I figured out a few years ago that confusion around an event in the Bible was really just an invitation for me to dig deeper and seek understanding. But please don’t stop when you get confused. There is a lot of confusing things going on (especially in the Old Testament). I understand how intimidating the Bible can seem when you start reading on your own. Some of my favorite commentaries online include: I definitely like having a physical copy of commentaries but they can be pretty massive and hard to lug around.Īccessing a free commentary online is a great first step to starting to use outside sources to boost your Bible study. I love the internet because Bible commentaries are at your fingertips for free. The next level is a commentary that digs deeper into all the Scriptures, not just some of them. How the point of every Scripture is to lead back to him.Īwesome study Bibles to add to your collection:Ĭhronological Life Application Study Bible When I wanted to understand the Bible better, I started with the ESV Study Bible (it’s still my Bible today that stays on my desk at all times).Īs you learn new information, it’s not about becoming smarter… it’s about seeing just how good and crafty God is. Consider it your gateway to understanding the Bible in a deeper way. It will more than likely have cross-references, illustrations, and charts. A study Bible will provide you with notes and resources on various texts. If you’ve never used a commentary before (or really studied scripture), then I recommend starting out with a study Bible. A commentary can help you understand the Bible better but it doesn’t take the place of you becoming confident in your own study skills. He wants to stand in the questions with you. Really scratch your head and ask God “why?” The most beautiful thing you can learn to do within your faith is think and reason. What a commentary is not.Ī commentary should be a part of your Bible study but it should not take the place of your Bible study. For instance, I was reading my Luke commentary the other day and I read a note about how _. I love to find the “Easter eggs” within things- the hidden meanings and the passages that are easily overlooked though they hold much more power and wisdom than we can even imagine.Ī good commentary will reveal things you don’t see just from the initial text. A commentary is a perfect companion if you’re curious about the Bible and want to read between the lines. I want to know the how, the where, the when- all of it. It’s your easy way to dip into the academic world of scholars and experts- people who have poured over the Bible and squeezed it tight to release the juices within. Let’s talk about commentaries.Ī commentary is, at its simplest, a study companion for the Bible. If I hadn’t figured out how to study the Bible, I would have left the faith a long time ago. I’m so passionate about this because it the number 1 thing that made me become a devoted follower of Jesus. I feel like we are in danger of having flimsy faith if we cannot figure out how to study the Bible on our own. Today, I have a vibrant relationship with the Bible and I didn’t have to go to seminary to cultivate it. When you start to grasp the fuller picture, everything changes. We need to know the culture during that period of time. We need to know the backstories and the context. However, we need to understand what we are reading. Reading the Bible is a really good practice. Those questions- and the desire to seek out the answers- changed everything for me. It wasn’t until I went through a life-threatening depression at the age of 26 that I started to ask questions… to really ponder a lot of things within my faith. I was simply doing it because everyone told me the Bible is where you find your deepest, most intimate relationship with God. I wasn’t grasping the meaning behind a lot of bigger concepts. I didn’t understand big parts of the text. It was the first time in my life deciding that I wanted to be “all in” with my faith and that seemed like the best place to start.įor a long time after that, my Bible reading wasn’t really that fruitful. I started reading the Bible when I was 22.
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