“Reading the Bible is SO intimidating.”

Has that thought ever flown past your head? If it has, you are not alone — we have all been there. There are so many places that you could start, so many questions that could come up, but within all of those pages, and chapters and stories is complete wonder, awe and wisdom. The Bible is one of the most powerful tools that Jesus has given us to help understand Him better and we want to be women who use that access point as much as we can!

One of my dearest mentors, Emily Jamieson, has graced me with so much knowledge and wisdom on how to read the Bible in a way that is life giving and I asked her to sit down with me to share some of those tips with you. Learning how to read the Bible to understand more about Jesus’ true character has transformed everything for me, and I hope it does the same for you. In the video we unpack the HOW TO of reading the Bible and then actually apply the practice WITH YOU through the story of “Feeding of the 5000.”

Our hope is for you to learn how to apply this way of reading the Bible into your own life after seeing us do it in this video.

Our heart is to equip you s you can have your own intimate encounters with the Living Word!

Make sure you have your Bible, a journal, and a pen nearby when you listen because you are going to need them!

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For those of you who are a little less visual and want a step by step ‘how to’ guide, follow the steps below!

4 Steps on How to Read the Bible to Discover Jesus’ True Character

1. Open and Read the Bible

You have to start somewhere! For the sake reading to the Bible to understand Jesus’ character, we suggest opening up to any passage in one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). A few suggestions: Woman at the well (John 4), Jesus walking on water (Mark 6:45-56), Bartimaeus receiving his sight (Mark 10:46-52). Don’t feel like you need to read a whole chapter at once, maybe start with a section or even a verse or two!

2. Notice Where Jesus is Mentioned

As you simply read through the passage understanding what is going on in the story/scene, take notice of where the Jesus is mentioned. Don’t think too much about it, just notice all the places He is mentioned. This could be something Jesus says or when someone else mentions Him. It is important to understand the overall narrative arch of a story before you dive SUPER deep into what Jesus is trying to teach you through it.

3. Observe Jesus’ Character

Go back and read the passage again, pausing at every moment Jesus is speaking or mentioned. Then imagine yourself in that moment observing Him doing or saying those things. As a bystander, what would you observe about Jesus’ character through His actions and words?

4. Apply Jesus’ Characteristic to Your Own Life

Apply those character traits to your own life. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) so how He acted 2,000+ years ago is how He is going to continue to act today. How incredible is that??

Looking for Jesus’ Character in the Feeding of the 5,000 story:

If we want to apply this practice to the feeding of the 5000, let’s start with the first verse in the story:

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. – Mark 6:30

Where is the first place we see Jesus mentioned?

“The apostles gathered around Jesus.”

So, the apostles gathered around Jesus. Simple statement, yes, but now think if you were standing there observing this, what conclusions would you make about Jesus as a person if people were gathering around Him?

• People want to be near Him
• He is a safe place
• People desire His company

In general, why do YOU choose to gather around someone?

So if we can draw that conclusion from the text, then what would that look like for YOU to translate that truth to your life now. What would it look like in a hard time or a good time to also desire Jesus’ company, to want to draw near to Him because He is a safe place?

Let’s look back at the verse and see where Jesus was mentioned next:

“Reported to Him all they had done and taught”

The disciples then went and reported to Jesus all they had done. What would you observe about Jesus in that space? When you come home from work or school or a long drive and run to a friend or family member and confide in them, what does that mean about their character?

• They are a safe place
• They are good at listening
• They want to listen

So… if we can make those conclusions from the text, we can do the same thing in our own lives! Ladies, Jesus is so eager to process life with you and receive all the reports of what you did in a day. He is a safe place and the best listener.

Now it is YOUR TURN! Right now!

Open up your Bible, choose a passage, or finish the story of Feeding the 5000 and GO! Jesus is excited to reveal more of Himself to you through the time you make to be with Him!

Remember, what was written out above is a snapshot to what Emily and I unpack in the video. Make sure to check out the full video for the FULL run down!