Since I decided to be more intentional about how get the most out of reading a book, it seemed like a no-brainer to apply that to the most important reading I do, my reading of the Bible.

I’ve developed several different habits surrounding this discipline in my life, from my method of reading, to hand-copying portions of Scripture. I’ve discussed how to gain more from reading the bible, called the Golden Nugget approach. And even wrote a post on how to be more consistent in your Bible reading from my own experiences.

But how do you incorporate what you’ve read into your life? How do you retain what you read?

I’ve discovered that one way this works for me is to take notes, just like I do when I read a regular book. Only I do it a bit different.

First of all, you need to realize this:

It is OK to write in your Bible.

In my first youth ministry, I received a tongue-lashing from a parent because I told her daughter that it was OK to write in her Bible. This mother went ballistic, and berated me for several minutes, telling me is was NOT OK to write in the Bible. She wanted her daughter to keep her Bible in pristine condition.

But an unworn and unused Bible is a sign of a life unaffected by God. I would much rather replace my Bible frequently because I fill up the margins and wear it out than have a museum-ready copy on my shelf.

Here are a few things I do when I read the Bible to help me retain what I read.

Just like when reading a book, and even more importantly in this case, using the right writing tools is essential. Bible pages are thin, and you don’t want your ink to bleed through the page, or the tip of the pencil to tear the paper.

I use archival quality pens, the same Pigma Micron 01 pens that I use for every other book. These come in so many colors, I have no problems using different ones for different subjects. More on that in a moment. You can also get special highlighters that are designed for use with a Bible, but I’ve found that these are harder to locate than the pens.

I also use the same mechanical pencil for Bible reading, too. If you keep a couple of clicks of lead out, you’ll keep the metal tip from tearing the page.

Of course, if you’re reading using a digital device, these issues are non-existent, and you can do even more. Most days, I read using the Logos app on my iPad. But I can do all of these strategies except one with my printed Bible as well.

! (exclamation point) – If something is especially striking, and comes in the form of a command, I place an exclamation point in the margin.

? (question mark) – If I find something that I don’t understand, or something that needs more study and clarification, I place a question mark in the margin. I can then come back and add a date showing when I understood it better.

boxed text – If something strikes me as a key word or phrase, I place a box around it, using black ink or the pencil. This helps me to see key structures at a glance of the page. Recurrent themes, I often increase the font size (on the Logos app), or draw the box in red.

In addition, I use the following colors to with underline or highlight certain passages.

yellow – This indicates meaningful passages to me. Most of my favorite passages are in this color.

grey – This indicates important passages, of doctrinal and theological importance.

red – This color indicates passages that are critical and emphatic in their importance.

blue – Passages marked with blue refer to financial and money references.

green – Passages marked with green refer to creation and worldview issues.

brown – This color indicates passages that focus on God’s Word, such as Psalm 119.

orange – Orange indicated prayer references.

pink – Passages marked with pink are passages that focus on relationship and marriage issues.

purple – If something is marked with purple, it seems important, but doesn’t necessarily fit into one of the other categories in my mind.

There may be many much more efficient methods out there to gain quality insights from reading the Bible. But I’ve found this system to help me gain as much as I can. And if it helps you, feel free to use it and tweak it to fit your lifestyle as needed.

One the back of the bookmark I put together for taking notes while reading a book, I listed out these guidelines for note-taking while reading the Bible. You can see it below, and you can see a larger version if you click on it. Feel free to print it if you’d like for use in your own reading.

Again, this system isn’t flawless, and I tweak it occasionally as needed. But it works pretty well for me, enabling me to gain as much as I can from God’s Word. Hopefully, you can benefit from it as well.

What do you do to retain what you read in the Bible? How is your system similar or different than mine? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.