Bring the Bible into Your Daily Life

 

Part four of a five-part series on “How to Study the Bible”

Introduction

It’s easy to read the Bible and then forget what you read as you go through the day. Although you may not be reading the Bible all day long, its truths can (and should) affect you as you go through life. Try to develop habits that will help you think about God’s word throughout the day.

Let’s take a look at some ways you can “extend” your Bible study into your daily life.

Consider reading or listening to the Bible more than once a day

When you study the Bible, consider writing a few verses on a piece of paper and then reading them once or twice during the day. Other ways you could keep the Bible alive in your thoughts would be to read the Bible as you eat lunch, listen to an audio Bible as you commute to work, or listen to a devotional on your smartphone as you take a walk.

Related: Why should I read the Bible?

Make it personal

1. Do you think any of these ideas for keeping the Bible alive in your thoughts would be practical for you? Why or why not?

2. Are there other ways you could “extend” your Bible study each day? Explain your answer.

Think about (or meditate) on the Bible

Have you ever thought about a great ball game you watched the previous night, remembered a favorite TV show, or enjoyed the memory of a birthday party? You can do the same thing when you meditate on (or think about) something you read in the Bible. It might be a new insight, a passage that gives you comfort, or a verse that encourages you.

As you think about—or meditate on—what you read, you can draw strength and comfort from God’s word. (The meditation the Bible talks about is thinking focused on God’s word. It is not emptying your mind or practicing “eastern” meditation.)

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. (2 Peter 3:2)

Make it personal

3. What is something you read lately in the Bible that encourages, challenges, or comforts you?

4. How would thinking about this during the day affect your life?

Sing Bible songs

If you know songs that include Bible passages, you could sing them when alone. If you are creative, you could put some favorite verses to music and sing them as you go through the day.

Make it personal

5. What are some songs you know that include Bible verses?

6. Would you feel comfortable quietly singing these songs to yourself from time to time? Why or why not?

Talk about Bible passages

Pray for opportunities to bring Bible insights into your daily conversations. Share your excitement with others. When you share, you build up your own faith as well encourage others. But be sensitive. Don’t come across as pushy or as a know-it-all.

If you have children, the Bible has clear instructions about teaching them.

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 11:18-20)

Make it personal

7. When was the last time you talked about something you read in the Bible? What was the conversation like?

8. What is something you read that you would like to share with someone? How could you offer to talk about it without seeming pushy?

Be guided by the Bible

Your daily Bible studies can lay the foundation for an ongoing awareness of God and what the Bible says as you go through life. The more you read the Bible, the more aware you become of how its commands and guidelines show you how to live.

• The Bible helps you choose righteousness.
• The Bible helps you flee temptation and avoid sin.
• The Bible shows you how to love God and other people.
• The Bible lights your path and helps you make wise decisions.

Make it personal

9. Describe two times when something you read in the Bible helped you.

10. How can you remind yourself of what the Bible says when you are making a decision?

Related: Let the Holy Spirit change you

See the world through the Bible’s truth

You are surrounded by influences that can pull you away from God—your culture, advertising’s lies, TV, the Internet, your job, your friends, and more. But as you study the Bible and think about what it says, you can start to see through God’s eyes.

You can break free from things that have enslaved you—old habit, thoughts, fears, and temptations. You can live in a radically different way throughout the day. You can focus on what’s really important—loving God and loving others.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

As you study God’s word and meditate on what it says, your worldview changes, and you change.

Make it personal

11. How has your worldview changed since you started reading the Bible?

12. How have you changed since you started reading the Bible?

Memory verse

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)

Personal Application

1. This lesson teaches we should not think of Bible study as “read it and forget it.” What does it mean to bring the Bible into your daily life?

2. What are some ways you would like to bring the Bible more into your daily life?

3. What does the Bible mean when it talks about meditating on God’s word?

4. How can you increase the amount of time you meditate on God’s word?

5. What is one way the Bible has helped guide you in making a decision?

6. Are you comfortable talking with others about what the Bible says? Explain your answer.

7. What are dangers you need to be aware of when talking about the Bible (such as coming across as pushy or “know-it-all”)?

8. What are some ways your worldview has changed since you started reading the Bible?