I don't know about y'all, but I love settling down into a bible study that I'm well-prepared for while simultaneously leaving what I'll learn up to God. You may wonder what I mean by “well-prepared." I'm a student at heart; I've always loved school and being in a learning environment. Because of this, it'd make sense that I like to be prepared whilst studying something important to me. These are tools that have become some of my favorite and most common in my arsenal to study the Bible.
1. Bible
To study the Bible, it'd make sense that you need an actual Bible! My personal favorites are: the She Reads Truth hardback, which is a great tool for studying because it has extra background and maps; the (In)courage Bible because it has tons of devotionals and is aesthetic GOALS; and a simple soft-back, leather bible because they're easily portable and great for traveling!
2. Notebook
While I am someone who definitely believes in writing in your Bible and making notes about scripture there, the margins of a Bible can only hold so many words. It’s super helpful for me to have a notebook nearby when I’m studying or watching a sermon because I write down EVERYTHING. If I don’t write it down, I forget it and it’s like it never happened, which you definitely don’t want happening if God is speaking to you through a particular passage!
3. Pens and Highlighters
I LOVE my pen pouch! It is easily something I carry everywhere because writing is so important to me, and it comes in handy in almost every situation! Pens are great for taking notes, obviously, but highlighters are what really help bring my attention to a specific verse. In order for the highlighters not to go through the pages, I purchase the classic sharpie light highlighters or the gel version.
4. Blue Letter Bible
Blue Letter Bible is both a website and an app that has a plethora of resources to glean from. Not only is it an electronic version of the Bible in a selection of translations, it’s also a great resource for commentary. You can look up historical commentary and even search a specific word such as “purpose” and find every verse in the Bible that mentions the word.
5. Spotify playlist
I love my Elevation Worship and Jesus Jams playlists, but for studying the Bible I typically choose an instrumental Christian album, such as those from Bethel Music, or Altar’d State’s playlists. They’re super low key and put me in the mindset to study without getting distracted because I want to sing along.
6. Coffee
It’s a comfort thing...enough said.
Those are my favorite things to keep nearby because they're all super simple and the process is low maintenance while still allowing me to get as much as possible out of that time.
