Some Christians think they can get by without reading Bible verses by topic and still live a fulfilled life. Others seem to think they can pick up the Bible, give it a once over, and call themselves Christians who are dedicated to and well-versed of the ways of the Bible. But neither is here or there. The true Bible readers are those who pick the text apart and apply it to their lives without losing its message or power.

There are many ways to study Bible verses by subject even without a degree in the seminary.

Here are some examples:

1. Ask yourself who

Sometimes it becomes much easier to identify with the message or lesson of the Bible verse if you know the verse is talking about. If you don't have an answer to this question, the verse becomes much more difficult to understand.

For example, Chapter 1 verse 29 reads, "Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world." The "who" in this particular Bible verse is Jesus Christ. See the difference?

2. Ask yourself what

Another way is to ask yourself, "What's being said here? What is this Bible verse all about?" If you know the answer to these questions the Bible verse itself becomes much easier to understand.

But how exactly do you do this? It must be said that to answer that question you need to read the entire chapter, sometimes the chapter before or after it, and most of the time, both the chapters before and after it. This is so you gain a good grasp of the entire concept of the Bible verse.

3. Ask yourself when

Another good question to ask yourself. "When is all this happening?" You need to dig a little deeper here compared to the first two questions in order to establish a timetable of the events you're reading about.

For instance, there was one event in the Bible when the dove flew down and perched on Jesus' shoulder. When did this happen? The answer is right after his baptism in the Jordan River.

These three tips should be able to help you gain a better understanding of the Bible verses even without a seminary degree.