i want to read the bible..?

Question

but im not sure where to start..id rather not start from the beggining but i just dont know what to start on..i was to read somethin interesting..i have never been to into church and the bible and stuff like that, but my boyfriend is incarcerated. and he wants me to read it[hes always gone to church his whole life, and now that he needs god the most, he thinks i should get into it as well]..& i have..& i really wanna learn more about it all b/c im clueless..but where should i start..any ideas?

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT ANSWERS..I GUESS ILL JUST HAVE TO CHOOSE ONE OF THEM SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY :) BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH..IT HELPED ME..I MIGHT BE EMAILING THE FEW OF YOU WHO SAID THAT WOULD BE OKAY, ITS SO HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND THIS.BUT I ALSO HAVE MY BOYFRIENDS MOM WHO KNOWS ABOUT ALL THIS..BUT IF SHE CANT HELP WITH SOMETHIN I MIGHT NEED YOUR ALLS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH

Answer 1

Dear one,
May I suggest you first get an easy to read Bible like the
New American Standard Bible (NASB) or the New International Bible (NIV).
These are understandable and will help you to learn about God.

Do not think that if you begin a Book of the Bible, that you HAVE to finish it before reading another Book.
Always pray to God the Father before reading and ask Him if He will make Himself known to you through His Word the Bible. He will.

A great place to begin is in the Book of John in the New Testament. You will learn about Jesus and why He came and what He has done for YOU.

Stay in communication with your boyfriend to let him know you are reading and encourage him to do the same. Share with him what you've read and talk about it. It will do both of you good.

If you've not yet given your heart to Christ, I encourage you to do so. If you don't know what that means or if you need help with anything you read, I am very glad to help you to understand.

I do not want your money, nor do I have a church for you to join. I am only interested in seeing you become a sister in Christ and helping you to learn about our Great God.

You might also want to get into a church where you can be mentored by Godly women to help you along.

If you want, feel free to email me. I'll help if I can.
God bless you in your Bible reading and don't forget to talk to God daily. He knows your heart. He's waiting to hear from you.

Answer 2

I got The Daily Walk Bible with 365 devotional helps to guide you through the Bible in one year. I got this when I was 16 or so? I really don't remember but, it has been a long time that I had this. It really is helpful and you read maybe a page and a half a day. It breaks up the days for you and give your motivational quotes and lessons to learn with each day. It also, gives you charts that helps you understand (Going on the top, across the chart) the focus, situation, search, and solution. It also breaks the topic(going down the chart), for example Job, Divisions, Topics, Place, Time, (Job was Patiarchal Period (about 2000 b.c.) I am not sure if I have confused you or not trying to explain this to you. But, I can promise you it is really simple when you look at it. I understood it when I was 16 or so.
I am sure if you go to a Catholic book store or if they have a book store in your church, they just might have a book like this. It makes understanding the Bible a lot easier.

Answer 3

I suggest starting in the book of John, the 4th book in the New Testament. It will tell you a lot about Jesus and his teachings and is pretty easy to read. BUT, and this is big, pick up a translation that's easy to read!

I suggest the NLT (new living translation) or The Message (the message is a paraphrase of the Bible, so it's not a literal translation but if you've never read the Bible it's a great place to start because it's paraphrased with today's language).

May I suggest reading online? Check out:

www.biblegateway.com

This is an online Bible and you can read any of the available translations including the ones I listed about. Just type in the book of John and choose NLT or MSG from the translation box and press enter.

If you have serious questions I'd be open to emailing back and forth to help however I can!

Answer 4

The Bible is a collection of 66 books by over 40 authors. They range from history to poetry to political/social commentary to prophecy to letters and theology.

Reading from "front to back" is usually not the best method to read the book as it is not always ordered chronologically. They are ordered by types (history, poetry, prophecy), but length (Paul's letters are longest to shortest, not first to last), or the prophecy books were read on different holidays, so they are ordered by when in the year the holidays come, not when historically the books were written.

It is usually recommended to start with one of the Gospels. John is usually a good choice, because he is the only one of the writers who includes commentary to help explain Jesus' sayings to make them a little easier to understand. Continue from John into Acts for the history of the first generation of Christians. Then Romans for the most complete theological writing on the Christian faith. They will give you the foundations of faith.

You might also enjoy adding one Psalm each day to your reading as a way to learn to praise God. The Psalms of the lyrics of the songs sung by the Old Testament Jews.

Once you have the foundation down, you can then go look at how it all began with the early history books of the Old Testament.

You might one to alternate between an Old Testament history book and one of the New Testament gospels and letters. Helps to understand what is happening in the early books when you already know the final outcome from the New Testament.

Answer 5

Do read "in the beginning," that is Genesis, as that is the origin myth of the Hebrews, and has a lot of significance later on. Then skip all the genealogical tables (trust me, you will not find your great-grandfather in there), and go on to some of the more rousing history stories. Read Psalms, which has some great poetry.

Then when you get to the New Testament, you probably want to at least skim through the four gospels, looking for the familiar stories. Pay especial attention to the parables of Jesus, where he made illustrations of various moral points. Some good, useful stuff there. And some lines you have heard repeatedly. If you use the King James version, you will recognize lines which became song lyrics, book titles, all sorts of things.

Now skim through the rest, again looking for those wise little homilies of the apostles, and whatever history seems interesting to you. There will be a lot more familiar phrases there.

If you really want to read science fiction and fantasy, read Revelations. It is purported to be the predictions of St. John the Divine, but like Nostradamus, his works create interesting images open to many, many different interpretations. Play "conspiracy theory" on the most vivid images.

Answer 6

start with the New Testament... preferably John.
You can jump around if you want, there are websites that can help you do a few studies as well. If you google Christian bible studies you will get lots of hits. You could narrow it down by googling yearly bible study.
If you are serious, please pray before you open the bible, and stop to ask questions of God while you are reading. You might not get the answer right away, or even in the span of days, but eventually the Spirit will show you things and explain things in a way you can understand.

blessings :)

Answer 7

I would start in the one of the four gospels, maybe John to begin with. You're right, you probably won't get very far if you start with Genesis. I would read one of the gospels to get an overall view of who Jesus is and his life. Don't worry if you don't understand some things, I discover something new everytime I read it, take notes if you need to. Ask God for help in revealing what he is saying through His word. Perhaps talk about what you have read with your boyfriend or someone else who is knowledgeable about the Bible or might could answer some of your questions.

Answer 8

Start with the book of Proverbs. Read one or two a day and memorize the ones that affect you personally.

Once you've read a couple of verses in Proverbs, skip over to the New Testament and read from there.

Then, if you have a Bible that lists people and places in the back, pick something or someone from the Old Testament and read their story.

Answer 9

Romans 12"9-21

This is the definition of Christianity in a nut shell

Answer 10

I have been a christain all my life (even if that means about 13 yrs) I say start in Genesis because it is the book of beginnings and it will give you faith to start believing in him if you allow it to, or my Daddy told me to read Probverbs. That particular book shows you guide lines that you will be able to relate and apply to your life. Both of these books are in the old testiment and I suggest you read from the King James Version.
God Bless U!!!