Have you ever had one of those moments when you hop in the car and your mind tunes out but suddenly you arrive at the destination? You don’t remember much of your drive, but you’re there. That’s passive driving. I have to fight the temptation to read my Bible this way. The point of the Bible is to see the glory of God and enjoy what we see. But how can we make meaningful, joy-awakening, love-building discoveries of God in the Bible? Paul tells Timothy in his 2nd letter in 2:7, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” In other words, God works as Timothy thinks. Take the Words of God and chew on them. Put some mental exertion into your reading. Passive reading will rarely lead to Bible discovery and growth in your love for God.

When I was younger, my family would take a week-long vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. And we’d always make a day trip to Pigeon Forge. Something I loved was visiting the small country stores. One of them made taffy and so I’d go up to the window and watch that taffy turn. Taffy comes out hard almost like a thin block, but it needs to soften. To get that soft and chewy texture, taffy must be placed on a turning machine where the aeration process creates this effect. The constant turning is what makes this happen. When I think about Bible reading, we need to take the words of Scripture and turn them over into our minds constantly like taffy so that it has an effect in us.

We miss out on so much of the meat from Scripture because we rush through it. We aren’t willing to put in the work, and we miss God because of it. How do you read actively? I like to approach reading the Bible with different hats. I’ll give three just as examples.

The Journalist Hat

What does a journalist do? He or she gathers facts. They make observations and record them. Soon a story starts to develop. This is an important hat to wear when Bible reading. .

For example, at King’s Hill, we just finished up the book of Nehemiah. In Chapter 1, we read that that the city of Jerusalem is in ruins, and this news comes to Nehemiah in the month of Kislev. The rest of this chapter is Nehemiah praying and fasting. But now come to chapter 2, and we’re told Nehemiah is about to make a bold request to the king. This request comes in the month of Nisan. Both chapters start off with Nehemiah pointing out the months in the calendar. So I put on my journalist hat, and I do a little google searching on ancient calendars—simply trying to gather the facts and I learn that the month of Kislev is around November-December and that Nisan is around March. Ah-ha, a discovery.. Nehemiah has been praying about what he wants to do for the city of Jerusalem and how he’s going to make the request to the king. But this waiting and praying has lasted several months. That’s significant. That’s a long time. The facts show point to Nehemiah as a patient, preserving man of prayer. God wants to work first in Nehemiah before he works through him. Without a quick gathering of facts, I would have missed this.

The Detective Hat

I can also pick up my detective hat when Bible reading. When a detective hops on a case, he’s trying to connect dots and make sense of a case. He is doing more than gathering facts, but analyzing and drawing conclusions. We are given this opportunity with the Bible.

For example, I come across Jesus speaking to his Father at the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” in Matthew 27:46  Is Jesus doubting God’s plan here? Well, I don’t know. Are there clues that can help me answer that question. So I put some investigative skills to work. Do we hear this anywhere else? Are there clues we check out? Other places in the Bible we can visit? Cross-references in the Bible will help here. I find these words have appeared before. They appear in Psalm 22 and come from King David. The psalm starts off this way in verse 1. But it continues in verses 6-8, “All who see me mock me; they made mouths at me; they wag their heads; He trusts in the Lord, let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him.” That sounds like what Jesus went through. And In verse Psalm 22:18, David speaks of his garments being divided among men. That’s interesting, because Matthew 27:35 makes mention of this very detail. Suddenly, I’m realizing this psalm points beyond David. It points to Jesus. It’s a Messanic psalm that find its fulfillment in Christ. When I come back to the words of Jesus on the cross, I realize he is not doubting God. Actually, he’s quoting the Word in his moment of deepest pain. Whereas the psalm points to forsakenness at the beginning, it ends with deliverance. This is in the mind of Jesus as he hangs on the cross. He is not doubting! He is trusting his Father’s plan and promise.

The Scientist Hat

I can also pick up the scientist hat. A scientist tests theories with the questions he or she has. Asking good questions is vital toward meaningful, active reading of the Bible. We just finished speaking on Sabbath rest this past Sunday at the church. The first time we come across rest in the Bible is in Genesis 1. God rests from his work. So, here are my questions. Why is God resting? And what kind of resting is this? I come up with a theory: God is resting because he’s tired. So I test it like a scientist would. How do I test it? I test it according to the rest of what God has revealed in his Word. What does the rest of the Bible say? Well, in Isaiah 40:28 I read, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Well, out goes that theory. I’m wrong. He is not resting because he’s tired. I also read in Hebrews 1 that the Son upholds the universe by the Word of his power. So while God might have been resting from his creative work on the seventh day, he wasn’t resting from his upholding work. God’s Word is beginning to change my theory. New theory: God has stopped not all of his work, but his creative work, to enjoy what he’s made. Okay, let’s test that by his Word. Well, the Genesis account has already told me several instances where God has called his work ‘good.’ Psalm 104 speaks of God rejoicing in his works. So, I think we’re on the right track by confirming our revised theory. This is what I mean by active reading. We think, observe, analyze, evaluate. 

There are many more hats we can put on as we’re Bible reading, but the point is this: putting our minds to work by active Bible reading will lead to discoveries of God and his faithfulness throughout history. The mind serves to engage the heart. Let’s think over what God has said. Let’s put our minds to work for the love of God.

If you’re looking for a Boston church to call home and a community to grow with in your relationship with God, we’d love to see you visit King’s Hill.