Discover the Bible: How to Spend 30 Minutes with Jesus
This series of articles has one express goal… to help you have consistent time in God’s Word. Having a relationship with God is what you were created for and the opportunity to spend time with Jesus is one of His many gifts to us.
But how do you do that consistently… for the rest of your life?!
Well, first, you need to have a foundation for what scripture is. You’ll need a framework to understand what you are reading. You can find that in our first article Foundational Tips to Begin Your Journey. Go check that out if you haven’t already!
If the first article was about mindset around scripture this article is about a rhythm to get the most enjoyment out of scripture. You’ll find this article to be much more functional and (hopefully) can be easily applied to your life.
Today we are going to answer a potentially weird question, how can you spend 30 minutes with Jesus.
Here’s what to expect:
The Bible was written for you but not to you (Context)
Reading your Bible vs. Having a Quiet Time
Here’s exactly what you can do to spend time with Jesus
the Bible was Written For You Not To You
You have been told the Bible is full of wisdom and can be applied to your life. That’s great and true! However, if we seek to apply the scripture to our lives outside of context we can easily miss what the Bible is trying to tell us.
For example, you’re a superstar athlete on the day of the championship game. The adrenaline is pumping and it’s time for you to perform. You stumble onto Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Yes! You can do all things through Christ. Through Christ you will put forth the effort and win the championship!… except you don’t and now you’re confused. Or worse yet, you do win and you carry that bad theology into the next sphere of your life.
In reality, Paul was writing around 60AD to the church in Philippi from PRISON. He was locked up with almost no resources and asking for financial support from the church. He explained that regardless of life’s circumstances he could “do all things through Christ who gives him strength.”
This has little to do with a sporting event. If you apply this verse to achieving a goal then you have misappropriated the verse.
The verse was written TO the Philippian church FOR your benefit.
You are just beginning to have a consistent time in God’s word. How are use supposed to know the context for every passage you read? I’m going to make this very simple with tools I use nearly everyday.
First, you must use your critical thinking skills and read what’s around the passage. That seems obvious and I’m not going to go into much detail on that.
Second, you must find a tool you trust written by someone who has already done the legwork. Obviously, you can do the intensive academic work yourself and, if God calls you to dive in in that way, then you most definitely should. However, the goal of this article is to have consistent, refreshing time in God’s word— not, necessarily, to have a study session.
These tools are going to be applied more functionally later in the article but here’s a quick snapshot.
Before I get started with a new book of the Bible I always watch the corresponding Bible Project video. Here’s the one for Philippians like the example above.
David Guzik’s commentary on Blue Letter Bible is informative, easy to read, and free. Here’s a link to his commentary on Philippians 4 that we used in our example. Guzik has something like this written on EVERY chapter of the Bible (to my knowledge). You can easily find any of them by Googling the book, chapter, and his name (ex. “Philippians 4 Guzik”)
Reading Your Bible vs. Having a Quiet Time
So far we have talked about reading the Bible which can feel like an academic endeavor… which is great because the Bible needs to be looked at academically. However, most of you aren’t looking to pick up a seminary degree. My goal is to help you spend time with Jesus and a huge part of spending time with Jesus is reading His Word. Reading God’s Word is the PRIMARY way God speaks to us.
If you had 30 minutes to spend with Jesus you may not want to simply read the Bible– eyes on the page– for the whole 30 minutes. You’ll want to set yourself up for a reflective, life giving experience that you can easily come back to most every day.
This is incredibly important!… If I could force you to do one thing for the rest of your life it is that you would have a consistent Quiet Time. Here are a few reasons why:
You’re life is too loud and distracting and you can use some quiet
You need time to sit with your own thoughts
God often speaks to us in a whisper and distractions will muffle what God wants to say to us
This process has compounding effects— you may see a little benefit in a few weeks but exponentially more benefits over the next 10-80 years
The one prayer you have every day and every Quiet Time is this, “Lord, help me to know and understand You better.”
For our purposes, “Quiet Time” is a noun defined as “Quiet personal reflection on God’s word, a Biblical principle, life, or your relationship with God.”
To clarify my point, reading your Bible is a necessary component of a Quiet Time but is not the ONLY thing you do to have a Quiet Time… Let’s dive in a little deeper.
Here’s exactly what you can do to spend time with Jesus
Find a Spot
You don’t need to be frantically thinking everyday, “Where am I going to have my quiet time?”
A huge part of being disciplined is planning ahead.
Find a place that is comfortable and evokes reflective atmosphere. Some people read in their bed—if you do, that’s great— I definitely can’t do that. I will fall asleep in about 3 minutes. I choose to sit in my rocking chair in the living room.
A Quiet Time is the first thing I do in the morning. I make some coffee and while it’s brewing I go sit in my chair. Every morning I know exactly where I’m going to sit. My Bible and journal sit next to the chair. If I miss that opportunity, I know I can get to Starbucks near where I work. If my little girls are particularly crazy then I’ll go into the sunroom in our house. I have plans and contingencies for when things get broken up.
Here’s another personal tip, coffee is a big part of my quiet time in that it slows me down. Typically, I have my Quiet Time around a cup of coffee because it forces me to sit still.
Good Questions to Ask to Find a Spot and Time
Consider your schedule for an entire week (Every waking hour), what time are you consistently free? What time and where are you consistently scrolling on your phone because there is nothing else to do and you’re “resting”?
Is there a consistent break in your day at work?
Can you show up for work/class 30 minutes early to sit with Jesus?
What time of the day are you in the most reflective state?
If someone forced you to sit down and rest where would you sit?
By answering these questions you can start to visualize a place to consistently meet with Jesus.
30 Minute Rundown
Let’s get real practical!
You’ve got 30 minutes to spend time with the Lord, what do you do? I would suggest having a mix of:
quiet reflection (literally doing nothing)
Bible reading
commentary
prayer
The quiet reflection slows you down emotionally, the Bible reading fills your head with God’s Word, the commentary helps you understand what you just read, and the prayer allows you to pray God’s Truth back to Him.
In this example we will start in the book of John. I suggest people don’t start with the Old Testament because it requires a little more context in order to understand it. However, here is a 12 minute video that will summarize the Old Testament so you can have a little foundation of understanding. Another reason I suggest a gospel (like John) as opposed to Paul’s writings is that it allows you to ask and answer a simple question– who is Jesus? If you say you’re a follower of Jesus you should really know who you’re following and reading this book is a great start!
You will also soon notice that I suggest supplementing the main book you are reading with Psalms or Proverbs. These two wisdom books have stand alone chapters, show us the human experience of walking with Jesus, and God’s eternal perspective. They contain great nuggets of wisdom that can speak straight to your heart.
Starting John (Day 1)
Sit quietly (3 min)
Quick prayer in your mind
“Jesus, help me know you more”
Watch John Part 1 Bible Project Video (9 min)
Read slowly and reflect on John 1:1-18 (5 min)
Read a commentary on John 1:1-18 (8 min)
Jot down any quotes that speak to you.
Pray or Journal (5 min)
Journaling my prayers has been a game changer for me but I understand it’s not for everyone. I, literally, write “Jesus, blah blah blah.” As a discipline and practice I would set my alarm with the goal of talking to Jesus for 5 minutes straight. Take the verses and quotes you jotted down and pray them back to Him. Here’s a little example from an article I wrote– The Five Minute Prayer Primer
Normal Quiet Time (Day 2-Infinity)
Sit Quietly (3 min)
Quick prayer in your mind
Read and reflect on a Psalm 1 (8 min)
Highlight key verses that jump out at you
Read a commentary at your discretion
Jot down any quotes or verses that speak to you
Here’s some background on the Psalms from the Bible Project
Read your next passage in John (8 min)
I usually read roughly 1-3 short sections at a time.
The goal is not to read the whole book of John (I know that sounds weird), the goal is to spend 4-7 times per week in the word for the rest of your life. You’ll finish John when you finish it. This is more about a rhythm than a goal.
Read or skim a Commentary on your John Passage (5 min)
Pray and/or Journal (5 min)
Quick Note on Commentaries
A Commentary is NOT God’s perfect word. It should be seen as a helpful tool to enjoy your time with Jesus. As you grow in your ability to study the Bible you may spend less time in a commentary. This rundown is written for someone beginning their Bible reading journey and, in that case, a commentary would be very helpful as they seek to understand what you’re reading.
Share What You’re Reading!
This is such an overlooked yet important step. One of my favorite things to ask fellow followers of Jesus is “What have you been reading in scripture, lately? What do you feel like Jesus is teaching you?” You would be surprised at the incredibly insightful answers you will get. These good answers will encourage you to keep seeking Jesus.
However, just as often I encounter people who can’t give me a good answer because they don’t spend much time with Jesus. Asking this question allows me to put what God is teaching me into words and cast vision for the importance of a Quiet Time.
Unfortunately, you will find very few people will ask you about your time in God’s word so you have an incredible opportunity to do what you wish someone would do for you.
Closing Thoughts
I know this is a lot. Remember, from the jump you have one goal; that you get to know Jesus more. This is a LIFETIME pursuit. It’s kind of like going to the gym. Sometimes you want to go to the gym so bad you can’t stand it! On days like that it would be wise to make the most of it… make sure you go to the gym. On other days, you REALLY don’t want to go to the gym. Maybe you take a day off, that’s cool, but if your day off turns into weeks off then that’s a problem. Sometimes, it would serve you to power through. You didn’t want to go to the gym but you did anyway and that’s great.
Similarly, we have tricked ourselves into believing “I should only read my Bible when I really want to or it is inauthentic.” Not true. Sometimes, I’m really emotionally into what I’m reading and other times I’m walking in a discipline. However, God ALWAYS wants to meet us in his Word and I trust He has something for me everyday.
The plan I have written for you is pretty simple– you’re reading through John and you’re reading through Psalms. Feel free to read other things but I argue the best thing for most believers to do is to slowly work through the Bible one or two books at a time. By skipping around your limit God’s word by only reading what you know is in there.
Remember, having a Quiet Time is a spiritual practice so in order to be successful we have to trust his Spirit living in us. I’m so excited of your journey in discovering the Bible. I’ll be praying for you!
Jesus,
Thank you so much for this person who read this entire article. I pray you use it to help young believers fall more in love with who you are. Help me to practice what I’m preaching. Meet me in my own personal Quiet Time. Fill the reader with your spirit and make them into the person you want them to be.
Amen