If you want to grow as a Christian, you must spend time studying the Word of God. There are no short-cuts, no substitutes, no getting around it. Hopefully you are already in the habit of spending time in God’s Word daily, or at least have the desire to begin. Finding a resource to guide that time will help develop and grow that discipline. In a previous post I shared the resource that our church is using for our daily quiet time, but we realize that any resource is only a tool to direct us in our study of the Bible. As you search for the tool that work best for you, look for one that:
- Guides you systematically through Scripture. “All Scripture is inspired”
Look for a resource that guides you through Scripture systematically. Avoid those that will have you read from one verse in Ephesians today, a verse in the Psalms tomorrow, and a verse in John the day after that. You will grow in your knowledge of the Bible by studying complete books and the context surrounding a passage, which will include the sentences, paragraphs, and even chapters, before and after a verse. Ideally, your chosen resource will take your through books from both the Old and New Testaments and from the different literary genres contained in each.
- Helps you to develop hermeneutical skills. “Rightly handle the Word of truth”
“Hermeneutic” may be a new word for you, but “hermeneutics” is the discipline of interpreting Scripture. When it comes right down to it, this is really what we desire in our Bible study time, to understand what the Scriptures say so that we can apply it to our lives. When looking for a daily quiet time resource, choose one that challenges you to do more than just read a passage, but pushes you to engage with the text through interpreting and applying. Proper interpretation of a passage involves asking what the original author meant to convey to his audience and then bridging the gap to our modern context. A text will have one meaning but can have many applications.
- Provides you an opportunity for response and application. “Be hearers and doers”
This is related to the previous point, but don’t settle for a quiet time resource that merely has you read the thoughts of others and doesn’t invite you to engage with the text for yourself. I’ve heard this concept described by using the analogy of eating a meal yourself versus listening to someone describe their meal to you. A mark of a mature believer is the ability to feed his or herself. Of course, there is a right place to gain from the study of others, but this should not replace your personal study of Scripture. Those types of resources may be a good supplement to your daily study but should not be the focus. A good quiet time resource will direct you to the Word, push you to dig out deep truths, and discover how you need to respond in obedience.
- Divides passages into manageable lengths for study. “Sometimes less is more.”
There is great value in reading plans that take you through the Bible in a year. However, the lengths of the required passages in those plans may be great for narrative reading but do not make deep study of Scripture feasible in a typical quiet time window of around 30 minutes. Choose a quiet time resource that assigns enough verses to understand the biblical author’s main point or thought, but not so many that you don’t have time to study individual words or phrases, make personal application, or consult with commentaries or other resources after examining the passage yourself. In Bible study, sometimes less is more.
What do you think is necessary for a good quiet time resource? What other quiet time resources have you found that include these components?
Study. Do. Teach. 