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Developing the habit of a Bible study time can be challenging. We have to work against factors such as tiredness, time constraints, and brain fog among many other issues. If we are honest, many of us, myself included, would have to admit that we find reading the Bible to be boring and hard work.

Why do we so easily binge watch TV shows on Netflix, read entire romantic novels in one evening, and scroll our Facebook feed for hours on end yet struggle to read our Bibles on a consistent basis?

Answer: Our Mindsets.

Anything that I view as enjoyable is likely to be included into my day. Yet I approach my Bible study time with certain poor mindsets that drain all the delight out of studying God’s Word.

 

Chore-Driven Or Love-Driven?

When I was a kid, I hit a stage where I hated washing dishes. I absolutely abhorred that chore! My mother insisted that dishes should be rinsed well before being placed in the dishwasher. And the pans and dishes that did not fit into our dishwasher should be carefully washed and dried and put away…by me! Over time, I came to realize that complaining about this chore to my parents did no good. In the end, I only wound up with more chores to whine about. 🙂

A few years after I learned to just quickly finish this dreaded chore, my parents gave me a unique responsibility. They left me alone for the first time while they went for a day long trip to a bull sale. (Did I mention I grew up on a farm and ranch? Attending bull sales is a totally normal activity.)

Since my parents had to leave so early in the morning, I was in charge of the completing all of their chores too. I checked cows. Made sure the water tanks were full. Pulled twine from round bales and feed the cows. In addition to that I did all my mom’s normal chores in the hen house. After completing my parent’s chores, I went onto do my own morning chores of feeding bucket calves, taking care of the farm cats and dog, and refilling the bird bath water around the yard. Finally, I headed back inside. I was exhausted from taking care of so many duties. Collapsing into a dining room chair, my eye went to the breakfast dishes we had left in the sink after a hurried early breakfast.

Suddenly, I wanted to wash dishes.

Maybe it was getting a small glimpse of how hard my parents had to work on a daily basis. Perhaps it was some good old fashioned kindness. Possibly it was the Holy Spirit showing me a new way to serve others. Most likely it was a bit of all of those factors. Whatever was the case, I washed those dishes with a joyful heart. That was the day dirty dishes became a delight.

Washing dishes with the right mindset made the chore enjoyable!

Dirty Dishes =Bible Reading?

For many years, I came to Bible reading with much of the same attitude that I had about washing dishes. In my mind, Bible reading was a detestable chore to be endured as a Christian. When those poor mindsets get weeded out out of our hearts, you and I can find delight in our Bible study time.

 

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Seven Poor Mindsets That Will Ruin Your Bible Study Time

Let’s look at some of those poor mindsets that affect our Bible study time and find out ways to correct those mindsets through the power of the Holy Spirit!

 

Wrong Mindset Number One: The Bible Is Just Like Any Other Book You Read

I know that the Bible is a book. However, just because it has all the characteristics of a book (cover, pages, and words) does not change the fact that the Bible is much more.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God given to us. It is a living book. This means that even though it was written thousands of years ago, it is still as relevant and applicable today as it was when it was first written. God uses His Word to come alive and shape us.

The Bible is not like a fun fiction book series to enjoy and then put on the shelf to never be opened again. We should be opening the Bible daily for our entire lives!

The Bible is not another Christian Living devotional book. While God does reveal how Christians should live through the pages of the Bible, it is not merely meant to be skimmed for a Bible study.

God’s Word is not done with us simply when we get a check mark of “read” on our Goodreads shelf.

The Bible is like no other book. Remember to read it with the realization that God’s Word is living and active and nothing like any other book that has ever been written!

 

Wrong Mindset Number Two: The Bible Is Filled With Unrelated Stories From Throughout History

All of the Bible is about one Person. And that person is not you. That person is not me. Nor is that person your pastor or small group leader.

The Bible is the story of God. More specifically, it is the story of how God has worked in every moment of time to lead us to Christ Jesus!

When we read the Bible with the mindset that we are just reading about the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, David fighting a giant named Goliath, Daniel living bravely for God while in exile, Paul being shipwrecked, we miss a much larger picture and narrative that God is showing us through His Word.

Reading the Bible to learn about individual stories will leave us with a cheapened view of those stories if we don’t understand the bigger picture.

For instance, I love the story of Ruth. She was a Moabite widowed woman who followed her mother-in-law back to Israel and committed to following the one true God. Her love story with Boaz is fascinating to me. However, once I studied the life of Ruth from the perspective of the entire Bible, I found out that her story was beyond interesting. Ruth’s story is integral to the whole over-arching story of the Bible. In fact, she is actually in the direct ancestral line to King David and, more importantly, Jesus!

Studying the Bible as a whole and continuous story takes digging. It is worth that extra work because you will gain a greater view of what God has done and continues to do!

 

Wrong Mindset Number Three: The Bible Can Be Read And Critiqued Just Like Any Other Book.

God is God. We are not.

Since we are not God, we must realize that we should not critique God or His Word.

As someone who does a lot of reading, I tend to approach books with a critical eye. Often, I find myself judging an author on their communication skills. (Ironic considering how much I detest being on the receiving end of such critiques as a writer!)

When it comes to the Bible, I need to put away my critical eye. Instead I must have a spirit of willingness to learn from God.

Does this mean you can’t ask questions about the Bible? Of course not! You can and should learn why the Bible can be trusted. By all mean, you should know the proof for why God’s Word is valid and worth referencing.

But just realize that beyond all that, the Bible is God’s story. This is His way to communicate Truth to us. We must approach His Word with a heart prepared to learn rather than critique.

When we replace our mindset of critiquing with one of willingness to learn, we will find our Bible study time expand to whole new levels.

 

Wrong Mindset Number Four: The Bible Can’t Be Understood

You do not need a Bible degree to understand the Bible. Of course, there are hard parts in the Bible. God is way smarter than us. He talks about some big topics that our little human brains struggle to grasp.

So, when we find passages of the Bible that we struggle to understand, our tendency is to give up. Assuming that we aren’t smart enough to understand God’s Word, we fail to even give ourselves the chance to learn.

If you are expecting to read the Bible the same way you read a modern day self-help or Christian living book, you will be disappointed. While the Bible does offer help and train us on how to live for Christ, it is so much more than that. Also, it is not laid out in the clean-cut, bullet pointed ways that we have grown accustomed to reading. The Bible takes work to study and learn from.

Over our entire lifetimes, God sends His Holy Spirit to gradually help open our hearts to the Truth found in the Bible. Understanding the Bible is possible with God’s help, lots of patience and boatloads of time spent actually in the Word.

 

Wrong Mindset Number Five: The Bible’s Culture Has No Bearing On How We Should Read It

Every culture is a little different. What is considered perfectly normal in one culture is viewed as vulgar in another.

A few years ago, we host three foreign exchange students. While we all expected there to be some culture shock, we were unprepared for the vast differences that arise between our cultures in modern times. One girl was from a country where you throw your toilet paper in the trash rather than flush it down the toilet. Something that we and the other girls found weirdly disgusting. Another girl was used to an all fresh seafood diet due to where she lived. We live 2,000 miles from the nearest ocean. Needless to say, she struggled with the change that her diet had to take while here.

When we open our Bible, we must be aware that a certain amount of “culture shock” is going to hit us. Cultures were not the same in Bible times. If we are trying to read the Bible from our cultural viewpoint, we will be frustrated. Perhaps even repulsed!

Israel’s Culture Vs. Our Own

For example, in our modern times we would be absolutely horrified by some of the laws that God puts forward for men and women in the Old Testament books. Why was God making such repressive laws for women? Well, let’s look at the history of the culture God was talking to. Countries surrounding Israel considered women less than human. Women and children were mere property, sacrificial offerings to many false gods, and slave labor.

As God guided the Israelites into nationhood with His laws, He shattered many cultural ideologies at the time. Women were considered equal persons in Israel. While women had different tasks than men, they were given freedom and dignity in ways that had not previously been heard of. Yet, to look at it from our culture’s perspective, we would be shocked.

We must approach the Bible with a mindset open to understanding the cultures surrounding the Scriptures. Once we do, we will be able to appreciate and understand God’s Word on a whole new level!

 

Wrong Mindset Number Six: The Bible Can Mean What I Want It To Mean Not What The Author Meant

Let me begin with a little tale…

My Great-Grandpa’s Letter

When my great-grandfather arrived in America and homesteaded our family’s farm, he built a large adobe barn to house the small herd of animals he had. Now, for the sake of story, imagine he had written a letter to my grandfather explaining to him how to take proper care of the roof he placed on that barn. My great-grandfather would have given extensive instructions on how to upkeep the shingles, watch for leaks, and make repairs after windstorms.

Now, one hundred years later, say I stumbled across this letter my great-grandfather wrote. If I were to try to follow his advice exactly, I would find myself challenged. Why? Because, about 35 years ago, my father placed a metal roof on the barn. I must read the letter from an understanding of historical understand (as we mentioned above) but I must also read the letter looking for author’s intent.

My great-grandfather’s intent was to maintain the roof of the barn. If the roof is not maintained, the entire barn will suffer and possibly become unsafe for use at all. I can then apply that author’s intent to the current situation. I must upkeep the barn roof even if that maintenance looks a little different than it did one hundred years ago.

God’s Letter To Us

Now, reading the Bible has to be done similarly. I must read the Bible with the author’s intent in mind. When I read the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, I need to study the culture he was writing to. What were they facing? How is Paul’s letter specific to them? What about Paul’s letter can I apply to my own life even if how that plays out looks different than it did for the Corinthians?

Seek out the author’s intent as you study Scriptures. Once you understand what was being said to the original audience, then you can process how that applies to your life today.

 

Wrong Mindset Number Seven: The Bible Is Not Relevant To My Life Today

Finally, we live in a world that tries to convince us of the lie that Scripture is not sufficient. In fact, Satan would love for us to believe that the Bible is out-dated, unreliable, and not applicable to our personal lives.

However, the truth of the matter is that the Bible is a living book.

The Bible is reliable. In fact, as more scholars study the history surrounding the Bible, they find that God’s Word is consistently being proven true. More important that the fact that the Bible is true is the fact that the Bible is relevant.

When we use our Bible study time to seek God’s Truth, we will find it absolutely still does apply to our lives today. The Holy Spirit delights to reveal to us as believers how the Bible can be applied to our daily lives. Once you realize that God’s Word can be applied to your life and is relevant to whatever you may be facing, you will find your Bible study time come alive again!

 

 

Resources To Consider

Here are some great resources that can help you continue to correct poor mindsets that affect your Bible study time:

Seamless Leader Kit

Angie Smith’s Bible study does a phenomenal job of showing how the Word of God is woven together. Be sure to get the entire kit so you can hear her weekly messages along with the daily homework. This Bible study will do much to help dispel many wrong mindsets and gain a mind that is open to learning God’s Word well.

 

7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible

If we doubt that the Bible is trust worthy, we will find our poor mindsets about the Bible will just grow and get worse. In Erwin Lutzer’s book, you will find compelling evidence for why the Bible can be trusted. Best of all, he does a great job at make this evidence easy to understand for the everyday person (no theological PhD required!)

 

His Word Alone: A Call to Put Down Your Bible Studies and Pick Up Your Bible

Throughout this book, Summer Lacy woos readers to step away from resources about the Bible and return to actually reading the Bible. After reading this book, I found myself with a renewed desire to study God’s Word every day of my life. Most of all, she revived the joy that I once found when reading my Bible as a young Christian.

 

Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds

After you read His Word Alone and regained an excitement for Bible study, then you should pick up Jen Wilkin’s book. Women of the Word gives step-by-step guidance on how to become a serious student of Scripture. When you are done with this book, you will be equipped not only to learn from the Bible but able to teach the Bible to others!

 

Your Turn

• What wrong mindsets have you seen in your own life as you study your Bible?
• How have you challenged these wrong mindsets and gained God’s view of the Bible?
• What resources have helped you to become a student of the Bible?

Leave a comment below sharing what ways God has changed your mindset as you study the Bible.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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