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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 64
spike
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spike
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 64 |
I have always been a believer and want and feel like expanding my relationship with God. The problem I have is I find it difficult to read the Bible. Are there any books available that accurately tell the story of the Bible that are a easier read. I hope I’m not wrong in going this direction because I really want to grow spiritually.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,507 Likes: 124
14 point
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14 point
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,507 Likes: 124 |
Get a different version than the King James Version.
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 12,709 Likes: 122
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 12,709 Likes: 122 |
Reading and knowing Gods word makes for the best foundation when seeking a more meaningful relationship with God in Christ Start with the Gospels and be patient when you read and meditate on what youve read by repeating it to yourself until you get understanding
My favorite proverb says Wisdom is the principal thing so therefore get Wisdom but in all your getting get Understanding
When I need expert advice I tend to talk to myself The older I get the better I used to be
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Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 10,392 Likes: 73
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 10,392 Likes: 73 |
A version like the message is in more current wording. I love Proverbs. But the best thing really is to start with Matthew and just read to the end. Read proverbs and Psalms. I would skip numbers.
You can also download the bible app and set it up to read the bible in a year, and it will take you thru different verses out of different books every day. You can also change the version in their app to one that makes more sense to you. Then just make it a morning habit, or an evening one before you go to bed.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 516 Likes: 1
4 point
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4 point
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 516 Likes: 1 |
Try an NIV version with study notes at the bottom of the page. Very helpful in understanding what you just read
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Joined: May 2018
Posts: 3,563 Likes: 13
10 point
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10 point
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 3,563 Likes: 13 |
Get it on audio and listen to it and take notes.
Hunting brings out the worst in people.
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252
Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252 |
There are other ways to spend time with the Lord. Reading the bible is one way and very important. You can pray. You can meditate. You can live your life every day and every moment as much as possible seeking to please the Lord. Take each thought captive, and each action. Try to make your life what God would want it to be, simply to glorify him and please him. Reflect back on what you have read in the bible and compare it to your life, ask yourself how your life relates to what you have read. Talk to the Lord about what you want. It is a relationship, its give and take. Ask him if theres anything missing in your relationship with him and to reveal it to you if there is. Ask him to show you the things about yourself that need working on in order to have a better relationship with him. Ask him what he wants from you and expects from you. There are so many things you can do to cultivate a really good relationship with the Lord. Reading the bible is important and i encourage you to keep reading the bible but that is just one part of the relationship. God is not some far away God from some distant place. He is right there with you all the time and he wants a good relationship with you.
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252
Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252 |
Dont beat yourself up about this. I am exactly the same way. I dont really like reading anything, im not a reader. I love talking about the Lord so i go to a bible study each week with a great open discussion. Also i remember everything ive ever read, so i spend alot of time reflecting and meditating on what i have read and learned. Dont let reading the bible become burdensome to you. Your relationship with the Lord is not supposed to be burdensome. Good luck. Ill be praying for you.
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 857
6 point
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6 point
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 857 |
You can download the Holy Bible app on your phone. Select whatever version you want to listen to ( I selected NIV). And listen to it whenever you want. Its free I think.
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 3,851
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 3,851 |
download that daily audio bible app on your phone. It reads the bible daily and if done daily will go over the whole bile in a years time. I listen to it every morning on my drive in to work.
Only accurate rifles are interesting.
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Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 746 Likes: 5
4 point
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4 point
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 746 Likes: 5 |
Start with "The Story" One continuing story of God and his people. It is a chronological history of the Bible and hardback versions can be found on the internet for under $20. Synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10860921-the-story (sorry do not know how to make a link). No direct verse quotes, but a good overview and it helped me to understand what happened when.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,136 Likes: 151
Old Mossy Horns
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Old Mossy Horns
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,136 Likes: 151 |
Get into a study group or church that helps you break down the bible and digest it verse to verse. Pray for God to give you understanding and a desire for his word. A lot of us were / are in the same boat as you are.
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,818 Likes: 6
10 point
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10 point
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,818 Likes: 6 |
Look up book "streams in the desert"... very old book that has daily reading in it. Very good
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,786 Likes: 167
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,786 Likes: 167 |
This is why some of the smartest people I know pray for wisdom and understanding from God when they read the Bible. Without this, God's word can be turned around and used by Satan for his purposes also as we see often in today's world. Pray, read, digest what you read, and let God bring the message to you would be my advice. Remember, God didn't send his word to us so that only the intellectuals could understand it. It was sent to us for everyone to understand it but it does take His guidance to understand and grasp it in the proper context.
Lord, please help us get our nation straightened out.
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 14,515
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 14,515 |
First off, you need to be involved in Bible study within the body of your local church. Secondly, get a good commentary Bible from a solid Bible teacher. I have a John MacArthur NASB commentary Bible that is really good. Lastly, we can never know who God actually is if we don't read about who He is, as described in the Bible.
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." -G. K. Chesterton
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,558
8 point
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8 point
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,558 |
Get a different version than the King James Version. The worst advice that you could ever give. Get you a Scofield Study Bible. KJV
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252
Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252 |
First off, you need to be involved in Bible study within the body of your local church. Secondly, get a good commentary Bible from a solid Bible teacher. I have a John MacArthur NASB commentary Bible that is really good. Lastly, we can never know who God actually is if we don't read about who He is, as described in the Bible. Enoch and Abraham never had a bible to read. Pretty sure theres other ways to get to know God. Of course you can just read about him though.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,669
8 point
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8 point
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,669 |
First off, you need to be involved in Bible study within the body of your local church. Secondly, get a good commentary Bible from a solid Bible teacher. I have a John MacArthur NASB commentary Bible that is really good. Lastly, we can never know who God actually is if we don't read about who He is, as described in the Bible. Enoch and Abraham never had a bible to read. Pretty sure theres other ways to get to know God. Of course you can just read about him though. This is why most solid confessions start out establishing the sufficiency of scripture and of scripture alone. Enoch and Abraham lived in a time when God revealed himself in other ways. In the last days God has chosen to reveal himself through scripture. People can learn about God through other ways, such as through nature. But those ways are not sufficient sufficient for salvation. The following is from the Westminster Confession of Faith but the Second London Baptist Confession starts out almost identically: CHAPTER 1 Of the Holy Scripture 1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 6,197 Likes: 27
12 point
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12 point
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 6,197 Likes: 27 |
Along with other suggestions, watch The Chosen. It really has helped me grow spiritually and relate to biblical stories/characters
2017 Team Aldeer Turkey Contest Champion 2018 Team Aldeer Turkey Contest Champion
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252
Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 27,316 Likes: 252 |
First off, you need to be involved in Bible study within the body of your local church. Secondly, get a good commentary Bible from a solid Bible teacher. I have a John MacArthur NASB commentary Bible that is really good. Lastly, we can never know who God actually is if we don't read about who He is, as described in the Bible. Enoch and Abraham never had a bible to read. Pretty sure theres other ways to get to know God. Of course you can just read about him though. This is why most solid confessions start out establishing the sufficiency of scripture and of scripture alone. Enoch and Abraham lived in a time when God revealed himself in other ways. In the last days God has chosen to reveal himself through scripture. People can learn about God through other ways, such as through nature. But those ways are not sufficient sufficient for salvation. The following is from the Westminster Confession of Faith but the Second London Baptist Confession starts out almost identically: CHAPTER 1 Of the Holy Scripture 1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased. So what youre saying is that absent a bible or a mans ability to read a bible, the Lord God of Heaven and creator of all things in this universe would be unable in the year 2022 to save a man or establish a relationship with that man? I absolutely 100% disagree. My God is much bigger than that.
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