It is no secret that some of the least-attended churches are Bible studies. Many people think of them as boring, and some even think they do not need. The church today offer so many activities that can be difficult to maintain, and study the Bible often gets set aside to support the program more entertaining or amusing. The problem is, people keep busy but no change.
The Bible has the power to change lives. Unfortunately, you can not just rub the Bible in your head and expect that your life will be changed by physical contact only with the Bible. Studying the Bible involves the actual study, which means reading, seeing things, and think through concepts.
Biblical illiteracy is very high not only in our society, but even in the churches who reportedly believe in the Bible. For that reason, people who want to study the Bible should be very careful that they do not take a course in which the “blind leading the blind” (the expression of the Bible, by the way). Some churches allow people with little knowledge of the Scriptures to teach the Bible, if any teaching done at all.
So how the Bible can change your life? The Bible says that he has the power to change the way we think and the way we think determines not only the course of our lives but what happens to us along the way. For example, someone who values integrity above his bag would lead very different lives (and have different experiences) than people who value money over honesty. The Bible teaches that forgiveness and the ability to forgive those who have wronged us can change lives. Someone who forgive others lead very different lives from those who harbor resentment and bitterness nurses.
This may sound like a bunch of cliches, but studying the Bible can be very interesting. The Bible discusses issues such as rape, murder, incest, cruelty, war, crime, and punishment. It talks about a man wrongly incarcerated (Joseph), a teenage girl kidnapped into sexual slavery (Esther), and a man who was beheaded for criticizing a king (John Baptist). The Bible does not present the beautiful scenes and feel-good message. It can be sandy, just like life. But at that time can raise the spirit.
The best method for studying the Bible is not to pick up a Bible and tried to read it front to back. The Bible is rich, complex, and dense. It requires some knowledge of history and culture of the period. A great way to study the Bible is to start at the Bible study of some sort, whether offered through a church or organization or even online. The books of the Bible should really books about the Bible (and not a bunch of the author’s personal opinion). Expository Bible study books are those who take part or book of the Bible and analyzed line by line. These lines with line biblical research offers insight into the best teaching of the Bible.