Why Did God Strike Miriam With Leprosy?

It is because she spoke against Moses to Aaron. So why did God strike her with a skin disease because of what she said? How are the two connected? To find out we need to consider what is going on with skin diseases in the Bible.

There is a biblical connection between skin diseases and evil speech. In the Bible, a skin disease can be a result of some form of gossip or slander. That is because the skin disease does not come from physical contamination, but from spiritual contamination. That is why the priest needed to take a look at it. To discern if it was one of the skin diseases that had a spiritual cause. The spiritual condition of a person’s heart would bring about a physical manifestation of a skin disease.

Jesus (Yeshua) referred to what makes a person unclean when he said this:

“…what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” – Matthew 5:18-20

Now, in modern times biblical leprosy is not in effect as it was when the Temple stood. These skin diseases were not a punitive measure for gossip and slander, they were corrective. In their own way these skin diseases were a blessing. People do not readily admit when they gossip and slander other people. These are sins of the heart, and many times they remain in the heart unless revealed by the one who hides them. By giving sins of the heart a physical manifestation there would be no way to hide these destructive sins, they would be dealt with. It is hard to deny that you have sinned when you get a supernatural skin condition from it.

This brings us to the incident in Numbers when God strikes Miriam with leprosy for what she says against Moses. So let’s take a look at those verses:

“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, ‘Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?’ And the LORD heard it.” – Numbers (Bamidbar) 12:1-2 ESV

Even though both Aaron and Miriam seem to be speaking against Moses, since Miriam is mentioned first it is believed that she was the one doing the sinning since she is the one who comes down with the leprous spots. Her conversation is seen to be almost harmless, for us the temptation is to say that she must have been saying something terrible to receive the correction that she did. The fact that the sin is so small tells us a lot about how seriously God takes this sin. God confronts Miriam and Aaron:

“Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. – Numbers (Bamidbar) 12:9-10

What exactly did she say? The gist of the conversation may have gone something like this. “Hey Aaron why is Moses so special? God speaks to us as well, and Moses is married to that Cushite woman (this implies that Moses’ wife was a foreigner). All true facts, and in her heart, most likely a legitimate question. So why such a strong reaction? Let’s look at several reasons:

1. It shows how much respect God has for Moses and what their relationship is like. If God is like this with Moses and cannot abide the smallest verbal slight to him, then this gives us a good idea about how we should feel about those we consider close friends. The smallest slight and God comes immediately to the defense of Moses. Our we that loyal to our friends? I think it is something to strive for.
2. It shows us how serious the offense of gossip really is. We might not think much of what we say about other people. Surely Miriam thought her words were perfectly fine at first. Moses does not take offense and even prays for her immediately, but Miriam’s words put a slight shade on the reputation of Moses. The strong reaction from God shows us that even the smallest infraction are serious to Him. We should take heed that we guard our speech carefully.
3. It shows that God wants to make an example of Miriam so that others do not follow in her footsteps. Miriam, being a prophetess and a leader in Israel, is held to a strict accounting. If God would do this to Miriam over such a seemingly small matter, what might happen to someone not as important as Miriam? God did not want anyone thinking that this type of speech was harmless. It puts everyone on high alert to treat their neighbor with respect.
4. It shows that while there may be forgiveness there are still consequences. Miriam still had to spend seven days outside the camp. Everyone waited for her to return. This was for Miriam’s benefit as well as the camp. Everyone would be carefully studying how to speak with one another because of what happened to Miriam, and Miriam would be making sure that this did not happen again.

Most translator’s and commentators translate the Hebrew word tzara’at (צָרַעַת) as ‘leprosy’. What we call leprosy in modern times is actually Hansen’s disease and it is unrelated to biblical skin diseases translated as leprosy in the Bible. It is a bit confusing, right? Don’t worry we can clear this up shortly. (No pun intended). Let’s start with a key verse.

“When a person has on the skin of his body a rising or a scab or a bright spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests,” – Leviticus (Vayikra) 13:2

There are three forms of the skin disease described here.

A RISING (שְׂאֵת) SE’ETH (seh-ATE) This word in Hebrew means to rise, to be exalted, to be elevated. For this reason, this form of skin disease was connected a person who would speak against others to raise his or her own stature.

A SCAB (סַפַּחַת) SAPPAHCHAT (sa-pah-CHAT) This word for this skin disease is related to the word for annexation SIPUACH (סִפּוּחַ). It represents the person who would not normally gossip, but if they were join a group of evil doers they would join right in.

A BRIGHT SPOT (בַּהֶרֶת) BAHERET (ba-he-RET) This word for bright spot means the same as the Hebrew word BAHIR (בָּהִיר), a bright spot. It represents the one who after they have spoken against another person then tries to justify his or her behavior and exonerate themselves by trying to make clear why they acted the way they did.

If we look at the description the Bible gives about the type of skin disease Miriam had, then we would have to say it matches the third kind the best. The text says she was covered like snow. This gives the idea that she was covered in white spots. Obviously, she justified her behavior, if not right before she spoke, then shortly after. After all wasn’t she just trying to find out why Moses was so special? She thought that her and Aaron were on the same level as Moses if not slightly better. This turned out to be a big mistake. It was so subtle that she seemed to have missed it.

This is why it is a good idea to pray for divine assistance each day to help us guard our speech. If it could happen to Miriam it could happen to anyone, and unlike back then we do not get struck with a skin disease when we gossip.

Why not? I do not have a definitive answer. I would say it is because there is no Temple, no Priest to declare clean or unclean, and no way to perform the necessary sacrifices. Instead we must study the Bible and know when we are gossiping. We must study the instruction of God regarding pure speech, if anything, we need to take more responsibility. You might ask, “If all of those things are gone how do we put things right when they go wrong?”

The answer is that God does not take things away and neglect to provide a way for forgiveness. As always, we repent of our sin. We see that we have done what is not right in the eyes of God. We change our hearts and begin to attach the same gravity that God attaches to our misdeeds. We need to view sin as He does. This begins with confession. We tell God that we have broken His commandments when it comes to how we speak. We repent which means we change our ways, we replace our ways with God’s ways. We work to turn our misdeeds into righteous acts. The critical thing is to really understand how on a practical everyday level God wants us to act toward each other.

One more verse I would leave you with is this:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1^st John 1:9 ESV

You may think, “Okay, now I’ve got it. Thanks!” However, I would encourage you to dedicate some serious time in Bible study and prayer on this matter. So much hangs upon our words. The Bible is quite adamant about this subject. It seems to come up constantly in Scripture when you look for it. In fact, the world may just hang in the balance depending on how we speak. Let’s be the holy people God called us to be. Let’s learn to speak well and guard our tongues well.

Thank you for reading this and God’s grace to you as you consider these things for yourself.

How to Avoid Condoning Evil Speech

Avoid Falling Into Sin When Someone Begins to Speak Negatively About Another Person

If you have been following Pilgrim’s Light lately then you may have noticed a theme. I have been very disappointed in the effectiveness of the teaching that has been attributed to the Bible lately. It seems that the Bible believing world has missed some very important lessons that the Bible is addressing. Maybe some of it is that we have become a very self-serving people. Maybe we address the Bible in how it can benefit us without understand how to achieve the goal to which the Bible is directing us.

Galatians 5:14 and James 3:2 are passages that demand further inspection:

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” -Galatians 5:14 ESV

Master one thing and you have fulfilled all of God’s instructions. What does this entail? Can we just give it a cursory glance and be done with it? Or does it demand much deeper study and application? As we discussed in the article Do We Practice What the Bible Teaches? and the teaching on How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself, we saw that “loving your neighbor as yourself” includes how we speak about and to each other.

and

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. -James 3:2

James the Just (a.k.a. Yaakov HaTzaddik) is giving us the key to live a perfect life. The key is to only engage in honorable speech! What is honorable speech? Honorable speech is saying the perfect thing at the right time. I think we have lost the ability to speak honorably to each other as Believers, at least for the most part. So who is teaching how to engage in honorable speech? What are the fine points of speaking the way God would have us speak to each other?

I don’t really have the answers to these questions and that is why I am studying this subject for myself. These articles are my way of working these concepts through. Hopefully, this exercise can benefit more people than just myself.

So without further ado, let us dig into the subject at hand. What should we do if someone begins to speak negatively about another person in our presence?

From my own experience I have been both the giver and receiver of this offense. I have been the one speaking negatively about another person, and I have been the person listening to negative comments about other people. I freely admit this because I think many of us have been guilty of the same offenses. In this article I would like to speak to the issue of what to do when we are receiving the negative information. What is our responsibility to the person who is speaking negatively and to the person they are speaking about?

The key verse for this is one that you may not suspect:

You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. -Numbers 35:33

The modern Hebrew word for pollute here is to flatter. That does not make much sense in English  “You shall not flatter the land in which you live, for blood flatters the land…” So I had to do a little digging to understand the concept of the word. You may think this is solely speaking about murder, but as we have seen murder and evil speech are the same category of sin according to Jesus (Yeshua) and the rest of Scripture. So what is the concept here?

The Hebrew word is cha-NEIF (חָנֵף). Flattery is probably not the best word for this concept. The concept is that of accepting what is evil as something that is good, it is a type of deception in that it corrupts, defiles, or pollutes the truth. So how does that concept come through in this verse?

When blood is shed in the land there are no immediate repercussions. The land stills supports its inhabitants things go on as normal for a time. However, the blood-guilt remains on the land. Just as God told Cain that the blood of Able was “crying out” to Him. The blood on the land cries out to God. God hears it, and remembers it but the ones who defiled the land continue to live in it. The ones who will be responsible for the blood will have to atone for it at some point since the land does not provide an atonement for the blood shed in it. To the one who sheds blood it is like he or she is getting away with something that they are not. It is deceptive that the land looks good when in fact it is defiled.

This concept applies to those who stand by while sins are committed and say or do nothing or even worse condone or even promote wrongdoing. The offender does not see that they have defiled the land so to speak. They have spilled the blood of their neighbor through gossip, but everything still looks good to them. To stand by and allow this situation to continue is the sinful act. This can happen with any category of sin, but for the purpose of this article I will be exploring how this applies to the one who listens to gossip.

We can see this concept in the following passage as well:

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness… murder… They are gossips, slanderers… Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. -Romans 1:29-32* ESV

* I removed some of the sins in the list to make a point, murdering, gossiping, and slandering is what evil unrighteous people do. We absolutely should not engage in this behavior nor should we show approval in any way.

I share the following to admonish and build the body of our Messiah so that we can be the holy and righteous people He is calling us to be. We do not want to participate in gossip and slander, and we do not want to give approval to those who do. May the LORD guide us into all truth with this issue. Please take into consideration the following:

The one who listens to negative speech about another person (gossip), by inaction, is doing a number of things:

1. They are giving approval to doing what is evil by their inaction. I used to believe, and many people still believe, that it is acceptable to listen to gossip as long as you do not add to it. I have found that this is wrong because my inaction is seen by the offender as approval of the gossip.
2. They are allowing the offender to think that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. This blinds the offender to the evil being committed by the gossip. The offender will continue to do the same thing over and over again. The offender will think it is acceptable to gossip when in reality it is destroying both the offender, and the other person.
3. They are failing to be a godly example to others. If anyone else is present while the offender is gossiping the bystanders could think that this type of speech is acceptable and emulate it with others.
4. They are neglecting their duty to the offender. Since the offender is not admonished the offender is less likely to ask God for forgiveness and the sin remains unaddressed which can lead to negative ramifications for the offender, both with his neighbor and with heaven itself.
5. They show by their actions that they are trying to please men rather than God. Instead of upholding God’s ideal of honorable speech the listener instead elects to save the feelings of the offender thereby putting a person’s opinion before God.

Of course there is no reason to be rude or offensive to the offender to get the point across and in some instances it is advisable to remove oneself from the situation and show one’s protest by one’s absence. It would be advisable to excuse yourself and remain quiet when you know the offender will not head your warning. The Bible mentions this situation here:

“Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” -Proverbs 9:8 HCSB

The point is to not just let the situation continue and give the impression that the gossip is acceptable.

In order to mitigate this circumstance say positive things about the person being gossiped about. This will let the offender know that you do not share their view of the person in question and it may stop the attack. If after saying positive things it does not stop the gossip then an attempt should be made to change the topic, and failing that, end the conversation. One should refrain from nodding or using any other form of non verbal agreement with the offender.

The goal in all of this is not to put down the offender or try to exert control in the situation. Biblical admonishment is the skill of correcting a fellow believer with the truth in love. The goal is to save all parties involved, including yourself, from sin and dishonor.

To love your neighbor as yourself takes practice. If we begin to take these issues seriously maybe we can truly know what it means to live in peace with God and with others. I am excited to be learning this, it feels like unlocking the keys to the Universe. I pray that you will benefit from this as well. All the best as you work to apply biblical truth in your own walk.

How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

An In-Depth Explanation of Leviticus 19:16

Often we do not think through the practical application of God’s commandments. It is definitely something we all need to work on. Knowing the commandments is one thing, following them takes persistence.

Do We Practice What the Bible Teaches?

I believe that if you spoke with most Believers and asked them if they followed the Bible they would tell you that they do. If you were to go to most pastors and asked them if they were following the commands of Scripture they would tell you that they are. So everything is fine, right?

Well, maybe not. I am not writing this article do decry the state of the modern church, or to point to the hypocrisy of those who claim to follow the Bible and the actions that they take. Why? Because all of that has been done before and what good has that done? Very little from my perspective.

What if we have been taking the wrong approach all along? What if we have been missing the root problem Scripture is addressing? What if all we are dealing with are the effects of a much deeper issue? What is the Bible really trying to teach us? Let me offer a few observations.

If you were ask a Believer, “What are the two greatest commandments in all of Scripture?” What answer would you get? If they have read their Bible at all the pat answer would be this: Tho love the LORD your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is what Jesus taught in Matthew 22:36-40:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Simple right? You would think so, but what if I were to tell you that from my perspective very few people are taking this seriously? These words tend to flow off the tongue and they are repeated and taught often, but the real meaning of these commands and their application seem to be lost on most people. For the remainder of the article I would like to focus on the second greatest commandment: To love your neighbor as yourself.

It seems pretty self explanatory. It is just a restating of the golden rule like: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or, What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor, or, Treat other people how you would like to be treated. These are all good sayings, but the reason that these sayings are not very effective is that they have a different meaning for each person. These need to be clarified a bit further to be useful. Thankfully, the Bible provides more details. So let’s look at this command a bit closer to see what it is really talking about.

Jesus taught this:

You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again,anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca*,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. -Matthew 5:21-22

*Raca means “empty-headed” someone who is an idiot or a moron.

If we look closely at this passage we will notice a few things. Number one is that Jesus is putting calling someone a fool in the same category as murder. Number two is that as the offenses get smaller the punishments get bigger. The smaller the infraction the bigger the consequences. Now how is that fair? Jesus is being more than fair He is teaching from what most people know to what only a few people know. Most people know it is wrong to commit murder. Most people do not know that it is wrong to call someone a fool. What is more since most people do not know that it puts them in a very dangerous position. They continue to practice what is wrong not knowing that it is wrong. Therefore, they do not correct themselves, they do not change their ways, nor do they repent. This puts them in danger of the fires of hell.

So what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? There are many verses that teach us how to do this but for now I would like to focus on the ones found in Leviticus:

You shall not go around peddling gossip among your people, you shall not stand up against the blood of your neighbor.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. -Leviticus 19:16-18

Here we have a step by step guide on how to love your neighbor as yourself. When Jesus referenced this commandment He was quoting a commandment that came at the end of a list belonging to the same category. How you view your neighbor and what you say about him or her. Let’s take a look at these one by one.

You shall not go around peddling gossip among your people.

All English translations translate the Hebrew word here as a slanderer, but the word really means someone who gossips. One who slanders make false accusations, but one who gossips speaks the truth with the intent of harming someone’s reputation in some way. The commandment is to refrain from spreading true information that casts people on a negative light.

You shall not stand up against the blood of your neighbor.

This is an idiom, in present day vernacular you would say, do not stand idly by as your neighbors blood is being spilled.’ This is connected to the previous commandment the one who spreads gossip is engaging in sinful behavior, but the one who listens to gossip is also guilty. Blood is equal to life so the one who is ruining a reputation is taking away the life of the other person. The one who listens to gossip is standing by while his neighbors life is being taken from him.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart.

This is one of a very few number of commands telling a person what they cannot do in their heart. God is telling His people not to secretly hate another person. It is not allowed. in fact it is subject to God’s judgment. This should be a sober warning.

You shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

Why would you hate your brother in your heart? Because he is in sin and you are secretly judging him instead of going to speak with him and set things right.The sin would be to continue to hate your brother and think less of him. Rather go to him and sit down and have a reasonable conversation with him and work to bring him to the truth.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people.

God does not want us to take matters into our own hands by dealing out vigilante justice. God does not want us to hold grudges against others. If someone is ‘getting away’ with something then it is not up to us to take matters into our own hands, rather we should follow biblical guidelines in an effort to bring about repentance in the heart of the other person.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Now we can see what this means. To love your neighbor as yourself means to not gossip, nor listen to gossip. It means to not judge people for what they do but to go to them and work things out. It means letting God rule over the lives others living free from the need to get even.

So how are we doing?

This article is not meant to be a battering ram, but a bettering ram. How are you doing with this? Do you find yourself falling into these traps? Take some time for some self examination. How many people are actually doing them? What would it be like if we all followed these commandments?  Does this shed some light on the commands of Jesus?

If you agree with me on this how about we do something about it? Will you join with me in working on these things? If we can begin to seriously follow what the Bible says, and what Jesus teaches we can make a real difference in the congregation of God. Just imagine what it would mean. No gossip, no slander, no judgment, no grudges, it begins in the heart of each individual. Let that sink in for a moment, then make your decision.

The Mission of Pilgrim’s Light

Why the Name Pilgrim’s Light?

Growing up I had a copy of Little Pilgrim’s Progress that I read until the cover fell off. Since then, I have read the adult version numerous times. The idea of following a path to the Celestial City and reading all of the allegories and learning what they meant fascinated me. So what sent the hero of the book, a man named Christian, on this epic journey? It was the Bible.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” -Psalm 119:105

God’s Word bring light into the darkness. Moral clarity in a world of gray compromise. Coming out of the darkness and into the light is a major theme in the Bible beginning when the first light dawns in Genesis.

This makes those who would follow after God, pilgrims along the path to God’s dwelling place. The city of light that rests on a hill where the eternal temple of light shines into the Universe. So the name Pilgrim’s Light is meant to evoke this imagery.

So What is the Mission?

The entire mission of Pilgrim’s Light is to bring the light of God’s Word to those who are seeking Him. Those who are seeking the path to His dwelling place. In a practical way Pilgrim’s light as a ministry exists to encourage daily Bible reading, Bible study, and daily application of God’s Word. The first thing that we focus on is the discipline of daily Bible reading. Everyone reading their Bible everyday!

Our three focus points are:

1. Bible Reading.
2. Bible Memorization.
3. Bible Study.

Why All of This Focus on the Bible?

We focus on the Bible because this is the primary means by which we receive information from God. Through the Bible we learn every instruction that God wants to teach us. How could we ever know what we should be doing unless we have read the instruction book? A thorough understanding of the Bible is the key to following God.

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding

These three things make up what in means to know Scripture. Knowledge is knowing specific facts about the Bible. Wisdom is seeing how the Bible is to be applied in situations. Understanding is putting what the Bible says into daily practice. It is the core of a Believer’s lifestyle, following God through His Word.

How We Help People

Our primary ministry is sending out daily Bible Readings through e-mail. Along with this we use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, this blog, and our website to promote the Bible. We also develop courses to help others learn the Bible. with our Basic Bible Study Method we train people on how to study the Bible. Our next course in progress is Memorize Scripture. With this we will train people on our accelerated memorization method.

Want to Join With Us?

If you have read this far maybe it is because you feel the same way about the Bible as we do. If so then we would ask for you to join with us and help us get the word out about our ministry. Our greatest need right now is for exposure. So we would ask that you take a moment to visit our Support page where you can easily connect with us on our social media outlets. Another thing that you could do is subscribe to our Daily Bible Reading and read through the Bible with us. We hope that whatever you do you grow in the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of God’s Word, the Bible.

The Holocaust and Abortion

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day and it coincided with the National Right to Life March in Washington DC. The holocaust and abortion are sometimes compared to each other. The same blind eye that was turned during the Holocaust towards Jews and their destruction is being turned toward the unborn in modern times. Apparently, I am not the only one drawing these conclusions. The video below is a valiant effort to wake up those who would wake up and let their voice be heard on this issue.

Sing a Little Louder from KingdomWorks Studios on Vimeo.

We see what happens when we are silent. We who would stand against this evil should make our voices be heard. Not angry voices, or patronizing voices, but voices that are strong, yet loving and firm, “This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.” We owe it to young mothers who are being convinced to end the life of their baby, we owe it to the women who are convinced by society that it is socially acceptable only to find that they have murdered their own soul when their baby was aborted.

The reality is that abortion is a crime against women. It is so awful and despicable that every excuse under the sun, every slander against those who would stand against, and every argument that can be conceived will be used in order to pacify the souls that have been tortured through this practice. The souls of would-be mothers.

The baby is dead and that is one tragedy, but that baby’s blood cries out against those who took its life. No one feels that cry more than the woman who was carrying that child. That cry is too much to bear for most. So it is understandable that those feelings would be repressed, ignored, or suppressed. The reality can be too tough to face.

Every woman should know that there forgiveness is available even for this. God can forgive, the child can forgive, but forgiveness is impossible without acknowledgement. That can be difficult when facing reality threatens to drive a person over the edge. Great care should be taken on this path. Human frailty makes this impossible in many cases, but with God all things are possible. He can grant forgiveness, heal the soul, and restore the person. He does this gently with love and forgiveness. This happens when the admission is made and the tears come and the soul cries out in humility and shame and the declaration is made, “I did it, I’m sorry, forgive me.” Then the burden is lifted and the soul is eased and a life is restored.

There is freedom from this for all sides. A better way is possible. We must turn to God for the answers. Then we will be able to heal this hurt and heal our nation.

5 Tips For Daily Bible Reading

I have been moved to encourage people to read the Bible daily. I am convinced that a lot of the problems we face could be greatly reduced if people spent more quality time in the Bible. Of course there is more to reading than just getting your eyeballs to follow the letters down the page, but if that’s where you’re at… baby steps.

Reading should be done with some level of comprehension. That means you understand what you are reading which most people do if they concentrate a little. The big problem is distracted reading. Extraneous thoughts, a wandering mind, tyranny of the urgent, and other distractions can really detract from comprehension. So here are a few tips that might help you out:

1. Have a goal.

It is difficult to aimlessly read through the Bible. Most books you have a goal. The goal is to finish the book. You can read it straight through. The Bible is not like most books it has many forms of literature, and many books within its pages. So reading straight through can actually be a problem. Most reading plans take into consideration that and either suggest smaller readings or they skip around enough that interest remains high. The most common goal is to read the Bible through in one year. This is a good place to start, make it a goal to have read the entire Bible a year from now and follow the rest of these tips.

2. Have a Bible reading plan.

If you make a routine then you should plan on what to read ahead of time. Find a schedule. Get a plan! It is tough to figure out what you want to read right before you sit down to read your Bible.  That is because there are so many places to start! There are 66 books in total. Not only that you might just try and read what you are the mood for, or you might start in one place and after reading a few verses change your mind and go to another place. Having a plan will help avoid all of this.

3. Make a routine.

If you make daily Bible reading part of your morning routine then you will be able to focus better. Your mind will adjust to the fact that this is what it does every day, and the noise up there should calm down a bit. Not only that you will be more consistent with your Bible reading time.

4. Track your progress.

I am convinced that in life there are few things that grant as much satisfaction as checking off boxes. You just feel really accomplished when you check stuff off. This can be a real motivator. Make sure your Bible reading plan has a way to track your progress. I use a Bible reading chart that has a box for every chapter of the Bible. When I read a chapter i check off the box. So satisfying. Find a way that works best for you and if you want the chart I use then shoot me an e-mail and I’ll send it to you: pilgrim@pilgrimslight.org. Just make sure you put Bible Chart in the subject line.

5. Begin immediately!

Now if you have actually been doing these tips then you made a goal, thought of a plan, scheduled some time in your routine, and found a way to track your progress. There is only one thing left. Get started! The best indicator of whether you will do this or not is the action you take right now. The longer you delay the more likely you are not going to start. If you like we have a daily Bible reading plan that will e-mail you everyday with a portion of the Bible to read. It will take you through the Bible in one year. To subscribe to it use the link below:

Pilgrims’ Light Daily Bible Reading Schedule

Well… what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

Why Study the Bible With a Method?

While Bible studies are good a Bible study method will help you in all aspects of your understanding of the Bible. So why should you use a method what is the benefit? When you begin to study on your own you begin to gain much more confidence in what you believe. You begin to have the tools to figure things out on your own. You learn how to let Scripture interpret Scripture and you see how everything connects. These are just a few of the benefits.

The Big Problem With Bible Study Guides

By the title you may think that I don’t like Bible study guides. That is not the case. I think they are great. However, if you just use Bible study guides to study the Bible then you could be missing something very important. The ability to study the Bible for yourself.

Bible Study guides do not teach a person how to study the Bible. Bible study guides show a person what to study, they ask questions, they guide. The only way to learn how to study the Bible is to learn a method. There are a lot of good methods out there so pick one and get stared!

Get a free lesson here THE BASIC BIBLE STUDY METHOD

Get a free Guide to Study Bibles here: FREE BASIC GUIDE TO STUDY BIBLES

Introducing the Basic Bible Study Method Online Course

Ten years ago I developed a method of studying the Bible for the very beginner. I was the assistant manager of a Family Christian Store after I came back from the mission field in Canada. Since I knew a lot about the Bibles and the Bible study tools I would help people find what they needed. As I did this I noticed that there were not many books on how to study the Bible. I looked at the ones we had and they began by giving a general overview of the entire Bible as an introduction. I thought, “This is really good information, but what if someone just wanted to find out the meaning of a single verse? Would they really spend all of this time trying get a general overview?” The two books we had would pretty much just sit there. When people asked for a book on Bible Study I would show them what we had but rarely would anyone purchase one.

I thought, “Why are there no books for beginners teaching the method of Bible study that I learned in Bible college?” I remember the first time the professor showed us his inductive method for studying the Bible. It really blew me away. I just sat there thinking why haven’t I heard of this before. We should be teaching everyone a method like this! So as I worked the floor at the Christian bookstore I thought “Well, if no one else is going to do it, I will!” So I developed  a seven-step method and I called it the Basic Bible Study Method. I based the method on what I learned as a third year Bible college student, and I included all of the things I would help people with when they were looking for Study Bibles, Bible study tools, and knowledge on how to study the Bible.

I first made a little booklet and a CD-ROM that I printed and mailed out myself. I couldn’t believe it when I started getting orders from all over, even in the UK! I quickly became overwhelmed with filling the orders and maintaining everything else I do so the Basic bible Study Method just sat there for a while. Until just a few months ago when I go the idea to make it into an online course. I expanded and updated the booklet and put more of a focus on online tools. I made the Basic Bible Study Method booklet into a full color downloadable e-Book. I did a series of videos, and I uploaded all of the materials onto the course site. I got to work on it over the holidays and a few months later I now have it up and running. So I am introducing the Basic Bible Study Method to the internet. I made the first lesson available for free so that people can give it a go. To go to the site just click Basic Bible Study Method to check it out.

I love to study the Bible, it has given me so much benefit over the years it is my sincere hope that I can share what I have learned with others so they can benefit as well. One more thing I would like to say is: May God bless your efforts to study His Word.

Grace and Peace to You.

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη

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