There are many ways to study the Bible and this blog does not attempt to suggest the best way to go about doing it. A simple search on google will reveal many answers coming from Navigators, Christianity Today and even from eHow and About.com.
The Bible can also be studied at many levels. From the beginner's level to the seminary level of doing a complete book survey complete with word study in its original language.
I would like to suggest a simple beginner level for a start and then in the later blogs show other ways and more advanced approaches to the Bible.
Most Bible Study practitioners would start with a simple question, i.e. which book of the Bible do you want to start off? For beginners, it would be good to start with an epistle from the New Testament. Something short like the book of James or Titus.
You would need a Bible and a note book to record down your thoughts. For the Bible, if you can afford it, a study Bible would be good as its gives you more background material on the book. Choose a simple to read translation like ESV or NIV, though many would insist on NASV for accuracy.
Before doing the study, ask God in prayer for wisdom to see truths in the text and courage to apply them in your daily life. It is the Holy Spirit who illumines the Word to us and gives us understanding, not our intellect.
A simple framework approach to Bible Study is to use the acronymn OIA. O for Observation, which is, "what do I observe from the text?" I for Interpretation. What is the text saying? A for Application, what can I applied into my daily life from what I have learnt today. This OIA approach is taken from Howard Hendricks Living by the Book. (click link to read book at Google Books)
After your study, share it with others. As you share, you are learning it twice.
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