You see, growing up the granddaughter of a pastor, I *thought* I knew how to study the Bible for beginners.

After all, I was at church all the time.

I attended Sunday School, youth group, and vacation Bible school. I even spent a lot of time reading Scripture, reading Christian books, and attending Bible studies for beginners.

And yet, it wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I realized that much of what I had been taught to believe simply wasn’t correct. (I share the whole story here.)

You see, while I had known how to read the Bible for years, I realized I wasn’t truly studying the Word for myself. I was simply reading Scripture through the lens of what my pastors, Sunday School teachers, and youth leaders told me it meant.

Now, these Christian mentors had the best of intentions. They were (and I assume, still are), good people who were doing their best to teach me how to study the Bible for beginners. They wanted me to know how to understand the Bible, and they wanted me to have a correct view of Scripture.

But, unfortunately, they got it wrong.

And it wasn’t until I became and adult and started studying the Word for myself that I realized it.