters for 4 hours. Go at your own pace and until you have the understanding you need.
I use several bibles when I am studying, but I recommend a study Bible which should have cross references, includes commentary, and red text which helps you to easily identify when Jesus is speaking.
Recommendations:
I urge you to take the challenge now of reading, studying, and applying scripture to your life by joining our next Bible Scripture Challenge: Life of Jesus, where we will be focusing on the Book of Matthew. Join today, invite someone, and hold each other accountable. Will you be joining the challenge?
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