This verse should be at the top of everyone's list of favorites. It's like the Boy Scout motto for Christians :) Just as Boy Scouts should always be prepared for survival, we should always be prepared to share our faith, and why we believe what we believe. There's a catch though. We can't just go thumping people over the heads with our bibles until they believe in Jesus. We have to speak with gentleness and respect, and keeping a clear conscience. While I'm sure sometimes we might feel like thumping people over the heads, it's not the best idea. Why? So that no one can say anything bad about us. Think about it, when have you ever heard someone say something like, "Oh that Aubrey, I hate it when she is so gentle and respectful!" Probably never - it's just silly!
So how do we become prepared? Well, through reading the bible of course! Praying helps too. But don't just breeze right through the bible or rely on what you've been told about the bible. The secret to really reading and understanding the bible is to read it for yourself (and by yourself), without any preconceived notions about the text. We call this type of reading "exegetic" (derived from the word exegesis - which just means to interpret the text). The other type of reading is called "isogetic" which means that you project your preconceived notions onto the existing text. This is not the way to read the bible. Read the bible as though you've never heard it before, meditate on it, pray over it, and come up with your own conclusions. Don't just take people's word for it, don't rely on other sources. Read it for yourself. Ask God to write his word on your heart so that you can be prepared. And keep this verse close to your heart as you read.
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