One thing many of you have noticed about these studies is the focus on writing your answers down, either onto a printed page or onto the computer screen. Some of us might be tempted to skip this step because it takes time and frankly I often times don’t have much time when it comes to my busy schedule. This week, I want to stress the importance of writing down your answers and keeping them in a notebook or within the fancy Deluxe PDF.
Last week’s newsletter, Having Money vs. Serving Money, is an excellent example of why I personally write out my studies. The newsletter was to be sent out was the day before I was scheduled to speak, and I had been so busy preparing for the message that I almost missed writing the newsletter. Scrambling frantically for a topic, I opened up my directory of lessons, and grabbed the first one I had tagged as having a burst of insight and scanned through it. Last week’s newsletter was a slightly modified response to my study on Matthew 6:19-24.
So really why do I tell all of you this now? Because, at least for me, my memory fades, and often times I don’t remember the insights that I often have when reading the Bible. Writing my answers down both helps me remember longer and it helps me again when my memory fails me.
What happens if I don’t ever feel like I have any brilliant insights as I study? That is ok too. I waited several months before a passage jumped out at me and flipped my thinking, and this was after I had read the Bible from cover to cover more than once. (Last week’s passage is Day 42 in the Life of Jesus (201) study.)
Even if you don’t have any apparent insights, writing down your answers still is important, because another thing writing does, at least for me, is it helps me focus. I am easily distracted and having to write out my answers forces my brain to focus on what I am writing about—the passage. More often than not, it is only after I have started writing my answer that more insights seem to come.
Perhaps, if you haven’t had an insight come from the scripture in a while, why not sit down today, or tomorrow, and grab a pen and paper when you open up your Bible to study. Write out anything you see that stands out in your mind—whether it seems odd or strange, whether it seems unbelievable or far-fetched, or whether it seems too amazing or wonderful. Perhaps as you write out your thoughts, you might see something you hadn’t noticed before, and you’ll be glad you had that pen handy. 🙂
~Cam
P.S. Do you have a challenge when it comes to studying the Bible? Email Cam your question. Your response may be featured in an upcoming newsletter!
P.P.S. Did I miss something, or would you like to respond on this topic? Join the conversation below!