10 simple tips can help you get the most out of "the Word"

This article has been written by Joy T. Bennett (some aspects have been edited)

IT'S 66 BOOKS IN ONE. It contains sweeping epics, riveting love stories, great poetry and deep kernels of wisdom. It's a "whodunit" mystery complete with a surprise ending. It has insight into the great questions of life. It discusses slavery and freedom. It is the alpha and the omega. It is the Bible.

However, reading the Bible might seem intimidating at first for the novice. But it's not just for scholars, pastors and preachers. It's for all people of faith. EBONY magazine asked noted pastors and Bible scholars for a primer, "Bible Reading 101," for those who want to strengthen their spiritual walk by reading what has been called "the Good Book."

1. Set aside a regular time and quiet place that is relatively free from distractions to read the Bible. "Read it every single day," says Pastor Marvin L. Winans of Detroit's Perfecting Church. "The most fascinating is that it's almost like you're reading that happened in daily news."

2. There are different versions of the Bible Several pastors recommend the Contemporary English version for beginners.

3. Approach the Bible with prayer and anticipation. "Expect God to speak through God's Word, if you are a believer," says the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., senior pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. "If you are a critic and a doubter, your reading of the Bible will be nothing more than an intellectual exercise. You will take nothing to the text and you will get nothing from the text!"

4. Find a Bible friend with whom you can discuss and share your readings.

5. Don't be afraid to underline or highlight passages in the Bible. Keep a pen and notebook, and write down things you discover and questions that arise.

6. Always ask the "W" questions! Ask who, what, when, where and why. "The reader needs to understand who wrote the Book, what the Book is saying, why the Book was written, when the Book was written and where the Book intended to go," Wright says. "The Book of Revelation, for instance, was addressed to Christians under persecution in the 1st and 2nd centuries--Christians under Roman persecution. It was not addressed to the exiles of the Babylonian Diaspora. Those two events are separated by 600 years!"

7. Join an Bible study group. "The Word of God is best understood in the context of a Christian community," says the Rev. Dr. Suzan (Dr. Sujay) Johnson Cook, founder and senior pastor of New York City's Bronx Christian Fellowship Church. "Unite with a church, even if it's only to attend its Bible study group. Many churches welcome new persons into their Bible study," she says.

8. Several pastors suggest that beginning Bible readers start with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because those books tell the story of Jesus Christ in a narrative or story form. These books are found in the New Testament. Elder Cathy W. Moffitt, president and founder of Heartfelt International Ministries in Ft. Worth, Texas, particularly recommends St. John's gospel because, "This particular book offers helpful insight into the life and walk of Jesus Christ."

9. There are also several reference books designed to enhance Bible study. The most common ones are concordances, Bible dictionaries and commentaries, and these references can be found in any bookstore as well as online.

10, Sign up to have daily Bible verses or other inspirational messages sent to your computer, a friend of Kylie's writes Daily Devotions.com or use our "Kick-start your bible reading" eCourse FREE at http://www.milktomeat.com.au/

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4 Tips on getting teenagers to read the Bible

Kate* came to faith when she was 15yo, her family wasn't Christian and Kate had never been to church before coming to Christ through an evangelistic rally. She came to the rally because she had some friends who invited her and they loved Jesus. Kate started coming regularly to church and she loved it and got involved in the worship team. She would say that she loves Jesus but doesn't read the Bible. She doesn't know how to! She has no idea where to start, she doesn't understand the language or the stories and how it relates to her now! What helped Kate move forward?

 A few things that helped Kate:

• Someone invested into her spiritually
•  Someone shared a devotional style of Bible engagement that worked for her
• She met with friends who shared an accountable relationship
• She wanted to grow

1. Someone invested in her spiritually.

 Kate was 15 when she came to know Christ as Lord and Saviour. She hadn't grown up in the church, she never went to Sunday School, she didn't attend a school that taught RE. If Kate had been left to her own devises, to her own spiritual growth, and learning she may not have got very far. But an older, more mature woman came alongside her and spent regular time with her, walking through the Bible, its stories, its meaning and helped her to understand. Yes it took time, it took patience and perseverance for the mature Christian woman – but the fruit was worth it!

 If you are a parent and you are watching your teenager switch off and struggle to understand the Bible, see if you can help or encourage them to find a Spiritual mentor, someone who will invest in them and their walk with Jesus. It might be you as a parent, but probably not, pray for God to lead your teenager to someone who can invest in them spiritually – it might be one-on-one or it might be in a small group.

 If you are a youth leader or worker, consider investing intentionally into one or two people for dedicated discipleship and spiritual growth, ask God to lead you to the person to invest in. You don't need to be perfect, or have everything all together (none of us do), we just need to be willing to lead people into a closer relationship with Jesus. Don't know where to start? There are so many resources available at Christian bookstores, or you could just start with Milk to Meat!

 2.  Someone shared a devotional style of Bible engagement that worked for her

 A few years after her initial discipleship time, Kate began to struggle again with her Bible reading and engagement. Kate would often sit down to read the Bible and just pray that God would show her something, then fling the Bible open and see what page it landed on, then proceed to read from that page for the day. A bit random but that was all Kate knew, she tried many different devotionals, and tools but none really clicked. Until one morning someone shared the S.O.A.P. method with her (also known as Journaling), this revolutionised her devotional time, her connection with God and her Bible engagement. Kate hasn't looked back since.

 There are so many devotionals and resources available, but we are all created and wired differently, why not give a few things a go and see what works. Some teenagers enjoy reading and some don't, there are written Bibles in book form, electronic form and even Bibles that you can add into your mobile or iPod. Some teenager enjoy connecting with God's Word creatively – encourage that! Maybe they have read a verse that has impacted them and they enjoy painting – buy them a canvas and get them to engage that Scripture creatively.

 3. Kate met with friends who shared an accountable relationship

 Kate started meeting with a couple of friends her age in an Accountability Group, her church provided the outline, idea and questions they could ask each other. One of the questions was about her Bible engagement, how often was she reading the Bible, and how did she hear from God this week. Kate shared that being asked these questions each week really encouraged her to read each week. It was especially helpful that she was in an Accountability group with her friends and people she loved and respected.

 Accountability groups can be really helpful, to lots of areas of our lives. If you are interested in the type of questions you can ask within an accountability group there are some resources online and at milktomeat.com.au

4. Kate wanted to grow

 Kate wanted to grow in her relationship with God, she wanted to know more, she desired to be changed by Him. Her hunger for the Word grew, her hunger for God grew, to connect with Him and be led by Him in each and every day.

 If your teenager isn't interested, isn't wanting to grow, isn't wanting to change, isn't wanting to connect with God. Then it's a difficult battle – the best advice here – is pray, pray, pray!!! And after that seek those little opportunities to share with them about God and continue to keep the door open cause one day, they may just turn around and surprise you.

 * Name changed

 How can we help you?

 Milk to Meat is committed to Bible Engagement! We would love to pray for you and your teenagers, if you'd like to share your prayer request, please comment or join our Facebook group 'Milk to Meat Bible Engagement'

 For more tools, resources and articles go to http://www.milktomeat.com.au/