I have a generaly more unorthodox way of study and learning than most.
Sometimes I'll read read read, and research a certain subject heavy for a few months. Sometimes I'll think of one verse of the Bible all the time. Sometimes I might see a situation and am reminded of a passage that I haven't thought of in a while and I'll start thinking of that.
Sometimes, I wont pick up the Bible for months and months. Then after a while I'll start feeling an urge to start reading it again. I might read everyday, or just read one verse. I might search one particular subject and check it out.
With me it all depends. It seems all at whim and random. I don't know how to explain it.
I've gon years and years thinking about one verse and not understand a single word of it. Then one day I'll be at work or driving to the store or mowing the lawn and all of a sudden, that verse pops into my head with a full explaination of what it means and I understand.
Reading things like this forum or sometimes articles bring lots of things to light and different ways of thinking and I get educated that way too.
I'm the type of person that values freedom and absolutely hates to bog down and feel like I'd better study, I'd better do this or that. I do it when it seems I want to and how I want because that's what works for me. Maybe I might be farther back in my memory of verses and certain explainations of meanings. But, I feel like I'm on the right track.
As long as God is a part of your life, study in a way that you feel comfortable with and works for you. If you're methodical then plan a study of a subject and do the research and take notes. If you're just wild and wooly then jump in and read what ever pops up or about what ever your thinking about.
Always involve prayer and trust the Lord and you'll learn what He wants you to learn when He wants you to learn it.
It does no good for me to sit and read and study when in all honesty my heart just isn't in it. As it turns out, I end up getting less out of the whole deal than I would if I was just sparked by curiosity.
I stay in a house full of great people, but their hypocricy is horrid. None of them (except the father), reads the whole bible, and they ALL condemn eachother! They don't believe that we all have our time to go, which to me is like not believing in God's will, they believe their sister got Lupus because she "MUST be a bad Christain or God would take it away!", 1 of the sisters had a misscarriage and the other sister said "it happened to her because she was living a life of sin", then that same sister too possibly had a misscarriage this year, one sister believes that if someone tries to shoot her and she says "I repent you!", that they WILL NOT NO MATTER WHAT shoot her.. OH and one sister believes it's totally okay to pray to win the lottery and God will answer her when she gets rid of sin in her life. I just.. I know that God is a powerful God, and there is nothing He can't do.. so if He wants for any of the above to be true, it can be true. To just ASSUME that it all is, seems prideful and and pitiful to me though. When I made a statement about it being someones time to go, one of the sisters started snapping on me saying that isn't true, and then telling me that "The bible isn't meant to be read like a book!! If you have a question, you use it to find the answers".. Which I ALSO disagree with because if you don't understand the full story, and you read a line that relates to your question, what if you don't understand it and misuse it? Ugh.. So much I've been wanting to discuss!
What a nightmare! I've known people like that. Alot of it stems from a misunderstanding of who and what God and His word is.
There are much deeper issues than misunderstanding scriptures though. Somewhere these people are very unhappy with themselves or think higher of themselves that they should.
I have to smile at some of it though. We all do it in some respect or another,,,,,"Maybe if I behave God will reward me" Everytime something bad happens we think,, "Maybe God is punishing me"
If we break it all down, I believe somethings just happen for no reason at all. Let's look at this,,,,,,
My daughter recently fell and busted out one of her adult teeth (she's 9). Does that mean God was punishing here for doing wrong? Does that mean that God was punishing her for my sins? Maybe...... It could also be that,,,,,,, Maybe someone left a chair in the wrong place in the play center she was at and she tripped over it and hit her mouth on it.
See, here's where one of those scriptures pops into my mind. (I had to look up which book and chapter, LOL)
Luke 13:1
1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
8" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "
Seems to me that sometimes things just happen. Although I believe our days are numbered and we each have an appointed time to die. I do believe we are punished/disciplined for our sins. Everything has consequences.
However, we know that God is Just, but we also know that God is merciful and desires mercy.
This whole deal of thinking that we are blessed because of our obedience and cursed for a sin leans real close to superstition IMHO. If I slip and cuss when someone cuts me off on my way to work and then cut my finger later that day,,,,, Does that mean I'm being punished?
To blatantly tell someone that their baby is sick or died because of Moms sins is a cold cruel and callouse thing to say. No one is qualified to make such a claim aside from Jesus himself. What should be done is comforting and praying and sympathy and love.
Try not to let these people get to you. One thing i've learned here lately is this.
Just because you're right doesn't mean you have to
BE right.