The Bible is a pretty difficult read the first few times you read it. A lot of times it says a word that’s not specifically defined till later in the book, or even in another book. The wording and sentences can also be confusing, with long, run-on sentences. It also uses multiple words for the same definition. If I’m not lying, I hated reading the Bible the first few times I read it, because I barely understood what any of it meant. However, the more times you read it, the more connections the Holy Spirit will help you make, and the more it comes alive and becomes super exciting. Every time you read it, you learn something new. You see something new. You connect new things. It’s amazing. The way the Holy Spirit teaches wisdom is that God has given us all of His wisdom in His bible. If we pray for wisdom (as we are instructed to), we must read that bible of wisdom and load the information into our minds – even if we don’t understand it at first. Then, now that we have that knowledge loaded into our minds, the Holy Spirit will help us understand why those things are the way they are as we meditate on them and work through them logically, and bring it to remembrance in times of need to help us act on that knowledge, giving us wisdom. And as you’re reading the bible over and over again, He will bring to remembrance other scripture that connects with the scripture you’re currently reading, to give you a more complete picture of the concept God is trying to explain. If you pray for wisdom but don’t read the bible full of all His wisdom, don’t expect Him to just download all that wisdom into your mind. He’s freely given us all of it in His bible, and expects us to diligently search Him and His ways out via the word. I’ve grown to love reading the Bible now (specifically the New Testament). Hopefully my notes will speed up your learning and understanding of the Bible. However, you have to accept the fact that us humans are just not going to understand everything the Bible has to say 100% until we get to heaven. There may seem like contradictions in the Bible, but God does not contradict Himself. Let yourself be at peace with this, and hold fast to the gospel. Below is a reading list to guide you:
- John (Jesus’ life and gospel)
- Acts (events after Jesus leaves earth)
- Romans (justification by faith alone)
- Galatians (justification by faith alone)
- Ephesians (our position in Christ)
- Genesis (the beginning)
- Exodus (escape from Egypt. Giving of law)
- Leviticus (law)
- Numbers (law)
- Deuteronomy (law)
- Joshua (taking the promised land)
- Matthew (Christ’s life and work on earth)
- Revelation (end times Tribulation prophecy)
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- Jude
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- James (except James chapter 2 – see note Why You Won’t Find James 2 on This Website)
- Anything else