2 Timothy 3:16-17: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Growing in studying the Bible is essential to growing in your walk with the Lord. The Bible commands us to continue in His word.

This is how the Lord speaks to us, how we learn more about Him, and how to mature in our Christ-like character development. If we are not having daily meetings with the Lord in His word, how can we expect to cultivate a relationship with Him?

I have always admired other Christians who have a strong Bible study routine in their day. I love looking at Bibles that have been clearly used with the many markings, notes, and worn out bindings. That demonstrates to me that they complete deep dives in their Bible to study His word.

For the longest time, I wanted that commitment to Bible studying, but I did not know where to start. Over the years, I have learned that for myself, I have to follow a plan/ guide that is structured and outlined to best help me study the Bible. Before, I was randomly flipping to scripture, not praying over it, not dissecting it, and in return, not receiving anything. I have grown so much over the years as a Christian, and I know a lot of that is from growing in my Bible studies.

I realized that if this is an area of my Christian life that I was struggling with, there might be other Christians that are also wanting to grow in their Bible studies. In this blog post, you will learn why it is important to grow in your Bible studies, and how to grow in your Bible studies!

If we are wanting to grow in this area of life, we must first understand why we need to. 

Why we Should Read our Bible Daily: 

First, it is a commandment from the Lord:

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

This verse is explaining that blessings will come to those that read His word. That does not sound like a command right? We are not commanded to receive blessings (although who wouldn’t want that?!). But it does say to ‘keep those things which are written therein’. We are commanded to keep His word.

Keeping His word means to read/ study it, meditate on it, memorize it, and apply it. Then repeat, daily: Read/ Study, Meditate, Memorize, Apply.

The Bible also instructs us to live righteously (Titus 2:12). How do we know how to live righteously? 2 Timothy 3;16-17 (our anchor text for this blog post) explains that we gain instruction for how to live righteously through scripture.

You know when you receive a new piece of furniture, device, game, etc., it comes with instructions on how to construct the product into the image of the complete product? You can choose to build the product without following what the instructions say. This may choose not use all the pieces, or maybe you put pieces in the wrong spot. In the end, it will not become what the completed product should look like. This is exactly how the Bible is applied to us.

Have you ever wished there was an instruction guide to life? When you are in a fork in the road about a decision, you do not know how to handle a situation, or you messed up and need to fix a problem, it would be so nice if there was an instruction manual telling you exactly what to do. Well, GOOD NEWS! There is! This is how God has intended for us to use the Bible.

Let’s look again at our anchor verse

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Let’s break it down:

1. All scripture is given by inspiration of God…
   • Let’s discuss the definition of inspiration/ inspire. There are two definitions of inspire. One is when someone or something gives you the urge, influence, or motivation to do something. They inspire you. The other definition is to breathe in- inspiration. You inhale or inspire. You breathe out- expiration. God breathed the words in the authors, and that is how they knew what words to write in the Bible. We’ll talk more about this below.
2. …and is profitable for doctorine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
   • The Bible offers advice and demonstration on how to follow His doctrine correctly. This is by correcting your actions and following the instructions of righteousness. Everywhere in the Bible, you will find God offering reproof and correction for actions. You will especially find this in Exodus and Numbers as God is leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness.
   • We are all human. God knows that and He does not expect us to be perfect! That does not give us the freedom to do whatever we want. But it gives us the understanding that He will show us correction and reproof on how we can alter our actions, words, and decisions to live more righteously.
3. …That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
   • First, another vocabulary lesson 🙂 Perfect in this verse does not refer to ‘no mistakes or flaws’. This would be an oxymoron as man cannot be perfect in the standard of no mistakes. There is only one that was ‘perfect’ in human form… Jesus. So, God would not call for us to be ‘perfect’ with no mistakes or flaws if He knew that would be impossible.
   • Instead, perfect in this verse means ‘whole, complete, not missing any parts’. Remember the analogy I provided earlier with the furniture? If you choose to not follow the instructions and you miss a piece, the product is not perfect in its entirety because it is missing parts that are essential to mirroring the complete piece. In order for us to mirror the complete piece- GOD- we have to be thoroughly furnished. Meaning, we have to have godly characteristics to be complete and whole.
   • We can gain and practice the godly characteristics by reading The Word to know what they are and how to gain them. One direct way is via Fruit of the Spirit.
     • I have an entire blog post on GROWing in your Fruit of the Spirit. Read this post to find out how to gain those godly characteristics.

Second, you will GROW closer to Him:

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

The more time you spend with God, the closer you become with Him. Simple. Isn’t this the same principle we apply to friends, coworkers, and family? If we do not spend time with them, how do we expect to know them? Why would we choose not to do this with our Father?

Our mission verse for Grow With The Lowes is 2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” To grow closer to someone, is to grow in your knowledge of them. We have to distinguish the difference in knowing versus knowing about.

I can say “I know Devin Lowe” because he is my husband. I have grown a personal relationship with him beyond just knowing about him. At one point in life before we became a couple, I knew about him, but I did not know him. After growing in our relationship, I could say “I know him”.

I can only say “I know about Michael Jordan” but I never would say “I know him”. I know facts about him, but I do not know him personally.

Is this the same for God? We may know things about Him, but do we know Him personally? You may only know stories about God and the works He performed. You may see some of the actions He took (and is taking today) as harsh. But do you know the Father who performed these actions for a reason? You are simply only looking at the works, not His ways.

I learned from the preacher Adrian Rogers how to know God through seeing his actions as ways not works. Looking at the decisions He made (and is making), as His ways versus His works allows me to see His heart and purpose behind the action. God is all knowing and His will is the only way. The action He performs is for the will of God to be revealed.

So, to know His ways versus His works is to grow in our knowledge of Him. We can only grow in our knowledge of Him by reading His word daily.

Third, you will GROW as a Christian

1 Peter 2:1-3: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

When we first get saved, we are comparable to newborns. We are learning a lot of new ways to walk, dress, live, etc. As newborns, we can only drink milk. We are not developed enough to be able to consume meat. The same applies to new Christians. New Christians can only consume ‘milk’ of the word. This may be the basics and foundational principles of the word. This includes learning the layout of the Bible, why we believe what we believe, understanding baptism, gaining knowledge of what pleases God, etc. All of this should be taught to a new believer through a discipleship program. A developed Christian takes the ‘newborn’ under their wing to help them learn more about the Bible to allow the ‘newborn’ to continue to grow. We do not want to stunt the growth but cultivate it.

As the ‘newborn’ Christian continues to grow and get stronger on the ‘milk’ of the Word (aka the basics and foundations), they will no longer be able to only sustain the ‘milk’. They will need more. They will need to learn more material that is going to fill them to be fuller. This is when they start diving in to deeper understandings of God’s word. This can also be taught via a discipleship program. However, a lot of ‘meat’ is served through regular church attendance by listening to the pastor’s messages.

Let me use this as an opportunity to point out the importance of finding a Bible believing church that will help you GROW as a Christian via serving the ‘meat’ of the Word. Through our jobs in travel therapy, my husband and I have visited a lot of churches. Some churches are so warm and welcoming; however, there is only milk being served during the messages. And guess what? We left hungry, every service.

There are many ways to GROW in your walk with the Lord. But you first have to recognize that you are hungry for more than just ‘milk’. If you are looking for more ways to receive ‘meat’ to grow as a Christian, you have to be in the word everyday. See a passage you do not understand? Instead of glancing over it, pray about it, ask your pastor about it, use the commentary in your Bible to see if there is a further explanation about it. Do not only read the word, study it.

I have an entire blog post on how to GROW in your walk with the Lord! Click here to read!

Okay, now that we know the why let’s dive in the how to of GROW in your Bible studies!

How to GROW in your Bible Studies:

Knowing how to complete meaningful Bible studies that will help you GROW as a Christian can be very hard. Where do you start?- Do you just randomly flip to a page and believe that is where God wants you? No! Your Bible studies should not be by ‘chance’ but planned, prepared, and purposeful.

Here are 7 ways to plan and GROW in your Bible studies:

SCHEDULE A TIME

With very important meetings, appointments, or reservations, everyone understands the importance of making it to that scheduled event on time. We have to treat going to God via His word just like this. It should be noted that we serve a God that doesn’t require a set time and you can literally go to Him any second of the day, but for accountability purposes, it will benefit you to schedule a Bible study in your day. How do we do this?

1. Find the time that works best for you. 

Are you a morning, mid afternoon, or late nighter? Or more importantly, when is it more likely that you can be alone in your day to meet with God? Maybe you’re not a morning person but you know that is the only time in the day that you can find alone time. This was me! I enjoy the benefits of waking up early but it can be so hard! I would tell myself I would do my Bible study at night instead. But guess what? I would forget, fall asleep, or choose not to.

When I decided to become more serious about my Bible reading and studying, I knew I had to become a morning person to meet with God. Now, I have found a system that works best for me to make God a priority in the morning. This has made such a difference in my day!

I love starting the day with God’s word. I am much more joyful and conscious of my actions throughout the day when I start it with Jesus. I have changed my schedule around in the past years to adapt to my different jobs and living situations.

In one circumstance of life when we did not have the best office space or setting for me to be able to focus on God’s word like I wanted to, I would wake up early to go to the gym, get ready there, then arrive to my job early and use my office as my alone time space. We currently rent a condo that provides a community fitness center. So now I wake up early, go to the fitness center, then come home to do my Bible study before leaving the condo for work. I have found that I am more alert and awake if I do my Bible study after working out. But I have to be diligent in leaving time after the workout for my scheduled meeting with God. 

2. Show up to your scheduled appointment everyday.

Act as if this was your boss! You know you would do it!! This is way more important than your boss. This is you Lord and Savior. It is a commandment in the Bible to meet with Him, but it is also a want and desire from our Father to spend time with us. He wants to spend uninterrupted time with you to show you new things about Him and yourself. I heard on a podcast once that we would never marry someone we have only talked to a few times, or only talk to maybe once a week. Being that we are the bride for Christ who is coming back to take us to Heaven one day, what will it be like when the wedding takes place? Will we know Him?

When you don’t show up, apologize. Again, as if this was your boss, apologize to God for missing your meeting. No one likes to give apologies, especially to the One who sacrificed SO MUCH for you, so this will help you stay accountable.

3. Set an alarm / put in on the calendar/ write it on your to do list daily. 

Find a way that makes sure you will not miss this appointment! 

When my husband proposed to me, there was a surprise engagement party waiting at my parent’s house. I’ll never forget what his cousin told me that night when she noticed how much I was playing with the ring. She told me “It feels strange having it on your finger now, but there will be a day when you have to take it off to wash the dishes, bake, etc. and that will feel even stranger”. I realized what she said stuck with me because of how beautiful the thought of that is. I vowed and continuously vow to only take my rings off to protect them as they symbolize my love and commitment to Devin. So when I take them off, it does feel unnatural and strange because I have gotten used to the feeling of them being present everyday. This relates to our scheduled time with God. Here’s what I mean:

The ring symbolizes a continual relationship that will last forever. This is like our relationship with God- although we may not talk and commune with Him like we should, have assurance that your relationship with Him will last forever. 

When you first start wearing the ring, it feels unnatural. This may be what our meetings with God will feel like at first. Maybe a bit awkward and unnatural at first. 

Then if you ever take the ring off, the absence of the ring feels very unnatural. You notice it being gone. This is what it is like when we miss our scheduled appointment with God after we consistently meet with Him daily. We notice the feeling of something missing. Never get comfortable with the feeling of missing your appointment with God. Be sensitive to time away from Him.

FIND THE SPACE

This seems so unnecessary, but I am telling you, it is essential to truly enjoying your time with God.

We have rented many different houses, apartments, condos, etc. with the nature of our job. Because of this, I do not always have the *best* space to meet with God. It sounds like this is an excuse to not meet with Him (and it technically is), but if you enjoy your surroundings, you will want to go back each day!

Because our living situations have always been rentals, I have had to get creative with my space. Like I mentioned earlier, in one setting, I found my space in my office at work. This worked best for me at that stage in life because it offered a good desk, chair, and low dim lighting that I love to incorporate in my study times. In other situations, we have had office space, outdoor seating areas, a comfy chair in the living room, etc.

What I am trying to say is, you have to make it work! Maybe you have a spare bedroom that you have been wanting to remodel- make that your Bible study space! Maybe you have a corner in your living room that could use some love with a comfy, cute chair- make that your Bible study space! 

Make your space inviting.

You don’t want your space to be somewhere you dread to go because it is messy and not comfortable. Add lamps, comfy pillows, light a candle, and grab some cute stationary! I always have my blanket, pen, Bible gel highlighter, post notes, instrumental worship music, and journal to take notes about what I am reading and studying. 

To also make your space more inviting, save something special that you get to have/ do during Bible study times. For me this is a cup of coffee. Before I incorporated my Bible studies in the mornings, I never had time to make a cup of coffee. I am part of the minority that receives ZERO energy or alertness from coffee- but I like the experience and taste of it 🙂 So, my reward for waking up early to do my Bible study is that I have time to enjoy a cup of coffee while I read. Whether it is a special food, drink, stationary, etc., find something that you can look forward to while completing your study.

DECREASE/ INCREASE THE FRICTION

This is a principle I learned while reading a productivity book. I first applied it to my fitness lifestyle of exercising and eating healthier, but I quickly realized this applies to everything in life. So what does it mean to decrease and increase friction? 

This means increasing the work and ease of access to something that is an unhealthy habit to prevent you from doing it. So, if you have a habit of eating junk food, increase the friction by NOT buying the food, putting the food in a space that is not easily accessible (make it extra hard to get to it!), or creating some type of barrier to prevent you from habitually reaching for it. If it is decreasing the amount of time you spend on your phone, you could put a screen time limit on the phone, only put your charger outside of your bedroom/ in an area that you do not regularly spend time on your phone, or put your phone in a lock box at a certain time in the day. Whatever the unhealthy habit is that you are trying to break, make it hard to access that habit. 

We want to increase the friction (work) for the bad habits and decrease the friction for the good habits. If you want to increase a healthy habit, decrease the friction to create lower hanging fruit that is easier to access. So, if you want to eat healthier, prepare meals for the week, present the vegetable and fruit at the front of the refrigerator, and only buy healthy foods. If you want to work out in the morning before work, lay your clothes out the night before, have your materials ready ahead of time, and find a way to wake up easier (for me this was a sunrise alarm).

Okay, does the friction principle make sense? Good! Let’s apply it to our Bible studies. 

1. Increase Friction:

What is causing you to NOT spend time in God’s word? Identifying the barrier is the first step in planning how to solve the problem. If it is spending too much time on your phone, not waking up early enough, or putting more emphasis on other things in your day, make it difficult to achieve these negative habits until you have completed your Bible study. Put your phone in an area that is not easily accessible, put your alarm clock away from beside your bed to force you to get up to turn it off, or create a schedule for the day that puts your alone time with God first. 

2. Decrease Friction:

How can you access this time easier? Lay your Bible, journal, and materials needed for your study out ahead of time. Once you are in your space, do not leave until you are finished. Get a study Bible and reading plan. Sometimes, people use the excuse “I don’t know what to read/ where to read”. If you follow a reading plan, you can overcome this barrier! (Read more about reading plans below!) Just start reading. Sometimes, my flesh does not want to read and study. When I push myself through it and force myself to, I always receive such a blessing from that day’s reading.

GET A STUDY BIBLE

One of the best purchases I have made is a study Bible. I LOVE mine! Here is the exact study Bible I have! I love this Bible because there are so many resources in it like devotions, commentary, explanations of each verse, Bible character biographies, and so much more! There are wider margins in comparison to my other Bible (which I use for going to church) to allow me to write notes in my study Bible. 

Using a study Bible during your Bible study seems almost self explanatory right? Well, I did not realize how much of a difference a study Bible made my understanding and comprehension of the word until I started using one. We are called to not only read the Bible, but we have to study it.

To study the Word means we are diving in, dissecting, and breaking apart verses to gain understanding. We make connections to other verses in the Bible to see how they are linear, where references are made, and how other verses support the passage you are studying.

What you hold in your hand is not just a book that was written by one person, or a committee of different people deciding what they think is morally correct/ incorrect. The Bible is so much more!!!

John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The Word is GOD! He inspired His words through the authors. See above for more explanation of ‘inspired’. God breathed the words in the authors, and that is how they knew what words to write in the Bible. I love learning about the origins of the Bible. It proves how this was not by chance, but by plan… God’s plan!

Here are some key facts about the Bible’s origin:

• Books in the Bible: The Bible contains a total of 66 books in (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament).
• Authors of the Bible: The Bible was written by approximately 40 different authors over a span of around 1,500 years. These authors came from diverse backgrounds, including kings (like David and Solomon), prophets (like Isaiah and Jeremiah), shepherds (like Amos), fishermen (like Peter and John), and scholars (like Paul).
• Languages of the Bible: The Bible was originally written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Old Testament (Tanakh) was mostly written in Hebrew, with some sections in Aramaic (e.g., parts of Daniel and Ezra). The New Testament was written entirely in Greek.
• Geographical Spread of Authors: The authors of the Bible lived in various countries and continents while writing the books. The Old Testament authors primarily lived in ancient Israel and Judah, though some, like Daniel and Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon. The New Testament authors lived and wrote across the eastern Mediterranean region, including areas such as Israel, Syria, Greece, and Italy.
• Time Span of Writing: The writing of the Bible spanned over many centuries. The earliest books of the Old Testament are believed to have been written around the 12th century BCE (e.g., portions of Genesis), while the latest books of the New Testament were written around the 1st century CE (e.g., Revelation).
• Genres and Styles: The Bible is a diverse collection of texts, including historical narratives, poetry, prophecy, letters, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic writings. Despite this diversity, the texts are considered by believers to share a coherent theological message.

It is important to note all of these details because it demonstrates how God is the ultimate author. Ask yourself, how can one of the authors living in Israel in a completely different time period with a completely different language write content that is perfectly linear to another author living in Italy in a different time period using a different language? Because it is all inspired by GOD! How amazing is that! What privilege we have to hold such an amazing and mighty artifact. Treat it as such and do not neglect it! 

It is hard to wrap our human minds around how this can be, but something my pastor said once really helped me to understand this concept better. Think of each author’s work in the Bible as a beautiful piece of artwork. It is very specific to them, has their own style, and there are 66 pieces of artwork all together. One artist may have drawn a beautiful, peaceful mountainous scenery, one may have drawn a herd of deer drinking from a stream, and one of the artists may have drawn a beautiful sunset. If you would combine all of these small, individual, and different art pieces, you would see that they actually fit perfectly together to create one large, gorgeous picture. That is the Bible. Each book is different but they all tie together to proclaim the same message, God is the almighty ruler and king. I am so thankful for our all knowing, detailed God. 

With all that being said, it is important to know and understand the Bible through studying it. A study Bible will help you gain a better understanding of the Word so you can apply it to your life, know God, and to show others how to cultivate a relationship with The Father.

FOLLOW A READING PLAN

There are many different plans to follow for reading the Bible. Whether you want to read the entire Bible in a year, read the new testament in a year, read by topic, read by Bible character, etc., find a scheduled plan to follow. If you try to go off of reading daily but have no direction or strategy, you are more likely to not read for that day. But if you are following a plan, you will be more motivated to read to prevent falling very far behind in the plan.

I can give a personal account and testament to this! The first time I read through the Bible in a year, I felt as if I was skipping so much of the studying and only reading to check off the daily boxes (truthfully, sometimes it does feel like this!). Because of that, I decided the following year I would read the new testament in a year, not follow a reading plan, and try to really study each chapter I read. It does not help that I had no idea how to study the Bible at this point in life (and I am still learning how to everyday), but I was not accountable to reading and did not meet the goal. The year prior I read 66 books of the Bible in a year, and the next year I could not even read 27. I had no accountability plan to keep me on track to finish. Instead, what I have learned is to incorporate both a reading plan and study. 

My favorite plan to follow to date is reading the Bible chronologically in one year. This has helped me in so many ways to see the connection that all 66 books have together. My comprehension of the Word has grown greatly with this plan. Even though I have completed this plan more than once, I find something new each time! The Word never grows old.  

This is chronological reading plan I follow!

UTILIZE A RESOURCE FOR EXPANDING YOUR UNDERSTANDING

I really began enjoying reading the Bible once I found The Bible Recap resource. It can be hard and monotonous to read something that you may not comprehend well. However, this resource taught me how to comprehend the Word. Remember earlier when I said the whole picture is God? This resource helped me learn how to find God in each reading.

Remember earlier when I also said God is the Word? So why would it be difficult to see God in the readings if He is literally the Word? There are passages where it does not seem like God is in the reading- I am talking about the long chapters of genealogy. Those are hard for me! It is not as obvious to find God as compared to the Red Sea splitting for the children of Israel to walk across to the other side. But He is there! You have to train your mind to look and find Him each day in your readings.

Once you practice and gain an understanding of what that looks like, you will be able to easily find Him in every passage. The resource taught me how to create a “God Shot” everyday- this is specifically identifying where you saw God in the scriptures. I have incorporated writing my “God Shot” into my post study prayers.  

I enjoy listening to the podcast daily to gain understanding of the reading for that day. Most episodes are 10 minutes or less and there is a new one every day to go along with your daily reading following the plan I linked above. I also like to compare our “God Shots” to see if ours were the same or if she found a different verse that displayed God than I did. 

There is also a physical book of The Bible Recap if you prefer reading over listening! 

Here is a link to the podcast!

Here is a link to the book!

TAKE NOTES

If you are someone that would benefit from having a paper trail to write down your insights and findings in the word, I would suggest finding a notebook or resource to take notes on. When studying, it is beneficial to use a resource that has questions, prompts, and ideas of how to journal what you read about. This will help deepen your study and comprehension of the Word. It will also help you be more accountable to applying what you read to your daily life. 

I created this resource  with set questions, prompts, and places to write my insights to my daily Bible studies. This will demonstrate your learning and application of His word.

I enjoy having a paper trail of resources so I can look back and compare my notes each year to visibly see my growth as a Christian. 

I hope you enjoyed this post about ways to GROW in your Bible studies! Whether you are a new Christian, or have been one for years, we all can benefit from the blessings that come from deepening our understanding of God through His word. Studying His Word is studying Him. Reading His Word is meeting with Him. Applying His Word is becoming more like Him. Let’s do this everyday.