The B.E.A.T. Of The Bible

I love drums.  When I was in marching band (one year, flags 🏆) my favorite part was the cadence.  The drums set the beat and rhythm that everyone else relies on to march and perform.

The Bible has a certain rhythm to it called the metanarrative or Big Story.  I’ve compiled a list of “Bible Engagement Analysis Tools” (B.E.A.T.s) to help us find that cadence set in God’s Word to point us to Christ Jesus.

   1.Read in context-read the verses or even chapters around what you’re studying to get the big picture of what’s being said or taught.

   2.Repetition-the best way for me to use this BEAT is by listening to the text over and over on my Bible app.

   3.Relax-while reading, put some music on that fits the context.  If it’s epic narrative, like God speaking, battle scenes (there are a LOT), commandments, put on some epic music.  For psalms, something soothing. The choices are endless.

   4.Read and keep reading-instead of saying “I’m going to read this chapter and be done”,  give yourself a few extra minutes and get lost in the story.  It’s some good stuff.

   5.Read in other translations-Sometimes a word or phrase can trip you up.  Read the text in other translations; the Bible app or  biblehub dot com  are great resources to parallel translations.
 
   6.Research-when I watch a historically-based show, I am constantly googling info. (When I watched The Crown, I spent more time on google, looking at Prince Phillip’s childhood, than I did actually watching!) so why not do the same with Bible study? If you’re not sure about a certain person, phrase, weight measurement, money, location, etc etc.  look it up!! We have so many resources available to us!!!