Color-coded Bible verses

It has taken some time, but I finally have a color-coded plan for Bible study. It works well for me and is easy to remember.To get started you will need:

* A Bible

If you prefer digital, check it Olive Tree or You Version apps. Those are my favorite.

If you prefer a good ole’ fashioned paper Bible, I really like this NIV version from Amazon.

*Highlighters

I purchased a great set on Amazon that does not bleed through.

*Page tabs

Believe it or not, I purchased these on Amazon (notice a pattern here?)

Side note – Because the highlighter set doesn’t have a great shade of red, I use a red colored pencil instead.

Once you have all your supplies, come up with a color scheme. Mine works well because the same colors are available on my digital Bible so I have uniformity.

Here’s my color color codes. I keep these on note cards in my Bible.

Start with the stop light method

Green – commands, advice, growth, wisdom, teaching, money (simply threw in money because it is green)

Yellow– worry, anxiety, doubt, fear (things that should make us pause)

Red- devil, evil, satan, false prophets, hell, temptation (things we should stop and avoid)Pretty basic concept.

Green means go! Follow these verses and live them out.

Yellow means pause. Are you worried? Slow down and redirect your focus.

Red means stop. Turn away from temptations and evil.

In addition the to stoplight colors, I have a few others:

Blue – work, God’s will, heaven, miracles, prophesy

Purple – marriage, relationships, family, people, prophets

Orange – God, Jesus, Holy spirit, attributes of God

Pink – prayer, praise, promises, peace, love, joy, kindness, mercy, grace, forgiveness

Of course, many verses overlap and could fit multiple colors. There is no right or wrong here!

When I find a verse I want to highlight, I think about what category it fits best, highlight it with that color, and then attach a page tab in the same color. This makes it easier to search your Bible based on topic.

If we use one of my favorite verses as an example:

Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.I

I highlighted this green because I think it is great advice I want to follow.

Next, I put a green tab on the page. Because it is a favorite that I like to read often, I labeled the tab Proverbs 3: 5-6

This plan works well for me, but there is no right or wrong. If you don’t have a system in place, give it a try!

I highly recommend a big, lazy dog to join you during your study time.

Sorry, I Can’t Come Down

Today is Day 270 of reading the Bible. I am doing a chronological plan and almost to the New Testament. Hooray!

Today’s reading was Nehemiah 6-7.

Nehemiah 6:3 says “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

The Message version says, “I’m doing a great work; I can’t come down.”

I listened to a podcast about this verse a few years ago and it stuck with me. Nehemiah was building a wall to protect his city. Despite the attempts to trick him and get him to stop, he kept going. If we aren’t careful, we will be led away from our purposes and projects. Distractions are constant! Be wise.

Below is a great devotional that explains this further and links to the video series.

https://onepassiononedevotion.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/i-am-doing-a-great-work-and-can-not-come-down/

Keep doing your great work! Don’t come down!

How Can I Believe the Bible is true?

Do you ever wonder if the Bible is real? Maybe you believe some parts but have doubts about others? You don’t know much about the Bible’s history and want to learn more?

If you have ever asked these questions, I have a great podcast suggestion! Pastor Rick Warren recently did a fantastic series about the validity of the Bible.

It is a 4 part series. If you skip the intermissions, I think you can listen to the whole thing in less than an hour.

I guarantee you will be wowed at least once, regardless of your Bible IQ.

The most amazing takeaway and reminder for me was that the Bible has the same theme throughout the entire book, even though the 66 books of the Bible were written over a span of 1600 years by over 30 different authors on 3 different continents. Seriously. I knew the Bible had many authors and was written over a span of time, but didn’t know the details.

The Bible is the most read, purchased, and translated book to exist.

I am over halfway through a chronological reading plan which you can read more about here.

If you want to learn more, listen to the Podcast series, and find a reading plan that works for you!

Part 1:

https://castbox.fm/vb/251470584

Part 2:

https://castbox.fm/vb/251855014

Part 3:

https://castbox.fm/vb/252227099

Part 4:

https://castbox.fm/vb/253271977

The most amazing takeaway and reminder for me was that the Bible has the same theme throughout the entire book, even though the 66 books of the Bible were written over a span of 1600 years by 40 different authors on 3 different continents.