Marilyn Dunston: Bible Study Tips and Strategies

Jacqui: 0:12

Greetings listeners. Welcome to the Bible Basics Podcast. It's First Tuesday and for our seasoned listeners, you know what that means. We bring in wise teachers for a profound dive into enhancing our Bible reading and Bible study. Today we have a truly special guest joining us. Let's extend a warm welcome to our sister Marilyn Dunston.

Jacqui: 0:45

Sister Marilyn is not only a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, but also a dedicated student of God's Word. Her journey with Christ began in 1999, igniting a passion for continual growth in her relationship with Him. For the past 19 years, Marilyn has been an integral part of the First Baptist Church of Glena rden. She has actively served as a facilitator for the Women's Discipleship Ministry, Divine Discipleship for Sisters, since 2018, and as an adult Sunday School teacher since 2021. Marilyn's commitment to spiritual growth is evident through her participation in various discipleship ministries, including Divine Discipleship for Sisters, Sisters for your Journey and Sisters in Discipleship. Beyond her church community, Marilyn extends her heart for service as a board member of Maximizing God's Woman, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and preventing the trauma of child sexual abuse. She's retired and resides in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, along with her husband of 38 years. Together, they take pride in their blended family, which comprises three daughters and four grandchildren.

Jacqui: 2:22

With Maryland's wealth of experience and unwavering dedication to Christ, we are in for an enlightening conversation today. Let's delve deeper into the riches of God's Word together. Welcome, sister Marilyn Dunston. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where weekly, we break down the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks. Sister Madeline, welcome to the Bible Basics Podcast. I'm so excited for you to join us today podcast.

Marilyn: 3:07

I'm so excited for you to join us today. Well, thank you, sister Jacqui, I am even more excited to be here. I am an avid listener of your podcast, and so for you to have asked me to be a guest is such an honor, and I am so excited to be here with you. Thank you so much for the invitation be here with you.

Jacqui: 3:25

Thank you so much for the invitation. Oh, absolutely Everybody. First thing, I want everybody to know that I call Sister Marilyn, my angel. You know how God, sometimes, when you have a need, god will just send a person to pop up just in the nick of time, with a smile on their face and willing and able to take care of what you need. And that's what Sister Marilyn is to me, and I firmly believe God sent her in my life for that purpose. She is an anointed teacher, she's a beloved facilitator, she's a servant leader and, I have to tell y'all also, she's a world traveler. I don't know anybody who has as many stamps in their passport as Sister Marilyn has. So we are just grateful for her to be here today.

Marilyn: 4:19

Thank you, sister Jackie. Thank you, I am so excited, as I said, to be here. Thank you so very much.

Jacqui: 4:26

Well, Sister Marilyn, one of the things that comes through when we listen to your bio things, I already know about you. One thing that's very clear is your passion for God's word and your focus on your commitment to your own personal development, personal growth. So you and I have discussed the fact that you decided this year to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in 365 days.

Marilyn: 4:57

Yes.

Jacqui: 4:58

That certainly takes commitment, so I think our listeners would love to hear a little bit about what brought you to this point. Tell us a little about your personal journey with reading and studying the Bible and how it's impacted your life All right.

Marilyn: 5:17

Well, the very first class that I took, sister Jacqui, when I joined First Baptist, was how to study the Bible. I didn't grow up in church. You know. I was one of those kids whose parents took them to church on Mother's Day and Easter. You know. We got there, we halfway listened to the preacher preach or do a little bit of hooping, but we never opened our Bibles, we never read a scripture, and so the only thing I knew about God and the gospel really was what I heard those few hours on those Sundays when we went. And so, as an adult, when I began to search out churches, those were the only types of churches that I knew, and so that's the kind of church that I looked for.

Marilyn: 6:02

I didn't know anything about a teaching church or a teaching pastor where you were going through and looking for books and reading verses. I didn't know anything about that. And so when I came to a point in my life where I started having a hunger for wanting to not just have a surface knowledge about God, but really wanting to know more about who he is and what the Bible really says, I was introduced to First Baptist, and that's where I was able to rededicate my life and learn about what it means to really have a relationship with Christ. And so I was able to feed that hunger and that desire that I got once I came to First Baptist and I started learning about God's character and his attributes and his purpose for me, in his life and in my life, and how much he loves me, and I could go on and, on, and, on, and on and on. But once I got into that and started, so that's my journey, from having that surface relationship to really having a love relationship with God.

Jacqui: 7:33

Wow that's powerful. That is powerful. Thank you for sharing that, and I think that a lot of people can identify with the idea of not growing up in church, not having you know some people talk to them and you could tell they were out of the womb learning God's word and memorizing scripture and all of this and you might feel, oh, I'm not adequate, I don't know enough, I can't do this, but you're definitely evidence of the fact that God can use, you can call, you, can draw you at any stage of your life, no matter what your background was or what your background is. Absolutely Thank you for sharing. I think that people are going to relate to that. You have now gotten to the point now where you're teaching, you're facilitating. That requires you to study and I believe you're teaching others how to study. Do you have particular methods or techniques or recommendations you make to people regarding studying the Bible?

Marilyn: 8:39

Well, sister Jacqui, you know, studying the Bible is like anything else. Anything that you set out to do with a specific goal in mind, you have to have a plan. What is that saying? Fail to plan or plan to fail right? So if you're going to study the Bible effectively, it requires that you have a plan for that as well.

Marilyn: 9:00

So before you start out to study, come up with a plan about how you're going to do it. That's what I always recommend. Start with setting a couple of allocated times to study. And I say a couple because if you can't meet the first time that you have, then you have an alternate time to study. You know what is it the young people say Life be lifing. Sometimes you may not be able to make that 12 o'clock hour that you set, but if you have an alternative, then maybe you'll make the three o'clock. So have a couple of allocated times to study.

Marilyn: 9:36

The other thing that I recommend that someone recommended to me that I never thought of set a timer. Have a timer on your device where you set a certain amount, a length of time that you're going to study. That helps to give an additional structure to your plan and also psychologically, when you hear that timer go off, you know that you've met your hour and a half time allotted to study, as opposed to just checking your watch every 30 minutes. Well, it's 30 minutes now, do I have? Do I want to keep going or do I stop? Psychologically, that timer is going to help you to stick with your plan. You have a start time and you have an end time. So I recommend setting that timer on your telephone or on your alarm clock if you still have alarm clocks these days, or whatever you have use a timer and set a timer.

Marilyn: 10:38

Another thing that I suggest study where you can spread out. Sister Jackie, if you could see, to the right of me, my study table where I have everything spread out. But you want to have room, you're going to have all of your different Bible translations, all of your resources, your highlighters, your pens, your notepads, so don't confine yourself. Have enough space where you can spread out. I always recommend that too. If you have just a little space, then you can't use all of the tools that you need to do an effective Bible study. What else? Break your study down into pieces. I love how you say every Tuesday, into bite-sized chunks. I love hearing you say that. And that's what you want to do when you're studying the Bible. You might want to just do a character study or maybe a word or a verse study, and if you want to do something big, maybe a whole chapter or book study, but break it down into pieces. You know you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Break it down into pieces and then bring it all back together. If you need to do that into one big Bible study, then read, reread, reread. If you're studying, whatever it is you're studying, you can't read it just once. You know. We don't eat dinner one time and expect that we don't have to eat dinner again, you know, because we're going to get all we need from that one feeding. No, we go back. Sometimes we have seconds or thirds, and it's the same thing with our study. We've got to read, read and reread. Don't just take one reading and think that that's going to be enough, and then you know.

Marilyn: 12:33

The last thing that I recommend is internalize what you're studying. What do I mean by that? If you're studying a verse, for instance, god has not given us a spirit of fear, internalize that for the week. This week, I'm not going to fear anything. This week, no matter what I'm faced with, I'm not going to fear. So internalize what you're studying. That helps to get what you're studying inside of you so that you have that to pull from when you need it.

Marilyn: 13:07

And now, having said all of that, before you do any of that, you want to pray. You want to pray and ask God for understanding while you're studying, ask God for clarity while you're studying, so that you're able to see with fresh eyes and hear with spiritual ears what he's saying to you, and all of that. So otherwise we find ourselves leaning to our own understanding, and we don't want to do that. You know, sometimes our intellect and our logic kind of gets in the way, and we don't want that to happen. If I can, I would like to quote something DL Moody said. That really helped me a lot too. He said in our prayer time we talk to God. In our Bible reading and study time God talks to us. So let God do the talking. That's the way we should, should we don't want to bring our own intellect into our study. God is already speaking.

Jacqui: 14:09

I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that. Wow, that was so much. First thing I wanted to repeat was the idea of setting a time or having an established time. I agree with that so much. Sometimes, if you have something that you have to do and it seems so daunting if you know you only even like for working out, you know you only have to do it for 30 minutes.

Marilyn: 14:35

That's right.

Jacqui: 14:37

You have to go ahead and get started and stay committed through the entire period of time. I just oh, that's great. I've never heard anybody just make that point. I think that's very important. Thank you so much for that. And then you talked about having space and this table that you have over here. Having the right resources and tools is a key part of study. Do you have any recommended or favorite resources or favorite tools you like to use or you like to recommend to other people?

Marilyn: 15:08

Well, I have a lot of them and I'll start with some of my favorites. I love Halley's Bible Handbook. Love, love that one. That one will give you summaries and explanations of people and events and places. So if you can get a hold of a handbook and have that alongside of your Bible, that's a very good one. You've got to have your Strong's Concordance, have to have that. That's the index of all the words that appear in the Bible and that's what will help you keep things. Your study in context, compare how different words mean different things in different scriptures. So you should have your concordance with you.

Marilyn: 15:59

I use three or four different Bible translations. I find that Bible translations you know, different translations are helpful because they give you a different flavor, if you will, but what's being said you know, especially those, the translations that paraphrase. Like the New Living Translation is one that I like, the NIV. They use more contemporary language and so they give you a more contemporary understanding. They don't change what God is saying, as I said, they just give you a different flavor. It's kind of like the gospels they're all saying the same thing, but Mark may give you something a little different than what Matthew may, or Matthew might give you something a little different than John. They're not changing what God is saying. They're telling the same story. They're just telling it a different way. So that's why I like different translations. Timelines are always helpful to tie those events and dates together, to tell you who are the contemporaries during that time period. You know it just helps you to trace the story of the Bible from the beginning to the end, and so timelines are important.

Marilyn: 17:17

Manners and Customs that's another one. You know you want to know what the culture of the day was. What was the political climate and the social climate? You know politics didn't start in the 20th and 21st century. There have always been politicians and politics, and so you want to know what the climate was. And that's where manners and customs comes in. Why was it happening this way? Why do they talk about agriculture so much in the Bible? If you have Manners and Customs, those kind of things, that book will help you to look at those kind of things.

Marilyn: 17:50

And then there are online commentaries. The only thing I would say about online commentaries is be careful with those. You kind of want to stick with the more reputable ones Matthew Henry, Bible gateway, Blue Letter Bible because commentaries are people's opinions, and so we know that everything that's on the Internet is not always accurate, so just stick with the, with the more reputable ones. So those are some that I use. I have so many others, but those are the main ones that I that I use. Unger's Bible Dictionary is another one that I have, so totally that's helpful.

Jacqui: 18:30

That's very helpful. I love all of those recommendations, you know, and I love your good timeline, so I'm glad you mentioned that and you did kind of hit on a little bit about some of the online resources. You have any particular perspective about online resources, except for the fact that, of course, we have to be careful about the sources? But do you recommend or encourage the use of online Bible study tools?

Marilyn: 19:09

Online Bible study tools. They're a useful tool. As I said, I don't use the online commentaries a lot other than those that I alluded, that I gave you in here. I don't know, I'm old school, I like paper, you know. I just can't. I can't get past the paper and the turning the pages, and so I would use online commentaries. But get, like I said, give me an Ungers and a Strongs and a Haley's, something I can turn the pages on. That's just my own personal preference, okay.

Jacqui: 19:39

I don't think you're by yourself in that way. To be be honest, I really have been moving a lot more towards online. I have all of the paper resources. I found that the ease at which you can click on a link and there's the scripture right there. Yeah, I get it.

Jacqui: 20:03

And there's the scripture right there, yeah, yeah, and the link and the brief right there. I get it. But none all of that is based on these tried and true resources. I mean, all these new online tools are using they're using you know, manners and Customs. They're using Strong's Concordance, they're using Unger's Bible Dictionary. They're using those tools. So you can't go wrong having a library with those kinds of resources that you just mentioned. Can't go wrong study. I really think.

Jacqui: 20:47

I firmly believe that the purpose of Bible study isn't just for the intellectual pursuit, but also we ought to be impacting us in some way. We ought to be changing, we ought to be taking action as a result of our Bible study. You mentioned that about the idea of if you are studying about fear and not being afraid, that during that week you make a conscious action to try to put that into place. So I think that's absolutely the approach we ought to be taking about Bible study. Can you share any memorable experiences you've had where maybe a revelation or a transformation in your life occurred as a result of something you were studying?

Marilyn: 21:31

My favorite scripture, what I call my life scripture, is Isaiah 41: 10. "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. Yes, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. That is my scripture, and it's so memorable to me because when my daughter I share a personal experience. When my daughter was 15 years old, she got caught up in a very serious legal mess, a very serious legal mess that could have taken her away from me for a period of time, and so, needless to say, I was absolutely devastated behind that and I felt very, very alone. I wasn't alone, but she was my child, and so no one was able to feel what I was feeling. And so no one was able to feel what I was feeling, and so I felt very looking for any verse in particular, just thumbing through, thumbing through, and I got to Isaiah 41, 10.

Marilyn: 22:59

And when I read, the part that caught my eye was fear not, for I am with you. I wrote just those words on a piece of paper, put it under my pillow, went back to bed and I was able to go to sleep. I kept that under my pillow every night, and every night I was able to go to sleep. Well, the day of my daughter's court appearance, before my husband could even park the car and get into the courthouse, the judge had thrown my daughter's case out of court and dismissed everything, everything, everything. So I live by Isaiah 41: 10. Because I know that he is and he will, and that's that's. That's, that's my story.

Jacqui: 24:02

That's the power of God's word. Yes, yes.

Marilyn: 24:08

She's 52 now, so that was a while ago. Thank you so much for sharing that I've been sitting on that scripture for what? 30 something years?

Jacqui: 24:18

Yes, yes, and it will never lose its power, never ever, ever, ever ever ever.

Jacqui: 24:35

We're talking about you in your individual study, your individual relationship with God and your individual relationship with God's word. You facilitate a disciples, a women's discipleship group, also teach adult Bible study or Sunday school, so you have an opportunity to share God's word and to study with others in what I consider a community setting. Tell me about that. What do you think? How do you think community or fellowship play in Bible study? What kind of role? How can we incorporate that more?

Marilyn: 25:08

Well, community is extremely, extremely important Fellowshiping with other believers. Three things are going to happen in community You're going to be held accountable, you're going to be disciplined and you're going to be more committed to study. You have a much better chance of being successful in community than trying to go it alone. That's just a fact and that has been proven time and time again. You know God made us, built us, created us to be in relationship. He doesn't want us to be trying to do this on our own, without you know people need people, people need people, and so community is going to give you all of that. And community is where we learn from each other, where we grow with each other, where we mature. Iron sharpens iron. So you need to be in community. That's where you're going to get that collective support and encouragement.

Marilyn: 26:08

You know what I call that spiritual intervention that you might need sometimes, when you just can't open another Bible. You don't, your faith is in the tank. You know what I mean In community, this is where somebody is going to call you and say, hey, where are you? It's five minutes to seven. You know you need, you have to have community. You know you need, you have to have community. It is so, so, so, very important.

Marilyn: 26:32

And you know in your community maybe one or two people in you or it might be 10 people in you you know the dynamics and the makeup for your community is not going to be the same as someone else's, but just you want to start wherever your circle of influence is. That's what you want to do and incorporate it in into the opportunities that God gives you when he opens those doors. And you know sometimes that Bible study may not be organized. Sometimes you're just doing life together with people, just walking through life with people, people just walking through life with people, and so you're sharing and growing biblical principles with each other and helping each other as you're walking side by side with each other. It may not be something organized, you know every Tuesday at seven o'clock, you know. So again, wherever your circle of influence is, bring those people and let them be a part of your community. But don't try to do it alone. You have a much better chance of being again being held accountable, of being committed and being disciplined if you do it in community.

Jacqui: 27:42

Thank you for sharing that. Thank you specifically to talk about the benefits, about being held accountable and being disciplined, about being held accountable and being disciplined. I think we all need that. So, listeners, anybody who's not, who's just out there studying on your own there are a wealth of opportunities for you to get with community. You know we have, just as an aside, the Sunday school. The Bible study where Sister Marilyn teaches, is actually online and I'll put a link so you can find out more about that in the show notes. But being able to be in community with others to study God's word is essential. I agree with you 100% on that. So thank you for sharing that. Well, we're getting near the end of our time, so let me ask you just a final question. Do you have any words of encouragement or for our listeners, you know, as they're embarking on their journey into Bible study?

Marilyn: 28:46

I do. I do study the Bible with a curious mind. That is my suggestion. Curiosity, that's what leads you to ask those who, what, where, when, why, how? Questions, for example, you know if you're reading a story about the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well and when you know she asked him how is it you're talking to me? I'm a Jew and you're a Samaritan. You know a curiosity is going to make you ask well, who is this Samaritan? Why can't Jews and Samaritans talk to each other? Why was she even at the well in the first place? Be curious, study with a curious mind, ask questions. You'll be surprised. When you start asking questions, your Bible study will take off because you want to know, why. You want to know, and the only way to find out is to dig, to study, to keep going, to keep going. You know, sometimes you can get what you need by digging with a shovel, other times you need a backhoe, but you just want to keep, just keep going and going, and going, and that's when you have that curiosity. That's what will happen. So so, study the Bible with a curious mind and don't worry about trying to learn everything there is to learn.

Marilyn: 30:14

Our lives are not long enough to live everything, to learn everything there is to learn. The Bible is, the study of the Bible, will never come to an end. We just want to always be in a posture of learning. But to think that you're going to get everything. No, we're not going to live long enough to get everything. So just take your time and go through it. Let it marinate in your spirit, you know, chew on it, savor it. You don't have to rush through it. If you got to stay there on that one passage for three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, that's OK. That's OK. The Bible is not going anywhere. It's going to be around for another thousand years, however long it's been around. So just take your time with it, be in a continuous posture of learning and just enjoy the journey.

Jacqui: 31:09

Wow. Thank you so much, sister Marilyn. Those final words I mean everything. This whole discussion has been insightful and encouraging and inspirational. But just the whole idea of studying with a curious mind, digging whatever tool you need to use to dig I love that Backhoe or shovel and enjoying the journey, taking your time, savoring it. Thank you so much. I have gotten to receive so much out of this conversation. I hope you listeners are as filled as I am as a result of this. So thank you so much, sister Marilyn, for being here with us today, and we do hope you come back again.

Marilyn: 32:00

Thank you so much for having me, sister Jacqui, anytime, anytime. This has been great. Thank you again, thank you. God bless you, been great. Thank you again, thank you.

Jacqui: 32:10

God bless you. If you found this episode helpful, informative or inspirational in any way, would you please share with someone you know who needs to hear it? You can do that by sharing the podcast website, bible-basicsorg, or you can click on the share button right where you're listening now. For those of you listening on YouTube, go ahead and like, subscribe and leave us a comment. In closing, may the grace and peace of God be with you now and always.