Jesus told us He is the bread of life. We must come to Him and eat of this bread. So, how do we do that?

This short passage has so much in it. Jesus existed from the very beginning. He IS the Word or the Bible. He is all powerful because He created everything. He shines in the darkness and darkness cannot put out His light.

If we are a new creation, then our aim is to be so filled with Jesus that His light shines out of us.

Eating the Bread of Life

Jesus is the bread of life and He is also the Word. We eat this bread by consuming His Word. There are four ways we can do this.

1 - Hearing the Word

Many churches have Bible readings where we can hear a passage of the Bible read out. This is usually followed by a sermon that will explain what the passage was about. This has the advantage that we can hear an explanation of God's Word by a qualified preacher.

Hearing also has a limitation. We tend to remember about 5% of what we hear. If we take notes of anything important that is said, we can remember more.

2 - Reading the Word

We tend to remember more of what we read than what we hear but retention is still low. There is an activity on this site called Devotions. If you do have daily devotions you will not only be reading a passage of the Word every day but you will consider how it applies to you.

There is a limit on how deep we can go into the Word in our daily devotions. Daily devotions is meant to give us an overview of the Bible. Daily devotions, as described in these pages will eventually take you through the entire Bible. Do not allow this time to become a full on Bible Study.

Sometimes, while reading the Word, one passage, verse or thought will suddenly stand out. This is known as a rhema word, a word that the Holy Spirit has highlighted. Take note of that passage and prayerfully work out what God is saying to you.

3 - Studying the Word

Bible Study allows you to get into God's Word at a much deeper level. It is best done in a group of about 5 to 15 people. There are many ways to study God's Word. For new followers of Jesus, I would recommend a program that goes through all the basic doctrines of the Word such as 'Design for Discipleship' from The Navigators. This is a series of 7 booklets. The first 6 are topical studies looking at specific topics. The last booklet introduces you to studying a book of the Bible by going through the book of first Thessalonians. After completing this series of studies, you may feel capable of studying books of the bible without study guides or you may find some other study guides on topics relevant to your group.

In the small group page, I point out that being in a small group is the most important thing you can do as a follower of Jesus. This group may be a Bible Study group, a connect group or a micro church. If it is a Bible Study group, then you will be studying the Bible. If it is a connect group or a micro church, it should allocate some time or some meetings to studying the Bible. If you find yourself in a connect group or a micro church that never studies the Bible, then you should consider finding a different one.

Studying the Bible as part of a group means you will get insights from other people as to the meaning of various scriptures. Always pray at the start of the meeting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Many passages can be challenging to understand but a group discussion can bring clarity. Remember, all scripture is inspired by God. There are some truly evil people who appear in the Bible. We are not to be swayed by their ideas. We are to work out what God wants us to learn from each passage, even if it is just an error to avoid.

4 - Memorising the Word

It is good to have some key verses committed to memory. Even though many have iPhones with 50 versions of the Bible in them, there is nothing that will substitute for having key verses memorised. These verses will be with you always.

There are some key verses on the scripture memory page. There is also a really good program by The Navigators called the Topical Memory System which has 60 verses on cards in many versions of the Bible. Of course, if there are any verses that jump out to you during your reading or study, you can add these to your list.

The most important thing with scripture memory is not how many verses you know but how well you know them. Don't move to another verse till you are sure you know the previous verse 100%. Also, keep coming back to them in case you have forgotten some.

Application

The Bible is meant to change our lives, not increase our knowledge.

Just hearing, reading or studying God's Word and then forgetting about it achieves nothing. Even memorising it achieves nothing if we never think about it. It is living and active but we must allow it to be so in our lives. We must think about it. What does this mean? How does it apply to me? We need to create an action plan. If you follow the daily devotion plan, you will work through this in your reading. If you follow a good Bible Study plan such as a Navigators plan then you will be asked to work out an application or action plan for each study. If you are new to all of this, you may be overwhelmed by too many applications. Prioritise them and only work on what seems most important. It is far better to have one solid application fully implemented than to have a bunch that have only been poked at.

Which Version of the Bible

When I became a follower of Jesus, we only had a choice of the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version. Today, there is a vast array of versions. If your group uses a specific version then you should probably use that version as well. I use the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New King James Version (NKJV). When preaching to kids or creating studies for them, I use the New Living Translation (NLT). Be careful about the King James Version. Many claim to have heard from God that this is the only version that should be used. When it was created, it was the most accurate version of the Bible in English but that was Elizabethan English. Many now cannot understand Elizabethan English. The Bible is meant to bring light and life. It cannot do that if it is shrouded in barely understandable language. If you can truly understand it, then you can use it but if you can't then stay away from it. Don't criticise those who do use it but don't be swayed to use it yourself.