So you’re stuck at home trying to do the right thing and study your Bible, but the motivation to follow a reading plan isn’t happening. Or you’re reading and then forget what you read just hours later. If that’s you, it might be time to try something new and throw a twist into your traditional Bible reading habit.
CHARACTER STUDIES
Studying specific characters in the Bible are a great way to gain some deeper insight and find a different type of enjoyment in reading God’s Word. As you study a specific character, you’ll notice God using people in spite of his/her weakness. AND as you study those weaknesses, you can learn a little bit more about traits you want to implement or avoid.
7 STEPS TO DOING A CHARACTER STUDY
CHARACTER NAME
The first step in experimenting with how to study your Bible is the easiest. Figure out which character you want to study. For our example, I picked Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. I’m fascinated with his life and the choices he made that allowed Moses to listen to his advice. Moses had complete access and experience talking to God one-on-one and had a pretty valid reason to ignore Jethro. However, he took advice from Jethro anyway. I want to learn more about the character of Jethro and what made him the type of man Moses would listen to in a time of crisis.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Next use google, your Bible concordance, or whatever reference you have and look up every verse that mentions your character’s name and list them. For our example, I used Biblegateway.com to find my verses.
CHARACTER SKETCH
After reading the verses, come up with a description of your character that shows all the strengths and weaknesses you noticed. This doesn’t have to be worthy of turning in to your college English professor, but just simply captures what you’ve learned.
KEY VERSE
List one key verse that sums up your character. For our example, I chose a verse that demonstrated the key trait I noticed in Jethro and not one of the verses that mentioned his name.
LESSON YOU LEARNED
What is one take away your character taught you through studying his/her life? Is there something worthy of implementing or avoiding in your own life? What does this character teach you about God? Take a moment and reflect and see what God can teach you through this character’s life.
APPLICATION
What can you do differently TODAY because of what you learned? List a very practical application that you can immediately put into practice. The more specific, the better chance you will remember and apply! And everyone wants to skip this step for some reason. Don’t.
PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
What questions about God, life, or the Bible are you left wondering? Write those down and then slowly start searching the scriptures, praying, and starting conversations with others to help you resolve those questions over the next few days.
God’s Word has more to offer than just reading plans. (although reading plans are great and I strongly recommend them!) There are MULTIPLE ways to study the Bible and get to know God more through His Word. How to Read the Hard Books of the Bible is also a great resource to help you jump into God’s Word. Just find what works for you and jump in! I promise God will meet you in the pages of His Word.
This is a refreshing change. I used to carry a bible dictionary to just read about different characters and places but I really like this option!
What Bible dictionary did you carry? That is a great idea as well!
What an interesting approach. I grew up in a Christian home, but have always struggled at studying the Bible, as silly as that seems. Thanks for the insight. It will be fun to see how I can apply it.
I grew up in a Christian home but struggled to know how to study the Bible on my own too! Crazy right =) Growing up, I never realized how much God teaches beneath the familiar stories though. So thankful for the women who walked beside me and taught me how to study!