How to Focus

 

    When you are reading the Bible with purpose and focus it is not about speed.  It is about impact and comprehension.  You focus on quality of time spent with God instead of going through a routine or checking it off your daily to do list.  

    You can go back to the same scripture everyday for a while until you are able to get a well rounded perspective over it.  It is focusing on a certain area to search for hidden truth.  If you want to do it this way, then have a question in mind.  Find an area that has something to do with that question and read it prayerfully until you get what you are looking for.  It will probably lead you to other scripture over time, but start small so it is not too overwhelming.

    When studying God's Word start with the foundation.  What is the root meaning of this passage?  Does it reference any other scripture?  If so, then what is the context of that scripture?  Ask yourself questions like that when reading.  That is why it is smart to start with a short passage or a few scriptures.  

    Next Look over the details.  What are they telling you?  How does it apply to the culture back then?  How can it apply now?  Next comes clarification.  If it is unclear, then you can spend a lot of time here to uncover the original meaning.  Learning about the cultures, mindset, religions, and politics of that time can take years.  Do not rush it, but seek enough to allow yourself to understand the general context.

    The fourth step is utilization.  How does the scripture connect to your life now or in the past?  What can you learn from it to do better in the future?  How does it make you feel and why?  The last step is summation.  How are you going to respond to what you are studying?  Are you going to allow God to heal you, reprimand you, comfort you?  Will you turn toward Him and lean in or will your reject it and walk away?

    This is why your Bible study does not need to be superficial.  It doesn't have to take hours either.  Invest a set portion of time a day and it will accumulate over time.  If you only do 15 minutes, then you can grow into an hour in time.  If you have hours, then that is great, but it is not the expectation.  It is something you work through with God.  

    I look at it like tithing my time.  If I am up for 15 hours a day, then I can give God my attention 1.5 hours throughout that day, but that is not where I started.  I started with 5 to 15 minutes every couple of days or so.  The point is to grow deeper in your relationship with God.  Your time table is personal, so no one else gets to tell you how to do it.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict you in how you spend your time, energy, and focus.  

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 & Colossians 3:1-17