Last week we talked about using the Blue Letter Bible app to look up words in the original languages. Today I want to show you another way I have found the Blue Letter Bible app to be useful: studying a specific word in our English Bible. This is helpful in increasing our understanding of passages and concepts in the Word of God. For this example, we’re going to study the word “rest.”

PERFORM A SEARCH FOR THE WORD YOU ARE STUDYING

Open the Blue Letter Bible app and tap the magnifying glass in the top left corner. Then, type in the word you want to study and tap search.

READ THROUGH THE VERSES CONTAINING THE WORD

As you can see, the word “rest” occurs in 265 verses in the Bible. If you’re researching a common word like “rest,” it may take some time to read through all the verses. Plan accordingly!

ADD VERSES OF INTEREST TO YOUR CLIPBOARD

As you find verses that spark your interest, tap them to bring up a menu. Select “Append Clipboard” to add them to your clipboard.

PASTE YOUR CLIPBOARD INTO YOUR NOTES APP

When you’re done reading, go to your notes app, open a new note, and paste your clipboard into your new note. Now you have all your verses of interest in one place, and you’ve likely narrowed down your research.

GO BACK AND LOOK UP THE VERSES TO FURTHER STUDY THE WORD

Go back to the Blue Letter Bible app and look up your verses of interest. From here, you can further study you word by looking it up in the original languages. (If you’re not sure how to do this, check out my blog post from last week.)

 

When we want to develop a deeper understanding of a Bible word, studying the way that word is used in the Bible can be incredibly helpful. I hope this will be a great tool for you as you dig deeper into God’s Word!

 

My favorite app to use when studying my Bible is the Blue Letter Bible app. It’s easy to use, it’s a wealth of knowledge, and it’s free! I’m sure I’m not even using a fraction of the resources on this app, but I want to share with you the ones that I do use and have found to be helpful. One thing that is incredibly helpful in studying the Bible is looking up words in the original languages in which the Bible was written. Gone are the days of bulky lexicons and expensive computer programs! You can easily look up Greek and Hebrew words on your phone. In this post, I will walk you step by step through using the Blue Letter Bible app to look up words in the original languages.

NAVIGATE TO THE PASSAGE YOU ARE STUDYING

By tapping the Scripture reference at the top of your screen, you will be brought to an index of all the books of the Bible. From here, you can easily navigate to the passage you would like to study.

TAP THE VERSE YOU WANT TO STUDY

Once you have brought up the chapter you are studying, tap on the verse for which you want to look up words in the original languages.

TAP INTERLINEAR/CONCORDANCE

At the very top of the menu, you will see “Interlinear/Concordance.” Tap that!

SCROLL DOWN AND TAP THE HEBREW/GREEK WORD YOU WANT TO STUDY

If you’re in the Old Testament you’ll see Hebrew words, and if you’re in the New Testament you’ll see Greek words. Scroll down and tap the Hebrew or Greek word that corresponds with the English word you would like to study.

THAT’S IT!

Scroll through this page to find definitions, how the word is used in the Bible, and other Scripture references where this word is used.

 

I’m so thankful for resources like this that allow me to deepen my understanding of God’s Word even though my knowledge of Greek and Hebrew isn’t as great as I would like for it to be. I pray that this will be a blessing to you. I will be creating more tutorials for the Blue Letter Bible app in the future, so make sure you’re receiving my newsletter so you don’t miss a post! You can sign up by entering your email address below!

 

We live in a culture that is wildly obsessed with success. Having a flourishing career, making money, owning a home, and living up to some ideal of “The American Dream” has become all-consuming for many people. Don’t get me wrong; none of those things are necessarily bad. There is nothing wrong with making money and owning things, but when achieving those things becomes our standard of success, it is likely that we will end up feeling empty in the end.

If we want to live truly satisfying, successful lives, we may need to redefine our definition of success. The Bible tells us clearly what the key to true success is:

Joshua 1:8

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

True success is found in living a life based on God’s Word. This formula that God outlined for Joshua before going into the promised land can also help us find true success in life as well. By redefining success as talking about God’s Word, knowing God’s Word, and doing God’s Word, we will find the satisfaction we are looking for.

TALK ABOUT GOD’S WORD

God told Joshua that the law should not depart out of his mouth. This command to Joshua was likely referring to God’s previous command to his people found in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The truth of God’s Word should be a constant centerpiece of our conversation. How much of our talking is centered around the Word of God? Even if we’re not talking directly about God’s Word, it should have an influence on all of our conversation. If someone listened to everything I said for a day, would it be obvious that I’m a Christian? Or would they be surprised to find out that I’m a believer? What is in my heart will always come out of my mouth.

KNOW GOD’S WORD

If what is in my heart will always come out of my mouth, I want to make sure I fill my heart with the truth of God’s Word. I can’t talk about God’s Word if I don’t know it. So how can I know God’s Word?

Read God’s Word

I can’t know God’s Word if I don’t read it. A daily Bible reading routine is the very foundation of knowing God’s Word. As I have read God’s Word over and over through the years, its truth has become familiar to me. There’s so much that I still don’t know, but simply reading the Bible over and over again increases my understanding over time.

Meditate on God’s Word

“Meditate” is the word God specifically used in His command to Joshua. This word means to muse or to think about. My mind is constantly turning; what if I brought those wandering thoughts captive and spent my time thinking about Scripture? This allows the truth of God’s Word to sink deeply into our hearts, and eventually it will be sure to come out in our lives.

Memorize God’s Word

I hate to admit it, but this is something I struggle to do. When I was a kid, Scripture memory came easily to me. I still remember many of the verses I memorized in church. The older we get, the harder memorization becomes, but hiding God’s Word in our hearts is still a vital part of building a life based on the Word of God. Memorizing Scripture and meditating on Scripture go hand in hand—as we meditate on a verse, it will become more deeply engrained in our hearts.

DO GOD’S WORD

It’s not enough simply to know God’s Word and talk about God’s Word; I must actually live out the truth of God’s Word in my life. God told Joshua that the whole point of meditating on God’s Word day and night was so that he would be able to do the things it taught. However, no matter how well I know God’s Word, I will be endlessly frustrated if I try to apply it to my life in my own strength. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we trust Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. He will give us the strength we need to follow God’s Word if we stay sensitive to His guidance.

 

As I was writing this blog post, I received an email from our landlord with information about renewing our lease for another year. If I defined success like the world defines it, I could easily be frustrated that we haven’t bought a house yet. But when I define success as living a life based on God’s Word, I can have peace in knowing that we’re right on track in God’s eyes. I can be thankful for the amazing place He has provided for us to live. And I can keep serving Him joyfully. After all, this world is not my home. I’m here for a short while to reach others with the gospel. If I can accomplish that, I know I will be successful in God’s eyes. And that’s all that matters.

 

When I first entered the youth group at the age of twelve, I did not have any kind of consistent routine for daily devotions. I knew that God’s Word was important, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to be faithful to reading. Through my time in youth group, God placed multiple people in my life who gave me the tools I needed to have a consistent quiet time. One of those people was my youth pastor, Dwight Martin. He always provided us with recommendations for devotionals and Bible study materials, and he even had copies available at church for us to purchase. When I didn’t know where to start, this helped me develop a Bible reading routine that has become an anchor for my days. I don’t often use devotional books anymore, but you may find one to be helpful in certain seasons of life. I want to share with you a guide to devotionals that will help you know when a devotional might benefit you, what to look for in a devotional, and which devotionals I recommend.

WHEN TO READ A DEVOTIONAL

It’s far more important for us to know what God’s Word says than for us to know what someone else says about God’s Word. For this reason, I would encourage you to keep your devotion time centered around the Bible rather than on devotionals. However, there are three times when I believe that devotionals can be beneficial.

For Developing a Routine

I already mentioned that devotionals were especially helpful for me in developing a routine for reading God’s Word. If you don’t have a consistent Bible reading routine, a devotional may be helpful in developing one. Many devotionals have dates in them, so you’ll know exactly which passage to read on which day. Supposedly it takes twenty-one days to create a habit. A daily devotional might be just the thing that will help you create a habit of reading God’s Word.

To Find Encouragement in Hard Seasons

In the difficult seasons of life, we may just need some extra encouragement. God very well may use the insight and perspective of a devotional to give you the encouragement you need.

To Pause to Refocus on the Lord

In busier seasons, it may be helpful to read God’s Word more than one time per day. This may seem counterintuitive; if we’re busier, how will we have time to pause to read God’s Word more than once? Yet it is in these busy seasons that we often find we need God the most. This was especially true for me in my early days of motherhood. I found that it was helpful to take an extra pause in the day and read a short daily devotional to refocus my attention on the Lord. If you normally have your devotions in the morning, you might try doing this in the afternoon or evening.  Or, if you normally have a quiet time later in the day, you may take a minute in the morning to read a devotional to focus your mind on the Lord for the day.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DEVOTIONAL

There’s really only one question to ask when you’re choosing a devotional: is it based on Scripture? If a devotional is just someone’s nice thoughts, it isn’t really going to be beneficial. Scripture should always be the central focus of a devotional because God’s Word alone is able to speak hope into our lives.

WHICH DEVOTIONALS I RECOMMEND

Although there are many devotionals I could recommend, I’ll just list three here. If you need further recommendations, check with your pastor or a leader in your church. I’m sure they would love to recommend their favorites as well!

 

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

This classic by Oswald Chambers is my all time favorite. I read it for the first time in high school, and I’ve probably read it a total of three times over the years. I’m sure I’ll read it again at some point. It has a devotional reading for every day of the year, it’s Scripture based, and its content remains relevant, even though it was originally published in 1927.

 

A WORD TO THE WISE

This is a devotional I read in my college years. Within its pages, Paul Chappell shares the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. It has a reading for every day of the year followed by a practical application for your daily life.

 

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR WOMEN

This is a new release that I finished reading recently. It’s a compilation of thirty devotional readings written by women just like you and me. It’s practical, relatable, and, true to its title, encouraging.

 

I hope this guide will give you some ideas for how to practically use daily devotionals as you grow in your walk with the Lord. Is there a devotional that has been a special blessing to you? Tell me about it in the comments!