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1. If your language skills need CPR, then turn to Gary Pratico and William Mounce for help! Zondervan has recently published grammars on Hebrew (Pratico) and Greek (Mounce) which utilize a CD-Rom and offer corresponding tools like vocabulary cards, audio resources, workbooks, and study guides. These "extras" make it a lot easier to revive or develop your language skills than in the past.

2. Get a good Bible computer program. I use Bibleworks, the Cadillac of programs for studying the Bible in English and in the original languages. There are other good options, too, including Logos. A good program replaces a concordance and an interlinear. There's so much you can do with these programs to help you save time when you read and exegete biblical texts.

3. Work in the languages on a daily basis. Fifteen minutes a day for five days a week is better, I believe, than a two-hour block once a week. If your skills need CPR, then carve out some extra time to work through a grammar or work on vocabulary.

4. Set reasonable expectations. Even reading or translating one verse a day will benefit you. It's likely you will concentrate on passages you plan to preach. At least identify a key verse or two which you will study more in-depth in Hebrew or Greek. Use down-time – waiting in line or in traffic – to thumb through vocabulary cards.

5. Find a study partner. A pastor-friend, Dave Hansen, and I met weekly when we pastored churches in the same community about a decade ago. We worked through Proverbs 8, several Psalms, and the first several chapters of Judges. Getting together with another pastor or seminary student to read or work through a passage will provide you with accountability and encouragement. You will also benefit by being tutored or serving as a tutor.

Reviving or maintaining your language skills is part of a commitment to go to great lengths to understand God's thoughts. How can we do less after God went to such great lengths to share those thoughts with us!