If you know me, then you probably know that I believe that one of the greatest problems facing Christianity today is the epidemic level of biblical illiteracy. According to several studies most Christians have never read the entire Bible, and fail to read it regularly.

This lack of knowledge of the Word of God puts the church on very shaky ground when it comes to several aspects of our Christian walk. People become easily swayed by ‘false’ doctrine, we cannot effectively share the Gospel with a lost and hurting world, and we are unable to defend the faith with unbelievers who often know the Scriptures better than we do.

That’s why I love people like Andy Deane who write awesome books like Learn to Study the Bible: Forty different step-by-step methods to help you discover, apply and enjoy God’s Word!

Andy recently sent me a copy of his book to check out, and I have to say that I am quite impressed! This book lays out several different study methods, and provides practical examples of how to use them. There’s even section on how to do devotional readings.

In response to the question about why we should study the Bible, Andy had this to say…

As nice as it is to dine at a fine restaurant, nothing beats sitting down to a delicious home cooked meal. The same can be said of feasting on the Word. In the body of Christ we have been gifted with many wonderful Bible teachers who serve up hearty meals that help us come to a better understanding of certain passages. However, the real meat and potatoes of growing in truth comes when we roll up our own sleeves and learn how to prepare those meals for ourselves. Learning to study the Bible is as easy, and diverse, as learning how to cook your favorite foods. Don’t let anything rob you of experiencing the best God has for you, personally, in His Word today.

Andy has also been kind enough to share some of the methods that he teaches in his book here with us at bibledude.net! In this special series by Andy Deane, you’ll see great posts on the following study methods…

• [study method #1] the daily bread method
• [study method #22] thirty day method
• [devotional strategy #6] have a plan
• [devotional strategy #9] favorite verse study method
• [devotional strategy #10] be ready for spiritual battles

It is my prayer that these study methods help you grow in your knowledge and hunger for the Word of God. I also encourage you to buy the book, and try even more of these awesome study tools. And when you buy it from the BibleDude Store (powered by my cool affiliate relationship with Amazon), not only do you get a good price, but you also help to keep this website alive!