Find a quiet place and time for daily reading. Make sure everything you need is there—Bible, pen, pencil, marker, dictionary, and journal or notebook (if you want to take notes). I like to keep my laptop nearby so I can refer to eSword. Sometimes I like to compare a verse with another version or check out a commentary in eSword or at the World Wide Study Bible at Christian Classics Ethereal Library. You have to be careful about doing your Bible reading close to a computer. I find it's easy to get sidetracked by email. So putting your sound on "mute" and closing your email browser before you begin can be a big help.
     All you really need though is your Bible. Be sure to lay it where you'll need it. It can be a distraction to go looking for your Bible. On the way, you can find other things to do. Instead, have your Bible and other stuff exactly where you need it so you can go straight there and begin.

     If you don't know what version to read, I'd recommend the English Standard Version (ESV). If you don't have a Bible, request a New Testament and my church will send you an ESV New Testament free of charge. Be sure to include your name, full address, email address, and what you're requesting.

     If you've never read the Bible before, the Gospel of John is a good place to begin. Or you could do a 30-day New Testament overview.

     Following these steps can be helpful:

1. Be still. Take a moment to just be silent before God. Then get your heart right: confess anything that has come between you and God. Thank him for blessings. Next, ask him to speak to you and draw you nearer to himself in your reading.

2. Read. Slowly. Try. to. catch. every. word. If you don't know a word, look it up before reading on. I find that writing down definitions in the margin of my Bible helps me remember what a word means. Endeavor to get the big picture first. Don't get hung up on a phrase or even a verse. Instead, see how phrases lead into phrases and sentences relate to each other. Take special notice of how the last sentence of a paragraph fits with the first sentence of the next paragraph.

3. Explore. What was the main point of what you read? Always take a minute to think that through. Most Bibles are divided into pericopes or units of thought. These are typically set apart by captions. When you have finished reading one pericope, ask yourself what it was saying before reading further. Strive to express the main point in a phrase or sentence. You may want to write this down in a journal or in the margin of your Bible.

4. Apply. How does what you read relate to you? Was God saying something special about himself—his character—or how he wants to change you? Based on your reading, can you state one thing that God wants you to know or change or do?

5. Devote yourself. Pray again, asking God to bring back to you in the course of the day, reminders of your time with him. Each time he does, remind yourself of the main point of your reading that day and ask him to help you apply his word to your life.

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