SPEC It Out

Ps 119:169 “Let my cry come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word.”

Across this great nation I have the opportunity to "share life" with teenagers. I try to inspire them to commit a portion of time everyday for personal Bible study, but just like most adults I know, they just don’t have the time. What I have found is that the issue is not really a lack of time; it is, however, a lack of understanding. Some of them have opened up a little and told me that when it comes to studying the Bible, they just don’t “get it”. My daughter Haley agrees. She says, “I always hear people saying that they asked God for an answer and they opened up the Bible to the verse that answered their question. When I open up the Bible, it is always talking about someone whose name I can’t pronounce and some story that I don’t understand.”

You see, it’s not that people don’t have enough time, but that a lack of understanding after studying the Bible seems like a waste of time. People won’t spend time in any study if they don’t understand what they are studying. I don’t study the NASDAC, because I have no idea what all of those numbers represent. I don’t study rocket science because I feel that it is way out of my league intellectually. I don’t study the space-time continuum, because I would have no idea where to start. It’s not that I don’t have time to study these things, but that I have a genuine lack of interest in things that I believe I can’t understand. Ignorance is bliss, right? Not when it comes to the Bible.

Allow me to give you a simple formula for studying the Bible


STEP 1- Ask God through prayer for understanding. Ps 119:169 “Let my cry (prayer) come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to (when I study) Your word.” Rely on the promise of God in James 1:5. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” Here is the kicker; WE ALL LACK WISDOM!!! But all we have to do is ask and He will give it to us.

STEP 2 – Use the S.P.E.C. technique every time you read a passage of Scripture. Ask yourselves these 4 questions:

Are there any Sins for me to avoid?
Are there any Promises for me to keep?
Are there any Examples for me to follow?
Are there any Commands for me to obey?

STEP 3 – Personalize Scripture!!! Put yourself in the passage as if God were talking directly to you. “For God so loved (Buck) that He gave His only begotten Son, that if (Buck) believes in Him, (Buck) will never perish, but (Buck) will have eternal life.”

STEP 4 – Close in prayer thanking God for His Word, understanding, and asking for situations, in which to apply what you have learned which will strengthen your faith.

If you are someone who has trouble studying the Bible because you just don’t understand, then I challenge you to try this. Give it a week and see what you learn. . 2 Tim 2:15 “Study to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”