There once was a story of a man who needed to buy a new family car. Since he was a man of prayer who often went to the Bible when it was time to make big decisions, he opened his King James Bible at random and pointed to one verse on the page, hoping to find some kind of direction for his decision. That verse was Acts 1:14, which reads:

“These all continued with one accord …”

The very next day the man went to the local Honda dealership, where he purchased a brand new Honda Accord. Never mind the fact that he and his wife had four children — three of them teenagers — and that this particular car was much too small to meet their needs. As far as he was concerned, the Word of God had spoken to him very clearly.

While most believers know that God can certainly give direction by guiding people to specific passages of Scripture — and by other means — more often than not, the “open-and-point” method of Bible study isn't going to yield the kind of results, knowledge, or direction needed to make sound decisions. Taking that a step further, God wants each of us to be ready and willing to make a commitment when it comes to studying our Bibles.

The topic of this section is how the individual believer/reader can more effectively study the Bible. If you've been wondering about that in your own life, then it shows you are ready — or getting ready — to make the kind of commitment it takes to make Bible reading and study a regular, everyday part of your Christian life.

This section includes a list of things you'll need as well as some ways to use those things in order to learn and apply not just what the Bible has to say but also what it has to say to you. And you can bet that it's well worth the time and effort it will certainly take!