The Bible can be a very daunting book. It’s a collection of sixty-six books that were originally written in Hebrew and Greek by over forty different men thousands of years ago. These books fall into all kinds of different genres – from history to poetry, from letters to prophecy. Because of this, many people choose to not read it.
According to Barna’s 2020 State of the Bible report, forty-six percent of Americans rarely read the Bible (if at all) and an additional ten percent of Americans read it sporadically. Only nine percent of Americans read their Bible on a daily basis. There are numerous reasons why Americans are so disengaged with the Bible. The language can be difficult to understand, the stories can be confusing, and the layout can be hard to navigate. Americans don’t understand the Bible’s background, they don’t have time to read it, and they’re just not excited about it.[1]
We suffer from biblical illiteracy. We don’t understand what the Bible says and what it means, and we often are too intimidated to even try. But we, as Christians, must strive to read and understand the Bible because it has the power to transform us and sanctify us and draw us closer to God. We must dive deeper into Scripture, but that’s not as difficult as it sounds! In his book How to Eat Your Bible, Nate Pickowicz provides a simple approach.
At the beginning of each chapter, Pickowicz discusses the different attributes of God’s Word. In the first couple of chapters, he talks about the sufficiency, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture. He then discusses how the Bible can be clearly read and understood and that it has authority over our lives. Pickowicz also explores the ideas of inspiration and illumination – that the Bible is inspired by God and the Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible for our understanding.
After he analyzes these attributes, Pickowicz goes into the practical steps of reading the Bible. He emphasizes the importance of praying before we read, meditating on the biblical text, seeking historical context, and discovering what the text is calling us to learn and practice. In the book, Pickowicz provides helpful tools and useful study methods that can equip us to better study and understand the Bible. At the end, he also includes his experience with his Seven Year Bible Plan and encourages his readers to put his plan (or a similar one) into practice in their own lives.
How to Eat Your Bible by Nate Pickowicz is a fantastic book that is full of solid, biblical truth, yet also very easy to understand. Its chapters are short and practical, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is new to reading the Bible or to anyone who has struggled with reading their Bible on a daily basis. Pickowicz writes to his readers,
“…if you are a Christian, yet you’re struggling to read and understand your Bible, this book is written for you. It’s a book about how to not just read but truly feast on Scripture. My hope is that you would learn how to eat your Bible.”[2]
The Bible is not as scary as it seems. The simple approach laid out in this book will truly help you to learn and love God’s Word. Go order Nate Pickowicz’s book, start reading your Bible, and eat up!
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[1] Jeffrey Fulks and John Farquhar Plake, State of the Bible 2020: Research from American Bible Society and Barna Group (American Bible Society, 2020), 24-34.
[2] Nate Pickowicz, How to Eat Your Bible: A Simple Approach to Learning and Loving the Word of God (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2021), 19.
