Read the Bible Selectively: When?

As you continue to go through these steps of reading your Bible, remember that you are in the observation phase. In this phase, it is important that you allow the Bible to speak for itself. When you present the Bible with the questions listed below, you are allowing the passage to be interpreted correctly.

This process is referred to as exegesis. When the Bible speaks for itself, you will extract the exact intention of the author. We must be careful not to force our 21st century beliefs or opinions back into the text or we do a great disservice to our time in the Word.
That is why you need these 6 questions in your mind when you come to read the Bible: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?

Let’s look at the fourth question: WHEN?

Here a few questions to ask when you are reading the Bible: When did the events in the text take place? When did they occur in relationship to the other events surrounding the text? When did the writer pen the story? If the writer is talking about some future event, when will it occur?

Think about the life of Jesus Christ. In Mark 1:35, Mark tells us that Jesus went early in the morning, when it was still dark, to get alone and pray. It was the morning after the busiest day in the life of our Lord. That day was chock full of miracles, teaching, and healing.

After many of our busiest days, we find every excuse for sleeping in and resting the next day. But not Jesus! At the top of His priority list was an intimate relationship with His Father. Intimacy meant more to Him than anything else. How about you? Is your prayer life a priority? Do you find time to spend alone with God?

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).