Are you looking for ways to revitalize your daily Bible reading? Try these five ideas.

  1. Focus your reading on identifying opposites in the text. Tension in a text is used to clarify the message the text wants the reader to grasp. For instance, in my reading of Psalm 23 I have identified the following opposites: green pastures/darkest valley; shepherd/enemies; goodness/evil; lie down/walk. See if you can discover more opposites in this passage. What do the opposites say about your faith in God?
  2. Trace the ideas of the text backwards. Read Psalm 23 again. Can you trace the shepherd imagery to other texts? Immediately we can find the shepherd theme in Genesis 29; Genesis 37; Exodus 3; 1 Samuel 16.11. Well you get the idea. You don’t need a concordance, just use your memory. How do these texts help your understanding of Psalm 23? Try tracing the theme or idea forwards in the Bible. How does the theme evolve in the Bible?
  3. Find important words or phrases that relate to the same idea in the text. Read Psalm 23 again. A major idea in this text is God’s faithfulness. Words or phrases such as: “not want,” “green pastures,” “still waters,” “right paths,” “table,” “oil,” “cup,” and “house” all add to the idea of God’s faithfulness to his people.
  4. Make a paraphrase of the text. Don’t use a dictionary to find synonyms, but just use your own words to make another version of the text.
  5. Turn the text into a prayer. What kind of prayer would Psalm 23 be? Offer the prayer to God.

These are just five quick and easy ways to revitalize a Bible reading time. ENJOY!

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