The Ongoing Bible Study

A few years ago I participated in a ladies Bible study at our church that has continued to benefit me and that's easy to share with others. Due to several recent conversations, I wanted to share it here. The book we read is called, "What Do I Know About My God?" and it is written by Mardi Collier (to see this book on Amazon, click here). 

Mrs. Collier lays out a template for recording in one place all of the things we learn and know about God. The various chapters cover different aspects and attributes of God and share verses or passages about them. Then she turns you lose: fill a three ring binder with paper and page dividers. Label the dividers, either A-Z or by attribute (i.e. patient, goodness, merciful, etc.). Then grab your Bible, read it, and write out verses you find that teach about God in those different categories. When you are struggling to believe God is in control of a particular situation, pick up your binder and turn to God is Omnipotent (all powerful). You have a whole list of verses that deal with that subject.

So how is this different than using a concordance? I love it because it's verses and passages I have discovered in my devotion time and it's organized in a way that is helpful to me. Take Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. I have that written under the headings, "God takes care of me" and "God provides for me." Same verse under two different labels.

My favorite part about this study is that it's ongoing. There are several ladies in my church who have been doing it for years and they still find verses to add or new labels to create. Even if you are reading a different devotional or study guide, this one works hand in hand with it. And if you don't study anything besides your Bible, great! This still challenges you to be digging deeper, applying it to your life, and striving to learn more.

I use a large three ring binder so I have more room to write the verses but other ladies use half this size so it's easier to carry around. I recently redid my labeling system. I found these A-Z dividers at WalMart and put them in. 

 This is the table of contents, so to speak. I listed the attribute or topic under the first letter of the word and grouped the pages together that way. Another benefit of doing this book: you can organize it so it's the most helpful to you. Mrs. Collier includes various lists, verses, and suggestions for setting up your binder and I used a lot of her labeling ideas. But sometimes as I was reading I knew I wanted to include the verse but it didn't fit under an attribute of God. Like verses on pride. So I labeled a page "God dislikes pride" and you won't believe how many verses I have found dealing with that subject! So when I went to put it under a certain page divider, I choose "P" for Pride but you could also do "D" for Dislikes and list other attitudes the Bible tells us are sinful. However it will help you the most.

 I wrote small on the contents page, anticipating more topics and labels I'll need to add the longer I study God's precious Word. How do you study the Bible?