Improve Your Bible Study-Allen Parr

TABLE OF
Contents
CHAPTER 01 What is the Bible all about?
CHAPTER 02 How did we get the Bible we have today?
CHAPTER 03 How do we know Paul's letters are God's word?
CHAPTER 04 Which Bible translation should I read?
CHAPTER 05 What book of the Bible should I read first?
CHAPTER 06 Should I do a one-year Bible reading plan?
CHAPTER 07 How can I get more consistent with Bible study?
CHAPTER 08 What Bible apps should I use?
CHAPTER 09 Do Christians need to read the Old Testament?
CHAPTER 10 Common Bible study mistakes to avoid, Part 1
CHAPTER 11 Common Bible study mistakes to avoid, Part 2
CHAPTER 12 Why am I not getting anything out of Bible study?
CHAPTER 13 Simple secrets to a 30-minute daily devotional
CHAPTER 14 Simple morning devotional routine using Proverbs
CHAPTER 15 How to get creative with your devotional time
CHAPTER 16 How to have a killer quiet time with God
CHAPTER 17 Power Tips to boost your Bible study
CHAPTER 18 How to study the Bible by topic
CHAPTER 19 How to do a Greek word study
CHAPTER 20 How to understand Old Testament prophecy
CHAPTER 21 The top 5 verses Christians take out of context
ALLENPARR.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS 00

CHAPTER 01
What is the Bible all about?
If you want a big-picture view of the entire Bible in just a few

minutes, I believe I can give that to you using 12 words (that
all happen to begin with the letter S) that covers everything
from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation.
We can start with the word SIN, which describes the act of
man disobeying God in Genesis 3. As a result of this
disobedience, mankind experiences a SEPARATION from
God, so that they no longer had the same access to God they
enjoyed before sin.
Early on in the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve’s sin,

God told them He would not punish them according to
what they deserved, them. but he took an innocent animal
and made a SACRIFICE to create animal skins to cover God’s
SOLUTION to the problem of sin was to create a nation of
people called the Israelites that would be separate and a
light to the rest of the world.
However, this nation failed and allowed the sinful nations

around them to influence them, rather than the other way
around.After Israel’s repeated disobedience and failure, God
sent SEERS, more commonly referred to as prophets, to
warn the people of Israel to repent of their sins in order to
avoid God’s righteous judgment against them. Israel did not
listen, and as a result they were kicked out of the promised
land God had given them.
ALLENPARR.COM CHAPTER 01 01
The Old Testament ends as God has allowed them to return to
that promised land, and they are SETTLING back in.
When we begin the New Testament, we see that God has sent a
SAVIOR into the world as His ultimate solution to the sin
problem. The first several books of the New Testament, the
gospels, contain a series of STORIES about the life of Jesus
Christ, His teachings, and the miraculous things He did on earth,
including His death on the cross as the sacrifice to atone for our
sins. Then the book of Acts contains the story of the founding of
the church after Christ’s ascension to heaven, and how the
gospel went out from Israel to the nations as God intended.
This gospel went to the world through SPOKESMEN called by

God, such as apostles like Peter, John, and Paul. As a result, the
gospel began to SPREAD widely. But many people disagreed
with the gospel, struggling to believe that Christ was Lord. So,
the church experienced extreme SUFFERING.
In the beginning of the Bible, we see that sin appears. But at the
end of the New Testament, we see that SIN disappears. Adam
and Eve’s sin led to death. But in Revelation, there is eternal life
in Christ. There’s a new heaven and a new earth. God’s original
design that began in Genesis gets restored.
Watch the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 01 02

CHAPTER 02
How did we get the Bible
we have today?
One of the most common questions people ask about the Bible
is, “How do we know the 66 books in the Bible are the only
writings inspired by God?” People wonder whether there may
be books missing from the Bible, or whether there are books
that are included in the Bible that shouldn’t be.
The first thing to know about this subject is that the church did
not determine which books were inspired by God. They
discovered which books were inspired. They recognized through
a process which books were and were not inspired. What criteria
did they use to find this?
The church would come together periodically in councils to

discuss this issue. In 397 AD, the canon of the Bible was set
during the Council of Carthage. They asked several questions:
WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK?
Around 250 B.C., the Jewish community had already established

that the 39 books we call the Old Testament today were the
word of God. When Jesus came along, He quoted from it,
affirmed it, referenced it, and taught from it, putting his stamp
of approval on these books.
WAS THIS BOOK WRITTEN BY AN APOSTLE, A PROPHET,
OR SOMEONE CLOSELY RELATED?
This question was important because apostles and prophets

often demonstrated the power of God through signs, wonders,
and miracles. The idea is that if they were able to perform
miracles from God, then their message about God was credible.
Jesus also said that people would believe in Him through the
messages of the apostles:
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who
will ever believe in me through their message.” John 17:20
The apostles who wrote scripture were also eyewitnesses of the

very things they were writing about.
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales...but we were

eyewitnesses to His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16
IS THIS BOOK CONSISTENT WITH OTHER SCRIPTURE?
A book that was thrown out as heretical is the gospel of Thomas.

Here’s a quote from that book that gives an indication why it
was thrown out:
“Simon Peter said to them, ‘Let Mary go away from us, for
women are not worthy of life.’ Jesus said: ‘Lo, I shall lead her,
so that I may make her a male, that she too will become a
living spirit, resembling you males…’”
This book did not tell the truth about God, and was not faithful
to what Jesus taught and represented.
WAS THIS BOOK ACCEPTED BY THE EARLY CHURCH?
Did the early church leaders preach from this book?

Did the leaders sense the power and presence of God
in this book? If the answer was yes (in combination
with the other questions), then that book was accepted
as the inspired word of God.
It takes faith to believe that God is powerful

enough to use flawed and fallible men to write
His word, and to preserve and arrange it so that
His people in generations to come are able to
govern their lives by that word.

CHAPTER 03
How do we know Paul's
letters are God's word?
Every so often, you’ll run into someone who will say they only
believe the things in the Bible that are printed in red, because
those are the actual words of Jesus. But they don’t trust that the
apostle Paul’s letters are really the inspired word of God, because
he was just a man like us. They’ll ask why they should believe
what Paul said any more than what anyone else says.
This is a question of canonicity, which is just a fancy word for

“how did we get the Bible we have today?” We know that the
Old Testament is accepted as canon because that was firmly
established by the Jews by the time Jesus was born, and then
Jesus affirmed it as God’s word. And most people don’t question
the gospels, because these narratives and teachings of Jesus are
heavily attested to in ancient literature. Acts is a book of history
that can be verified. But then you get to Paul’s letters, and some
people think those are just Paul’s opinions.
One reason for this is that some people find a few of Paul’s
teachings a bit offensive, such as when he wrote “I do not permit
a woman to speak in church.” Another reason for this doubt
comes from 1 Corinthians 7:12:
To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a
wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him,
he should not divorce her. 1 Corinthians 7:12
Paul was not questioning or devaluing his own apostolic
authority in this verse. Rather, he was simply saying “This is not
an issue that Jesus addressed, or that was addressed in the Old
Testament, so therefore I’m giving you my understanding of it
from God.” Here are some reasons why we can trust that Paul’s
writings are the word of God:
PAUL BELIEVED HIS MESSAGE WAS THE WORD OF GOD
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him

acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the
commandments of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:37
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because

when you received the word of God which you heard from
us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in
truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you
who believe.1 Thessalonians 2:13
Paul believed he was preaching and writing the inspired word of

God, but this doesn’t necessarily make it true. This alone isn’t
strong enough to verify his words as canon, so let’s go on.
PAUL INDICATES THAT HIS MESSAGE WAS KEPT HIDDEN
No to Him who is able to establish you according to my

gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
but now made manifest… Romans 16:25-26
If this was the case, that Paul’s message had previously been
kept hidden by God, then it makes sense that Paul was
introducing something new to the boy of Christ that Jesus had
not previously revealed. The gospel is a mystery that was hidden
from generations past.
PAUL’S MESSAGES ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE

REST OF SCRIPTURE
This is a major factor in establishing that Paul’s letters are God’s

word. Nothing Paul says is inconsistent with everything else that
was revealed in scripture, so there’s no reason based on the
content of his words to believe that they were not inspired by
God. Paul’s messages include salvation by grace through faith,
the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, God’s grace to the
Gentiles, God’s desire to unite Jews and Gentiles, our struggle
against the sinful desires of the flesh, the importance of prayer,
and how spiritual gifts are to be used in the church and order is
to be maintained.
PAUL HAD DIRECT REVELATION FROM GOD
“Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you
to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him
speak. For you are able to be his witness, telling everyone
what you have seen and heard.’” Acts 22:14-15
Ananias was a direct witness of the experience Paul had with

God, so we know they weren’t just making this up.
PAUL’S LETTERS WERE VIEWED AS AUTHORITATIVE BY

THE OTHER APOSTLES
And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is
what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave
him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are
hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted
his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts
of scripture. And this will result in their destruction. 2 Peter 3:15-16
The apostle Peter put Paul’s writings on the same level as

scripture. Paul’s letter were also considered scripture by the
early church.
JESUS PREDICTED APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it
Matthew 16:18
Jesus made it clear his church would be built on men like Peter,
to whom He gave authority.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow

citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together
and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:19-21
Paul acknowledged that Christ was the center, but that it was
also built on the prophets and apostles.
Conclusion
We must have faith in our God who we believe was sovereign over the
process by which our Bible as we know it came to be. We don’t believe that
God would have His people misled and obeying things that should not be
considered God’s word for all these centuries.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

CHAPTER 04
Which Bible translation
should I read?
Which Bible translation should you read? Are the older

translations like King James better than newer ones such as the
New Living Translation or The Message? I’ll give you the three
main types of translations here, as well as pros and cons for each
of them.
It’s important to state up front that there are no perfect English

translations of the Bible. That’s because the Bible was originally
written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. As an example of why
that can be a problem, there are about 5 million Greek words
compared to only about 1 million English words. So, there are
times where it’s difficult to find an English word that carries the
exact specificity and depth that some Greek words may have.
WORD FOR WORD TRANSLATIONS
Word for word translations are written at approximately an 11th

or 12th grade reading level. Translators for these attempted to
translate each Hebrew or Greek word and preserve the exact
word order. Some examples are New American Standard,
English Standard, King James, and Amplified versions.
The pro on these is that they are very close and consistent with
the original language. However, a translation like the King James
Version can suffer in terms of readability due to the old English
language.
The Amplified version adds additional words parenthetically to
add more clarity to the meaning. The downside to this is these
additional words are subject to the translators’ interpretations,
meaning it’s not perfect.
THOUGHT FOR THOUGHT TRANSLATIONS
These versions are the result of translators not focusing so much

on word order, but translating entire phrases to focus on what
exactly the passage is saying and the ideas in the passages. This
makes it easier to read, like the New International Version or the
New Living Translation, and they’re written at a 7th or 8th grade
reading level. However, this can somewhat water down the
meanings of some words.
PARAPHRASES
These aren’t really translations at all, but rather they take entire
chunks of scripture and rewrite them into very easy-to-
understand language, at a 4th or 5th grade level. The con here is
that it takes away specific, detailed words and adds other
replacement words, which can really obscure some meaning
that can only be gleaned by knowing what words were originally
there. I would only use a paraphrase Bible as a secondary
resource to another more accurate translation.
The answer for which translation you should read is: Whichever
one works best for you (as long as it is faithful and accurate). I
personally find the New Living Translation to be the best
combination of accuracy and readability, and recommend the
Life Application Study Bible as a great place to start.

CHAPTER 05
What book of the Bible
should I read first?
One of the greatest challenges for people trying to start their

personal Bible study is simply figuring out where to start! It can
be overwhelming to look at this huge book and try to figure out
how to tackle it. Do you start in the Old Testament at the
beginning? Do you read chronologically? Do you start with the
gospels? I can help! I’ll tell you what worked for me when I was
first getting started, and I’ll also tell you what has worked for
other people that I’ve helped get started for themselves.
Let me say though that there is no “wrong” way to start, and if

the Holy Spirit leads you to read something, you should do it. But
having a plan of attack can help make it more fun, more
fulfilling, and more productive. First, we can start with the
process of elimination.
I would NOT advise someone just getting started to jump into

any books of prophecy, such as Ezekiel or Revelation. There’s
simply so much symbolism in these books, and things don’t
mean what they appear on the surface to mean, so a new reader
could get completely lost and confused by starting there. Also,
to understand prophecy, you need to understand the context
that is set up by the other books in the Bible.
Now, starting with a narrative book like Genesis can be great.

You start at the very beginning, and you see the set up of God’s
creation and the origin of the people of Israel.
Many readers power right through Genesis and Exodus, and it’s
very exciting! But then they hit Leviticus and it’s like a brick wall
because there are so many laws and seemingly obscure
commands that don’t necessarily make sense to them. Many
Bible reading plans have died in Leviticus! So even though
Genesis is the beginning, Starting with Genesis and just reading
straight through from there might not be the best idea.
I would encourage someone just getting started to start in the

New Testament. One reason is that very few of the New
Testament books are contingent on understanding the books
that came before. You can read the book of Philippians, whereas
you don’t have to read what came before it. You can’t just do
that with an Old Testament book. So where do you start in the
New Testament? I think you should start with the gospels.
Primarily because if Christian you need to get to know Jesus and
get equipped to tell others about Him.
If you just try to start by reading through the entire Old

Testament, it could be a year or even two years before you finish
that and get to the New Testament to study about Jesus, the
foundation of your faith! You need to know who Jesus was, what
He did, and how he lived.
The second reason to start with the gospels is that everything

else in the Bible points to the gospels. The entire Bible is about
Jesus. Everything before the gospels looks forward to Jesus, and
everything after the gospels refers back to Jesus.
What do you read after the gospels? The book of Acts! This is a
narrative book that chronologically comes after the gospels. It
tells of the birth of the church, which is relevant because we are
still living in the church age today.
After that, you can move on to some of the shorter New
Testament books such as letters by Paul like Galatians,
Philippians, Philemon, etc. because it will give you confidence
and a boost from completion, as well as it will be a very practical
and applicable set of readings.
If you really want to start with an Old Testament book, I would

encourage you to read the book of Proverbs. There are 31
proverbs, and most months have 31 days, so you can read one
every day to get through the book. This book is so practical and
easy to read!
Here are some more tips to get started:
FIND A SPIRITUALLY MATURE “BIBLE COACH”
This person can mentor you and answer your questions, so

you’re not figuring everything out for yourself.
PURCHASE A STUDY BIBLE
Good study Bibles contain maps, commentaries, concordances,

book overviews, and everything you need to understand what
you’re reading before and as you read it. This might not be
cheap ($25-50) but it’s important to invest in your spiritual life.
CHOOSE A COMFORTABLE, ACCURATE TRANSLATION
Not every translation is good, but I would recommend New King

James, New Living, English Standard, New International, or New
American Standard versions as great ones to start with!
Read from different versions to find a main one, and also to get a
different perspective on passages.
USE OTHER RESOURCES TO STUDY
Try the YouVersion Bible app, which has a great search function
to find relevant scriptures
Download my free eBook

It’s called The Bible Story, and it gives you a short but thorough
overview of the entire Bible narrative, so no matter what you
read in the Bible you understand what’s going on at that point.

CHAPTER 06
Should I do a one-year
Bible reading plan?
At the end of every year, many Christians start evaluating how

their Bible study habits were in the past year, and think about
what changes they want to make next year to be better and
more consistent. One thing people often commit to doing after
that evaluation is to read the entire Bible in one year.
This past year, I decided to give it a try and read through the
entire Bible, and after having done so, I want to share the good
and the bad of that experience, and give you some tips on how
to approach this goal if it’s something you choose to attempt.
PROS
The first benefit is that a one-year Bible plan gives you a pre-set
plan for what to read every day. Many Christians struggle to be
consistent with their Bible study due to the lack of a plan. They
wake up every day knowing they should read the Bible, but they
don’t always know exactly what to read. So as a result most days
they don’t end up reading anything.
You won’t have this problem if you’re on a one-year plan. You

have no excuse, because there is something waiting for you to
read literally every day. This can help create the kind of discipline
you might struggle to develop otherwise.
Another benefit is that you get exposed to the entire Bible.
Sometimes we get caught up only reading certain portions of
the Bible, either because they interest us, or because we’re
familiar with them. For most Christians, that means the New
Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and a few or the more well-known
Old Testament stories like Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and
Moses.
We seldom dive into books like Ezekiel, Obadiah, 2 John, or other

relatively obscure books of the Bible. A one-year plan will force
you to go through parts of the Bible you wouldn’t normally seek
out, but which are just as important as the others.
A one-year plan will give you a big picture understanding of how

the entire Bible comes together. A majority of Christians you
meet have never read through the entire Bible. If you haven’t,
you should really consider it because the Bible is God’s precious
love letter to us—what message does that send to God if we only
read 10% of it? A yearlong plan will also show you portions of the
Bible you’ll want to return to for more in-depth study later.
CONS
On the negative side, a yearlong plan can begin to feel legalistic

after a while. It can start feeling like just another daily exercise
that you do only to check off the box of completion. I can confess
that there were many days when I would have the daily audio
Bible on in my car, but I wasn’t really consuming it like I wanted
to. I was just trying to get it done. That’s the danger of a one-year
reading plan.
It also restricts you from reading outside the plan. Many people
devote maybe 30-45 minutes of quiet time to God in the word.
If it takes you that long just to read our daily plan, you might feel
like you don’t have any time left to study topics you’re actually
interested in, or that are more relevant to you.
Most people will honestly struggle just to get through their daily
reading plan, so it will be difficult to branch outside of that.
Finally, a one-year plan can create pressure to always be moving

forward. What I mean is that when you read, you might come
across some scriptures where you would prefer to just hang out
and meditate on them, but you feel like you can’t because you
want to complete your daily reading. The Holy Spirit may want to
speak to you, and you’re just pushing forward because of a plan.
TIPS
Now, if you do choose to go on the one-year journey, I have

some advice for you.
Consider an audio Bible. I used one called the Daily Audio Bible,
which was fantastic. You have the option to read or listen, you
get different translations every week, it has achievements and
an online community, a feature called the “prayer wall,” and
explanations every time you get to a new book of the Bible.
Don’t get behind! If those days start piling up on you, pretty soon
you’ll feel so overwhelmed by how much you have to read that
you’ll just quit. Or, you’ll start skimming through to catch up, and
then you won’t be getting any value out of it.
Remember that the one-year plan is for Bible reading, not
Bible studying. The purpose is not to dig deep into the
biblical meaning of everything you read. You can do that if
you want, but it’s not the purpose of the plan. The purpose
is to expose yourself to the entire word of God.
Consider a chronological plan. Most plans just take you

book by book, but since the Bible isn’t in chronological
order, you don’t always get the benefit of seeing how the
individual books connect. For example, many of the
prophets lived during the time of 1 and 2 Kings, but in the
order of the Bible, the books of prophecy come way after 1
and 2 Kings.
Consider a shorter plan so you can have the best of both

worlds: A plan to keep you disciplined, and also time to get
into some more in-depth study on things outside the plan.
Get an accountability partner, because doing this with

someone will be much easier than doing it alone, and
when you feel like giving up, you’ll have someone to
encourage you to keep going.
Consider doing either the Old or the New Testament, and

break it up into a two year effort to read the whole Bible.
This might be more manageable.
Regardless of how you choose to read the Bible, make sure

you choose a plan! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

CHAPTER 07
How can I get more
consistent with Bible study?
How was your last year of Bible study? It’s easy for us to have all
the best intentions, but somewhere along the line, we get off
track. Here are seven practical ways to get more consistent.
BE INTENTIONAL
How do you accomplish this? You have to have a plan in place

for what you’re going to study. Don’t just open your Bible and
flip around looking for inspiration. Choose one of these ways to
study:
Character Study
Book Study
Topical Study
That way, when you open the Bible in the morning, you know
what your plan is, and you don’t have to waste time figuring out
what you’ll study.
BE INFORMED
You have to understand why it is important to spend time with

God in his word. If you don’t have the right “why,” it will become
a mundane, routine task that we do to check off the “good
Christian” box. There are great benefits to Bible study:
Prepares you for ministry. You must have the word
in you in order to pour it into other people.
Prepares you to share and defend your faith. You

can’t make disciples, lead people to Christ, or answer
objections, without studying well.
Girds you against temptation. The spirit of God

works in us by bringing the word to our
remembrance in times of temptation.
Develops spiritual character. We can only be

Christlike if we spend time with Christ.
BE CREATIVE
Sometimes we are inconsistent with the word because it gets

stale and boring. You have to switch it up and try new things to
make your Bible study interactive. Use audio Bibles, podcasts, or
online Bible plans.
These things are super helpful, but they don’t replace time spent
with God. So use them at times, but don’t overly rely on them.
BE ACCOUNTABLE
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other
succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But
someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV
You may need to join some sort of organized Bible study to
literally force you to get into the scriptures in order to have
something to share with your accountability group. Sometimes
it’s important to have things that are required. Study with a
friend or group that will make you spend time with God.
BE STUDIOUS
Sometimes we just read the Bible without really studying it. But
it gets repetitive when you just read without learning something
new, having the experience of the Holy Spirit revealing things to
you through the word. That will make you want to spend time
with God. If you’re just going through the motions, you’ll feel
defeated, and you’ll become inconsistent.
BE PATIENT
Be patient with yourself. Bible study should not be a legalistic

thing you do to make yourself feel better. Be consistent with
yourself. If you can only give five minutes right now, be
consistent with that as you build up. Understand your limitations
in life in different seasons. Your kids or lifestyle may force you
into different routines and schedules.
BE FOCUSED
You may need to go on a fast for a season to get back in a

rhythm of spending time with God. You might need to give up
food, exercise, television, or social media so you can force
yourself to go deeper in time spent with God.

CHAPTER 08
What Bible apps should I use?
We always want to find ways to improve our Bible study and be

more consistent, but sometimes life gets in the way. One thing
that has helped me in this area is having some helpful and
convenient (and free!) apps on my phone that allow me to get in
some quick Bible time wherever I’m at. Here are four that I
consider essential!
GOT QUESTIONS?
If you’ve ever wondered where I get half of the ideas for videos I
do on my YouTube channel, many of them come through this
app. In the app, I like to browse questions by topic when I have a
little down time.
There are hundreds of thousands of questions broken down by

categories, such as God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible,
the church, and more. The app provides some great background
and answers, and it’s easy to just get lost in this app finding
more and more valuable biblical information.
BIBLE.IS
I use this app all the time when I’m in my car and don’t feel like
listening to the radio, or when I’m taking my kids to school and
wasn’t able to get my morning devotional in.
This app contains a variety of audio Bibles in different
translations, styles, and even languages. It also has the text of
the Bible for you to highlight or take notes, or share verses or
passages with others.
ONEPLACE
This app is a collection of some of the best Bible teachers we

have today, with their sermons and podcasts. Tony Evans, Chuck
Swindoll, Chip Ingram, and many, many more great Bible
teachers are available on here for convenient browsing and
listening.
BIBLE APP BY OLIVE TREE
This app has the ability to find reading plans, save different
translations, and see your reading history. There are a ton of
different plans for targeted study or whole-Bible reading. This is
a great app for people just seeking some structure and
guidance in terms of how to get started and be consistent in
reading the Bible.

CHAPTER 09
Do Christians need to read
the Old Testament?
What if someone came to you and said that Star Wars was their
favorite series of movies, but then they told you they had only
seen one or two out of all the movies? Wouldn’t that be strange?
Well, that’s what many Christians do with the Bible. They say it’s
their favorite book, but they’ve actually only read a small portion
of it—usually the New Testament.
But the Old Testament makes up about two-thirds of the Bible!

So I want to tell you why it’s so important that every Christian
reads all of the Old Testament.
THE OT IS INSPIRED BY GOD
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true

and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when
we are wrong and teaches us to do right. 2 Timothy 3:16
The New Testament teaches us that there is value in reading the

Old Testament.
THE OT PROVIDES ENCOURAGEMENT AND HOPE
Such things were written in the scriptures long ago to teach us...and to
give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s
promises to be fulfilled. Romans 15:4
When I look at the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50, I’m

encouraged to be patient knowing it can take a long time for
God to reveal His plans and purposes, but it’s certainly worth the
wait.
When I read about the life of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, I learn that

even when I feel alone or forgotten, God sees me, He sees every
tear, He hears every prayer.
The book of Job teaches me that God is working on things in my

life even when I don’t understand why my circumstances have
seemingly turned for the worse.
THE OT TEACHES US WHAT NOT TO DO
These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not

crave evil things as they did. 1 Corinthians 10:6
David’s adultery shows how one impulsive, sinful act completely
tore his family apart. Moses’ being prohibited from entering the
promised land because he sinned in anger shows us how anger
can cause us to lose things God wanted for us, and also that God
disciplines leaders at a higher level than others.
There are so many examples like this in the Old Testament,

where we see the mistakes people made, and how God
responded to them.
THE OT TEACHES US WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO GOD
Some of those laws we like to skip over in books like Leviticus

show us what God’s priorities are. Some of the laws were set up
to take care of the poor and less fortunate. Other laws reveal
God’s design and desire that sexual relations only occur within
the context of marriage between a man and a woman. Don’t
brush past these! Even if they don’t specifically apply today, they
help us better understand what God wants.
THE OT REVEALS THE CHARACTER OF GOD
If you want to know what God is like, read the Old Testament.
For example, we see how merciful God is. David committed
murder and adultery, but God had mercy on him. Throughout
the Old Testament we see the character of God revealed in how
He deals with certain individuals and nations.
THE OT CONTAINS THE MOST ACCURATE PROPHECY
In the Old Testament there are prophecies about

individuals and events that were given hundreds of
years before they were fulfilled. These prophecies are
so detailed and accurate that some skeptics try to
claim they were written later on. But the detail is solid
proof that our Bible is written by God, not by man.
THE OT IS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE NT
It’s impossible to fully understand the need we have for

Jesus without understanding what happened in the
Old Testament, where mankind repeatedly failed to live
up to the holy standard God set for us. It’s impossible
for us, and that’s exactly why we need a savior in Jesus
Christ to be our righteousness so we can be reconciled
to God and accepted by Him.
So get outside your comfort zone of Bible reading and

dig into the Old Testament, because there is immense
spiritual value to be found there.

CHAPTER 10
Common Bible study
mistakes to avoid, Part 1
Here are 10 of the most common mistakes people make when

studying the Bible. My goal in giving these to you is so that as
you’re studying, you can catch yourself if you start to do any of
these things!
NOT STARTING YOUR BIBLE STUDY WITH PRAYER
Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your

instructions. Psalm 119:18
The Bible is not some textbook or article. It’s the written word of
God. We can’t understand it unless the Holy Spirit helps us. So
always spend at least a moment or two in prayer before you dive
in.
ELEVATING YOUR EXPERIENCE ABOVE SCRIPTURE
Sometimes you may have an experience in church that feels so

powerful and real that you say (consciously or subconsciously)
that you’re not willing to let go of that experience no matter
what the Bible may say about it. If your experience is in any way
contradictory to what the Bible says, it’s not valid.
READING THE BIBLE INSTEAD OF STUDYING IT
If we’re honest about it, many of us are very lazy in our Bible
study. We get to a verse that’s kind of difficult, and we just skip
past it instead of being willing to do the hard work to figure out
exactly what it means.
USING THE BIBLE AS A SELF-HELP MANUAL
Sometimes we skip over portions of scripture we assume can’t

help us because they don’t have some immediately obvious life
application, like most of the Old Testament or the book of
Revelation. We avoid books that don’t make us feel better about
our situation. As a result, we reduce the Bible down to only a few
books, such as the Psalms and Proverbs and gospels, instead of
realizing that the entire Bible has value for our lives—even the
darker portions.
TRUSTING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S INTERPRETATION
It’s okay to trust good preachers, but we shouldn’t do that

without checking and studying for ourselves to make sure the
preacher is not twisting the word to suit their own purposes.
Never assume that what you’re being told about the word of
God is true without checking for yourself!
ALLOWING OUR WORLDVIEW TO INFLUENCE HOW WE

INTERPRET THE BIBLE
An example of this is if you believe that some people are “good”

so they should go to heaven. You might have some neighbors
who are nice, charitable people, but they’re Muslims. In your
mind, it doesn’t make logical sense that they would go to hell if
they died. When you read the Bible with that perspective, you
try to make what you read fit that perspective instead of what it
actually says, which is that none of us is “good” and without the
covering of Christ’s sacrifice, we are separated from God
eternally. The Bible should shape how we view the world, not the
other way around.
PICKING WHICH VERSES OF THE BIBLE WE WANT TO OBSERVE
I call this “cherry picking” the Bible. We love to read verses about
God forgiving us, but don’t so much like verses about us having
to forgive others. We agree with verses that say homosexuality is
a sin, but don’t like ones that call us to be celibate until marriage.
You either believe all of the Bible, or none of it.
TAKING VERSES OUT OF CONTEXT AND FORMING A
THEOLOGY AROUND IT
You have to remember that the Bible was written for us, not to
us. There is a certain historical context the Bible was written to.
When we read and study, we have to figure out the author’s
original intent.
Let’s take Philippians 4:13. You might see someone put that on a
sign at a football game, as if to say through God’s strength your
team can win the game. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s what
the apostle Paul was referring to when he wrote that. He was in
prison and writing to a church, telling them he could be content
even in the most difficult circumstances.
NOT COMPARING THE BIBLE WITH THE BIBLE
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. When you come
across a difficult verse, ask what the rest of the Bible has to say
about the topic, so you can get a theology of that topic, a well-
rounded idea of what God has to say about something.
THINKING THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING AND THERE’S

NOTHING MORE TO LEARN
This is common to people with high levels of theological

education. It’s easy to be closed-minded to the fact that some of
your positions or beliefs might not be accurate. We have to be
open to God adjusting our beliefs on topics if He chooses to
show us something different.

CHAPTER 11
Common Bible study
mistakes to avoid, Part 2
Bible interpretation can be tricky, and if you get it wrong, it can

be costly to your spiritual walk with God. But there are some
simple principles to be aware of that can keep you from making
big mistakes when interpreting and applying the word of God.
SEPARATE ISRAEL FROM THE CHURCH
You have to understand that there is a difference in how God

dealt with the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and how
God deals with Christians in the New Testament and beyond.
Read the Old Testament in terms of getting a sense for God’s

heart, and finding the timeless truths from what you read about
God in the OT.
An example is the Sabbath. Christians are not under a mandate

from God to keep the Sabbath like Israel did in the Old
Testament. But what was the heart behind God giving that law
to Israel? God is telling us that He wants us, and we need to, rest
and enjoy His presence at times.
The Old Testament says to stone a woman who has sex outside
of marriage. We are obviously not mandated to do that now, but
the heart behind it was that purity, virginity, and our sexuality
are important to God and sex should be reserved for marriage.
God ordered people in the Old Testament not to reap the
harvest on all parts of their land, so there would be some left for
the poor to eat. We don’t have to do that, but God desires us to
be generous to those who are less fortunate.
God sent prophets to warn people about the judgment for their
sins. The heart behind that is that God is patient and loving, and
gives us chances to turn from sin. However, we never know
when He will choose to discipline us if we don’t turn.
SEPARATE PRESCRIPTIVE EVENTS AND DESCRIPTIVE EVENTS
A descriptive event is when the author describes something that

was happening, but is not intending for it to be universally
practiced.
A prescriptive event is when the author describes something

that should be the universal experience of every believer. Every
single believer should grow spiritually, pray, fast, deny their flesh.
These are prescriptive.
But when we read in the Old Testament that David is praying

against his enemies in a seemingly very aggressive way. That
doesn’t mean the Bible is telling us we should also pray like that.
It’s simply describing how David prayed and how he felt at that
time. When Gideon asks God for a sign to know whether God
was talking, that was descriptive, but doesn’t mean we get a
sign every time we ask for one. In Acts, the apostles healed
people through laying hands, but that doesn’t mean every
Christian can do that. It was descriptive.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE GENRE YOU ARE READING
The Bible is written in a variety of literary styles. Poetry, parables,

prophecy, wisdom, laws, letters, narratives, etc. You can’t
interpret all those styles the same way, or you’ll get very
confused!
For example, Proverbs is a book of general principles, not

specific promises that can be counted on in every individual
situation. If you interpret it as a book of things that will happen
in every situation, you’ll find yourself confused and disappointed.
If you read the law, you don’t have to follow every specific law,
but you have to look for God’s heart and see what’s repeated in
the New Testament.
When reading prophecy, you need to know what’s literal and

what’s symbolic. When reading poetry, understand that it’s an
expression of emotion, not always an example to follow.

CHAPTER 12
Why am I not getting
anything out of Bible study?
Does your Bible study feel dry, boring, or even like a waste of
time? There’s probably a reason for that, and I have 10 of them
that just might apply to you! The good news is that you’re not
alone, and this problem can be fixed!
YOU DON’T HAVE A PLAN
If you wake up every morning and just flip through your Bible
wondering what to read without a plan or structure, your time
with God is not going to be vibrant, and you’re not going to look
forward to it.
YOU’RE STAYING ON THE SURFACE
If you’ve been a Christian or been in church for a while, you

probably have a good sense for what the overall story of the
Bible is. So if you just keep reading the same stories over and
over again, that’s not going to be very exciting. There’s a deeper
level God wants to take you to in your Bible study than just
surface-level, repetitive reading.
If you go to the ocean and look at the surface every day, you’ll
see pretty much the same thing.
But if you were to go deep sea diving, you would discover an
immense amount of life and activity that you would never have
been able to view from the beach. That’s what it’s like when you
start studying the Bible instead of just reading it.
Take the time in your Bible study to learn the context of the
passage you’re reading, the background, the author, the
audience, and other key insights into the text.
YOU’RE DISTRACTED
It’s hard to have a good Bible study if you’re sitting by your

phone and there are alerts, text messages, emails, and phone
calls buzzing you all throughout. Or, if you’re mentally
preoccupied with the other things you have to do that day, and
your attention is not fully on the word of God. Set a time in the
day with the least potential for distractions and interruptions,
and stick to that consistently for Bible study.
YOU FEEL DISCONNECTED FROM GOD
Disconnection from God can happen for several reasons. It could

be caused by resentment between you and God, maybe caused
by a disappointment or an unmet expectation you had. This can
cause you to not want to spend time with God, because you’re
blaming Him for something that has happened in your life.
Identify any possible barriers or negative feelings toward God,
and explore why they might be there.
YOU DON’T FIND IT RELEVANT TO YOUR LIFE
You’re right! Not every single verse is going to be relevant to

your life (like the genealogies!) But, a majority of the Bible is
relevant for your life. You just might not be able to properly
interpret it. Learning how to properly interpret the Bible will help
you unlock relevant applications.
YOU DON’T PRAY BEFOREHAND
The word of God is just that—it is the word of God, from God, to
us. If we treat it like it’s some textbook, we are not considering
that this book is divine revelation from God that requires the
Spirit of God in order for us to understand that. Ask God every
time you read to reveal what He wants you to see.
YOU’RE NOT CONSISTENT
If we only go to God when we need something, or occasionally,

we will not get what we should out of Bible study. You get out of
it what you put in. If you put your Bible on the shelf for two
weeks, that’s two weeks of worldly influences cluttering your
spirit without any time with God to set your mind on the things
of God. That clutter obstructs your ability to hear from God, and
you feel disconnected.
YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE TOO HIGH
Some of us believe that every time we open the Bible, we’re

supposed to hear a grand message from heaven that blows our
minds away. But much of Bible study is about discipline. It
requires practice, patience, and perseverance. It won’t always
feel good, but it will be good for you. It’s not always for this
moment, but you are planting seeds in your spirit for the future
so the Holy Spirit can pull that out at the right time. What you’re
reading today may not be for today.
YOU’RE DEALING WITH SIN
If you’re living in sin and spend time dwelling on sinful thoughts,

it becomes difficult to connect with God. You don’t feel worthy
for God to speak to you. Sin blocks us from intimacy with God.
We need to approach God and the Bible with a humble and
contrite heart. Confess all sin, accept and receive God’s
forgiveness, then get into the word.
YOU ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT THE BIBLE “WORKS”
If you’ve spent time in God’s word and didn’t see the life change
you wanted, you might think the Bible isn’t worth your time. But
you should not try to have a transactional relationship with God,
as if He owes you something because you spent time reading
the Bible. Try approaching Bible study with fresh eyes and
without an agenda to get something materially from God.

CHAPTER 13
Simple secrets to a 30-minute
daily devotional
Everyone wants to start the new year off right, and there’s no
better way to do that than to create a habit of spending time
with God and studying His word. Almost every Christian, at one
time or another, has struggled to maintain consistency in their
quiet time with God—myself included. I’ve let the busyness of
life and so many different things get in the way of the most
important thing.
That’s why I created a very simple template for you to use to

spend at least 30 minutes with God every single day, along with
a 7-day challenge you can use to kick start your Bible study
habit.
This method might seem to have a lot of steps, but there are
really just two acronyms you need to remember: STOP, and
RAMP.
PRAYER (5 MINUTES)
You never want to just sit down and start reading the Bible
without talking to God first. After all, that’s what Bible study is all
about, really—communicating with God. We talk to God in
prayer and we hear from God in His word. But what should you
pray about? That’s where “STOP” comes in. That stands for sin,
thanksgiving, others, and petition, and is your guide to an
effective 5-minute prayer.
Sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Even
after we’re saved, we’re still going to fall short at some times and
in some ways. One of the most damaging effects of sin, besides
the fact that it violates the holiness of God, is that it hinders our
ability to have fellowship with God when we don’t confess it and
ask for God’s forgiveness, so that we can come before God with
clean hands and a pure heart, unburdened by guilt or shame.
Before anything else, confess your sin to God.
“If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have
listened” (Psalm 66:18).
Thanksgiving. Next, give thanks to God. Too often we rush into

prayer to ask for things, but we need to take some time every
day to thank God for what He’s given us, what He’s done for us,
and for who He is to us.
“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20)
Others. That’s right, we’re three quarters of the way through our
prayer and we still haven’t asked God for anything for ourselves!
After confessing sin and thanking God, we need to intercede on
behalf of others. Now is the time to pray for those people you
said you’d pray for, and to ask God if there are any needs of
others in your life that you need to bring before Him.
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them;
intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them” (1 Timothy 2:1)
Petition. Now is the time to bring your own concerns and

requests to God. And isn’t it so much better to not just run to
God only when you have something to ask Him? This prayer
format helps you have a relationship with God that isn’t so self-
centered. But make no mistake, God wants us to bring Him our
every worry and need, because He loves us and loves to answer
our prayers for our good and His glory!
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God
what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will
experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 4:6-7).
QUIET TIME
After just five short minutes in prayer, you’re already in a great

place of fellowship with God and now you’re ready to read His
word with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit ready to receive
what He has to say. So it’s time to RAMP things up: Read, apply,
meditate, and pray.
Read a passage of scripture (10 minutes) Open up the Bible and

read a passage. It doesn’t really matter what the passage is—it
could be a part of a Bible plan, it could be something your pastor
preached about in church, or it could honestly be just
something God led you to that doesn’t have any apparent
connection to anything in your life at the moment.
The great thing about God’s word is that every single chapter
and verse has value. Whatever you choose to read, it’s best if you
read it in two translations for full clarity: Once in a very readable
translation like the New Living Translation, and then in a more
literal translation such as the English Standard Version, New
American Standard Bible, or the New King James Version.
Apply (10 minutes). Christians don’t just read for knowledge or

memorization. We read to know how we should live and what
we should do. That’s why your devotional time should include
some time dedicated to considering how what you read applies
to your life. And fortunately for you, I have a simple formula for
this as well: 3-2-1. Write down three things you learned, two ways
to apply it (whether it’s work, family, relationships, whatever the
case may be) and one thing you need to pray about that day.
Meditate (4 minutes) After you’re done reading and applying,

don’t just hop up and go about your day! Give it some time to
sink in. Take four minutes and simply sit quietly in the presence
of God, thinking deeply about what you just read and seeing if
God has something to speak to you directly through the Holy
Spirit. Don’t be in a hurry here—this step is crucial.
Pray (1 minute). Finally, before you go forward into your day, take
one more minute and just pray to God again. Ask Him to help
you remember and live out the Word you just read. Ask Him to
show you areas of application or opportunities to share what
you’ve learned with others.
I want to emphasize that this is only a template, not a rigid
schedule. Certainly you might get into your time with God
and realize five minutes isn’t enough time for prayer or you
want to read for more than 10 minutes, and that’s great!
Above all, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, not a schedule.
But with this template, you can guarantee you can have a full,
complete time with God in a minimum of 30 minutes, every
single day!
I’ll leave you with a Bible reading challenge you can complete
over the next week that you can use to immediately apply
this template to your Bible study!
Over the next 7 days, you can get through the book of 1 John
—a short book that is packed with truth!
Day 1 – 1 John 1:1-10

Day 2 – 1 John 2:1-14
Day 3 – 1 John 2:15-29
Day 4 – 1 John 3:1-10
Day 5 – 1 John 3:11-24
Day 6 – 1 John 4:1-21
Day 7 – 1 John 5:1-21

CHAPTER 14
Simple morning devotional
routine using Proverbs
I love spending quiet time with God in the morning. To make the
most out of that limited time, I make sure I have a plan in place
so I don’t spend half the time figuring out what to read in the
Bible. Sometimes I’m studying a passage, or reading through a
book, or doing a character study. But one of my favorite and
most effective ways to spend devotional time is to read a book
from Proverbs every day. And since there are 31 chapters, and
most months have 30 or 31 days, a simple way to choose what to
read is just to read the proverb that corresponds with the day of
the month, and briefly write down every day what God shows
you through that chapter! At the time of writing this, it’s April 22.
So this morning, I read Proverbs 22, and I want to share my
observations as an example of how rich and productive this type
of devotional can be.
REPUTATION
Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem
is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1
It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but only a second

to lose it. Riches can come and go in no time. A good reputation
is hard to build, and even harder to rebuild if you lose it.
If you lose money, there are clear, straightforward ways you can
earn it back. But when you lose your reputation, it is very difficult
to regain. Focus on your character more than you focus on the
pursuit of wealth.
WISDOM
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The

simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 22:3
Wise people see danger ahead and adjust their lives based on
what they see. Simple or foolish people see potential danger,
and just keep on going down the path, without regard for the
trouble they’re about to cause for themselves. This can apply in
business, or marriage, but mostly where I see this apply is in
dating relationships. I’ve talked to so many people who persist in
relationships when God has given every possible warning sign to
that they need to end it and get out before it causes serious
pain. The wise person heeds those signs and warnings, but the
foolish person pays the price by not changing anything. Listen to
God and change your path when you see danger—don’t learn
the hard way!
WICKEDNESS VS. RIGHTEOUSNESS
Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life

will avoid it. Proverbs 22:5
When you live a wicked, sinful life, you’re walking a path that
takes you right into the natural pitfalls the enemy has set for
you. You can avoid a lot of trouble in life by living holy. Let’s take
the example of sex before marriage. When you have sex before
marriage, you’re on a path that potentially includes unplanned
pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and
emotional and relational pain. But if you follow God’s plan for
sex, within marriage, you’re not at risk of those outcomes.
Choosing righteousness automatically saves you from a lot of
risk and danger.
DEBT
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7
When you’re in debt, you’re under the control of whoever you

owe. In order to be freed up to do God’s will with the resources
He gives you, avoid debt whenever possible and make getting
out of debt a top priority in your life.
GENEROSITY
Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.
Proverbs 22:9
The world will tell you that the way to be blessed is to make as
much money as possible. But the Bible says the way to blessing
(sometimes financial, sometimes spiritual) is to give as much
money away to those in need as you can. So the question you
need to wrestle with is whether people who know you would
consider you to be stingy, or whether they’d view you as
generous. You might be surprised how other people view you
versus how you view yourself.
LAZINESS AND FEAR
The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might
be killed!” Proverbs 22:13
The clear meaning of this verse relates to a lazy person coming

up with an excuse not to get things done. Productive people
look for ways to make things happen, while lazy people search
for reasons why they can’t get the job done.
But this verse also relates to fear. Sometimes we as Christians

will avoid doing something God has called us to do because of
the mere possibility that something bad could happen. We can’t
be controlled and dominated by fear. Of course we should be
wise in our actions, but we can’t have a fearful mentality that
keeps us from following God in faith.
ANGER
Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered

people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your
soul. Proverbs 22:24-25
These verses warn against entering into relationships with

people who display angry character. People who have road rage,
or those who curse a lot, or raise their voice all the time, or slam
doors, or hang up on you. You want to avoid entering into
friendships, dating relationship, or especially marriages with
people like this, because as verse 25 says, you may become an
angry person yourself and get caught in the trap of their
behavior.
SUCCESS
Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings
rather than working for ordinary people. Proverbs 22:29
The saying goes that the only place where success comes before
work is in the dictionary. Success comes to those who work hard,
and who have a high standard of excellence for what they do. If
you put in the time and effort to become skilled at what you do,
people will take notice and your position will be elevated so that
you’re working for great people.
Look how many helpful lessons came from just this one proverb.
If you do this every day, month in and month out, you will
become a much wiser individual by putting God’s word in your
mind and making the decisions he wants you to make!

CHAPTER 15
How to get creative with your
devotional time
Have you ever resolved to spend more time in the Word of God,
but that resolution fails because you don’t really know how to
make that happen? I have 10 creative ways that you can make
your devotional time with God exciting and productive.
LISTEN TO AN AUDIO BIBLE
This is perfect for people who tend to fall asleep while reading
the Bible, or people who feel like they don’t have time. This way,
you can listen to the Bible at the gym or in your car or while
cleaning your house.
READ THE DAILY PROVERB
There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, and there are

usually 30 or 31 days in a month. So, a good habit is to read the
Proverb that corresponds with the day of the month, which
means you’re exposing yourself to great biblical wisdom every
single day!
SPENDING TIME IN PRAYER
There may be some mornings where you don’t feel like reading
the Bible. That’s okay! It’s also valuable to spend time in
communication with God through prayer. Pray for your day, your
family, your friends, your church, your job, or whatever is going
on, and listen to God speak to your heart.
LISTENING TO WORSHIP MUSIC
This is another way to have devotional time with God that

doesn’t necessarily require you to crack open your Bible and sit
down and read. Good worship music can speak to you by
singing of who God is, what He has done, and what He is in your
life.
LISTENING TO PODCASTS
This is another thing you can do on the way to work or to run

errands. Turn off the radio and listen to some great Bible
teaching and Christian podcasts to set your mind on the things
of God as you go throughout your day!
JOURNALING AND MEDITATION
You may just want to get alone with God, a pen, and paper to
write down things going on in your life, things God has done, or
write down your prayers.
READ A DAILY DEVOTIONAL BOOK
There are many awesome books that have short readings based
on the Bible that take 15-20 minutes per day of reading. These
are a good supplement at times, but PLEASE do not let this fully
replace your own time reading the actual Bible!
READ A SPIRITUAL BOOK
Reading a book that is aligned with a spiritual issue or topic can

be a helpful devotional time, as long as the book includes a lot of
scripture, and again, does not fully replace your time in the Bible
itself.
READ A ONE-YEAR BIBLE PLAN
There are some awesome online plans that will get you a
suggested reading plan that, if you follow it, will take you
through the entire Bible in one year in a very manageable way.
You can find these online, in Bible apps, or you can even
purchase a hard copy one-year Bible.
READ YOUR BIBLE!
There is no replacement for actually sitting down and

reading God’s word. Pick a topic, book, or character and
study through the scriptures!
The key is to mix it up so your devotional time doesn’t

get stale or mechanical. Combine these methods to
make sure your devotional time is something you look
forward to every day!
A L L E N P A R RWatch
. C O M the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 15 53
CHAPTER 16
How to have a killer quiet
time with God
Have you ever resolved to spend more time in the Word of God,
but that resolution fails because you don’t really know how to
make that happen? I have 10 creative ways that you can make
your devotional time with God exciting and productive.
HAVE A TALK
Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful truths written in

your instructions. Psalm 119:18
Before you ever open up your Bible, you should pray to God that
He would open your eyes so you can see what He wants you to
see in His word. The Bible is not a textbook! It requires God’s
Spirit to help you understand it.
CHOOSE A TIME
It’s important to pick a set, regular time to get alone with God.
This needs to be a time that you’re not in a hurry so you’re not
rushing in and out of God’s word quickly, hoping to get some
kind of grand connection in a few minutes.
Pick a time when you are unlikely to be interrupted, and make

sure you separate from your phone if you can so you’re not
disturbed or distracted by calls, texts, or notifications while
you’re trying to hear from God.
CHOOSE A TYPE
This is huge. You need to decide what type of Bible study you’re
going to do. If you don’t enter your quiet time with a plan, you
can end up spending more time trying to decide what to ready
than you spend actually reading and praying!
Some examples of types of Bible studies include: Topical studies,

where you pick a topic relevant to your life and seek out
everything the Bible has to say about it; character studies, where
you pick a specific character from the Bible and study their life
for spiritual insights; or book studies, where you camp out in a
single book for a period of time and read it in multiple
translations.
It doesn’t matter so much which method you choose, it just

matters that you pick one so you don’t waste your quiet time
searching aimlessly!
GET SOME TOOLS
Study to show yourself approved unto God. 2 Timothy 2:15
It’s God’s desire for every Christian to eventually graduate from

simply reading the Bible to actually studying the Bible. In order
to do that, you need some tools outside of the Bible to help.
A good starting point is purchasing a good study Bible. I

personally recommend the Life Application Study Bible, which
comes in multiple translations. It has character profiles, notes,
cross references, and numerous other resources to give you
more information about the biblical text.
Next, you need a good Bible dictionary. That way when you
come across a word that you don’t know the meaning of, you
can consult the dictionary and get all the background on what
that word means, and what it means in the specific context in
which it’s used.
Another important Bible study tool is a concordance. With a

concordance, you can look up words in the Bible to find the
original Greek or Hebrew word and meaning, and see how many
times and where else in the Bible that word is used. This will give
you a more full understanding of the word and more depth in
how it’s applied.
Finally, you need a good commentary. This is a book written by a

Bible scholar that helps you understand anything you’re reading
in the Bible.
The great news is that you can access all of these tools online for
free! Check out Bible Study Tools for everything you need.
CHOOSE A TRANSLATION
Choose a version that is easy to understand and read! Some

people enjoy reading the King James Version, but most people
prefer (and I recommend) something a little bit easier to read,
such as the New Living Translation or the New International
Version.
YOU WILL TRANSFORM
The ultimate goal of Bible study is not to just gain information,

but to gain true transformation. To do that, I want you to ask
yourself these four questions for every text you read:
1. Is there a command to obey?

2. Is there an attitude to change?
3. Is there a sin to avoid?
4. Is there an example to follow?
Once you’ve asked yourself those questions, answer them and

think about how you can apply what you’ve learned to your
relationships, your personal life, your work, or your ministry.

CHAPTER 17
Power Tips to boost
your Bible study
Let’s face it. Sometimes Bible study can feel confusing,

frustrating, overwhelming, or just plain boring. But it doesn’t
have to be that way, and I have five tips on how to boost your
Bible study to avoid those common pitfalls!
STUDY A PARTICULAR BOOK OF THE BIBLE EXCLUSIVELY
Commit to reading a book, depending on the length, over a set

period of time in various translations. Get the background of the
book through a study Bible or commentary before you read it, so
you can fit the book in the bigger context of the Bible story.
STUDY A PARTICULAR TOPIC IN THE BIBLE
When you are struggling in a particular area of life, this can be a

good way to focus your Bible study to have real-life benefits to
your situation. Choose a topic or word and go to a concordance
or online tool to find all the scriptures in the Bible related to that
topic, which will give you a full picture of what the Bible has to
say.
STUDY A PARTICULAR CHARACTER IN THE BIBLE
Choose a character like David, Paul, Esther, or whoever, and look

at how God worked in their lives, what life lessons you can learn
from them, and what were the good and bad decisions they
made in their lives. This gives you clear insight into the heart of
God, and what is important to Him.
USE A DAILY BIBLE READING PLAN
I don’t prefer this method personally, because they don’t always

take you deep enough in the scriptures. They can also keep the
Holy Spirit from directing my study daily because I’m locked into
reading a particular plan. You can go in this direction as a
starting point if you need some structure, but I don’t prefer it.
READ THE BIBLE CHRONOLOGICALLY
The Bible is not laid out in chronological order. For example,

Esther is in the middle of the Old Testament, but chronologically
it is actually the end of the Old Testament period. Job is in the
middle of the Old Testament, but Job’s life actually came before
Abraham’s life. Psalms were written by David, so those might be
more helpful to read alongside the narrative of David’s life.
Reading chronologically can really help make sense of the larger
Bible narrative.

CHAPTER 18
How to study the Bible by topic
Every so often I open up my Bible and I don’t know what to

study. I might not have a good plan, or I just might not be
feeling it that day.
A good thing to do in that case is to ask yourself what topic you

want to look into, and I can give you some free resources that
will help you do that.
First let’s lay out some questions that will help you choose a
topic.
What am I struggling with the most in my Christian walk?

What areas do I sense that the Holy Spirit has been
prompting me to respond to?
In what areas are my relationships struggling?
What topics have I always wanted to know more about?
Once you’ve selected a topic, go to a free website called

BibleStudyTools.com.
Click on “study” on the top left, which will open up a dropdown

menu. Click on “concordances.” Scroll down and click on “Nave’s
Topical Bible.”
Here, a large list of topics is
organized alphabetically for
your selection. When you
choose a topic, you get a
comprehensive list of verse
and passages in the Bible
that relate to faith. It breaks
those topics down by the
way the topic is applied or
the different references. For
example, if you select the
topic “faith,” you’ll find a TON
of passages to study, which
would surely be more than
you could really study in any
one study session. It also
points you to related topics
that can launch you into
even further study.
I believe this will help you out

immensely when you don’t
know what to study, or when
you have a specific issue that
you’re dealing with and you
need to know everything
God has said on that topic.

CHAPTER 19
How to do a Greek word study
When reading the Bible, it can be helpful to read it in the

original languages in which it was written, which are Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Greek.
Let’s say you’re watching TV at home, but it’s only in black and
white with low quality sound. You may still get the basics of
what’s going on, but there is plenty of detail and depth you can
miss, which you can only get if you’re watching in high definition
with surround sound.
That’s what it’s like when you’re able to read the Bible using the
Hebrew and Greek words, not just in the English translation.
The easiest way to do this is to go to a website called

BibleStudyTools.com. This website, and all its resources, are
totally free
Now these instructions are made more clear when you can see
it on video, so if you can, I encourage you to check out the
video linked at the bottom of this chapter to see me walk
through this entire process!
When you get to the homepage, click the “read” tab at the top of
the page, and select “Interlinear Bible.” At that point, you can
choose what translation you want to use.
In the search bar, type in the scripture reference where the word
is that you want to find in the Greek or Hebrew.
Let’s take 1 Corinthians 7:1 as an example.
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good

for a man not to touch a woman. 1 Corinthians 7:1
When you pull up this scripture in the interlinear Bible, you’ll see
the verse in English and then below it you’ll see the verse in the
original language. You’ll also see that there are hyperlinks on
words within the English verse.
So when you take a verse like this, which seems really strange
and extreme in the English, it’s good to go deeper to figure out
what the original meaning was. If you click on the word “touch,”
you’ll see that it is the Greek word “hapto.”
What you find is that the word “touch” as it is used here is much
deeper and more nuanced than you would think. It means “to
fasten to, adhere to; to fasten fire to a thing, kindle, set of fire.”
This word doesn’t mean physical touch. It means touching a
woman with the purpose of igniting sexual desire within her.
You can also see on this page other uses of this word in other
places in the Bible, to see how it was used. For example, in Acts
28:2 the word “hapto” is used literally to refer to kindling an
actual fire.
Let’s do another one, James 1:3-4:
...knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:3-4
“Perfect” here is the Greek word “Teleios.” There are several

definitions listed, but when it is referring specifically to men, it
means “full grown, adult, of full age, mature.” So it is actually
saying that when trials come into your life, they mature you as a
Christian when you endure them. You become someone who
has experience in a way that produces endurance and grows
your faith. It doesn’t mean literal perfection.
One more example, 2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for

reproof, for correction for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy
3:16
What does that mean, that all scripture is “inspired” by God? Did
God write the Bible, or man? So when you click on “inspire,” you
see it’s a compound Greek word, “Theopneustos.” You see under
Word Origins some numbers that will take you to the two words
Paul combined here to make a word that is only used one place
in the entire Bible.
The first part of this word is
“theos,” which is the word for
God. The second part is the
word “pneo”, the word
meaning “to breath, to blow.”
When you put these words
together, you get “god-
breathed,” which is clearer
than the word inspired. God
literally breathed into the
writers of scripture what He
wanted them to write.
Using an interlinear Bible to

study in Greek and Hebrew
can open up the word of God
in a way you probably
thought only trained pastors
and theologians could do!

CHAPTER 20
How to understand Old
Testament prophecy
There is a huge chunk of books in the Old Testament of the Bible

that most Christians just don’t read—and may have never read.
When is the last time you took a look at the book of Habbakuk?
Some Christians just feel these books don’t provide enough
present-day application, or that they’re too hard to understand.
But every book in the word of God is useful in some way,
otherwise God would not have let it for us. That’s why I want to
give you six tips on how to better understand the prophetic
books of the Bible.
KNOW THE BASIC MESSAGE
All of the prophetic books served one or more of three main

purposes. The first purpose is to expose sin. That could include
idolatry, sexual immorality, oppression of the poor, etc. The
prophets were often sent to call people or nations out for their
sinful behavior. The next purpose of the prophetic books was to
warn people of the coming judgment of God against the
aforementioned sins. And third, prophets often called people to
repentance, imploring them to turn from their sinful ways and
return to God before the judgment and punishment comes.
KNOW THE TIME IN WHICH THE PROPHET SPOKE
The prophetic books fall into one of three categories: Pre-

captivity, during captivity, and post-captivity. The captivity being
referred to here is the period of time when God allowed the
wicked nation of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and take its
inhabitants captive, removing them from their home and
forcing them to live in Babylon for about 70 years (605-536 B.C.).
Some prophets were called by God to minister to the people of

Israel before the captivity occurred, giving them an opportunity
to repent—which they didn’t do. Other prophets, such as
Jeremiah or Daniel, spoke to the people of Israel during that 70-
year period of captivity to encourage them while they were in
the midst of that difficult time. It’s in that context that the verse
Jeremiah 29:11 (I know the plans I have for you) was written.
Other prophets, like Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah, were sent

to warn Israel after the captivity, once they had returned to
Jerusalem, telling them not to fall back into the old, sinful ways
that led them to be exiled in the first place.
KNOW THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
It’s important to know that the prophetic books don’t provide

any historical value to the Old Testament. There are 12 books in
the Old Testament, other than the Pentateuch, which provide
historical content. All other books in the OT are supplementary
information. For example, the book of Proverbs does not provide
any history, but it supplements information about its author
King Solomon, whose historical narrative is found in the book of 1
Kings.
All the Old Testament prophets ministered during time periods
that were recorded in the book of 2 Kings, Ezra, or Nehemiah.
You can usually identify that time period because the prophets
often mentioned who was king at the time they were
ministering to Israel.
KNOW THE AUDIENCE
This one is simple—know who the prophet was talking to.

Sometimes the audience was the northern kingdom of Israel or
the southern kingdom of Judah. Other times prophets
ministered to foreign nations. Knowing the audience is key to
understanding the content.
IMMEDIATE VS. FUTURE FULFILLMENT
Not all the prophecies in the Old Testament have been fulfilled,
and tor some of these prophecies, there was both an immediate
fulfillment and a future fulfillment.
For example, the captivity of Israel was an immediate fulfillment

of prophecy. Other prophecies weren’t fulfilled until centuries
later when Jesus Christ came. Some other prophecies, such as
promises God has made to Israel, have not yet come to pass, and
we are still looking forward to those things taking place.
USE A COMMENTARY!
You don’t have to rely on your own

knowledge and ability to read and
interpret. God has blessed us with
the insight of numerous biblical
scholars who have written
commentaries that help us
understand the sometimes difficult
symbolism that is in the prophetic
books.
Ezekiel is a good example of that.

One commentary I would highly
recommend is “Minor Prophets” by
James Boice, and there are other
great ones as well. Don’t go it alone
—utilize the many valuable
resources passed on to us by those
who have studied these books
thoroughly!

CHAPTER 21
The top 5 verses Christians
take out of context
Have you ever heard someone quote something from the Bible
and it makes you ask yourself, “Is that really what that means?” If
so, it’s probably because it was quoted out of context, and that’s
something that happens far too often in the Christian
community. Let’s look at five of the verses most frequently
misused.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Matthew 7:1
This verse gets used to promote tolerance by saying we don’t

have the right to judge anyone for things they might do wrong.
People might say “only God can judge me.” But we’re
encouraged to make judgments throughout the Bible (1
Corinthians 5:11-13, John 7:24, for example).
However, in this passage of scripture Jesus isn’t saying don’t

judge; He’s saying make sure we judge ourselves first so that we
can then see clearly to make a correct judgment on someone
else!
...first, take the plank out of your own eye, then you will be
able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:5
Consider it pure joy...when you face
various trials. James 1:2
You may have heard this used to say Christians are supposed to
be happy when bad things are happening to them, and they’re
supposed to completely ignore the natural human emotions
that come up in bad circumstances. But look at the context!
We aren’t supposed to be happy that bad things are happening,

but we’re supposed to rejoice in what those trials will produce in
our lives.
...because you know that the testing of your faith produces

perseverance...let perseverance finish its work so you may be
mature and complete. James 1:3-4
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I

with them. Matthew 18:20
Sometimes ministers will use this when no one shows up to the
prayer meeting and they’re trying to encourage the people who
are there that they only need two or three people. Or, someone
will think when they’re going through something they need to
get two or three people together to pray with or over them.
But there’s no set number of people who need to be present in

order for God to be present. Further, the context of this verse is
about the process used to resolve conflicts between two people
in a church.
But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that
every matter may be established by the testimony of two or
three witnesses...Matthew 18:16
...speak those things that are not as though they are.

Romans 4:17
This verse gets abused by Christians who say that if we have

enough faith, we can create our own destiny simply by speaking
something into existence. But have they actually read the verse?
It’s clearly attributing that power to God!
As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations.

He is our father in God’s sight, in whom Abraham believed—
the God who gives life to the dead and calls things into
existence that do not exist. Romans 4:17
...by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
People use this verse when they are praying over someone for
healing, suggesting that Jesus death on the cross purchased our
physical healing. The problem with this is the word “heal” in
Isaiah is used eight times, and each time it is used to refer to a
spiritual healing, not a physical one.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for
our iniquities...and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Peter comes along later in the New Testament to give

further clarity on this:
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross…’By His

stripes you have been healed.’ 1 Peter 2:24
We have to be careful when we speak for God and quote

scripture, so that we’re not misleading people and making the
Bible say what we want to say. When you take the text out of
context, you get conned, every time!
A L L E N P A R RWatch
. C O M the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 21 73
LET'S
Connect
@allengparr
@thebeatagp
@allengparr
@allengparr
EDITED BY AARON COLEN
LET'S CONNECT ALLENPARR.COM

Improve Your Bible Study-Allen Parr

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Improve Your Bible Study-Allen Parr

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Improve Your Bible Study-Allen Parr

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

TABLE OF

CHAPTER 02 How did we get the Bible we have today?

CHAPTER 03 How do we know Paul's letters are God's word?

CHAPTER 04 Which Bible translation should I read?

CHAPTER 05 What book of the Bible should I read first?

CHAPTER 06 Should I do a one-year Bible reading plan?

CHAPTER 07 How can I get more consistent with Bible study?

CHAPTER 08 What Bible apps should I use?

CHAPTER 09 Do Christians need to read the Old Testament?

CHAPTER 10 Common Bible study mistakes to avoid, Part 1

CHAPTER 11 Common Bible study mistakes to avoid, Part 2

CHAPTER 12 Why am I not getting anything out of Bible study?

CHAPTER 13 Simple secrets to a 30-minute daily devotional

CHAPTER 14 Simple morning devotional routine using Proverbs

CHAPTER 15 How to get creative with your devotional time

CHAPTER 16 How to have a killer quiet time with God

CHAPTER 17 Power Tips to boost your Bible study

CHAPTER 18 How to study the Bible by topic

CHAPTER 19 How to do a Greek word study

CHAPTER 20 How to understand Old Testament prophecy

CHAPTER 21 The top 5 verses Christians take out of context

ALLENPARR.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS 00

If you want a big-picture view of the entire Bible in just a few

Early on in the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve’s sin,

However, this nation failed and allowed the sinful nations

This gospel went to the world through SPOKESMEN called by

Watch the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 01 02

The church would come together periodically in councils to

WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK?

Around 250 B.C., the Jewish community had already established

This question was important because apostles and prophets

The apostles who wrote scripture were also eyewitnesses of the

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales...but we were

IS THIS BOOK CONSISTENT WITH OTHER SCRIPTURE?

A book that was thrown out as heretical is the gospel of Thomas.

WAS THIS BOOK ACCEPTED BY THE EARLY CHURCH?

Did the early church leaders preach from this book?

It takes faith to believe that God is powerful

Watch the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 02 05

This is a question of canonicity, which is just a fancy word for

PAUL BELIEVED HIS MESSAGE WAS THE WORD OF GOD

If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because

Paul believed he was preaching and writing the inspired word of

No to Him who is able to establish you according to my

PAUL’S MESSAGES ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE

This is a major factor in establishing that Paul’s letters are God’s

Ananias was a direct witness of the experience Paul had with

PAUL’S LETTERS WERE VIEWED AS AUTHORITATIVE BY

The apostle Peter put Paul’s writings on the same level as

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow

Watch the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 03 10

Which Bible translation should you read? Are the older

It’s important to state up front that there are no perfect English

WORD FOR WORD TRANSLATIONS

Word for word translations are written at approximately an 11th

THOUGHT FOR THOUGHT TRANSLATIONS

These versions are the result of translators not focusing so much

Watch the video on YouTube! CHAPTER 04 12

One of the greatest challenges for people trying to start their