Read it OFTEN. "Blessed is the man that delights in the law of Jehovah and meditates on it day and night" (Ps. 1:2).

Read it SLOWLY.  "Every one that is hasty hasteth only to want" (Prov. 21:5).

Read it REGULARLY. "These words, which I command thee...shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto they children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up" (Deut. 6:6-7).

Read it EARNESTLY. "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them" (Heb. 2:1).

Read it PERSISTENTLY. "Give heed to reading...Be diligent in these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy progress may be manifest...Continue in these things" (I Tim. 4:13-16).

Read the WORDS by finding out their meaning. Use a dictionary.

Read the THOUGHTS by grasping the author's meaning.  The inspired writers combined "spiritual things with spiritual words" (I Cor. 2:13).

Read it PROGRESSIVELY in its natural order and sequence.

Read it NATURALLY as you would any other book, ancient or modern.

Read but a LITTLE AT A TIME, fixing each thought in your mind, till you comprehend it and make it yours. "Therefore, shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little" (Is. 28:13).

Read with a PRAYERFUL HEART, a TEACHABLE MIND and a BROKEN and CONTRITE SPIRIT. "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word."]

Read, REMEMBERING that dangerous errors grow out of imperfect and one-sided views of things. "Take heed how ye hear" (Lk. 8:18). We must seek "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

Read EACH PASSAGE as if it were the only one, and then read it again in relation to the whole book.  Some, by  taking a verse from its setting, or failing to consult the whole composite of teaching on the subject, "wrest the scriptures unto their own destruction" (II Pet. 3:16). Taking verses by themselves, the Bible can be forced to teach most anything!

Read, REMEMBERING THAT ALL TRUTH IS HARMONIOUS and that God being its author, will at last make it plain to you. "If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God..." (John 7:17).

Read, ASKING YOURSELF: Who wrote this? When did he write? Why did he write? For whom did he write?

Read,  REMEMBERING THERE ARE TWO TESTAMENTS, an Old and a New (Heb. 8:6,13). We must always rightly divide the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15). The Old is the New Testament concealed.  The New is the Old Testament revealed.

Read, NOT TO STORE YOU MIND WITH ARGUMENTS OR TO TEACH OTHERS, but to feed yourself and enlighten your mind in the ways of God.  As young Samuel, say, "Speak Lord, thy servant heareth" (I Sam. 3:9).

Read, FEELING THAT THE PROMISES OF GOD are not for some other people or age, but FOR YOU!  Let it bring you face to face with God and his truth. "Whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises..." (II Pet. 1:4).

Read, COMPARING SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE.  Like the Bereans, search the scriptures to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

Read, RESISTING THE DEVIL. Remember he is always ready to catch the world out of your heart" (Jas. 4:7; Matt. 13:19).

Read, FORCING YOUR FAITH OUT ON THE PROMISES OF GOD. We must "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Cor. 5:7).

Read, ENDEAVORING TO SEE WITH THE EYES OF THOSE WHO TOOK PART IN OR WITNESSED THE SCENES PORTRAYED. Remember those things are written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4).

Read,  DETERMINED TO OBEY FROM THE HEART...from that moment on, all yo have learned. "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves" (Jas. 1:22).