Arise and Build Your Bible Study

A while ago, I wrote a bulletin article on retaining more of what we read in the Bible, and I was encouraged by the positive feedback. God’s word must always be a priority for His people. He has given us His word so we can both read it and understand it.

Paul said in Ephesians 3:3-5:“…That by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit…”

Notice three truths:

• Paul received revelation from God.

• He wrote it down.

• He wrote it so others (including us) could read and understand.

From Genesis to Revelation, God has given us His words so that we might know Him. Yes, some passages are challenging—Peter himself admitted that some of Paul’s writings were “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). But that shouldn’t discourage us. The Bible is a lifetime study, and God’s word is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).

Like many of you, I’ve struggled at times with consistency in daily Bible reading. Recently, however, I began something new with two brothers: a group we call “Arise and Build” (from Nehemiah’s work in rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, Nehemiah 6:15). We committed to a 52-Day Challenge where we meet daily for Bible reading and prayer.

Here’s how we’ve approached it:

• The first time through Nehemiah (13 chapters), we simply read a chapter each day and discussed what we learned.

• The second time, we each prepared a brief outline of every chapter and compared notes. We also asked, “What’s one word that describes this chapter?” to help retain what we read.

• The third time, we’ll expand our outlines with more details.

• The fourth time, we plan to use colored pencils to mark themes—locations, people, prayers, sins, and more—so the text locks deeper into our memory.

It’s not fast, but it’s effective. Slow and steady builds lasting understanding. By the end, we’ll each have a thorough outline of Nehemiah—and more importantly, we’ll have saturated our minds with God’s word.

If you’ve struggled with Bible reading, consider studying with someone else. When our 52 days are up, we plan to start again and invite others to join. If 13 chapters feels overwhelming, try something smaller. Read Jude or 3 John (just one chapter) every day for a week. Or meditate on 10 verses at a time.

The key is simple: Arise and Build. Take the step. Be intentional. Open God’s word again and again. As Paul wrote: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).