How To Study

How to Study
(Abridged Version)
By Key H. Tee
Copyright ©2005, 2007, Key H. Tee
First Edition 2005

Second Edition 2007
How to Study
By Dr. Key H. Tee
Publisher: Auckland Truth Book Room
PO Box 29168 Epsom

Auckland 1344
New Zealand
Tel: 09 8151323 Fax: 09 8151328
E-mail: atbr@xtra.co.nz
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CONTENTS
Chapter Page
Preface 5
1. Why, When, Where, and How to Study 7
2. How to Improve Your Reading Skills 15
3. How to Improve Your Memory 19
4. Taking Notes and Writing Essays 21
5. Revision for Examinations 23
6. Reading the Bible and the Ministry Books 27
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Preface
The general purpose of this booklet is to help Christian students learn
how to study effectively and efficiently. Hence, it is written with a
Christian perspective. Therefore, a chapter is also devoted to reading the
Bible (including How to Memorise Bible Verses) and spiritual books.
Soli Deo Gloria — To God alone be the glory, Amen.
Key H. Tee
Auckland
New Zealand
E-mail: keyhtee@gmail.com
November 2007
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Chapter One
Why, When, Where, and How to Study
I. Why Learn to Study?
A. “… [The] young people today must study and acquire a good education.
Studying is equal to tilling the ground, and graduating from the college
[university] is equal to reaping a harvest. Young people, studying is your
duty, and you must do it…If we are to have the proper church life, all our
young people must finish college…The requirement for making a living is
much different from what it was hundreds of years ago…But as you are
studying and completing your education, you must be different from the
worldly people. The worldly people study for anxiety, but you should not
study for anxiety, but to fulfil your duty.” (Life-study of Matthew, Message
22, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
B. “I encourage all the young people to get a college degree. Do not make
spirituality an excuse for not studying. Rather, study more diligently than the
secular students, get the highest grades, and go on for advanced
degrees…You must both study earnestly and read the life-study messages.
Otherwise…the Lord would put no trust in you…But after you gain your
education, you must put [it] in a coffin and bury [it]…Then you will…be
useful in resurrection for God’s building.” (Life-study of Genesis, Message
C. “According to what I have experienced, we need three things…In the

universe, the most important One and the first One is God…The Bible says
that the most pitiful person is the one who does not have God. You may lose
everything but you should not lose God. As long as you have God,
everything is all right…The second thing you need is education…According
to my experience of human life, education is next only to God…I had God
when I was young..., at the same time I received a certain amount of
education… Education is important for young people…You must go on to
finish your college education… The third thing you need is character…You
need to build yourself up. Our proper person is our character…The basic
need is what we are…” (God, Education, and Character, Witness Lee, LSM,
Anaheim)
D. “The difference between learning and not learning is very great. In ancient
China the position of the teacher of the crown prince was a special one. One
day a teacher was in the imperial study teaching the prince, and the emperor
came to the window to hear how the teacher was teaching and how the
prince was learning. Just at that moment, the teacher was strictly
reprimanding the prince, urging him to study harder. This did not please the
emperor’s ears. Unhappy about the reprimand, he said, ‘The prince will be a
monarch if he studies, but he will still be a monarch if he does not.’ This
teacher replied, ‘Studying makes an enlightened monarch, but not studying
makes a muddled-headed monarch.’ When the emperor heard this, he was
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embarrassed and left.” (Bearing Remaining Fruit, Volume 2, Chapter 27, pp.
322-323, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
E. The writer is a lawyer, and considered law study a good training. But he has
turned from law to grace, Soli Deo Gloria — To God alone be the glory,
Amen.
II. When to Study
A. Planning and Timetables

1. Timetables are great helps to efficiency.
2. To study effectively, your study sessions should be 1 to 3 hours but not
more than 8 hours in one day. Include a definite break of 5 to 10 minutes
every hour (or one and a half hours) of study so as to restore you to full
efficiency. Try to start early in the morning after you have your time
with the Lord (morning revival), when your attention and concentration
are at their peak. Avoid late hours. Including classes, a full-time student
should aim at 35–45 hours of study a week. There should be a day free of
study in a week, especially when the examinations are still quite
sometime away. Study different subjects in a day so as to give variety
and avoid staleness. Your mind can be refreshed by variety. You should
not pay attention to just how much time you spent in study, but also how
efficient and effective is your study. Some students might spend 3 hours
in study, but effectively they only studied 1 hour as they wasted 2 hours
in daydreaming, etc.
3. To determine how much time you need to study each week, use the
following rule of thumb. You study 2 hours per hour in class for an easy
class, 3 hours per hour in class for an average class, and 4 hours per hour
in class for a difficult class.
4. Your plan should be realistic and flexible, and must include Christian life
practices, church meetings, rest, and exercise. Do not fill every minute of
your schedule with tasks; some say that no more than 70% of your time
should be planned. You need to allow plenty of time for interruptions,
calls, and most importantly routine breaks such as coffee or lunch, which
are vital to allow you to recharge and clear your mind. Based on brother
Witness Lee’s suggestion below, make a weekly timetable for yourself.
5. Keep a diary or journal to record on the left hand side things to
accomplish for the day, and on the right hand side what you have
actually accomplished. You can also use it to record any inspiration or
anything worth recording. John Wesley kept a diary and a journal so that,
inter alia, he would not waste his time.
B. Brother Witness Lee’s Suggestion of a Daily Schedule

“Arrange your daily schedule in this way: seven and a half hours for sleep,
one and a half hours for eating, one hour for exercise, eight hours for study,
and six hours for spiritual things.” (Life-study of Genesis, Message 85,
Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
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III. Where to Study
A. If possible, always study in the same place.
B. Your room should be quiet and without distractions. It should be well

ventilated, not too hot or too cold, and the light should be adequate. Sit at a
desk to study. If you lie down to study, the chances are you will go to sleep.
IV. How to Study Effectively
A. Introduction
Apart from the points mentioned above and in the subsequent chapters, below
are some preliminary points which may help you in studying effectively.
B. Interest, Active, and Attitude in Study

1. Build up a basic interest in every subject that you are studying, as that
will help you in your concentration and memory. For instance, if you are
interested in soccer, you can easily remember all the names of your
favourite players, etc. You might not have interest in every subject but it
is important while you do not have a choice of the subjects that you are
studying, you must build up basic interest in every subject. Try to
understand the importance of the subjects that you are studying. Getting
together with others who are interested in the subjects that you disliked.
Taking a lively interest in the subjects outside your study hours. Relating
your subjects to everyday life. All these will help you in your interest for
the subjects that you are studying.
2. Furthermore, always make your study active. Students often have the
experience of staring on the same page of a book for 30 minutes or more
and progress no further. Studying passively is a waste of time. Some of
the methods in the subsequent chapters will help you to study actively.
3. Our attitude in studying should be that of brother Witness Lee, who said,
“I have never stopped my further study, and I have never stopped
learning…For the most part, all learning must be self-initiated, for
example, through reading more literature and using dictionaries. You
cannot be carefree, passing over all the unknown words as you read, or
else you will not understand, you will continue to not understand, and
what you are not able to do, you will continue to not be able to do. Do
not let things go by loosely. If you research what you do not understand
and learn to do what you cannot do, you will definitely progress, and
what you learn will be substantial.” (Bearing Remaining Fruit, Volume 2,
Chapter 27, pp. 322-324, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
C. Habits
1. According to brother Witness Lee, in general, our character is composed
of 30% inborn nature and 70% acquired habits. Hence, we need to
acquire good habits so as to study effectively. This requires a long-term
adjustment to the pattern of our daily habits, and not just sporadic bursts
of good behaviour.
2. One of the habits critical for our study and indeed our usefulness to the
Lord and the society is diligence. “The more diligent a person is, the
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more God likes him. God takes care of our needs, but He does not want
us to be slothful and idle.” (Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding, Chapter
4, p. 52, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
3. And also according to brother Witness Lee, “A diligent character is 90%
developed through habit. Some people were not born lazy, but they have
developed a lazy habit. As a result, they bear a lazy character.” (The
Elders’ Management of the Church, Chapter 4, p. 55, Witness Lee, LSM,
Anaheim)
4. Hence, in order to have a diligent character only 10% is inborn nature,
and 90% is acquired habits. Therefore, we must learn to exercise to be
diligent in everything (Rom. 12:11).
5. “I wish to tell the brothers and sisters that if you wish to overcome your
slothfulness and develop the habit of diligence, you must start from your
own personal matters, both great and small. In some places, I said this to
young people: ‘If I see that your shoes are unpolished and dusty I know
that you must be a lazy person.’ You may say that you do not have time.
This is an excuse. I must tell you that you have time no matter how little
time you have. It takes only a few seconds to clean a pair of shoes. There
is an old saying: Slothfulness and uncleanness are twin sisters…By
unclean, I do not mean that it is filthy or dirty; I mean that things there
are messy, disorderly, and lacking in management.” (The Elders’
Management of the Church, Chapter 4, pp. 55-56, Witness Lee, LSM,
Anaheim)
6. Furthermore, to be diligent we must not procrastinate, and “never put off
until tomorrow what can be done today” (Watchman Nee, The Character
of the Lord’s Worker, Chapter 5, p. 65, LSM, Anaheim). We must try to
do things immediately. “Mark’s record of a Slave reflects…the diligence
of His service. The word immediately is used in his record forty-two
times, and one more time in alternate MSS” (Recovery Version of the
Bible, Mark 1:10, note 1, LSM, Anaheim). “Procrastination is the thief of
time.” (Edward Young)
7. Launch your new habit strongly: go public, tell someone, for a sense of
commitment.
D. Time Management
1. Prioritise, in Matt. 6:33: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you. “The kingdom of God is the
church, and the righteousness of God is Christ. When we come to the
church, and live the church life, we are seeking the kingdom of God.
When we live Christ, we are seeking God’s righteousness…All that we
need regarding food, clothing, housing, and transportation, are added to
us” (Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple, Chapter 3, p. 38,
Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim). Not everything that happens around us is
of equal importance. For us as Christians, the kingdom of God and His
righteousness must come first.
2. Hence, we must redeem “the time, because the days are evil.” “In this
evil age (Gal. 1:4) every day is an evil day full of pernicious things that
cause our time to be used ineffectively, to be reduced, and to be taken
away. Therefore, we must walk wisely that we may redeem the time,
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seizing every available opportunity.” (Recovery Version of the Bible,
Eph. 5:16, note 2, LSM, Anaheim)
3. In your timetable, you should prioritise, so that when it is time for
spiritual things you will not excuse yourself for wanting to study. And
when it is time to study you will study diligently to fulfil your duty.
4. “A man has but one youth, and considering the consequences of
employing that well, he has reason to think himself very rich, for that
gone, all the wealth in the world will not purchase another” (Quoted by
Glanville Williams in his Learning the Law from Sir R. North, On the
Study of the Laws). Therefore, when we are young we need to use the
time wisely for the Lord’s interest.
E. Exercise Spiritually and Physically

1. If you are depressed, anxious, etc., that will make it hard for you to study.
But if you exercise your spirit by calling on the Lord, pray-reading His
Word, singing hymns, and have a good start every day by having a time
with the Lord in the morning (morning revival — do not face the day
until you have faced God, “Begin the day with God!” #615 in Hymns,
LSM, Anaheim); you will be happy and more able to study. By
exercising our spirit, we can enjoy peace and grace (Phil. 4:6-7; 2 Tim.
4:22). Furthermore, we will have a sober mind (2 Tim. 1:7) to help in our
study.
2. As for physical exercise brother Witness Lee said:
a. “You should consider exercise and being active as your recreation
and leisure, but you must be careful not to fall into sin. It is necessary
to be active for the sake of your physical health. Therefore, you
should exercise regularly, either doing callisthenics or
‘shadowboxing’ for at least 20 minutes each day. Moreover, it is
good to have a little exercise after each meal. There is a Chinese
saying — ‘Walk a hundred steps after every meal; live for 99
years.’…The best thing to do after a meal is to walk for 3 to 5
minutes, taking around 100 steps each minute. In this way, you will
enjoy longevity. A senior statesman in Chinese politics who lived to
an advanced age wrote a proverb that contains a formula for
longevity. The gist of the proverb is — ‘To enjoy longevity, you
have to sleep 7 hours at night and walk 7,000 steps during the day.’
This man walked 100 steps a minute, so it took him 70 minutes to
walk 7,000 steps…It is better for [the young people] to have some
more vigorous activities…As young people…you…should have the
proper amount of exercise. While you are exercising, you have to
bear in mind that you are doing so because you love the Lord…The
Lord gives us life and breath for us to love Him. This is why we need
to be trained from youth.” (Vessels Useful to the Lord, Chapter 12,
pp. 190-191, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
b. “… [You] must have at least half an hour of exercise every day. Any
kind of exercise will do. You may practice shadowboxing, or you
may jog or walk. Furthermore, there is no need to be regimented; just
let your body move around a bit. After a meal, spend 10 minutes to
walk. Walking is in fact the best exercise. I spend at least half an
hour walking every day. Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I stand up
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and take a walk, and after 15 minutes of walking I feel comfortable
again.” (The Economy and the Mystery of the Transmission of the
Divine Trinity, Chapter 12, p. 162, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
F. Eating
1. “…Do not eat under stress, eat in haste, or eat without control. Second,
do not pay too much attention to the taste of the food that you eat; rather
pay attention to the nutrition that you receive from it…Third, learn to eat
a regular amount — avoid eating too much at times and too little at
others… Fourth, as much as possible eat at a regular time…” (Witness
Lee, Vessels Useful to the Lord, Chapter 12, pp. 189-190, LSM,
Anaheim)
2. “…First of all, you should pay attention to your diet. Do not eat or drink
carelessly…If you indulge in eating unhealthy food, you are committing
gradual suicide. According to my experience, among different kinds of
meat, fish is the best, chicken is next, and then lamb and beef; it is best
to avoid pork because it does more harm than good. The Bible can never
be wrong. Leviticus prohibits the eating of pork (11:7) because it has no
profit. Moreover, try your best to avoid any food that is deep-fried. If
you have to eat some, try your best to remove the skin and eat only the
meat…Third, do not eat too many sweet things. Fourth, avoid eating any
heavily-seasoned food. Salted food is the worst. While you are still
young, learn to eat food without grease and heavy seasoning, and over a
period of time you will be accustomed to it…In addition, be sure to drink
sufficient water — at least 12 big glasses every day. Water is for the
cleansing of our whole system; taking plenty of fluid keeps our system
cleansed all the time…It is good to drink some water after each meal.”
(The Economy and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity,
Chapter 12, pp. 161-162, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
3. “[We] should not eat for taste, but for nutrition value. We should eat
food of high nutrition value and should eat less or nothing at all of those
that have little nutrition value…We should not overeat, and we should
not be restricted in the variety of food we eat. We should learn to eat all
kinds of food. Some brothers and sisters…there are not too many things
that they can eat; this is not a healthy habit. We have to learn to eat a
wide variety of food. Many things can provide nourishment to our body.
If we will only eat a few things, we are not doing our body any good. We
may not feel that we are short of nutrition now, but when we are 30 or 40
years old our lack of nutrition will be manifested. Our health will be
damaged, and our life will be shortened. Our life is governed by the
things we eat. This is why we have to learn to eat a wide variety of
food…Do not drink anything that is harmful to your body.” (The
Character of the Lord’s Worker, Chapter 10, pp. 162-165, Watchman
Nee, LSM, Anaheim)
G. Resting
“Regarding resting, you should sleep at night and avoid constantly burning
the midnight oil. It is best to sleep early and rise early. Generally speaking,
this is the proper way. After lunch you should have at least 10 minutes to
close your eyes and rest…However, to nap for more than an hour is
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excessive.” (Vessels Useful to the Lord, Chapter 12, p. 190, Witness Lee,
LSM, Anaheim)
“We have to learn to relax…we cannot be under stress all the time. Our
muscles and nerves often need relaxation and rest; we have to find
opportunity to allow our body to rest…We have to learn to let go. If we learn
to let go, we will find it easier to rest and sleep. Experienced ones have told
us that counting the number of times one breathes can help a person to go to
sleep. When we are asleep, our breathing is deep. It may not be easy to
control our sleep, but it is easy to control our breathing. We can count the
number of times we breathe, and should not breathe quickly, but slowly. We
can learn to adjust our breathing to the sleeping mode. Our mind should be
set not on sleeping but on breathing, on counting the number of breaths. First,
we control our breathing to the speed we would breathe in our sleep. After a
while we will go to sleep…We often need to count only up to a few hundred
and then we are asleep. We have to believe that the body that God has
created for us is good enough to go to sleep…God has created a head for us
to sleep, and we should be able to go to sleep.” (The Character of the Lord’s
Worker, Chapter 10, pp. 162-163, Watchman Nee, LSM, Anaheim)
“New research demonstrates that a good sleep can make you smarter the
next day…By the 20-hour mark [without sleep],…your reaction time…is
roughly the same as someone who has a blood-alcohol level of 0.08—high
enough to get you arrested for driving under the influence in 49 of the 50
U.S. states…The brain benefits from a good night’s sleep.” (Time Magazine,
20 December 2004)
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Chapter Two
How to Improve Your Reading Skills
I. Introduction
In this section on reading skills, we will look at different types of reading, and
ways to improve your reading skills.
II. Different Types of Reading
A. Skimming
It is a very quick read but you are not looking for anything in particular.
B. Scanning
It is a very quick search for some crucial points. In skimming you are not
looking for anything in particular, but in scanning you are.
C. Light Reading
This is reading without an attempt to digest the material, for example
reading a newspaper or magazine.
D. Word for Word Reading

Some examples for this type of reading are, studying for scientific formulae,
poetry, foreign languages, mathematical formulae, etc.
E. Reading to Study
This is the type of reading which is normally associated with study. A
helpful technique in this type of reading is widely known as SQ3R. S =
Survey, Q = Question, R = Read, R = Recall, R = Review.
1. Survey — This is to survey a book so as to have a bird’s eye view.
Hence, look for the title, author, preface, date of publication and edition,
content page, chapter headings and outlines, introduction, summaries,
index, etc. When studying a chapter, you can also survey a chapter, such
as headings, sub-headings, etc.
2. Question — Why do you read this book? What is the author trying to
convey? What do you expect to gain from reading this book? And any
other relevant questions. By asking questions, you will ensure that your
study will be in focus with a purpose, and you will make your study
active and not passive.
3. Reading — It is best to read the book or chapter at a fair speed at least
once or twice, concentrate on main ideas and points only, before you try
to study it in detail. Do not underline or highlight during the first or
second reading at a fair speed. Then when you study in detail you should
underline or highlight only the main ideas, key words and key phrases.
4. Recall — This is to recall the main ideas and points that you have
studied. It is best to recall by reciting aloud or to write them down in
outline form.
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5. Review — This is to look back at the chapter and check that your recall
is correct and accurate.
III. Ways to Improve Reading Skills
A. To improve your reading skills, learn how to read faster (speed reading):
1. Consciously try to read faster. The average student reads 250 words per
minute. With practice, this can improve to 500 words per minute. The
writer after attending the Advance Reading Skills course, with practice,
improved his reading rate to 1,000 words per minute (effective rate 990
w.p.m.).
2. Stop mouthing the words or having inner speech. Do not move your lips
if you want to read faster as this will slow you down. Some, although do
not move their lips, still have inner speech which they still can hear when
they read. This again will slow them down.
3. Stop back tracking i.e., regressive eye fixations. Some have the bad habit
of going back constantly on every word or sentence that they are reading.
They fear that they might forget or not understand what they are reading.
This is normally an unwarranted fear as our mind normally works much
better than we thought possible.
4. Stop having too many eye fixations. Force your eyes to move more
smoothly and read larger sections of the material by initially using your
finger or pen to guide you. But the guidance of finger or pen should stop
when your reading speed has improved as eventually it will also slow
you down in your reading. For instance, after an accident, you might
need a crutch to help you to walk. But once you can walk properly,
throw your crutch away!
5. Read in thought units, i.e., read a phrase to a line of thought, and not
word by word. Read for concepts rather than individual words. Hence,
you have to widen the scope of what you see at any one time. Make your
reading more of a visual experience like driving a car, taking in as much
information as possible in a short amount of time.
6. Build up your vocabulary. If in your reading there are too many words
you do not know, you certainly cannot read very fast. You need a
minimum vocabulary of 25,000–30,000 words for study, but a more
comfortable level is 40,000 words. Constantly look up new words,
consulting a good dictionary, noting their meaning, and try to use them
where possible. Learn basic Greek and Latin root words as many English
words have their roots from Greek and Latin. Brother Witness Lee is our
good example. He said, “In my collection of books, I have a great
number of dictionaries, which I used frequently. Not only so, when better
dictionaries or concordances are published, I buy them immediately,
whether they are Chinese, English, or Greek. I hope you will learn from
me in all these matters and not only be diligent but exceptionally
diligent.” (Vessels Useful to the Lord, Chapter 5, p. 96, Witness Lee,
LSM, Anaheim)
7. Adjust your reading speed to material (see different types of reading
above). It is a great mistake to use one speed for all material. When we
are driving we do not drive at one speed, we drive at different speeds for
different road situations. Hence, use different speeds for different types
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of reading. Also, at different stages of your reading (although you are
reading the same type of material), a different pace is required.
8. Check your eyesight, you might need glasses!
B. Applying SQ3R (see above) can improve your reading skills.
C. Above all, you have to practise, there is no short cut, it is like playing the
piano, practice makes perfect. “A very famous musician once said, ‘If I skip
practising for 1 day, I know it. If I stop practising for 2 days, my friends
know it. If I stop practising for 3 days, my audience will notice it.’ If this is
true for practising music, it is even more true for the spiritual lesson of rising
up early…” (Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers,
Volume 1, Chapter 11, LSM, Anaheim)
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Chapter Three
How to Improve Your Memory
I. Introduction
Memory is a function or process rather than a faculty or brain part. For example,
walking is a function carried out by coordination of limbs and muscles. Hence,
your memory works by bringing into play the appropriate functions of your mind,
working to recreate thoughts which we call memories. “I have studied and studied,
but I can’t remember much of what I have studied,” is the often-heard cry of many
students. But genuinely poor memories are rare. The distinction then is between
the untrained and the trained memory. You would not expect to be able to run a
successful marathon unless you have trained for it and practised regularly.
Therefore, below are some tips on how to improve your memory for you to
practise and train.
II. Some Tips to Improve Your Memory
A. Association
The association of ideas is the root of all memory. Hence, always try to link or
associate new material with what you already know. You will be able to
remember new material better if you can associate it to something already
meaningful to you. If you cannot link the new material to any of your old
material, link it to some other familiar things. For example, if you have a list
of things to remember, you can link it to a familiar story or event or
surrounding.
B. Mnemonic
It is a device for memorizing some types of fact. Hence, this is a simple
sentence or word or rhyme easily remembered in itself which reminds you of
the facts you want to memorise. For example, to remember an abstract formula
or equation, you may use letters of the alphabet to represent certain numbers
and change the formula into a more meaningful word or phrase to recall it
better. Create your own mnemonics to suit your subjects.
C. Selective Memory
Select important and crucial items to remember. Generally, nobody wants to
remember everything that happens to him. Hence, make a conscious and
accurate selection of the important items you want to remember. The process
of doing so actually helps your memory.
D. Overlearning
Overlearning will delay forgetting. Hence, if you read a chapter of a book in
the evening, try to read it again first thing in the morning, even if you feel you
know it. If you attended a class during the day, read your notes from the class
in the evening, if possible. As this will help to retain what you have learnt.
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E. Recall and Chunking
Active and constant recall after a reading session is helpful to memorising. In
general, we forget about half of what we read or heard in the class within 24
hours, and three-quarters within 48 hours. Hence, it is important to recall
within 12 hours of what you have learnt, then recall again within 24 hours and
48 hours, and thereafter every week (see also Chapter 5 below). The more
effort you spend recalling what you studied, the easier it is to remember the
material. Recall can be done by recitation aloud or writing out in note form
important points of the material or a combination of the two. If you have long
pieces to memorise, break them up to shorter and manageable chunks to
memorise (this method is called chunking). It is better to space out your time
to recall than mass it all in one time. In general, cramming does not work.
F. Understanding and Organisation

Understanding is not remembering but it helps in remembering. To aid on your
understanding, try to reorganise the material in the way that is best for you.
Memory is a way of organising information in your brain. Material is
remembered better if it is organised within a framework. For instance, write
out chapter outlines or summaries, and emphasise relationships between the
sections. Group your material into categories or hierarchies where possible.
Other aids include, associating your new material with your previous
knowledge, questioning ideas, looking for analogies, examples, etc. Making
charts, diagrams, and tables also help in your understanding and thereby your
memory as well. Having your material in a logical sequence also helps in your
understanding and remembering.
G. Discussion, Speaking, and Singing

Participation in a discussion group helps you to understand and memorise.
Speak to others the points that you want to remember. Research shows that we
remember only about 10% of what we hear but we remember 90% of what we
attempt to teach others. If you want to remember something long term, set it to
music that you are familiar with.
H. External Aids and Practice

For external aids, have a diary or notebook or smartphone or tablet; make lists
but try also to remember your entries. For practice, train yourself, for example,
when you are being told important details or someone is introduced to you,
repeat the information or name back and make a note of it.
I. Eat and Rest Well

Eat fruit and vegetables especially oranges, apples, berries (rich in antioxidant),
onions, spinach, broccoli (containing substances that act in the same way as
drugs used to treat Alzheimer), etc. Eat low-fat foods and oily fish (containing
Omega 3). Do not skip breakfast. All these may improve your memory. Try to
have a good night’s sleep; you cannot remember well when you are tired.
Research shows that you can top up and keep yourself going by taking short
naps. A nap (called power nap) of 10 minutes will give you a few hours of
better functioning.
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Chapter Four
Taking Notes and Writing Essays
I. Taking Notes
A. Introduction
The basic purpose of taking notes is to help concentration and memory. The
characteristics of good notes are: clarity, conciseness (brevity), and in a form
that you can understand. Notes can be in the form of an outline or summary.
An outline should include headings, sub-headings, sections, sub-sections,
containing sufficient essential points and important details. For an example of
an outline, see any of the Holy Word for Morning Revival or the Recovery
Version of the Bible, published by LSM, Anaheim. A summary is a condensed
version of the original in continuous prose. A student takes notes from:
listening in a class; studying a book; summarising and revising for
examinations.
B. Notes from a Class

1. In a class situation, your brain is working four times faster than your
teacher is speaking, so taking notes helps your concentration and listening.
Therefore, taking notes forces you to be more focused.
2. Write down salient points and the basic principles. Keep your notes short
and concise. Avoid rewriting class notes after the class. Abbreviate notes
as much as possible. Keep your handwriting reasonably legible.
3. Do not try to transcribe the whole class lesson; a tape recording can do a
better job than you. Instead, take notes only for the essentials, then in class
you can focus on understanding the lesson.
4. Spend a part of each evening reading through all the notes you have taken
during the day.
5. If you imagine that you will be tested in the subject immediately after the
class, this will help you focus on the essentials.
6. Notes in an outline form are the best for this type of note-taking.
C. Notes from Reading a Book

Simply transcribing from a book you own is foolish. It is best to spend time in
digesting a book on paper (using the technique of SQ3R above), unless after
digesting the book your writing is for an outline or a summary.
D. Notes for Revision for Examinations

The notes for revision should only contain the essentials, and eventually try to
summarise the entire subject in a single sheet. Putting notes into a card
reference system for recall and revising is also helpful. (See Chapter 5 on
Revision)
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II. Writing Essays
A. Basic Rules on Writing

1. First, produce a clear, simple thought.
2. Then express the thought as shortly, simply and clearly as possible.
3. Omit superfluous matter.
4. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
5. Use the active rather than the passive voice.
6. Use figures rather than words.
7. Express your idea positively rather than negatively.
8. Let the writing be well set out and attractively presented.
(Taken from Working with Words by G. C. Yorke, Blackie & Sons Ltd., London)
B. Essay-writing
1. Collection of material. Once you know the topic of your essay, you can
start to gather material from your notes, books, internet, etc. Mark out all
the relevant material.
2. Write an outline of your plan. Once you have all the material you need,
write an outline by using headings, covering the points you intend to write
about. Think clearly, strive for logical sequence, and be selective of what
is to be included in your essay.
3. The basic framework of an essay should include an introduction, main
body, and conclusion. The above basic rules on writing should be adhered
to. If you cannot understand what you are writing about, the chances are
that your readers will not be able to understand your essay either!
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Chapter Five
Revision for Examinations
I. Introduction
Revision should be carried out throughout the course of your studies. It is not
just in the last week before the examinations. One of the best ways to guard
against forgetting what you have learnt is to revise constantly. Build a good
habit of constant revision. Try to begin each study session with a revision of the
last. Carry out a weekly and monthly revision. Then, carry out term or end of the
course revision.
II. Examination Busters
A. Introduction
Examinations require you to be mentally and physically fit. Examination
success requires preparation. Sort out the parts that are not fully grasped by
you. As a general rule this is not the time to learn new material, unless in
exceptional circumstances.
B. Draw up a Realistic Timetable

1. Not too ambitious.
2. The plan includes work and rest.
3. Work periods include short breaks so that concentration does not flag.
4. Tackle a variety of topics each day.
5. Stick to your plan.
6. If you fall behind revise the whole timetable.
7. Work diary — left hand side of page for plan, right hand side of page for
what is actually done.
8. Do not study all night to early morning, and sleep during the day. No
examination will be set at 3 a.m.! Hence, study during the day and
evening, and go to bed at the latest by 11 p.m.
C. Effective Methods
1. Read your notes, put them away then try to recall aloud or write a
summary of them.
2. Take down a list of headings from your notes and try to remember all the
things that go under those headings.
3. Recalling is best carried out in short periods spread over as long a time
as possible. For example, it is better to use 1 hour a day spread over 7
days to recall rather than 7 hours at a stretch.
4. Once started, ask others to test you.
III. What to Do in Revision
A. Do not read your notes passively. Go through your notes or books and sift
through what is not important.
1. Write down all the essentials on each subject in a shorter form.
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2. Then go through this shortened version, thinking hard what you really
need to retain.
3. Finally, reduce each subject to one sheet of paper.
B. The above process will help you with your concentration and memory for
your revision. Revise when you are fresh and if you are tired, do something
else or have a short rest. Make your revision active by using all the
techniques you have learned above. Curiosity kills the cat, passivity kills
your revision.
IV. Examinations
A. Introduction
“Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared; for the greatest fool
may ask more than the wisest man can answer.” (Quoted by Glanville
Williams from his Learning the Law from C. C. Colton, Lacon)
B. Before the Examinations

Try out past examination questions. Sit mock examinations. Do not try to
out-guess the examiner.
C. The Day Before the Examinations

Do not learn new things. Revise normally. Gather examination equipment.
Have enough sleep before the day of examinations. Do not try to go without
sleep. If you are too tired on the day of examinations, you will not be alert to
answer the questions properly. If you cannot sleep, take a long walk or a run
(but no heavy exercise within 3 hours of bedtime) before you try to sleep.
Do not have any caffeine after midday, and do not have a heavy meal before
bedtime. To take a bath before bedtime also helps you to sleep. Remember,
all that matters is how well you do on the day itself.
D. On the Day of Examinations

Arrive early (but not too early) and make sure you know where you should
be. It is typical to be nervous, so to calm your nerve take a deep breath and
call on the Lord.
E. Examination Techniques
1. Read the examination paper right through and follow the instructions
strictly.
2. Where there is a choice of questions, decide which ones you will answer.
Read the whole examination paper before you make your choice,
otherwise you will never know how good the questions are. Commence
with the one you can answer best.
3. If all the questions carry equal marks, divide the time equally for each
question. You will gain more marks by answering all the required
questions reasonably well than spending all your time answering, say, 3
out of 5 as nearly perfectly as you can.
4. Hence, jot down 10 minutes to read the questions, and the time at which
you should be starting each part of the paper. When you have used up the
time allowed for any one question, stop and go to the next question.
24
5. As you spend time reading through the questions at the beginning of the
examination, make a brief note on the examination paper any relevant
points to the questions. For example, in law, it might be names of some
cases and statutes, history, some dates and events, science and maths,
some formulae. You may be grateful for this note towards the end of the
examination when you are tired and your memory starts to fail.
6. Answer all the questions when asked to do so. Answer the question; you
get no marks for writing an answer not asked by the examiner. Write a
brief plan of your answer before actually writing your answer in full.
7. To get the examiner on your side, try to be legible with your handwriting,
and space out your answer sensibly.
8. For multiple choice questions, again divide your time according to how
many questions you need to answer. Once the time is up for one question,
go to the next. Answer all the questions you know first, and come back
to the difficult ones later. Make sure you answer all the questions if that
is the requirement of the examination.
25
26
Chapter Six
Reading the Bible and the Ministry Books
I. Reading the Bible
A. The Bible is the Word of God. It is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). Hence, we

should not come to the Bible just merely for knowledge, but to Christ (John
5:39, 40) to experience and enjoy Him.
B. Some General Quotations Concerning the Bible:

1. The famous French writer Victor Hugo once said, “England has two books,
the Bible and Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare, but the Bible
made England.”
2. Concerning the Bible, William Gladstone (former Prime Minister of
Britain) said, “I have known ninety-five of the world’s great men in my
time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the Bible. The Bible is
stamped with a Specialty of Origin, and an immeasurable distance
separates it from all competitors.”
3. Napoleon Bonaparte said: “The Bible is no mere book, but a Living
Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it.” “That Bible on the
table is book to you. It is far more than a book to me. It speaks to me; it is
as it were a person.”
4. Sir Walter Scott, the novelist, when dying, asked his son-in-law to read
from the Book. “What book?” said Lockhart. Scott replied: “There is but
one Book — the Bible.”
5. Abraham Lincoln: “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given
to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us
through this book.”
6. Sir Isaac Newton (famous scientist who discovered the law of gravity, etc.)
said, “I study the Bible daily.” Furthermore, he considered the
understanding of the Bible as more important than his scientific work.
7. “The Bible is the old-time book, the new-time book, the all-time book.”
C. “What God has spoken through the centuries has been written down in the
Bible. This book is the very embodiment of God, of all that He is and all that
He has accomplished. We can read, understand and accept it.” (Life Messages,
Chapter 48, p. 61, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
D. “Martin Luther said, ‘There is only one book—the Bible, and one Person—
Jesus Christ in the world.’ He is both the outline and the detail of the Bible.”
(The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Volume 3, p. 108, LSM, Anaheim)
E. Hudson Taylor when over 70 years of age said to one of his children, “I have
just finished reading the Bible through, today, for the fortieth time in forty
years.” (Faith’s Venture, Hudson Taylor, p. 156, Mrs. Howard Taylor, CIM,
London)
27
F. George Muller (1805–1898) said, “We shall equally enjoy the reading of the
Word, whether of the Old or of the New Testament, and shall never get tired
of it. I have, as I said before, known the blessedness of this plan for forty-six
years, and though I am now nearly seventy years of age, and though I have
been converted for nearly fifty years, I can say, by the grace of God, that I
more than ever love the Word of God, and have greater delight than ever in
reading it. And though I have read the Word nearly a hundred times right
through, I have never got tired of reading it, and this is more especially
through reading it regularly, consecutively, day by day, and not merely
reading a chapter here and there, as my own thoughts might have led me to do.
Again we should read the Scripture prayerfully, never supposing that we are
clever enough or wise enough to understand God’s Word by our own wisdom.
In all our reading of the Scriptures let us seek carefully to have the help of the
Holy Spirit; let us ask for Jesus’ sake, that He will enlighten us. He is willing
to do it” (A Living Reality, George Muller’s Experience of God, pp. 67-68,
Roger Steer, Hodder and Stoughton, London). George Muller also said, “I
have read the Bible through one hundred times and found something new and
inspiring every time.”
G. Around the age of 20, brother Watchman Nee read through the New
Testament weekly for about one year. And Watchman Nee said in 1947, “I
have read the New Testament a few hundred times” (The Resumption of
Watchman Nee’s Ministry, Volume 1, Chapter 1, p. 15, LSM, Anaheim).
Furthermore, Watchman Nee wrote in English on the fly-leaf of the Bible,
“Reading this book will keep you from sin; sin will keep you from reading this
book.” (Against the Tide, p. 122, Angus I. Kinnear, Victory Press, Eastbourne)
H. On general reading of the Bible, brother Watchman Nee said, “In familiarising
[yourself] with the Bible, [you] should read the whole book chapter by chapter,
consecutively over and over again. The best way is to decide the number of
chapters in the Old and the New Testament one wants to read each day. The
reading should neither be too fast nor slow. It should be regular, continuous,
and general in nature…It is…good to leave a blank page in your Bible to
record the number of times you have read through it…The principle of reading
the Bible is to go through it chapter by chapter, over and over again…If a
person reads his Bible according to the above way, after some time his
knowledge of the Bible will increase. If possible, one should try to memorise
one or two verses each day. In the beginning, a person may have to force
himself a little to do this. It may come as quite a dull chore. But after some
time he will reap the benefit of it.” (Messages for Building Up New Believers,
Volume 1, Chapter 9, pp. 141-142, Watchman Nee, LSM, Anaheim)
I. “There are four basic principles in reading the Bible:

(1) Discover the facts, (2) memorise and recite the words [facts], (3) analyze,
categorize, and make comparisons, and (4) receive God’s enlightening…The
Bible contains many facts that are spiritual in nature…Once [you] discover
these biblical facts, half of the light contained in the word will be [yours]…
Discovering the facts is half of our job in reading the Bible.” (Messages for
Building Up New Believers, Volume 1, Chapter 9, p. 132, Watchman Nee,
LSM, Anaheim)
28
J. On keeping some spiritual legalities, brother Witness Lee said, “To live we
have to keep some legalities. We must be legal about four things: eating,
drinking, breathing, and sleeping…Now there are some spiritual legalities you
must pay attention to. In order to live and be healthy spiritually, you must
practise these daily. Especially you young brothers [and sisters], you must
have at least ten minutes of prayer every day. Then you must have at least ten
minutes for reading the Bible. You can read a chapter in ten minutes. If you
insist on keeping these legalities, you will be a strong, healthy Christian. Look
to the Lord for His grace to practise them.” (Life Messages, Chapter 3, p. 34,
K. On the value of reading the Bible, brother Witness Lee said, “Every day when
you read the Bible, it seems that nothing remains. But your being is washed,
your person is refreshed. If you neglect your Bible reading for ten days, you
will see how dull and dirty you feel. Reading the Bible makes you different,
whether you sense you have received something or not.” (Life Messages,
L. On how to approach Bible reading, brother Witness Lee said, “Just come to
the Bible for the sake of reading it and contacting the Lord, not for any other
purpose. When the right time comes, the Lord will give the light or the life
supply or the understanding.” (Life Messages, Chapter 3, p. 36, Witness Lee,
LSM, Anaheim)
M. “In order to be constituted, we need to read the sixty-six books of the Bible
again and again. As one who has been reading the Word for more than sixty-
five years, I can testify that I have been reconstituted through the daily reading
of the Word. Every day I am reconstituted a little.” (Life-study of Nehemiah,
Message 3, p. 19, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
N. Reading the Bible to Receive the Crucial Points of the Truth and a Bird’s-eye
View of the Scripture — “To become rich [in reading of the Bible], we need to
pick up the points, we need to have a bird’s-eye view of a chapter or of a
section, and we also need a bird’s-eye view of the entire book. Finally, we
need an ultimate practice — to have a bird’s-eye view of the sixty-six books of
the Bible. Then the entire Bible means something to you. We need to progress
from the single items of the truth to knowing the outline of a section or of a
chapter. From this we need to see the outline or the bird’s-eye view of an
entire book. Finally, from the outline of a book we must have a bird’s-eye
view of the entire sixty-six books of the Bible. When you reach this point, a
good foundation will have been laid with all the basic principles to govern, to
direct, and to rule your interpretation of any verse, any chapter, or any book of
the Bible. You are not only safeguarded but also very much enriched.”
(Elder’s Training, Book 3, Chapter 1, pp. 16-17, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
O. Three Ways to Come to the Bible (1):

“Everyone needs to read and pray over at least a few verses every morning and
then read a few chapters later in the day. Our time in the Word in the morning
should be in the way of being nourished, and our time later in the day should
29
be in the way of reading. These are the common ways of reading the Bible,
which all believers should practise. Besides these two ways, some saints
should also take a third way, the way of studying. This way is to study a
particular book of the Bible. In order to study the Bible, we first need to ask
the Lord what book we should study. If the Lord tells us that we need to study
Romans, we should study Romans in a throughout way. We should first study
every word according to the Greek text with the help of concordances and
lexicons. After we study Romans in this way, we should expound each verse.
By expounding each verse we will get into the depths of the Bible. After we
finish studying a book by finding the meanings of each word and expounding
each verse, we should study the entire book according to some of its main
topics. For instance, sin and sins are two topics that we could study in Romans.
Then we could study righteousness and justification. Other topics include
being in Christ, being in the spirit, being in the flesh, and our old man. If we
study Romans according to forty or fifty topics, it will become transparent to
us. We can also use the Life-study messages in our study of the Word.”
(Crucial Principles for the Proper Church Life, Chapter 1, p. 22, Witness Lee,
LSM, Anaheim)
P. Three Ways to Come to the Bible (2):

“Besides the ways of coming to the Bible to be nourished and to read, ways
that should be practised by all believers, there is a special way, the way of
studying. Some saints should spend time to study the Bible. This is mainly for
some who could be teachers in the churches. According to the Bible, teaching
is shepherding (Eph. 4:11). If you do not know how to teach, we cannot
shepherd properly…
“Before we begin to study the Bible, we first need to pray to seek the
Lord’s leading concerning which book we should study. To come to the Bible
in the way of studying is not mainly for us to receive nourishment or simply to
read, but to study in a thorough way. We need to study every word of every
verse. For this, we need the Greek text. Even if we do not know Greek, we can
use reference books, such as Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible,
Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of
New Testament Words, Vincent’s Word Studies of New Testament, an
interlinear Greek and English New Testament, and a Greek dictionary. We can
also compare different versions, such as the American Standard Version,
Darby’s New Translation, the Amplified Bible, and Wuest’s Expanded
Translation. These references will render much help to us.
“As we study the Word, we should expound each verse to find the
meaning. We need to interpret a little to enter into the depths of each verse.
This requires time. After we have studied an entire book in this way, we can
go through it again to study certain topics. For instance, in Romans we can
study the subject of sin or the subject of justification. Other subjects in
Romans are being in Christ, being in the spirit, being in the flesh, as well as
the subjects of sanctification, transformation, and conformation. We can study
many subjects in one book. Furthermore, we can use the Life-study messages
on each book. Our study of each book will help us to realise the riches in the
Life-study messages, and the Life-study messages will help us to have a
thorough, clear, and rich view on each book. Any book that we are studying in
this way will become transparent to us. Then we will surely have something
30
with which to teach others…This is the way of studying the Word. I hope that
some young saints will make a decision before the Lord to study the Bible in
this way.” (Crucial Elements of God’s Economy, Chapter 1, pp. 16-17,
“The Greek word for truth is aletheia, a word which is quite difficult to
explain. It is used more than one hundred times in the New Testament. There
is a very good Greek dictionary—Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament—which explains every word in the New Testament. It was
written…by…Kittel. The entire New Testament uses more than 7,600 Greek
words, and Kittel’s research puts them into ten big volumes, clearly indicating
the usage of every Greek word. He explains the changes in their meanings
from their most ancient uses to their classical usages. He also gives clear
explanations of how the words were used when the Greek language pervaded
the Mediterranean region. Not only so, in these volumes he also discusses the
meanings of each word as used in the New Testament writings, as well as their
meanings in ordinary usage outside of the biblical writings. From this book we
see that Greek words have different usages according to five periods of time.
Kittel points out all these usages for us. Because of this book we can get to the
depths and carefully study every book of the New Testament” (Speaking for
God, Chapter 6, p. 107, Witness Lee, Anaheim)
Q. “Paraphrasing the Bible gives fresh insight into a passage. By paraphrasing the
Bible with simple words, we express a passage in a way that others can
understand at a glance…A paraphrase is not a commentary…Paraphrasing is
the first step; exposition is the second step. First we should learn to paraphrase
the text of the Bible with our own words…In order to paraphrase the Bible,
one must first study it thoroughly. He must understand what a passage says
and what is implied in the passage. He can then incorporate all his knowledge
into his paraphrase…
“Paraphrasing involves a little translation and a little exegesis. It is
something that lies between these two things. Exegesis is the exposition of the
Bible with our own words, while paraphrasing is the utterance of a passage in
the tone of the biblical writers themselves. Translation is a mere rendering of
the meaning of the original text, while paraphrasing adds a little of our own
explanation to it…” (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Volume 48,
Chapter 9, pp. 145-146; Volume 54, Chapter 4, p. 93, LSM, Anaheim)
“The most helpful way in reading the Bible is to paraphrase…I have found
that the best way to receive the proper understanding of each book is to
paraphrase. When I paraphrased every verse of every chapter of every book,
the light came…Simply to repeat the words of the Scripture again and again,
using the same wording, does not help much. We need to paraphrase: ‘O Lord,
in the beginning. Oh, the beginning. Lord, in the beginning You were the
Word. Oh, the Word. You, Lord Jesus, You were the Word.’ This is to
paraphrase. To paraphrase is to touch the ‘switch’ and to turn the light on…”
(The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, Chapter
9, pp. 108-109, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
R. Learning Languages (Greek and Hebrew):

“I would encourage you to study hard and endeavour to learn languages…
Today the most common languages are Chinese, English, Spanish, German,
31
French, and Japanese…You can choose one or two languages besides your
mother tongue… In addition, I would like to ask the young brothers and sisters
to put an extra effort in studying Greek. This will be a great help in
understanding the Bible. Perhaps in the future some of you will labour to study
Hebrew, which is a real necessity in studying the Old Testament…” (A
Blessed Human Life, Chapter 3, p. 41, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim, 1987)
“…The text of the New Testament was originally written in Greek. Since
the source of the truth lies in the New Testament, you must also learn Greek.
At least you have to learn the Greek alphabet, be familiar with the Greek
grammar, and be able to use reference books…I regret that I did not learn
enough. If I were still your age, I would learn at least ten more languages. I
truly hope that you would work, learn, and study at the same time. You should
get a good dictionary and reference book and seriously study them every day.
Do not study too many things at once. Simply spend your time and energy in
an earnest way on a few of them. In winter of 1932, I began learning to use the
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament…” (Vessels Useful to the Lord,
“Being educated is a condition that we must fulfil in order for God to use
us...We have not paid adequate attention to language learning…Throughout
church history spiritual materials were written either in Hebrew, Greek, Latin,
or English. To use these reference materials, you must know these languages.
For these reason, the young people should study Hebrew, Greek, and English.
They need to study some of these languages in order to use the reference
books. Moreover, I have discovered from the writings of some brothers and
sisters that even their Chinese is inadequate. Actually, our language need not
be complex or elegant but simply understandable and expressive of our
thoughts. This matter also affects our usefulness in God’s hand.
“Brothers and sisters, if you can use a reference book in Greek, read
English, and write fluently in Chinese, you will see how much usefulness will
multiply in the Lord’s hand. Regretfully, you have not pay attention to this and
have wasted much time. As a rule you should spend one hour each day
studying a language. In a year you will be able to use reference materials in
Hebrew. Similarly proficiency in Greek will require only half a year. If you
spend an hour a day studying English, you will be able to do translation work
in three years. Since it is more difficult to translate from Chinese to English,
an ability to translate from English to Chinese will be sufficient. If you do not
build yourselves up in such matters, we reduce usefulness in God’s work.
“However, this is not my point. My point is actually character
development, a matter which I fear many have ignored.” (Character, Chapter
4, pp. 39-40, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim, 1953-1968)
“To apprehend the facts [of the Bible] we need the help of the original text
in Hebrew and Greek. No translation of the Bible is perfect. This is why, if
possible, we should study Hebrew, the Old Testament language, and Greek,
the New Testament language. We can also use the help of certain word studies
of the Old and New Testaments.”
“… [Learning] the Hebrew and Greek languages, the original languages
with which the Bible was written, can help us to better understand the real
meaning of the Bible. Translation of the Bible is no easy task… [A] wrong
translation leads people astray from proper understanding of the Bible. This is
why we must find out the real meaning of the facts according to Hebrew and
32
Greek…” (The Triune God’s Revelation and His Move, Chapters 4 & 6, pp. 21,
39, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim, 1995)
S. Question and Answer on Bible Tools:

“Question: What Bible tools would be good to have?
Answer: A good concordance like Young’s or Strong’s, the best versions of
the Bible — the American Standard (1901), the New Translation (Darby), the
Amplified Bible, the New American Standard, possibly the Concordant
Version — not more than 10 versions. Don’t read too many expositions. They
help you, at the same time hold you back. We have published over 300 books
and 400 Life-study messages [note: for an update of LSM publications see
below]. The six books that we put out Recovery Version for are the most
puzzling books of the New Testament [note: today we have the Recovery
Version for the entire Bible].
“To go to other books (other than our publications) wastes 90% of your
time and you can get entangled. For the first stage, you stick to these basic
books. Spend more time in the Bible directly and in the books we publish.
These are the cream of all the centuries. We have done the sifting and
preserving of all the works. To read our books gives the best education. Spend
5 to 10 years in our books, and then you can go elsewhere.
“The Brethren’s concept is that Christian life is an ‘exchanged life,’ our
life for His life. This is against Romans 11. A Christian life is a grafted life, a
transformed life, and a mingled life. So, stick to the Recovery books. Then,
read the Bible in a nourishing way in the morning and a reading way during
the day.” (Elders’ Training, from handwritten notes, December 16, 1978,
Witness Lee)
T. On How to Make the Best Use of the Bible: “(1) Read it through. (2) Pray it in.
(3) Work it out. (4) Note it down. (5) Pass it on.” (One Thousand Wonderful
Things about the Bible, p. 17, Hy. Pickering, Pickering & Inglis, London)
U. Arthur W. Pink said that “the Bible is not designed for the lazy people. Truth
has to be bought (Proverbs 23:23).”
V. Brother Witness Lee testified his love for the Bible:

“When I was saved, I began to love the Bible and enjoyed reading the word of
God. Whenever I read it, I was enlightened and sensed its incomparable
sweetness. At that time I was not yet married. I loved the Bible to such an
extent that every night after praying on my knees by my bed, I still would not
put the Bible down. Rather, I would take the Bible with me to bed and place it
by the pillow. After I read it again for a short while under the lamp, I felt so
sweet. When I woke up in the morning, I would quickly reach for the Bible
and read it. Of course, as I look back, I admit that was a grace given to me by
God. By loving the Bible and longing for the milk in the word, I received the
Lord’s feeding and shepherding.” (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation,
W. One day during the time of his last illness, the doctors wanted to test how well
brother Witness Lee’s mental faculties were functioning. “They asked brother
Lee to write down on a piece of paper the one thing that he loved the most.
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Without any hesitation he wrote down, ‘I love the Lord Jesus.’ Then he
thought about it for a minute, and said, ‘Let me change it,’ and proceeded to
write, ‘I love the Bible.’ To him, the things he loved the most were the Lord
Jesus and the Bible, and both were equally precious to him.” (A God-man’s
Death, pp. 101-102, LSM, Anaheim)
X. “Before reading the Bible, it is good to call on the Lord at least 2 or 3 times,
‘O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus.’ Right away, the written word of the Bible
becomes the living word” (Crystallization-Study of Romans, Message 8, p. 84,
Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim). In Ephesians 6:17, 18, the Apostle Paul said,
“…receive…the word of God…by means of all prayer…” Hence, the most
important of all, when we come to the Bible, we should pray-read His Word.
Y. The Bible has 66 books with 1189 chapters: 39 books for the Old Testament
with 929 chapters, and 27 books with 260 chapters for the New Testament. If
you read 3 chapters a day you will finish the Old Testament in ten and a half
months. And if you read 1 chapter a day of the New Testament, you will finish
it in 9 months. Reading 4 pages of the Recovery Version of the New Testament
with all the footnotes a day, you will finish it in 1 year. If you read your Bible
at pulpit rate, to finish your reading, it will take you 18 hours and 20 minutes
for the New Testament, and 52 hours and 20 minutes for the Old Testament.
Z. Below are the names of all the books in the Bible, the number in the bracket
indicates the number of chapters in each book. The brackets in blank are for
you to record the dates of completion of your reading.
Old Testament: Date of completion: ( )
Pentateuch (5 Books): Date of completion: ( )
1. Genesis (50 chapters)
2. Exodus (40 chapters)
3. Leviticus (27 chapters)
4. Numbers (36 chapters)
5. Deuteronomy (34 chapters)
History (12 Books): Date of completion: ( )
6. Joshua (24 chapters)
7. Judges (21 chapters)
8. Ruth (4 chapters)
9. I Samuel (31 chapters)
10. II Samuel (24 chapters)
11. I Kings (22 chapters)
12. II Kings (25 chapters)
13. I Chronicles (29 chapters)
14. II Chronicles (36 chapters)
15. Ezra (10 chapters)
16. Nehemiah (13 chapters)
17. Esther (10 chapters)
Poetry (5 Books): Date of completion: ( )
18. Job (42 chapters)
19. Psalms (150 chapters)
20. Proverbs (31 chapters)
21. Ecclesiastes (12 chapters)
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22. Song of Songs (8 chapters)
Prophets (Total, 17 Books):
Major Prophets (5 Books): Date of completion: ( )
23. Isaiah (66 chapters)
24. Jeremiah (52 chapters)
25. Lamentations (5 chapters)
26. Ezekiel (48 chapters)
27. Daniel (12 chapters)
Minor Prophets (12 Books): Date of completion: ( )
28. Hosea (14 chapters)
29. Joel (3 chapters)
30. Amos (9 chapters)
31. Obadiah (1 chapter)
32. Jonah (4 chapters)
33. Micah (7 chapters)
34. Nahum (3 chapters)
35. Habakkuk (3 chapters)
36. Zephaniah (3 chapters)
37. Haggai (2 chapters)
38. Zechariah (14 chapters)
39. Malachi (4 chapters)
New Testament: Date of completion: ( )
Gospels (4 Books):
1. Matthew (28 chapters)
2. Mark (16 chapters)
3. Luke (24 chapters)
4. John (21 chapters)
History (1 Book):
5. Acts (28 chapters)
Epistles (Total, 21 Books):
Pauline Epistles (14 Books):
6. Romans (16 chapters)
7. I Corinthians (16 chapters)
8. II Corinthians (13 chapters)
9. Galatians (6 chapters)
10. Ephesians (6 chapters)
11. Philippians (4 chapters)
12. Colossians (4 chapters)
13. I Thessalonians (5 chapters)
14. II Thessalonians (3 chapters)
15. I Timothy (6 chapters)
16. II Timothy (4 chapters)
17. Titus (3 chapters)
18. Philemon (1 chapter)
19. Hebrews (13 chapters)
General Epistles (7 Books):
20. James (5 chapters)
21. I Peter (5 chapters)
22. II Peter (3 chapters)
23. I John (5 chapters)
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24. II John (1 chapter)
25. III John (1 chapter)
26. Jude (1 chapter)
Prophecy (1 Book):
27. Revelation (22 chapters)
II. How to Memorise Bible Verses
A. Introduction
“Paul told the Colossians, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom (Col. 3:16). In order to have the word of Christ dwelling in us richly,
at least we have to memorise the Scriptures. Of course, memorisation alone
may not result in God’s word dwelling in us. But we can say that if one does
not memorise God’s Word, he certainly cannot have it dwelling in him richly.
If a man merely memorises the Scriptures with his mind, but his heart is not
receptive or open to God and he is not submissive or meek, his memorisation
will not result in God’s word dwelling in his heart. Yet if a man thinks that
there is no need to memorise God’s word because he only needs to be meek
and submissive and open and receptive to God, he also will not be able to have
God’s word dwelling in his heart…While we seize every available opportunity
to memorise the Scriptures, the word of Christ will dwell in us richly…If we
memorise the Scriptures often and well, it will be easier for us to receive
revelation and enlightenment, and the Holy Spirit will find it easier to speak to
our spirit. This is the reason we have to spend time to memorise…the actual
text. We have to memorise it accurately and carefully” (The Collected Works
of Watchman Nee, Volume 54, How to Study the Bible, Chapter 3, pp. 81-82,
LSM, Anaheim). “It is difficult to remember the Word, but it is easy to forget
it…Therefore, we need to exercise ourselves to remember God’s Word and
not forget it [Psa. 119:16 I will take delight in Your statutes; / I will not forget
Your word].” (Life-study of Exodus, Message 57, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
B. What to Memorise
1. There are some books and chapters of the Bible we need to memorise,
which include (you can add more books and chapters of the Bible to
memorise):
a. Genesis 1–3, 6–8, 12, 24
b. Exodus 15–16, 20, 25, 30
c. Leviticus 1–7, 23
d. Numbers 21
e. Deuteronomy 8
f. Joshua 6
g. II Samuel 7
h. II Kings 2
i. Ezra 1
j. Psalms 2, 8, 16, 22–24, 45, 48, 68, 84, 91, 110, 119, 126, 132–133
k. Song of Songs
l. Isaiah 12, 53
m. Ezekiel 1, 36, 37, 47
n. Daniel 2, 9
o. Haggai 1
36
p. Matt. 5–7, 13, 24–25
q. Luke 15
r. John 1, 5–6, 10, 14–17
s. Acts 1–3, 9, 15, 22, 26
t. Romans 2–3, 5–8, 12
u. I Corinthians 12, 13
v. II Corinthians
w. Galatians
x. Ephesians
y. Philippians
z. Colossians
aa. I and II Timothy
bb. Hebrews
cc. I John
dd. Revelation 1–3, 5, 12, 14, 21–22
2. Memorise verses from the Life Lessons — “We must memorise [the] 4
volumes of Life Lessons. They are essential, especially the scriptural
quotations. There are about 300 verses quoted in the 4 volumes. Most of
these 300 verses are from the New Testament. They may be considered the
essence of the New Testament. If we can recite all these 300 verses, the
essence of the New Testament will be in us. This will benefit us our whole
life.” (Bearing Remaining Fruit, Volume 1, Chapter 15, p. 196, Witness
Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
3. Memorise verses from the Holy Word for Morning Revival.
4. Memorise the subjects and the main points (i.e. the Roman numerals) of
the outlines of all the books of the Bible from the Recovery Version.
5. Memorise the key footnotes of all the books of the Bible from the
Recovery Version.
6. Memorise verses listed in the 1000 Crucial Bible Verses for a Seeking
Believer, published by Gospel Book Centre, Subang Jaya, Malaysia.
C. How to Memorise
1. Introduction — “If our hearts are open to God and meek in attitude, it will
be easy for us to memorise the Scriptures. If our minds are set on the
Lord’s Word all the time, memorisation will be an easy task” (The
Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Volume 54, How to Study the Bible,
Chapter 3, p. 82, LSM, Anaheim). Musing will also help us to remember
the Word (see Psalms 119:15, Footnote 1; and 119: 16, Recovery Version).
2. Below are some guidelines on how to memorise Bible verses, using verses
from the Life Lessons as an illustration.
a. Before you memorise any verse, the best practice is to pray-read the
verse first.
b. Do not be surprised if the first verses are tough to learn but keep at it, it
will become easier.
c. From the Life Lessons, Lesson 1, learn Mark 16:16 perfectly by pray-
reading it, reading it aloud and repeating it often; only then go to
Romans 10:13. Master that, before starting John 5:24. Pay the price to
get every word right.
d. “Research shows that a [verse] read once is 66% lost in 24 hours and is
almost forgotten in 30 days. A [verse] spoken several times a day for 8
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days is nearly memorised; after 30 days the memory holds 90% of the
[verse]” (God’s Word by Norm Lewis, p. 48). To say the verses aloud
daily by pray-reading or declaring is essential.
e. Overlearn the verses in Lesson 1 before starting Lesson 2. When you
can say the verses in Lesson 1 perfectly 3 times then you can move on.
f. To memorise fast is not the main aim, what counts is accuracy.
g. Keep the Life Lessons (use a pocket version or a digital version) with
you always, so that you can review each verse once a day.
h. To master a tough verse, read or say it 25 times the first day, always
give the reference. On the second day drill 20 times. On the third day,
15 times. On the fourth day, 10 times. On the fifth day, 5 times. Then,
once a day for 7 weeks. (God’s Word by Norm Lewis, p. 48)
i. Practise reciting the verse alone. Speak the verse to someone. Share
because you care. You will use or lose verses you have learnt.
j. Always repeat the Bible reference aloud before and after you say the
verse as an aid to memory.
k. Never move on from a verse before mastering it, for that will slow you
down eventually. To aid quick review, every verse must be overlearned.
Rapid review saves you time.
l. Try to memorise a verse in the morning revival time when you have
pray-read that verse.
m. Singing the verses (if you can compose tunes for them or use what
others have already composed) will also aid in memorising verses.
n. Carry the Life Lessons with you always. Try to review and recall the
verses according to each Lesson.
o. You must review every day in order to retain the verses and references
long term. Review all verses from 12 Lessons in Volume 1 of the Life
Lessons once a day. Many have done well in memorising the Bible
until they began to forget memorised verses as fast as they learned new
ones.
p. Please note that the verses quoted in the Life Lessons, for the New
Testament are based on the 1985 edition of the Recovery Version.
Hence, you have to check the verses from the 1991 revised edition. For
the Old Testament, King James Version is used throughout the Life
Lessons. Therefore, refer to your Recovery Version for all the verses
for the Old Testament.
3. To memorise the verses of the Bible, it is helpful to carry a pocket-size
Bible or smartphone or tablet digital Bible with you always. Please use the
latest edition of the Recovery Version.
4. Try to memorise one verse from the Holy Word for Morning Revival every
day.
5. To memorise the subjects and outlines of the Bible, practise PSRP —
pray-read, study, recite, and prophesy.
III. Reading the Recovery Version with the Footnotes
A. In the Brief Explanation to the Recovery Version, brother Witness Lee said,
“Translating the Bible depends not only on an adequate comprehension of the
original language but also on a proper understanding of the divine revelation
in the holy Word. Throughout the centuries the understanding of the divine
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revelation possessed by the saints has always been based upon the light they
received, and this understanding has progressed steadily. The consummation
of this understanding forms the basis of this translation and its footnotes.
Hence, this translation and the accompanying footnotes could be called the
‘crystallization’ of the understanding of the divine revelation which the saints
everywhere have attained to in the past two thousand years. It is our hope that
the Recovery Version will carry on the heritage that it has received and will
pave the way for future generations.”
B. The purpose of the Recovery Version with the notes: “The first purpose of the
notes is to present to you the truth, and the second purpose is to minister to
you the life supply…The third purpose of the notes is to help us to solve the
common and hard problems in the New Testament [and the Old
Testament]…The fourth purpose of the Recovery Version with the notes is to
open up the books of the Bible.” (Elders’ Training, Book 3, Chapter 9, pp. 90-
C. “Some saints in Taiwan began to call our Recovery Version ‘the gold bar’
because of the precious, valuable truths it contains. On this basis, I would say
that we all need to preach ‘the gold bar gospel’ and teach ‘the gold bar
truths.’...We preach the gospel and teach the truths by diving into the Word.
By diving into ‘the gold bar’ we will be enabled and equipped to preach and to
teach...If you open to any page of the Recovery Version and read one of the
notes, you will receive the profit...We need to get ourselves saturated, infused,
filled, and soaked with all the truths contained in these writings [including the
Recovery Version with footnotes]. Then whenever you talk, you will talk the
truth...Think about the thousands of dear Christian brothers in your vicinity
who need the truth which you have. They need the truth in the Recovery
Version...If [we] cannot explain that much, [we] can open the Recovery
Version to let the ones [we] contact read something for themselves.” (The Way
to Practice the Lord's Present Move, Chapter 6, Section 2, Witness Lee, LSM,
Anaheim)
D. “[In] reading the Recovery Version you must learn of the outline. The outline
is the first crucial item…” (Elder’s Training, Book 3, Chapter 1, p. 16,
E. “When we study [the Recovery Version of the Bible], we first need to read the
text according to the outlines. Once we understand the text, we can read the
footnotes…” (The Proper Aggressiveness of the Lord’s Serving Ones, Chapter
2, p. 18, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
F. To read the Recovery Version with footnotes daily, it is best to use the reading
schedules for the Old and New Testaments at the end of the Holy Word for
Morning Revival from LSM. If we tick on one box a day, we will finish the
Old Testament or New Testament in 2 years. It will take us about 10 minutes
to read if we tick one box. To finish in one year, just tick two boxes. As some
books in the Recovery Version have more footnotes than the others, so the
schedules take this into account.
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IV. Reading the Ministry Books (and the Recovery Version)
A. Encouragement and Fellowship from Brother Witness Lee

1. “Build up a habit of reading. Be sure you have all the recovery books in
your home. Whenever you have a few minutes, pick up one of the books
and read…As you take a few, spare minutes throughout the day to read
even a few pages in a quick way, light will come. This reading is your
entertainment; it is far better for you than television!” (Life Messages,
2. “I am glad to see that many of the young ones among us are eager to know
the truth of the Word. After a period of time, these young people will be
useful in the Lord’s recovery. Those who are teenagers at present will
eventually be useful in spreading the biblical truths. Praise the Lord for the
opportunity He has given us to be trained in the truths of the Bible!” (Life-
study of 1 John, Message 9, p. 77, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
3. The Use of Reference Books and Other Writings:
“Two young people came to me who were quite stirred up to study these
old books. They asked me to give them a list of all the reference books and
expositions for them to study. I immediately told them that I would not
give them such a list. I advised them to do their best firstly to learn Greek
and if possible Hebrew. I did not include Latin because Latin is not that
important. I also told them that if they mean business with the Lord and
His truth they must spend five years to study all the publications the Lord’s
recovery has ever put out. I told them that they had to spend two hours
every day to finish this course of the Life-study Messages with the
Recovery Version, including the footnotes and the cross references. Finally,
I advised them to come to me after they had finished their course and then
I would give them a good list of reference books. I said this because at that
time they will have been educated and built up with a strong footing of the
truth. Then they will have the best discernment. They will be able to look
into books and immediately discern whether they are a help or a
hindrance…
“I passed through this stage of picking up wrong interpretations and
concepts of the Scriptures, so I learned something. I do not like to see that
the Lord’s recovery is being brought backward to the old writings. I also
do not like to see that the young generation would be brought back to the
old things to occupy them. We must realize that we only have one life to
live. Even with two or three lives, you cannot exhaust the reading of the
Christian books. I do not like to see people misdirected in reading things
that will waste their time...
“My burden is that we must take good care of the young ones among
us. Do not bring them into peril so that they would be occupied with the
wrong things. We have a pure system of publications which comprise all
the main things of the divine, spiritual, and heavenly things. These
publications are very adequate for all the young saints among us to have a
good foundation laid and a strong standing established. Then they could go
on, not to learn more things from the old books, but to check the old books
and to get themselves confirmed.
“For us to bring the young ones into the old books without
consideration is a peril and a risk. It is not safe. What you young ones can
40
use as reference books, however, are the dictionaries, lexicons, and
concordances. Nearly all the dictionaries have some good points. No
dictionary, however, is complete and all differ from one another. Never be
satisfied with one. You must use more than one. When you investigate a
word, do not be satisfied with one dictionary’s definition. You must look
into others. These are the only things which I would recommend for you
young ones to use—the lexicons, the dictionaries of languages, and the
concordances of the Bible. You should use these references in the way of
comparison. This will help you.” (Elders’ Training, Book 4, Chapter 1, pp.
12-13, 15-16, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
4. “When the disciples of Elisha were short of food, they cooked a stew with
poisonous gourds. Elisha nullified the poison of the wild gourds with flour
(2 Kings 4:38-41)…Many of the teachings in today’s Christianity are
‘poisonous gourds.’ Some Christian books are good, but many are not
pure…By the Lord’s mercy and grace, in the last seventy years nearly all
the crucial, important revelations of the Bible have been covered in
Watchman Nee’s ministry and my ministry. I would urge you to pay
attention to these pure and healthy things and not waste your time
collecting ‘poisonous gourds.’” (Life-study of First and Second Kings,
Message 13, p. 87, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
5. “[You] must dive into the Recovery Version with the footnotes and the
Life-study messages. It is not an easy task to be built up in the truth. You
must study the [Recovery Version] text and every note. If possible, it is
helpful to take care of the cross-references. Then you need to study the
Life-study messages. You need to get into these messages not like you are
reading a newspaper or a reference book. You must consider the text of the
Recovery Version with the notes and the Life-study messages as a
textbook...You must study them as a textbook…The only way for the truth
to get into you is through your mentality. Then it remains in your memory.
If you do not understand, the truth cannot get into you. The truth gets into
you through your mentality, your understanding. Also, if the truth gets into
your memory, it becomes a constant and long term nourishment. Then you
have an accumulation of the truth, and you are a person continually under
the constant nourishment. You will then know how to present the truth to
others, not merely to inspire them or to stir them up, but to make them
solid and constituted with the truth.” (Elders’ Training, Book 3, Chapter 9,
pp. 93-94, [see also Chap. 10, pp. 108-109], Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
6. “I have the assurance to say that whoever has read through five hundred
Life-study messages properly has been an excellent believer… If you
would begin to study the Life-studies every day starting tomorrow
morning, you will become a different person even after fifty days…I have
the assurance that if you would get into the Life-study messages
continually, you will be different after fifty days. Any message from any
book, such as Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, or Revelation, is good for your
study. Just go to the Life-study messages.” (Elders’ Training, Book 3,
Chapter 10, Section 2, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
7. From the life-study messages of Genesis, Exodus, Song of Songs, Daniel,
Matthew, Romans, Ephesians, and Revelation, we can read 638 messages.
8. “When we study [the Recovery Version of the Bible], we first need to read
the text according to the outlines. Once we understand the text, we can
41
read the footnotes. After we understand the text and the footnotes, we
should find the corresponding portion in the Life-study messages and go
over the Life-studies with the text and the footnotes.” (The Proper
Aggressiveness of the Lord’s Serving Ones, Chapter 2, p. 18, Witness Lee,
LSM, Anaheim)
9. The way to be constituted with the truths: PSRP — “We have to pray-read,
study, and recite the points we have studied. Then spontaneously our pray-
reading, studying, and reciting will become our prophesying.” (Vital
Groups, Message 16, p. 144, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim)
B. Life-study of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation

1. The Life-study of the Bible consists of 1984 messages, with 18,462 pages.
If you read only 1 page a day it will take you over 50 years to finish!
However, if you read 1 message a day, it will take about 5 years and 5
months to finish.
2. Suggested books to cover first in the New Testament: Matthew, Romans,
Ephesians, Revelation, John, Acts, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians,
Hebrews, I & II Corinthians, I & II Timothy, I John, and then all other
books in the New Testament.
3. Suggested books to cover first in the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus,
Song of Songs, Daniel, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Ruth, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and then all other
books in the Old Testament.
4. Below are the names of the Life-study of the Bible, the number in the first
bracket indicates the total number of messages for each book, and the
second bracket indicates the year that the messages were given. The
brackets in blank are there for you to record the dates of completion of
your reading.
Old Testament (867 Messages):
Pentateuch:
1. Genesis (120 messages), (6 April 1974–19 March 1978, weekly ministry
meetings); Date of completion: ( )
2. Exodus (185 messages), (7 February 1979–20 April 1983, weekly ministry
meetings); Date of completion: ( )
3. Leviticus (64 messages), (1988, summer and winter trainings); Date of
completion: ( )
4. Numbers (53 messages), (1989, summer and winter trainings); Date of
completion: ( )
5. Deuteronomy (30 messages), (1990, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
History:
6. Joshua (15 messages), (1993, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
7. Judges (10 messages), (1993, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
8. Ruth (8 messages), (1993, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
9. I Samuel
10. II Samuel (For I & II Samuel, total, 38 messages), (1993, winter training);
Date of completion: ( )
42
11. I Kings
12. II Kings (For I & II Kings, total, 23 messages), (1994, summer training);
Date of completion: ( )
13. I Chronicles
14. II Chronicles (For I & II Chronicles, total, 13 messages), (1994, winter
training); Date of completion: ( )
15. Ezra (5 messages), (1994, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
16. Nehemiah (5 messages), (1994, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
17. Esther (2 messages plus 1 message on the Eschatology of the Church, total,
3 messages), (1994, winter training); Date of completion: ( )
Poetry:
18. Job (38 messages), (1992, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
19. Psalms (45 messages), (1992, weekly ministry meetings); Date of
completion: ( )
20. Proverbs (8 messages), (1995, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
21. Ecclesiastes (2 messages), (1995, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
22. Song of Songs (10 messages), (1995, summer training); Date of
completion: ( )
Prophets:
Major Prophets:
23. Isaiah (54 messages), (messages 1–32, winter training 1990; messages 33–
54, 1991); Date of completion: ( )
24. Jeremiah (40 messages), (1991, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
25. Lamentations (4 messages), (1991, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
26. Ezekiel (Originally 24 messages but later edited to become 27 messages),
(1971, summer conference); Date of completion: ( )
27. Daniel (17 messages), (1991, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
Minor Prophets:
28. Hosea (9 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
29. Joel (7 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
30. Amos (3 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
31. Obadiah (1 message), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
32. Jonah (1 message), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
33. Micah (4 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
34. Nahum (1 message), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
43
35. Habakkuk (3 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
36. Zephaniah (1 message), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
37. Haggai (1 message), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
38. Zechariah (15 messages), (1991, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
39. Malachi (4 messages), (1992, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
New Testament (1,117 Messages):
Gospels:
1. Matthew (72 messages), (messages 1–7, 7 April–19 May 1974; messages
8– 41, 30 June–17 July 1977, summer training; messages 42–72, 22
December 1977–1 January 1978, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
2. Mark (70 messages), (messages 1–51, 1983, winter training; messages 52–
70, December 1983–April 1984); Date of completion: ( )
3. Luke (79 messages), (messages 1–55, 1984, summer training; messages
56–79, July–September 1984); Date of completion: ( )
4. John (51 messages), (Spring 1975–1977); Date of completion:
( )
History:
5. Acts (72 messages), (1984, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
Epistles:
Pauline Epistles:
6. Romans (69 messages), (messages 1–31, 1974, winter training; messages
32–50, January–May 1975; messages 51–59, spring 1969; messages 60–65,
May 1979; messages 66–69, September 1981); Date of completion:
( )
7. I Corinthians (69 messages), (messages 1–51, June–September, inclusive
of the summer training, 1981; messages 52–69, December 1981, winter
training); Date of completion: ( )
8. II Corinthians (59 messages), (messages 1–14, December 1981–January
1982, winter training; messages 15–37, January–February 1982; messages
38–59, June–July 1982, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
9. Galatians (46 messages), (messages 1–31, 1979, winter training; messages
32–46, February–April 1980); Date of completion: ( )
10. Ephesians (97 messages), (messages 1–27, 1978, summer training;
messages 28–38, 43–54, 61–67, 1978, winter training; messages 39–42,
February 1979; messages 68–74, spring 1973; messages 55–60, 75–97,
1973, summer); Date of completion: ( )
11. Philippians (62 messages), (messages 1–31, 1980, summer training;
messages 32–53, August–December 1980; messages 54–62, January–
February 1981; Date of completion: ( )
12. Colossians (65 messages), (messages 1–31, June–July, 1979, summer
training; messages 32–60, July–November 1979; messages 61–65, January
1980); Date of completion: ( )
44
13. I Thessalonians (24 messages), (1982, summer training); Date of
completion: ( )
14. II Thessalonians (7 messages), (1982, summer training); Date of
completion: ( )
15. I Timothy (12 messages), (1980, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
16. II Timothy (8 messages), (1980, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
17. Titus (6 messages), (1980, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
18. Philemon (2 messages), (1980, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
19. Hebrews (69 messages), (1975, summer and winter trainings; 1976); Date
of completion: ( )
General Epistles:
20. James (14 messages), (1983, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
21. I Peter (34 messages), (1982, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
22. II Peter (13 messages), (1982, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
23. I John (40 messages), (1983, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
24. II John (2 messages), (1983, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
25. III John (2 messages), (1983, summer training); Date of completion:
( )
26. Jude (5 messages), (1982, winter training); Date of completion:
( )
Prophecy:
27. Revelation (68 messages), (1976, summer and winter trainings); Date of
completion: ( )
Note: The Life-study of the Bible is available in 32 hard cover volumes (15
for the Old Testament, and 17 for the New Testament).
C. The Conclusion of the New Testament

It comprises 264 messages covering 7 items (persons): God, Christ, the Spirit,
the Believers, the Church, the Kingdom, and the New Jerusalem. If you read 1
message a day, you can finish the reading in about 9 months. Further messages
from the Conclusion of the New Testament are on experiencing, enjoying, and
expressing Christ in the New Testament, making the total of 436 messages for
the Conclusion of the New Testament. These messages were given in the
summer and winter trainings of 1985 and 1986.
D. Witness Lee’s Ministry from 1994 to 1997 (High Peak Books)

1. Books for that period emphasized on the high peak truth. With 31 titles,
consisting 287 chapters, if you read 1 chapter a day, it will take about 8
months to finish.
2. Strictly speaking, beginning from the 1991 Winter Training in the Life-
study of Jeremiah, Witness Lee started to speak on the high peak of the
45
divine revelation. LSM now listed 48 titles, which cover the high peak
truth from 1991 to 1997. A complete book list of the can be obtained from
the LSM website (www.lsm.org). Many ministry books of Watchman Nee
and Witness Lee can now be read online from the same website.
3. Although LSM (Living Stream Ministry) listed 48 High Peak Books,
TWGBR (Taiwan Gospel Book Room) listed 49 High Peak Books. The
differences are LSM excluded Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, treated Life-
study of Minor Prophets as one book, and included Life-Study of Joshua,
Judges & Ruth. But TWGBR excluded Life-Study of Joshua, Judges &
Ruth, included Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, and selected the two books
from the Life-study of Minor Prophets—Life-study of Hosea and Life-study
of Malachi.
4. We suggest our reading can be based on the 49 titles (347 chapters) from
TWGBR list. If we read one chapter a day, we can finish our reading
within one year.
E. Books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee According to Categories

Living Stream Ministry’s book catalogue classified the writings of Watchman
Nee and Witness Lee into the following categories:
1. Concerning God’s Economy
2. Concerning the Triune God
3. Concerning Christ
4. Concerning Life
5. Concerning the Church
6. Concerning the Kingdom
7. Concerning the Study of the Bible
8. Concerning the Gospel
9. Concerning the New Way
10. Concerning Christian Practice
11. Concerning Service
12. Concerning Training
13. Concerning the Young People
14. Concerning the Children’s Work
15. Booklets, Tracts, and Miscellaneous
Choose books that are appropriate to your level first. There are many crucial
books in the recovery such as, The Knowledge of Life, The Experience of Life,
The All-Inclusive Christ, The Economy of God, The Normal Christian Life,
The Glorious Church, etc. But your aim should be to read all the books of the
recovery.
F. The Collected of Works of Witness Lee

In 2004, LSM started the publication of the first four volumes of The Collected
Works of Witness Lee, which is completed now. This comprehensive work
(Life-study messages, Conclusion of the New Testament messages, Life
Lessons, and Truth Lessons are not included in the set), spans Witness Lee’s
ministry from 1932 to 1997. It contains 139 volumes with over 77,000 pages
of ministry, including hymns written by Witness Lee, extensive notes from his
six personal Bibles, and letters written by him to various saints and co-
workers. Over forty percent of the contents of The Collected Works of Witness
Lee have never been in print previously. If you read one page per day of all
46
Witness Lee’s writings (over 102,915 pages), you will probably need over 281
years to finish the reading.
G. The Collected Works of Watchman Nee

It consists of 62 volumes with over 15,000 pages. If we read 1 page a day, it
will take us over 41 years to complete! It is divided into 3 sets according to 3
periods of the ministry of Watchman Nee. Set 1, volumes 1–20, early period,
1922–1934. Set 2, volumes 21–46, middle period, 1934–1942. Set 3, volumes
47–62, mature period, 1942–1951. If you read 15 pages a day you will finish
your reading in about 2 years and 8 months. Brother Witness Lee said,
“Although you are all very busy, I still hope that you can read every page of
those three sets” (The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of
Christ, Chapter 1, p. 9, Witness Lee, LSM, Anaheim). Below are the titles of
all the volumes of the collected works of Watchman Nee. Record your
completion date beside each title when you have finished each volume.
Volume Title Completion Date
1. The Christian Life and Warfare
2. The Word of the Cross
3. The Christian (1)
8. The Present Testimony (1)
12. The Spiritual Man (1)
15. Study on Matthew
16. Study on Revelation
17. Notes on Scriptural Messages (1)
20. Questions on the Gospel
21. The Christian (1934–1940)
22. The Assembly Life &
The Prayer Ministry of the Church
23. The Song of Songs and Hymns
24. The Overcoming Life
25. Collection of Newsletters (1)
26. Collection of Newsletters (2) &
Watchman Nee’s Testimony
27. The Normal Christian Faith
28. The Gospel of God (1)
29. The Gospel of God (2)
30. The Normal Christian Church Life
31. The Open Door (1)
32. The Open Door (2)
47
33. The Normal Christian Life
34. The Glorious Church
35. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
36. Central Messages
37. General Messages (1)
38. General Messages (2)
39. Sit, Walk, Stand and Love Not the World
40. What Shall This Man Do?
41. Conferences, Messages, and Fellowship (1)
47. The Orthodoxy of the Church & Authority and Submission
48. Messages for Building Up New Believers (1)
51. Church Affairs
52. The Character of the Lord’s Worker
53. The Ministry of God’s Word
54. How to Study the Bible &
The Breaking of the Outer Man and the
Release of the Spirit
55. The Ministers and The Open Door
56. The Open Door and The Present Testimony
57. The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry
58. Spiritual Judgment and Examples of Judgment
59. Miscellaneous Records of the Kuling Training (1)
60. Miscellaneous Records of the Kuling Training (2)
61. Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1)
62. Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (2)
Note: For Bible Studies in General and Tools for Bible Studies in General (for
Digital Books) please see Introduction to Biblical Greek, Chapter 6 and
Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, Chapter 7, both books by Key H. Tee,
published by Auckland Truth Book Room.
48

How To Study

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How To Study

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How to Study

First Edition 2005

Publisher: Auckland Truth Book Room

PO Box 29168 Epsom

Tel: 09 8151323 Fax: 09 8151328

1. Why, When, Where, and How to Study 7

2. How to Improve Your Reading Skills 15

3. How to Improve Your Memory 19

4. Taking Notes and Writing Essays 21

5. Revision for Examinations 23

6. Reading the Bible and the Ministry Books 27

Why, When, Where, and How to Study

I. Why Learn to Study?

C. “According to what I have experienced, we need three things…In the

II. When to Study

A. Planning and Timetables

B. Brother Witness Lee’s Suggestion of a Daily Schedule

A. If possible, always study in the same place.

B. Your room should be quiet and without distractions. It should be well

IV. How to Study Effectively

B. Interest, Active, and Attitude in Study

E. Exercise Spiritually and Physically

How to Improve Your Reading Skills

II. Different Types of Reading

D. Word for Word Reading

III. Ways to Improve Reading Skills

B. Applying SQ3R (see above) can improve your reading skills.

How to Improve Your Memory

II. Some Tips to Improve Your Memory

F. Understanding and Organisation

G. Discussion, Speaking, and Singing

H. External Aids and Practice

I. Eat and Rest Well

Taking Notes and Writing Essays

B. Notes from a Class

C. Notes from Reading a Book

D. Notes for Revision for Examinations

A. Basic Rules on Writing

Revision for Examinations

II. Examination Busters

B. Draw up a Realistic Timetable

III. What to Do in Revision

B. Before the Examinations

C. The Day Before the Examinations

D. On the Day of Examinations

Reading the Bible and the Ministry Books

I. Reading the Bible

A. The Bible is the Word of God. It is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). Hence, we

B. Some General Quotations Concerning the Bible:

I. “There are four basic principles in reading the Bible:

O. Three Ways to Come to the Bible (1):

P. Three Ways to Come to the Bible (2):

R. Learning Languages (Greek and Hebrew):

S. Question and Answer on Bible Tools:

V. Brother Witness Lee testified his love for the Bible:

II. How to Memorise Bible Verses

III. Reading the Recovery Version with the Footnotes

A. Encouragement and Fellowship from Brother Witness Lee

B. Life-study of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation

C. The Conclusion of the New Testament

D. Witness Lee’s Ministry from 1994 to 1997 (High Peak Books)

E. Books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee According to Categories

F. The Collected of Works of Witness Lee