The Bible Made No Sense Until I Read It This Way

Yesterday we talked about prayer.

How prayer is a transfer of dependence to God.

Today we talk about the other half of that relationship.

The Bible.

I'm going to be honest with you.

For a long time, the Bible didn't make sense to me.

I would read it out of formality, because I was told to just do it at church.

I'd open up a few random verses that the pastor was going over.

But I genuinely didn't know what I was doing.

It felt like opening random chapters, reading till I got tired, closing it, and calling that the checkbox for the day.

Sometimes I would feel something. Most of the time I didn't.

And the parts I thought I understood, I would later realize I was completely off.

I started to think the problem was me.

I would spiral and feel like it was because I wasn't spiritual or smart enough.

I felt really condemned. It made me think the Bible was only for pastors and theologians.

I would be envious of these pastors and how they got these unlocks so easily.

One day, a pastor showed me the issue wasn't my capacity to grasp these things.

It was the way I was reading the Bible.

I was reading it like a textbook. Trying to absorb the most information I could, like I was studying for a test.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but I sucked at taking tests and I was horrible at school.

Over the years, I have realized that most people read the Bible this way.

They start with Genesis 1 and try to power through to Revelation 22 like it's a novel.

By the time they finish Genesis, they are lost and frustrated.

Or they play Bible roulette. Flipping to random Psalms when they are sad, or Proverbs when they need wisdom, hoping something sticks.

But the Bible was not designed to be read that way.

We can see here that Paul wrote to Timothy and told him to rightly divide the word of truth.

When you look at the original Koine Greek word for "rightly dividing," it's orthotoméō.

It literally means to cut straight. To be accurate.

Paul wanted Timothy to read with accuracy.

But most people read the Bible with their own feelings and interpretations, which may or may not be accurate.

Reading the Bible is a skill. Most people have never been taught how to do it right.

The Bible is the most powerful book on the planet.

But reading it without knowing how to divide it is like having a sword and swinging it with your eyes closed.

Paul gives us the blueprint here on how to rightly divide.

The unlock is not that everything in the Bible was written to you, but that all of it was written for you.

We are to see Jesus in every line and what He did for us on the cross.

That simple. That's it.

For example, when God told Noah to build an ark, that was written to Noah.

Obviously you don't need to go and build a boat.

But what was God pointing to?

That Noah found grace in the eyes of God. And that the ark represents Jesus.

Whoever is inside of it will be saved and will ride over the curse, which the water represents.

Context matters. Audience matters.

The entire book is about Jesus, as John 5:39 says.

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
John 5:39 (KJV)

If you point to Jesus in every line, that is how you rightly divide the word of truth.

People use Scripture to point to self. We're supposed to use it to point to Savior. Different S's.

When I started reading the Bible looking for Jesus, everything changed.

Even in this verse, God says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God."

That points to Jesus, even though it includes self.

How?

Because many of us feel ashamed when we sin. We feel disapprovedor unworthy.

God tells us to study the Scripture because it points to Jesus, who then makes us worthy, which renews our mind, our faith, our heart posture, and our identity.

When we look at the Bible to see Jesus in every line, to accept it instead of just understand it, something shifts inside our hearts.

Every story is pointing to Him. Every prophecy is leading to Him.

When I started reading the Bible to meet Jesus, He came alive.

The Bible reveals Jesus on every page.

When you read it that way, things click.

Verses that used to confuse you suddenly make sense.

Stories that felt random suddenly connect.

The gospel becomes the thread running through every single page.

Here's how to start reading the Bible with new eyes today.

1. The next time you open your Bible, ask one question before you read. "Where is Jesus in this?" Let that be your lens for everything you read.
2. Accept that you may not understand the Bible right now. But over time, you will learn to read it the way it was meant to be read. As a book that reveals Jesus on every page and in every line.
3. Start letting Scripture interpret Scripture. When a verse confuses you, find other verses on the same topic. Let the Word explain the Word. That is what rightly dividing looks like in practice.

PRAYER:

Father God, I have been reading Your Word with the wrong lens. I was looking for rules. Today I change how I approach the Bible. I open it now to see Jesus on every page. Teach me to rightly divide Your Word. Help me see the gospel in Genesis, the cross in the prophets, and Your Son in every story. I want to meet You in Your Word. Open my eyes, Lord. Show me Jesus. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.