be going through your mind, as you carry on your activities. There are ways men can do the same, such as placing packets of verses on the sun visor for reference. Learn to utilize your time wisely. If necessary, re organize your schedule so that you can make absolutely certain that no day goes by but that some time is spent on the Word of God! PART V I T is a simple fact that any person who says he loves God and yet doesn’t really study the Word of God is a peculiar individual. The Bible is a Sword; it’s both an offensive and a defensive weapon which each of us needs to be using. Of course, there are different methods of studying the Bible. You will find a number of kinds suggested. Some would sug gest the best idea is to study the Bible as a whole. With 66 books, too often those who are not dedicated will begin well and then soon fade out. Genesis can be immensely enjoyed. Exodus often goes just about as well. Half-way through Leviticus trouble comes in. While it is a tremendously important book, it really isn’t the sort of thing one who is new to Bible study goes after day by day. To get at the Bible as a whole, you might want to begin in three places simul taneously. Let’s say you begin in Genesis, Psalms, and Matthew. This would divide the Bible almost equally into three parts. One day you might study Genesis, the next a Psalm and then a day later Matthew, alternat ing back and forth. This way you will be able to keep your interest more intense. In fact, if you have time, study each day from all three. This type of study will help you to balance out such a necessary practice. Should your desire for Bible study be focused on one specific book at a time, I would suggest beginning with Philippians. You will find this extremely interesting. The first thing to do is to read it all the way
through. It’s amazing to find how relatively few Christians ever sit down and read through any one book of the Bible at one sitting. After all, this is how these things were writ ten. Paul didn’t write expecting peo ple to read two verses every morning and then come back next Sunday with two more verses. (Of course, there weren’t any verses when he wrote it.) It definitely should be read as a whole. Today we have available to us won derful helps and aids to Bible study. Consider the many modern transla tions. These editions are really a means to an end. Modern translations are no substitutes for the King James Version. It is the one I prefer to memorize. As an example, Living Letters is a wonderful publication; however, we would urge that you study it along with your regular Bible. The way to do it would be to read through Philippians once. Then, read it in Living Letters. Then read it in the Amplified Bible. Then per haps use Phillips. These will give you other shades of meaning. When you have read through the epistle, four or five times in dif ferent translations, then get out your notebook and start thinking in terms of the natural divisions into which this epistle falls. Paul tells us that we are to rightly divide the word of truth. I believe this means we shall be able really to analyze it. Try to think of a title for each chapter. Write this down in your notebook. Philippians is rather easy for the four chapters fall into quite natural divisions. Sometimes it doesn’t hap pen this way at all. I personally find it helpful to divide each chapter into smaller subsections. This won’t be too difficult either. The first chapter has about six smaller sections. Let me give you an example. Verses one and two form the “salutation” ; verses three to eight “Paul's de light” ; verses nine to eleven “Paul’s desire.” (Here we find his wonderful 15
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