So often you hear preachers say ‘you must have a relationship with Jesus Christ by reading your Bible.’  While this is essential to ‘Reaching Up,’ many don’t show you how. Being able to “rightly divide the word of God” (2 Timothy 2:15) and apply it to our lives, helps us to live out our faith in our workplaces, study environments, gyms, sport fields or even at the malls we frequent.

How Do We Read or Study our Bible? 

How do we ‘exegete’ or draw out the meaning of a passage? There are six key questions you must ask of any passage:

Who? 

Who was the passage written to and who was it written by?

Where? 

Where were the recipients of the passage?

When? 

When was it written?

What? 

What does it mean?

What one thing is the passage saying?

What was their unique situation & culture?

What is the universal principle that applies to us?

Why? 

Why did it matter to the recipients & us?

How? 

How do I put that principle into practice in my life today?

Use these questions in your devotional life today and ‘Reach Up’ to Jesus as you build a daily relationship with Him!

– Contributed by Cheonneth Strickland is the Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries.  Visit the Youth Ministries Website at www.sydneyadventistyouth.com.