 Welcome back to the "Come Bible Study with Me" Blog. Before we begin our Bible study for 2026. Please take a minute to read the reminders from the previous post below:
We will begin the year in the book of Isaiah. God has taken me back to this book, and it has been speaking to my heart. I believe it is relevant for our time. The theme he has given me for this year is "wholeness." This word is the foundation of my ministry and my writing, and the Lord has brought me back to it. According to the Webster's Dictionary, wholeness means to be mentally or emotionally sound; free of defect. Other synonyms for wholeness are well, restored, free from wounds, free from injury, recovered, and healed. The opposite of "whole" is barren. This means that one is "lacking, infertile, desolate, devastated, destroyed, or shattered." I know what you are probably thinking, "This is going to be deep." I agree, and I believe that is exactly where God wants us to go, deeper. He wants us to slow down in the word and identify our own areas of "barrenness," allow Him to make us whole, so we can move in purpose and help others out of their barren places. Let's begin. To start this study, we will be using a strategy titled What S.T.U.C.K. as one of our main strategies while we read. I will walk you through the steps below. We begin with a summary of the text. After reading Isaiah chapter 1, here is my short summary: Prophet Isaiah was speaking to the leaders and the people of Israel about their rebellion and iniquity. They had "forsaken and despised" the LORD, resulting in them only practicing religion, oppressing, and even murdering. God would purge the evil from among them and restore them as before, and those who didn't repent would be consumed. In chapter 1, the verses that stood out to me were 21-31. These stood out because Prophet Isaiah explained (in detail) the causes of their barren condition. I sorted his statements using "cause and effect." This is a simple reading strategy that can help with a deeper understanding. I completed this T-chart in OneNote. See image below.  Now, let's dig deeper into what we can learn from chapter 1 of Isaiah using the other steps in What STUCK?
Next, what truth about God was revealed in chapter 1. One truth is that we are God's creation and the earth (land) belongs to Him. He is truth. He is the creator of morality. In addition, He is all powerful and provides for our spiritual and physical needs. What universal lesson does this teach all of humanity? I believe it teaches us that we can't live the moral life He desires apart from Him, relying on His power and authority over evil. Because He made us to walk in "wholeness," only He can keep us "whole." How does this truth and universal lesson connect to your own life? I would say I must rid myself or disconnect from anyone or anything that causes me to be unfaithful or rebel against God in any way. Our alignment is key. We should also seek God at all times, so He can reveal whatever He needs to show us. Finally, kneel and pray. Ask God to help you with steps to walk out this universal lesson and to maintain a Kingdom mindset as it relates to what was revealed in Isaiah chapter 1. Be Blessed & Keep Studying with "HOPE in CHRIST" Denise M. Walker
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 We all have our favorite resources to use during Bible study. This post will share a few of my favorites!  The above photo contains my favorite Bibles. To begin, I use the ESV Journaling Bibles (Set of 5) all the time. I carry the one I'm reading with me in my journaling bag with highlighters, pens, stickers, and sticky notes, readily available to dive into the word at any time. There is plenty of space for writing, using stickers, and even drawing, if you so please. These are the most amazing resources. Next up, for digital journaling, I use my Microsoft Surface tablet with its pen. This is one of my favorite resources because I use Microsoft OneNote to take notes, and I still feel as if I'm writing on paper when I journal on it. For those who use OneNote, you are aware that the writing space is infinite. I also create pages in Canva to import in OneNote as a PDF. I also add stickers as images. I purchase some of these from Etsy or create them in Canva. As you can probably tell, I love to Bible journal, whether it is digital or physical. Finally, I have the Experiencing God Bible. This Bible is a treasured resource. Yes, you guessed it. It is by Henry and Richard Blackaby. I love this Bible because it contains many questions and prompts per chapter that helps enhance my Bible journaling time. Each chapter also has a section titled "Did you Notice?" This section summaries what should have stood out in the chapter. I love it!  Next, are my digital Bible study tools. I used to have a subscription with Life Bible/Tecarta, Inc. They provide many study resources for only $4.99 a month. However, I canceled it after purchasing some of the resources I wanted to add to my study tools. I can still use the ones I purchased. I love the way I can have 4 screens open at a time on my tablet. Tecarta has also added something called "Touch Points" that I can still use without the subscription. Here you can type in a topic you are interested in studying, and it will give you several verses that include this topic. I recommend checking it out.  Finally, Olive Tree has been one of my go-to resources for many years now. I have built a huge library of resources there. Once you have purchased materials on Olive Tree, they are available to you offline. Some of my favorite resources in Olive Tree are as follows: Thompson's Chain Study Bible, ESV Archaeology Study Bible, The Open Bible, NET Bible w/Full Notes, and Naves Topical Bible Index. You can't go wrong with Olive Tree. Not to mention, it is very user friendly.
No matter which resource you choose for Bible study, I only pray that you will dive into God's word and draw near to Him. Stay tuned for my Bible study strategies I will be sharing with you here on this blog. Be Blessed & Keep Studying "The HOPE Way, Denise M. Walker  Welcome and thank you for visiting our page. The H.O.P.E. Way is a resource for those who enjoy studying God's word and drawing closer in relationship with Christ. This vision was birthed over eight years ago as I stood in my English language arts classroom. I was teaching my 7th graders literacy strategies to use when reading. As I stood there, God spoke to my heart about how much more important His word is to each of us.
He then gave me instructions on launching a ministry to help those who may struggle with reading comprehension or who simply desire to dig deeper in His word and need tools to assist them. Through this ministry, you will receive various strategies to use for your verse mapping and Bible journaling journey. Be Blessed & Keep Studying "The HOPE Way, Denise M. Walker |
“Where literacy strategies meet Scripture.”AuthorDenise M. Walker is the founder of 
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