Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Do you ever struggle to sit down to read your Bible and feel overwhelmed or unsure where to start? Studying the Bible can feel overwhelming at times, especially as a beginner.

Questions You May Ask Yourself

There’s a lot of questions you may ask such as:

• Where do I start? Do I start at the beginning and read all the way through, or do I start in the New Testament?
• How much should I read a day?
• What translation is best?
• What study aids are there so I can better understand?
• How do I stay consistent with Bible reading?
• What’s the difference between reading and studying the Bible?

For years, I personally struggled with reading the Bible and couldn’t even get past the first few chapters in Genesis. It wasn’t until last year when I got closer to the LORD that I developed the desire to read the Bible for the first time in my life.

And something happened…

When reading the Bible, I learned so much about the character of God and his immense love for us. I started to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things to me in His Word what He wanted me to know, and I began to see just how truly the Bible is His love letter for us.

God helped guide me to several amazing resources that has truly helped me in my journey that I wanted to share with you as well, in hopes that it helps you in yours.

Before we delve into the different Bible tools for study, I want to help answer some of the questions listed above that you may have.

Where do I start? Do I start at the beginning and read all the way through or do I start in the New Testament?

• There’s no right/wrong way to start- the most important thing is that you get started. For me, when I started reading the Bible, I started on a 6-month reading plan on a Bible app that I will discuss below where each day was divided into three sections: the Old Testament, Psalms/Proverbs, and the New Testament. This was good for me because I was able to read a little of each per day. There are so many different reading plans out there, so just pick one and try. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into studying His Word. While I was reading the chapters, I used several of the Bible tools for study that I will discuss below to help aid in understanding as well.

How much should I read a day?

• Whatever you can. God doesn’t love us more if we read the Bible more- He cares about the intent of our hearts and that we desire drawing closer to Him. Whether you have 5 minutes or more, the most important thing is that you are being intentional in your time with God, and He sees that. God meets us where we’re at, so if you’re a busy parent, and you only have a few minutes in the morning before the kids wake up or in the evenings after a busy day, God sees that. A lot can be learned in even just a few minutes a day.

What translation is best?

• I personally believe that whatever translation helps you understand God’s Word is best. I personally use the NIV the most, but I will also reference the KJV as well as well as the NLT.

What study aids are there so I can better understand?

• That’s what this blog post is about! Keep reading and I’ll share with you what Bible tools for study has truly helped me. Plus sign up for my Free Bible Study Digital Notebooks to take notes while you study the Bible

How do I stay consistent with Bible reading?

• The best thing is to find a routine. Be intentional in your Bible study and time with God. We have an amazing God who meets us where we’re at. He knows our struggles, but He wants us to put Him first in our life and make time for Him. Even if that’s just a few minutes here and there- He sees and recognizes that. If you’re able to wake up early before your kids, where you can have some alone time with God first thing in the morning, I find that really helps start my day. I have never really been a morning person, and it’s a constant fight with my flesh to wake up early. I was a lot better at doing that last year than this year; however, I’m hoping to keep working on that.

What’s the difference between reading and studying the Bible?

• I believe the difference is in depth and purpose. Reading the Bible is about gaining an overall understanding, whereas studying the Bible goes deeper. Studying the Bible involves being purposeful in slowing down and gaining that deeper understanding into the content and context and how you can apply God’s Word to your own life. After all, God’s Word is not only a love letter to us, but also a guide on how we should live our lives.

Now that we’ve answered those questions, here are some Bible Study Tools that has really helped me when reading the Bible.

Bible Tools for Study: My Favorite FREE Bible Study Apps

Through The Word– Guided Audio Lessons

: Bible Tools for Study to Help You Understand Scripture Better

The Bible Project: Visual Bible Overviews

This is another Bible study tool app that has significantly helped me in understanding the Bible. They have animated videos of biblical books as well as guides with themes plus podcasts and classes too. This Bible study tool is completely free to download, and you can also check out their YouTube channel for their animated videos.

The YouVersion Bible App

This is another amazing Bible app that I initially used. It has a ton of reading plans, audio Bible and dozens of translations. The app also has a verse of the day and guided reflection as well. This app is completely free and lets me highlight verses as well as track my progress.

Bible Tools for Study: Recommended Bibles and Reading Accessories

The Jesus Bible

This is absolutely one of my favorite Bibles. The Jesus Bible is not only a Bible, but also a resource that helps us see how every part of Scripture points to Jesus. Whatever book of the Bible you’re reading, the commentary and study guides connects the dots in way that I could never have understood. I absolute love reading how Jesus is in every aspect of Scripture, even the Old Testament.

I currently use the ebook Kindle version of this Bible to use with my Kindle as I have difficulties with my eyesight and need enlarged font to be able to read. I bought mine when it was on sale but if you have or are interested in trying Kindle Unlimited you can read it for free. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial if you’re interested.

The One Year Chronological Bible

This is the Bible in chronological order in which the events happened. This is really neat to read the order in which the evens happened as it gives a clearer picture of the storyline. Not to mention, it’s divided up into daily reading plans. If you have the free Bible app, you can find the chronological study plan it for free. This is especially helpful if you prefer the convenience of having the Bible on your phone.

The Women’s Study Bible

This is another beautiful study Bible that’s received over 17,000 reviews on Amazon—and for good reason. Designed specifically for women, it’s filled with thoughtful commentary and articles that offer deeper, more personal insight into Scripture.

That said, I did run into one challenge: the font size. I originally purchased the large print edition (10.5 font) due to my strained eyesight, but it was still too small for me to read comfortably for extended periods. Because of that, I didn’t end up reading from it as much as I’d hoped. What I did read was incredibly rich and encouraging, but I eventually transitioned to using the Bible app and then a Kindle, which made reading much easier on my eyes.

However, if you do not have difficulty with your eyes as I do, this shouldn’t be a problem, and I highly recommend this. I hope to eventually get the e-book version for my Kindle.

Bible Highlighters That Don’t Bleed Through

Bible highlighters are a great way to mark Bible verses that really speaks to you when reading. With over 9,000 reviews on Amazon, these highlighters have great reviews for it’s beautiful colors and no bleed feature. The soft colors can help color-code your reading in themes that resonate with you such as peace, wisdom, strength, etc. This is a simple way to visually reflect on what God is revealing to you when reading the Bible.

Bible Tabs that Make Navigation Easier

While this is not a study tool in the traditional sense, I have found Bible tabs to be very helpful when navigating through the Bible. These simple peel and stick labels mark each book of the Bible and help to quickly locate the book I’m looking for during Bible study and/or group sessions as well as church. While I tend to use my Kindle more these days for reading due to my eye strained eyesight, I have found these Bible tabs to be useful whenever I do use my physical Bible.

There are so many different kinds and styles of Bible tabs out there, and this is just one that I linked to show you what is available with great reviews. Feel free to browse what suits your needs the most in the aesthetic that you like.

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Why I Use a Kindle for Bible Study

Because of my eyesight, reading a physical Bible for extended periods of time became difficult. I tried using the Large Print but found out that I needed either a larger font (actually I think giant print, lol) or better lighting to comfortably read. Because of this, I then started to use the Bible app on my cell phone to read but then decided to get a Kindle Paperwhite as it is easier on the eyes and I can still enlarge the font as needed. This has truly helped me so much in my Bible reading. Another neat feature is that when I open the Kindle app on my cell phone, it gives me the option to go to the most recent page so I can easily switch between the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle app seamlessly.

While I do miss reading the physical Bible and hope to buy another one that accommodates my needs, I love the convenience of the Kindle and how I have access to the Bible at my fingertips and can continue with my reading plan wherever I am as it syncs with the Kindle app on my phone.

Currently, I am now reading The Jesus Bible on my Kindle, and it allows me to highlight Bible verses as well as search for keywords across the entire Bible. For anyone wanting a flexible way to read/study the Bible or has seeing difficulties like me, I highly recommend the Kindle Paperwhite.

Bible Tools for Study: My Free Digital Notebook for Scripture Reflection

I absolutely love designing and creating digital products, and one of the digital products that I created was a free hyperlinked Digital Notebook for Scripture reflection during Bible study. I created a set of notebooks that contains each of the 66 books of the Bible that you can use in GoodNotes or another note-taking app. Each page is lined so that you can use the space for whatever you want-taking notes during reading, when listening to Through the Word or the Bible Project, personal insights, taking notes during church sermons, etc.

I hope to create more designs in the future but sign up below to get a free digital notebook for Bible studying and also to get emails to stay up to date when I post new content on this blog.

I hope these Bible tools for study was helpful for you. Check out my article on How to Start Your Morning with God

How to Start Your Mornings with God: 5 Ways to Start Your Day