Now that you’ve begun this new relationship you may be wondering how you can get to know God and what He wants you to do. God shows Himself to us through His Word, the Bible. He also shapes our hearts and lives through His Word. As you begin this new relationship with God the best way to get to know him is by reading the Bible.
The Bible is…
#1. The Bible is GOD’S WORD. What sets the Bible apart from every other book that has ever been written is that God is the one who wrote it! All other books start in the human heart and mind, but the Bible is from the mind and heart of God.
#2. The Bible teaches us what is TRUE. The only way we can know what’s true and what’s false is if we have something that tells us what is true. The Bible is what tells us what is true.
#3. The Bible is our ROADMAP. Have you ever been on a trip with your parents and they’ve gotten lost or used a GPS to find the way? The Bible is like our spiritual GPS: when we start going our own way, wandering down the wrong path in life, the Bible can show us where we went wrong and teach us how to get back on track.
#4. The Bible is our TRAINER. The Bible works like a trainer for the Christian life. It coaches, guides, and gives us the knowledge we need to live out God’s way in God’s world. The Bible helps us get spiritually “fit”.
The Bible is all these things and so much more.
- It’s the greatest book ever written.
- It’s the best-selling book of all time.
- It has been a place of creativity, guidance, and truth for people at all times, from anywhere.
- It is living and active.
- It contains wisdom for how to live life and live it to the full.
- It has the power to change us from the inside out. But the only way we can discover any of this is if we open it up and get into the Word and allow the Word to get into us.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Psalms 119:105
A really easy, practical way that you can read God’s Word and begin to understand it is by using the SOAP method. No, we’re not talking about washing it!
- SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
- This method allows you to dig into God’s Word in a way that is doable for any of us
- You don’t have to remember a ton of steps or concepts, just S-O-A-P.
- Ask your parents to help you with this.
Here’s how you start...
S - Scripture
- First, you find a verse or passage of scripture and you read it.
- After you’ve read it, maybe take a couple of minutes to literally write out the verse that you have read.
- You could write out the verse or verses in a journal or notebook.
- You want to take the time to do this because it helps us understand the verse and focus on it if we see it written out.
- When we write it out, it also makes it easier if we want to go back and look at what we’ve read and learned.
- This is also a great step toward memorizing the verse or passage. This is important because there may be times in your life when you’re going through a challenging time, and God will remind you of a verse you’ve memorized to help you during that time.
O - Observation
- What did you notice? What jumped out at you? What seems important?
- How did this character respond to another character? Why did they say that?
- What details in this passage matter?
- What is the theme of the passage or verse? What are the words that repeat or stick out to you?
- Make note of those observations and write them down.
A - Application
- How does this verse apply to my life?
- Or more specifically, how can I live out what I have read?
- The Bible isn’t about information. It’s all about transformation!
- How will I apply this verse to my life that it TRANSFORMS me?
- If I read a verse that tells me to “love my enemies” and I walk away and do nothing, I have missed the point, right?
- But, if I apply this verse to my life, I can ask myself – Who do I need to love so that I can live out this verse and be more like Jesus?
- Don’t forget to write down your application
P - Prayer
- Pray over the verses you have read and make it specific.
- If the Lord has shown you something through the verse, then ask the Lord to help you live that out.
- Ask him to help give you the strength to obey what His Word teaches.
- Take the time to write out your prayer.
- This will help you to focus, instead of getting distracted in your prayer with a “squirrel!” moment.
- Also, when we write out our prayer, we can go back to it and see what God taught us or even see prayers answered over time.
So, are you ready? Let’s try to SOAP together!
Example:
S - Scripture
Psalm 46:10- “Be still and know that I am God.”
O - Observation
- Two commands in this verse- “be still” & “know”
- It goes in that order- 1st- be still, & THEN you will know
A - Application
- In our world today we’re always going – school, soccer or dance practice, video games - always doing something, and there are times that we’re not still. In fact most of the time we’re not still.
- And it’s hard for us to really know that God is God when we’re NOT still.
- But when we are still, that’s when we can hear His voice, think about who He is, and remember His purpose.
P - Prayer
- God, help me to be still. Help me to be still in order to know and remember who you are. Let my focus be on you, and only you. I want to hear you when I am still. So, still my heart and my mind, and show me things about who you are that I would MISS if I was not still. Draw me closer to you in the stillness. In your name, amen.
That was it...great job. In our relationship with Jesus, it’s key to make time to be in the Bible every day.
Tips to help you do that:
- Pick a time
- Pick a place
- Start today – A great place to start reading is the Book of John. You can open the YouVersion Bible app to the Book of John or you can find John in the Bible by looking for the fourth book in the New Testament. One helpful tip is to use the table of contents at the front of the Bible.