Bible Verse Mapping for Beginners
Are you looking for a way to dig deeper into God's word? Then bible verse mapping is right for you, and The James Method Verse Mapping Journal is your go-to tool for mapping your favorite scriptures.
The James Method began around 4 years ago, during a time when I felt very distant from God. ‘Spiritually stagnant’ is how I like to describe it. Maybe you can relate? Have you ever felt like you were doing just enough to look like a Christian but not nearly enough to truly have a relationship with your Savior? That’s where I was. I was attending church regularly and even serving, but my daily walk with the Lord was inconsistent at best. I went through cycles of reading my Bible regularly then not touching it for months at a time. I had this internal struggle happening and vividly remember crying out to God, "please help me get this". Something was missing but I didn’t know what.
It was then that I read James 4:8, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. It was this verse that God used to wake me up. It was this verse that made me realize I was not doing my part. I was being LAZY yet expecting God to over deliver. I know it's cliché to say, but this was my 'a-ha moment'. This was the moment when I decided I was done being lukewarm. I was done depending on a once or twice a week church service to feed me spiritually. Right then and there, I committed to drawing near to God daily. I committed to waking up every morning before the sun rose to spend time with my Creator. I was going to give it a year and I called it my ‘James Method’ project, based on James 4:8.
The Verse Mapping Journal was born out of that time when I decided to draw near to him daily.
What is Verse Mapping?
Verse mapping is a technique used to gain a deeper understanding of God's word. It is a method of breaking down a verse by identifying and defining keywords, historical context, alternate translations, and cross references. Verse mapping goes beyond just reading. It digs deep into scripture revealing connections, consistencies and truths in the Bible that are so easily overlooked. Let me take you through the process step-by-step so you can see for yourself how fulfilling verse mapping is!
What Tools Do I Need to Verse Map?
- Verse Mapping Journal or plain paper/notebook (a bullet journal works great!)
- Highlighters/Pen/Colored Pencils- don't be afraid to get creative if that is something you enjoy!
- Bible or Bible App
- Concordance and Lexicon; hardcopy or App. My favorite App is Bible Hub and my favorite concordance is Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance. These are the tools you’ll use to define your keywords.
- A quiet spot and coffee are also must haves on my list 😊
