Most approaches to reading scripture can be broadly categorized into essentially two categories, either,”informational” or “formational” reading. You need a healthy mix of both.
When you read scripture “informationally” you are getting to know the text. You are exploring questions like: “What is the story here? Who are the people involved? When and why was it written? Who was the author and what was his concern? Who was the audience? You may dig into historcial questions like “What is a tabernacle?” “What kind offerings did these people do?” “Where is Phillipi?” “What is a samaritan?” Basically, informational reading involves studying the text to get at the story or content. If you have done a good job of informational reading you should be able to confidently put the passage into your own words, share its basic story and structure, and may be answer a few questions about it.
Entering the Bible can be daunting. It can be a bit like visiting a foreign country in which you really don’t get the customs. There is a two thousand year gap of history and traditions to overcome as well as cultural differences for most of us. A few guides can be immensely helpful. If you have no study resources, then I highly recommend that the first thing you get after a good Bible is a good Bible dictionary. Two that I use regularly and can recommend without reservation are The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible edited by Henry Snyder Gehman and The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan. Getting into a Bible Study at a church can also be a very helpful way to engage in informational study.
Formational reading addresses the meaning of the text for your life today. When you are formationally reading you meditate or reflect on God’s Word to instruct your daily living. “Informational” reading primarily fills your mind with information about the text; whereas, “Formational” reading shapes or forms who you are as a disciple. These types of reading feed one another and are both crucial. You can see a reflection of formational reading in the Psalmist’s words “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes.” (Psalm 119:97-99.)