Learning to eat

We would never consider eating food that had been pre-chewed by someone else. Yet, for many Christians, that is the only way they ever eat spiritually.  They just take in the pre-chewed food of their pastor.  Isn’t it time you learned to eat for yourself?  While that is good, here are some helps for you when it comes to reading your Bible so that you can learn to eat for yourself and not just take in the pre-chewed nourishment of others.
 
Read it continuously:  Don’t just read a chapter a day.  Pick a book or lengthy passage and read it non-stop from start to finish.
 
Read it repeatedly:  Don’t just read it once.  Take the same book or passage and read it every day for 7 days, 10 days, or even 30 days in a row. 
 
Read it independently:  Commentaries and devotional guides are great tools, but before you read what others say about the Bible, first just read the Bible.
 
Read it prayerfully:  As you read, stop periodically and pray.  Describe to God what you just learned and ask him questions about what you don’t understand.
 
Read it meditatively:  Don’t just read it…think about it throughout the day.  One of the best ways to do this is to memorize parts of the Bible on a regular basis.
 
Now that’s good eating!