The Bible as a study tool 📖

Q: What is a good way to use the Bible for a beginner- studier. I want to mark important things in the Bible but am not sure how to go about this. It could get messy fast or become 100% highlighted 😅.

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Today is definitely a spiritual struggle. I was planning on doing a Bible study today, now I'm not feeling up to it. Is this what Paul means by not doing what he ought to do, yet knowing what he ought to do, but not doing it🙃😔?? I know I need to do this study, but I don't want to over a stupid reason - its sighhhh 😑😔.

So there is a series called The Attributes of God by Steve Lawson and I wanted to do this study...So I have a Bible. Nice and shiny and not a mark in it.

But I thought maybe I should start highlighting and making notes in my Bible so that years from now my Bible would be a testament to how much time I put into the Word.

The reason why I'm not doing the study, is because I don't want to highlight and mark my Bible 🤣 and now I'm feeling very idiotic. I want to highlight verses like Blue for God's Character attributes, yellow for verses to memorize, green for verses I can apply to my life etc.

I'm hoping this confliction passes and that I don't neglect being in the Word today.

Suggestions??

A: Suggestions with more tips & resources below. But we can all relate!

I think that study and the indicators you planned to use to mark Scriptureare a good idea! Heres some suggestions...

If using a Bible...instead of highlighting the entire verse, put a highlight in the outer margin pointing at the starting verse ref # and then a light pencil line from that verse downward to the full section you wanted to highlight. That will have less markings. And you can write above the line vertically (turning bible sideways) the key point you want there.

>>>Or use a mini mini colored arrow sticky tag to indicate a topic in the margin, pointing to a verse and use the pencil idea with it. 


Keep your main good Bible you have mark free. Like a MacArthur study Bible. 

If it helps... buy a cheap $4 ESV Bible at amazon and use that one first, to get started. Then get a good one with wide margins after a trial run with the cheap Bible, to use as your annual markable Bible. 

This way you can mark the Attributes of God, Memory verses, etc or... using the 2 book suggested plan.

You can keep your good Bible marked free and have a marked Bible where you transfer once a year (December) all the new things you learned that you think should be noted...into a new Bible (1). 

Remember theres limited margin space unless you get a wide margin Bible, but even then you have to be selective. So best idea is to use a combination of Bible notes, cloud notes and journal notes.

Here's best idea:
Bible notes - Topical indicators & verses to memorize. 

Cloud notes - more writing area for above Plus... points, context, history, theology. (2)

*You can give ALL CAPS note at start of a verse note that indicates something like "Attribute of God" or "Comunicable Attribute" or " Salvation" or Warning" etc. 

Journal notebook - Thoughts, notes and questions (3)

Related Helps & Tips
Reading, Studying & Bible Resources
Create a BibleGateway account

Footnotes
(1) After you transfer your notes to the new Bible for this year...You can give your older marked Bible to someone you 1. share the Gospel with who doesnt have a Bible, or 2. to a new believer in Church who doesnt have a Bible, even if its a teen. And 3. if you occasionally buy large print versions you can give those to old folks in Church in need of one or donate it to a old folks retirement home 😊. *Let them know its a keepable Bible, a treasure trove, because you have a years worth of study notes in it they too can benefit from.
* You can also write a note in the back or front about that and tell them " in the Old Testament God promised to destroy the power of death...the New Testament reveals how He did it".

If it is a young person receiving it, also point them to the Gospel at NeedGod.com.

If it is for an older person, encourage them to read Romans and John. And let them know that to be saved we need to admit we are a sinner, repent of your sins to God, and believe that who the Bible reveals Jesus to be is the truth, and that you believe Jesus lived, died & resurrected, that He paid the cost to redeem you from sin, and gives you forgiveness and makes you right with God. To repent and believe is to obey the Gospel. Once you are saved then you live righteously to become more like Christ, and desire to know God more and more by reading the Bible often until he calls you to Heaven 😊.

(2) Protecting & Archiving:

Cloud benefits: You wont lose it all if theres a flood, fire or you mistakenly leave the printed Bible on top of your car Sunday and drive off and lose it.... (true story it happened to my pastor; he went to seminary in US and lost it with all his seminary notes on all he learned 😱, never to be found... and he went back home without it 😭) Years of great notes filled that Bible. Dont suffer the same loss.

Also when you die you can leave the cloud version [in your will] for family to access & be blessed by.

(3) You could use notebooks (or digital tools) to write what or when a particular scripture jumps out at you where I feel God taught you something. Using a notebook You can fully express your questions and your thoughts on the scripture, and the connections it makes for you. You can find answers, and then later on you can go back through and reading that notebook you see how you've grown, or are reminded of a lesson God gave you that particular time in your life. And as in my early years you see that you were totally off the mark, you can then throw those notebooks away 😂😂, or rewrite useful bits in a new journal.