learn to

STUDYTHEBIBLE
Forty different step-by-step methods to help you
discover, apply, and enjoy God’s Word.

Andy Deane
 chapter
06
Dai
ly Bread

T he Lord sust
mi racul ousl
how much mannat
ained Hispeople forforty yearsi
y providing fresh manna each morni
hey collected,itwasal
n the wildernessby
ng.Regardlessof
waysenough nourishmentfor
thatday.Si mi larl
y,t he Lord want sto sust ain us,every day,wit h fresh
"spiri
tualmanna"from HisWord.TheDaily Bread Bi bl est
udyi soneof
thesi mpl estwayst o begin discovering thespeci Þc t
rut hsthattheHol y
Spirithasforuseachday.Thi smet hodi nvolvesÞvestepsthatwil lhel p
yout omedi tateonasi nglepassageofScri pture,discoveritsfullmeaning,
andbegi nappl yingittoyourli fe.
nyourDaily Bread Biblestudy,foll
Tobegi ow t
hesesimplest
eps:

Step 1 Choose a passage,paragraph,or chapter to study

Youwi l
lgett hebestresultswhenyouworkyourwayt hrought heBible
syst
ematical
ly rat
herthan randomly.By studyi
ng t
he Script
uresin t
his
way,youwi l
lalsobecomefamiliarwiththewholecounselofGod’ sWord.

Step 2 Pray— Ask God to m eet wi th you

BeforeyoubeginyourBi blestudy,spendtimeinprayeraski
ngt heLordt
o
revealHimselftoyouthroughHisWord.Askt heHolySpi ritt
ohelpyou
seeJesustoday.

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 LEARN TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Step 3 Thi
nk about the passage you are studyi ng
Rereadthepassageanumberoftimesandthoughtfull
yconsiderwhatitis
sayi
ng.M edit
ateuponthemeaningofthetextandhow youcanapplyitto
yourli
fe.Applythesesix"P’
s"asyouthinkthroughthepassage:

• Picture i
t!Vi sualize the scene.Imagine how you would reacti
f
youweret here.How wouldyouhavefeltt obeapartofwhatwas
goingon?Ist hereanythinginyourlifet odaythatyoucancompare
thissit
uationt o?
• Pronouncei t!Readtheversealoudseveraltimesplacingemphasis
onadi fferentwordeachtime.Notethedi fferentshadeofmeani
ng
thati
saddedbyreadingPsalm 25:15 int hi sway:

"M Y eyesareevertowardtheLORD… "

(Thisispersonal— my responsibilit
y.)
"M yEYESareevertowardtheLORD… "
(Whatare my eyesfocused ontoday?)
"M yeyesARE evertowardtheLORD… "
(Are,revealsa resolute position.
)
"M yeyesareEVER towardtheLORD… "
(Forever and always:noturningaway.
)
"M yeyesareeverTOW ARD theLORD… "
(Am Iheadingtoward Him today?)
"M yeyesareevert owardTHE LORD… "
(He ist
he one and only Lord!)
"M yeyesareevertowardtheLORD… "
(Make a listoft
he namesand attributesofthe Lord.
)

• Paraphrasei t
!Restat ingthepassageinyourownwordshel psyou
to understand itbetter.Using contemporary language to express
ti
mel essbi bl
icaltruthshelpsyou to bridge the gap between t he
pastandt hepresent.
• Personal
izeit!Putyournamein placeofthenounsorpronouns
thatareused in theScri
ptureand read i
taloud (i.
e.,ForGod so
loved____________).

54
 Basi
c Bi
ble Study M ethods

• Prayit!M aketheverseaprayer.Thebestwaytoexpressfait
hin
God isby taki
ng thepromisesand trut
hsfound i
n Hi
sWord and
prayi
ngthem backtoHim.
• Probei
t!UsetheS-P-A-C-E-P-E-T-S acrost
ic(referto page36)
t
ohelpyoulocat
ethedifferentthemesofthepassage.

Step 4 Plan one appli cation

W rit
e down one application based on t
he insightsyou have discovered
throughyourstudyoft hetext.W ri
tingyourthought sdownwi llhelpyou
tofullythi
nkthem throughandmaket hem easiertorememberandappl y.
Ithasbeenproventhatwritingpromotesmemory,andhel psyout oexpress
whatyou havel earned moreclearly,t o others.Rememberto makeyour
applicat
ionpersonal,practical
,andprovabl e.

Step 5 Carry your favori te verse wi th you

Onasmal lpieceofpaper(i.e.,post-it
-noteorindexcard)wri tedownthe
verset hatimpacted you themostfrom yourstudy and carry i twith you
throughoutt heday.Occasionally,pullthecardoutandreadt heverse.This
wi l
lhel pyourecallwhatyoustudi edandkeept hosetruthsfreshinyour
thought s.You mightalso wantto use thi ssystem to begin memori zing
Scripture.

The nextpage hasa sample ofthe Daily Bread Bible st

udy method.

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LEARN TO STUDY THE BIBLE

56
Basi
c Bi
ble Study M ethods

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