The J.E.S.U.S method of Bible study comes from the perspective of identifying your most pressing personal needs and then seeking God’s word specifically in this area with the Holy Spirit guiding you through the scriptures.

The acronym for each step is as follows:

Journal

1. Spend a few minutes writing in your journal.
2. What is going on in your life at the moment?
3. What challenges are you facing?
4. What emotions are you feeling
5. What do you need from God?

E    Everything

1. Give everything into God’s care and control – all of your worries, fears, anxieties and needs (1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6-7)
2. Take a deep breath and relax, knowing that God will take care of everything
   (Exodus 14:13-14).
3. Put your trust fully in God and He will give you His peace
   (Isaiah 26:3)
4. If He wants you to take action, He will show you what to do
   (Proverbs 3:5-6 and Isaiah 30:21)

Scripture

1. Pray and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of what you read     and to lead you to the Bible Scripture He wants to show you.
2. Go to an online Bible (eg. Bible Gateway) and in the search field, type in the thing you are       feeling or needing the most (eg. peace, trust, faith, worry, fear, anxiety etc).
3. Start at the first verse that comes up in the search results and slowly go down the list,
      reading each one.
4. Not every Bible verse will be applicable to your situation, but many will.  Just keep reading.
5. Listen for the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit as to what to read next. God will gently lead     you through the Scriptures.

Example:

You might be feeling full of fear about the future, so you are reading all the Bible  verses about ‘fear’. 

God will guide you.  Sometimes He will prompt you to read the whole chapter the Bible text comes from, rather than just the one verse that talks about ‘fear’.  This may lead to reading the next chapter and other parts of the Bible.

This may be a little hard to understand at first, but you will find that certain words, verses, chapters, stories or concepts will seem to ‘leap off the page at you’, drawing your attention to them.  This is God leading you.

U   Understanding

1. As you read God’s Word, pray that God will give you understanding of what you are
      reading.
2. Ask God to give you understanding about how these Bible texts apply to your life,
      personally.

S    Summary

1. In your journal, write down any Bible verses, chapters, stories or concepts that you feel God      has led you to that day.
2. Write a summary of how the Bible verses relate to what you are facing or how you were           feeling in the first step of this process.
3. Pray about your current situation and what you have read today.
4. As you go about your day, be mindful of the scriptures you read that day and how they apply
      to your life.
5. Continue to put your trust fully in God.
6. Have your journal in a handy place, so you can easily re-read it if and when you need to. This will continue to strengthen you and maintain your peace as you go throughout the day.

Try this Bible study method out and let me know how you go in the comments.

Enjoy applying God’s Word to your personal needs.