I heard a preacher in TV talk about that and I was wanting to know how you do it
Answers (1)
I recommend you stop listening to strange preachers until you feel like you know more about the bible than they do. That typically takes a few weeks, maybe two months if you are a slow learner.
Read a chapter of Proverbs every day. Proverbs has 31 chapters so you can keep your place by just looking at a calendar. There is no religion or nothing in Proverbs and you don't have to believe anything. Just read to find wisdom. When you are comfortable with that, then read the bible from Romans to 2 Thessalonians over and over until you start to remember what it says. That is the part that applies to Christians.
If you want to do serious bible studies, you only need four or five books.
1. A King James bible. Other versions are ok, but all the reference materials are keyed to the KJV.
2. An English dictionary.
3. An Interlinear Greek-English Translation Of The New Testament, any brand.
4. An exhaustive concordance. There are several brands, but everybody seems to use Strong's. I like Young's because it is easier to use.
5. A Hebrew lexicon, if you study the old testament.
Here is a sample study. Suppose you are reading and your attention is caught by Colossians 1:17 "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." The Interlinear New Testament says "consist*ed" which means the word was translated by a different tense or case from the original. You look that word up in the concordance. The root meaning is "place together". It is used twelve times and ten of them are translated "approve" or "commend". Why is this usage translated differently? You check the other verses for context and conclude that this usage should have been translated the same as the others, "commended". Some people object because they use that verse to support the trinity. Well, it does not support it. And that is how you learn to rightly divide the word of truth, as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15.
A book that is very good for getting started is "How To Enjoy The Bible" by E. W. Bullinger. It's a free download and you can get a hard copy at any bible book store. www.philologos.org/__eb-htetb/
Straight answer: It doesn't mean anything. It's just flowery phraseology. That's why you don't bother listening to random preachers.