Growing in Bible Understanding

Well, I am still going to use this blog for the purpose of furthering your study of God's communication to us, the Bible.
The method I am talking about this time is devotions.
To do this properly you will need a good Bible, a pencil or pen and a note book. You may also need a commentary or a good handbook of the Bible.
 Chose a book of the Bible that you can spend time studying.
 The pen or pencil is for marking up the Bible. A well read Bible is a well marked up Bible.
You will be asking what is being said here? Who is speaking? You will be marking in your Bible the key word in each portion.
 I suggest you do a paragraph at a time this works well, but the idea is not speed. Or maybe a chapter at a time.
The notebook is to jot down what it is you are discovering. Also what you are noticing. Record the repetition of a certain word. You may find it repeats in another chapter. Note that. It is important .
Use the handbook for background and context.
Always search context. Don't take day dreaming trips. The Bible is not written in twenty-first century context.
 Use the commentary to understand if you are on the right track in the deduction you are making.
 Stay with it. Dig as in mining for precious ore.
 And may your understanding of God grow as you do so.

Devotional Study

As in the previous Bible Study Method we must prepare ourselves for the study. Clear your known sins away by starting with confession. 1John says if we will confess our sins God will be faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. .
  He is able to do this because of the cross. When we become Christians our sins are nailed to the cross with Jesus who has become our sin bearing lamb.
   Which means the best way to study the Bible and understand it is by first acknowledging Jesus as the son of God who bore our sins and the penalty of sins on the cross. He collected the wage so you don't have to. That wage being separation forever from God.
    Our first Bible study method would be the devotional method.
   The goal of all Bible study should be application. But before application we have to do some reading and questioning. So we will start out by praying for insight on how to apply the portion of scripture to our life. The next big step would be to locate that passage we want to study. Once located we should make an application and record it. Lastly we must within the passage we have selected to study and apply we should memorize a verse which we have decided is key.
   The secret to knowing the scripture is the applying of scripture.
    Application is hard work. It should be personal, practical, possible and provable.
    Let me know how you are doing.
    As I said, feedback or I won't know if you are enjoying and wanting what I can offer you.