Candy Sakarapanee is a wise, godly, and special lady that has been a very influential mentor and encouragement to me throughout life. One of the things she taught me that sticks with me to this day was her emphasis on the importance of the knowledge of Scripture. She would point us to the verse in Hosea 4:6 that reads, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” I am so thankful that this clicked in my heart and God gave me a hunger for knowledge of His Word. Now, I am very passionate about bringing others with me to develop a hunger for this knowledge. 

We can so often be intimidated by the Bible and its contents. There are so many chapters, people, words, and details to be found in the 66 books that make up our Old and New Testament. I want to lay out some simple strategies that can help us appropriately dissect Scripture, see the gospel on every page, and apply it to our everyday lives. Whether you are meditating on one verse for a month or one book per week, there is an easy way to deepen our understanding and intake of the Bible! 

My favorite way to break down a verse consists of making a chart with the symbols of a cross, question mark, exclamation mark, and an arrow. Each of these symbols represents a question we can use to break down the verse. 

Let’s start with the cross. This symbol represents the question, “What can we learn about God from this verse?” The first and most important thing to look at in Scripture is what we can learn about who God is, His character, and what He is doing. 

The second symbol to look at is the question mark. This symbol represents the question, “Do I have any questions about this verse?” This is a great way to slow down and see what does or doesn’t make sense to you about the passage. Sometimes we just skip over the stuff that doesn’t make sense to us, but take advantage of this and write your questions down. This is a great opportunity to ask a mentor or someone at your church about the questions you have.

The next symbol is the exclamation mark, representing the question, “What stands out to me about this passage?” By looking at the passage, take time to see what is really sticking out to you and speaking to your heart. Ask God to show you what He wants you to see in the Scripture passage. 

Lastly, the final symbol is an arrow. After looking through the other symbols, the arrow brings us to the question of, “How can I apply this to my life?” This is a sweet and important part of Bible study. We should not always write ourselves into the Scriptures and make them about us, but to see more of who God is and how we can apply that knowledge to our everyday life in relationship with God. 

Below is an example:

Verse: 

“This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

~ Psalm 118:24

✝️ What can we learn about God from this verse?

We can learn that the Lord is the One who makes the days.

❓Do I have any questions about this verse?

I wonder who wrote this Psalm?

❗What stands out to me about this verse?

I love that we can rest in the fact that the Lord made the day. 

⬇️How can I apply this to my life?

I can find ways to intentionally rejoice throughout my day today! 

Take time this week to study God’s Word. Pray for the Lord to give you a deep hunger for His Word. Select a verse and go through the questions that can help you dissect Scripture and apply what you learn about the Lord to your everyday life.