Tour Through the Bible Pt. 1

I want to read the Bible, where do I start?

When I first became interested in God and the Christian faith, at fourteen, the Bible was foreign to me. I would open it, and the words were fuzzy. They made no sense to me! I would open up to Genesis, the very beginning, because where else would I start? I’d get three pages in, thumb through the thousands of skinny pages left to go, shut it, and put it back on my shelf next to my Nancy Drew books.

Let’s face it- the Bible is intimidating. The average American knows about Christianity and the 10 Commandments or has heard that “the Bible is full of rules,” or “that the Bible was written by white men,” or that the Bible is just a guide. I honestly believed these ideas about the world’s bestselling book. It seemed like a generous idea to read it, but not something that was necessary to get through life.

My first Bible stayed next to Nancy Drew books through high school, and then under my college science textbooks until I was nineteen when I would pick it up again, but delve in with assistance and a heart that was eager and hungry to learn.

What Changed?

My first Bible was given to me through my Catechism classes I took from eight to fifteen years old. It was a GNB (or GNT, a Good News Translation), and for the Bible, I was reading when God saved my soul. This version, while holding true to the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts, is written in a way that is good for non-English speakers to understand. There apparently is one discrepancy in this Bible though, in Romans 8:3, that scholars say is incorrect enough to not be a trustworthy scripture source.

The Holy Spirit coming to live in me once I gave my heart and life to Christ, I believe is what helped the Bible become clear to me, finally.

While I was fully saved in July, I had begun seeking God in February, and in all that time in-between had been reading bits and pieces of Scripture applicable to the situations I was going through to receive hope and enlightenment.

I had begun going to church regularly with a friend, and joined a campus ministry, and participated in their meetings and small groups so I could learn and grow to have faith like theirs.

They left me with a summer reading challenge, to read through the New Testament in two months, and with deep hunger for Christ, I braved my old-phrased Bible and began to read.

It was the passage that stopped me in Mark 4, about the parable of the Sower. I got to a point where I was so aggravated that I couldn’t understand the Bible, and at that moment, begged God to give me clarity and wisdom to understand. In His grace and mercy, He did, and at that moment, I understood that parable and gained clarity that I was one of the lost. Even though I’d been attending church and reading this Bible, I had not fully accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I realized that I was on a trajectory to eternal damnation separated from God. I didn’t want that.

So I prayed for God to forgive me of my sins and grant me everlasting life through the blood of His son, Jesus Christ. I told God that I believed in His Son, and asked then to receive the Holy Spirit, which God bestowed to me. I was forever changed, and when I looked back down at that Bible, the words no longer jumbled around. I could understand them clearer than I ever had before.

When I returned back to college, I had a new vigor and appreciation for the sisters in Christ who had been serving and teaching me those many months before. The first Christian book I read when I returned was Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, with one of my roommates. It was an inspiring, lovely read that gave me even more passion to serve the God I had come into relation with. I started serving at the church I had been attending, helping with the middle and high schoolers as I continued learning about my new faith and gaining wisdom and insight into the Word of God.

That fall, just before Thanksgiving, I bought my very own, first Bible from a Mardel’s. I was so excited and chose an ESV (English Standard Version) as that was the one I was accustomed to reading at church, and according to my research, one that was very accurate in its modern translation. It was written with very high regard for the original contexts of the Bible and is described as being a literal, yet dynamic translation. I chose a beautiful, leather, John MacArthur commentary study Bible, so I could have a resource at my fingertips to help breakdown the scriptures and help me gain a clear understanding.

This is something I highly recommend doing if you’ve never had a Bible before. The growth I had once I could read the Word, but then look down at the breakdown when something was confusing was so incredibly helpful! Study Bibles usually have maps in them too, as well as introductions to each of the 66 books of the Bible that explain when they were written, by who, and what was going on at that point in history.

It’s been almost seven years since I’ve accepted Jesus into my life, and I’ve learned so much about Christianity since then. The amazing part about faith is that you can never stop learning. As the Bible is the actual words of God himself, given to us here on earth, it is always applicable in every generation, but can always have a new meaning for you as you go through life. I’ve read dozens and dozens of books, attended and spoken or lead many Bible studies and conferences, taken a seminary class, had many spiritual conversations with others, and more! One of the conferences I attended lead by the women’s ministry of Dr. Tony Evans gifted donors the Bible he published with his commentary in it. It’s a CSB (Christian Standard Bible) which is still a modern translation, and has many awesome features and resources within it, like short excerpts from his articles, QR codes to watch relevant sermons he’s taught over certain passages, and many helpful maps to understand the places that the Bible is referring to! The CSB translation is basically a second-edition for younger English speakers. While staying true to the original translation, it is written in a way that is fairly modern and of this century.

Keep Learning

There is always plenty of understanding and knowledge to gain as a Christian, and that is a good thing! If there ever comes to be a point where you’re not growing in your faith, wisdom, or knowledge, that is something to worry about.

In the Tour of the Bible Pt. 2, you’ll read about the other K. Price Ministry team member’s experiences learning to understand the Bible after they came to believe in Jesus.

As for Pt. 3, that’ll be a guide to buying a Bible, with a breakdown of different translations, commentaries, and other helpful tools to study God’s Word!