Helps on Reading the Bible

As a Christian I offer what I believe are very useful helps in deriving great benefit from reading the Bible.

My purpose is to help some people by encouragment as to how to derive life long spiritual benefit from reading this wonderful book - the Bible.

The sixty six books from Genesis to Revelation is what I refer to as "the Bible".

God does speak to people today. God's speaking today is based upon what He has spoken in the past in the Bible.

If you wish for God to speak to you, even personally, it is important to read the Bible and read it well. What God will say to you will practically always (in my experience) be along the same lines as what He has already had written in the Bible.

No one spiritually advances to the point that they no longer need to read the Bible.
And what God will enlighten to our hearts today will be a repetition of what He has had the prophetic writers pen down in the Bible of days in centuries past.

God is limited in what He can express to you personally if there is little of the Bible in you upon which He can speak.

Though I have had God speak to me through even popular songs, it is clearer when some part of the Bible suddenly became illuminated to me and in my memory.

So I advise reading the Bible some regularly. If you don't want to know God, its is effective to not read the Bible to accomplish this.

If you wish to know God, it is good to get some help in reading the Bible. For God will make Himself manifest to you by glowing and enlightening parts of what He has already said, in the Bible.

Originally posted by sonship
As a Christian I offer what I believe are very useful helps in deriving great benefit from reading the Bible.

My purpose is to help some people by encouragment as to how to derive life long spiritual benefit from reading this wonderful book - [b]the Bible.

The sixty six books from Genesis to Revelation is what I refer to as "the Bible".[/b]

Are there some books (or passages) of the bible that you would discourage the reading of? Or is it all good?

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Are there some books (or passages) of the bible that you would discourage the reading of? Or is it all good?

My advice is that one should not try to fully understand everything each time when reading the Bible. Some things should be put aside for understanding better at a future time.

When you eat a turkey you may come across some hard bones. You put those bones aside and go for the chewable meat for the moment. Likewise, in reading through the Bible some portions you put "on the back burner" for better appreciation at a future time.

Consecutive reading is good. But some parts are going to be harder to read. One should not be discouraged and flip close the Bible because some more difficult portion is soon encountered. Place it on the "back burner" and continue your reading.

Also reading the New Testament (say one chapter) a day, for three chapters of the Old Testament, is also a very good practice.

I read today three chapters of let us say Genesis. And on this day I also read one chapter of the book of, let us say, Matthew or Luke or Mark or John.

This balance is helpful - three chapters of the Old Testament matched with one chapter of the New Testament.

Originally posted by sonship
As a Christian I offer what I believe are very useful helps in deriving great benefit from reading the Bible.

Before you start, do you need to credit someone with the original ideas you will be presenting or are you going to continue allowing people to think they are your own?

More on this question:

Are there some books (or passages) of the bible that you would discourage the reading of? Or is it all good?

The entire Bible is profitable for reading.

We need to read difficult parts and easy parts.
We do not need to start always with difficult parts.

We do not need to achieve having "no difficult parts" in one or two or a hundred readings.

It is good to read consecutively. Randomnly is better than nothing. But consecutively is good because you get a steady diet of all the spiritual "vitamins" without preference.

To just read your "favorite" parts of the Bible will not lead to getting a steady balance of all the wisdom one needs. But to read consecutively rather than preferentially will call for putting some more difficult parts for you on the back burner. Latter you can get more from those more difficult parts.

I enjoy reading things in the Bible that seem to rub my fur (so to speak) the wrong way.
That is because I have learned not to trust myself. I need every word from the mouth of God.

But I am not eager to master ALL parts in one reading.
I am not discouraged because I do not understand ALL parts in a first or single reading.

Originally posted by sonship
More on this question...

Are you going to put me on ignore like Robbie has, just you've been caught plagiarising?

Originally posted by divegeester
Before you start, do you need to credit someone with the original ideas you will be presenting or are you going to continue allowing people to think they are your own?

When I feel that there is a need to tell you when I am at length writing something someone else wrote, I'll let you know.

If you are concerned with plagiarism I gave you on another thread quite specific instructions on the people you may complain to.

I gave you the address. I gave you names.

If anyone is bothered that I may be too casually claiming some original writing concerning published material you may site examples and send even by email to this web address -

affirm@lsm.org attention Andrew Yu (Business Affairs) or Ron Kangus (Editer-in-Chief) of Affirmation and Critique magazine.

Or you may write to:

Living Stream Ministry
1853 W. Ball Road
Anahiem, CA 92804 USA

i have also referred writings of Robert Govette and D.M. Panton whose publications are handled by:

Schoettle Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 594
Miami Springs, Florida 33166

But this company may have a presence in North Carolina also.

Particularly on discussions of HELL I recall writing some things influenced by the writings of these two men - Govette and Panton.

Can we get back to talking about helps to read the Bible now ?

On the matter of the Trinity, I have used things and quoted giving credit to the late Bill Freeman for his book on "The Testimony of Church History Regarding the Mystery of the Triune God".

Originally posted by divegeester
Are you going to put me on ignore like Robbie has, just you've been caught plagiarising?

Sometimes, yes.
You have said some insulting things to me before which merit ignoring.

As you have the right and probably HAVE put me on your ignore list at times.

Time is limited.
We choose how we want to spend the limited amount of moments we have to talk.
Don't we ??

Originally posted by divegeester
Are you going to put me on ignore like Robbie has, just you've been caught plagiarising?

Are you going to put me on ignore like Robbie has, just you've been caught plagiarising?

The sentence structure is a little unclear.

Divegeester, I count you as showing symptoms of not being able to really deal well with some concepts with which you do not agree. And instead of presenting thoughtful counter arguments you present red herring arguments about plagiarism.

"Oh you're just a parrot for so-and-so".

That is not too impressive an expression of correcting my thoughts.
I particularly notice this on the matter of the Triune God.

Specific counter arguments are lacking.
Instead I see you coming after me because i derive help (quite often credited) to other students of the Bible.

Did you produce examples of plagiarism in any thread I participated in?
Or did you just make a grumbled complaint with no substantiation ?

So we should have patience with reading the Bible.
We should be in it for the long hall and not for a sprint run.

It is an adventure to read through the Bible.
Behind the written Logos of the Scripture is also the Holy Spirit to impress how to notice.

When God speaks through the Scripture to a person it is often in ways that are so intimate that one has the feeling that somebody has been watching them.

We who know the Bible well should not use it to damage people.
The proverb about not boiling a calf in its mother's milk has been used by some to mean not to use the Bible to hotly scald some people.

The word of God is called "Milk".
The Word of God is called "Bread" too.

But to be fair towards the enemy of God and man, Satan, the Word of God is called a Sword.

Towards the spiritual enemies we may use the Bible as a weapon.
Towards our fellow man we should first always attempt to FEED their spirit with the words of the Bible.

This thread is really about reading the Bible for YOURSELF. And this post is a bit of a digression.

My OP is about reading the Bible for every person's own self.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Are there some books (or passages) of the bible that you would discourage the reading of? Or is it all good?

Are there some books (or passages) of the bible that you would discourage the reading of? Or is it all good?

I would tell people that they have sat down to a feast. But they should be careful not to try to eat really hard bones in that feast right away.

A new Bible reader should try reading three chapters a day in the Old Testament matched with one chapter in the New Testament.

Of course some portions of the Bible are more difficult especially for a new reader or one who has a short attention span.


The Bible is something like a field or uranium. And the Holy Spirit and the human spirit act as a kind of Geiger Counter. When the clicking gets louder you may be reading something that God wants to get through to your heart.

It is good to linger on that part for a brief talk to God.
One does not have to pray long.
Just a little opening of the heart to see what God is perhaps trying to get through to you, is good.

But do read consecutively.
When you get to long genealogies you may skim for now.
At some future time those genealogies may become more meaningful to you.

Joshua is to some a difficult book. But I think in your consecutive reading you should not skip Joshua.

Reading three chapters in Joshua matched in that day with one chapter of the New Testament will keep you in good balance.

Expect the Bible to sometimes step on your toes.
Do not be so arrogant to assume that no line anywhere at all in the Bible runs against your sense of what is good and right.

I am baffled by criticisms of people like Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens about God's character. They really baffle me in spite of the admission that at sometimes God was harsh.

I did not STOP reading with any part of the Bible. No story caused me to STOP reading the Bible forever. Some passages I admit were hard or even I wished they were not there.
But for those difficult parts there is simply too much else which I find precious.

Parts of the Bible that bother me, I do not reject.
Some parts of the Bible I know require further growth spiritually to appreciate.
This is life long process for me and I am not in a rushing hurry.

Originally posted by sonship
You have said some insulting things to me before which merit ignoring.

Such as?

I bet I can find a few of yours which are juicier. I keep records remember.

Originally posted by sonship

Are you going to put me on ignore like Robbie has, just you've been caught plagiarising?

The sentence structure is a little unclear.

Divegeester, I count you as showing symptoms of not being able to really deal well with some concepts with which you do not agree. And instead of presenting thoughtful counter arguments you present red h ...[text shortened]... ny thread I participated in?
Or did you just make a grumbled complaint with no substantiation ?

Look sonship, I know I pointed out that you plagiarise other people's ministry in here but I've done that to other people, it's not just you. I've suspected for a long time that you do this "reworking" or whatever it was you called it. The point is you should recognise the original minister even if you are reworking it. It's poor forum sonship and dishonest.