There’s a great deal in the Bible about this important subject. This will reveal the importance of your relationship to the Lord as your Mas ter. Then the names of our Lord could provide another day’s signifi cant study. We would go right on through these words, only to find that a good week of personal Bible study could be well spent in this introduction alone. The refreshing salutation of grace and peace yields such a matchless area of contemplation. Note that first we must experience the grace of our Lord before we can truly enjoy His blessed peace. The study of grace will lead you to such verses as II Corinthians 8, 9; Ephesians 2:8, 9 and other wonderful passages with which you should be familiar. Then the Bible says a great deal about peace. Use that notebook to jot down all of the things you’ve learned. In this way you can go over them again to refresh yourself. Also, it serves as a checkpoint a few months or a year from now to see how you have been growing. These are just a few things which will be yielded in two verses of Philippians one. If you don’t get many more, then simply go back and try it again. This is one of the most profitable ways I know to study your Bible. Sometimes, of course, it’s not possible in some passages in the Old Testa ment. Such a meticulous effort is not called for there, but in some of these epistles this is really vital. The same is true with the Psalms and Proverbs. A very interesting third method of Bible study is by using specific topics. A good place to begin is with some of the main doctrines of the Word. Consider such truths as faith, belief, trust, dependence, and other terms which are often synonymous. Follow them right through the Bible. When you finish this, why not select words which have a special interest to you? One of my favorites is there fore. It’s been well said that when
prayer for the Philippian Chris tians.) Then in 12 to 26 is “Paul’s dilemma” and finally, 27 to 30 “Paul’s demands.” This type of thing you may find helpful for yourself. Now, start with these smaller sections and make a more concentrated study of them. Any passage of Scripture I contend can be a wonderful study for you. There are many things we need to notice for spiritual application. Get out your notebook, and really study for yourself. Put down all the things which impress you, regard less of how insignificant you may find them. In this way you will dis cover other thoughts coming, and you can begin building one truth up on another. PART VI T he most important aspect of Bible study is to see how much you can get out of it for yourself. It is im portant to hear messages in church and Sunday school; it is interesting to hear the Word expounded over the air 'and to read about the Lord 'in books, but nothing will suffice like your own personal study of the Bible. As an example, let’s look again at the first few verses of Philippians in which we read, “Paul and Timo- theus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Just start with the first word, “Paul.” See who he really was, and why he wrote to these people. How had he known them? The book of Acts will be extremely important for this ana lysis. Do the same with Timothy. What was his background and why did Paul mention him? This will take you into the two epistles addressed to him. Then consider the beautiful phrase, “the servants of J e s u s Christ.” Using your good concor dance, trace the word servant to see that it really represents a slave. 16
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