Having a quick look around my house, I was rather surprised at the number of Bibles I have access to.
Within a couple of minutes I can physically lay my hands on an NIV, an NCV, an NLT, a KJV, a GNB and various Bible dictionaries, Bible Atlases, Bible “How’s whos” and concordances/commentaries (Mathew Henry ftw!).
Then there’s the YouVersion app (or site) on my iPhone, Android tablet and Laptop; as well as other sites like BibleGateway, eBible; Bible verse shorteners like bib.ly and many sites/feeds for online daily devotionals (I use the Chuck Swindoll Daily Devotional and the Daily Bible Study from Spring Harvest – a UK Christian Event) and podcasts.
Having all this access it made me think just how much I take being able to grab a Bible for granted.
My family helps to support a Bible translator in Africa (he does the DTP laying-out of the Bibles once they’ve been translated). For many of the translations, it’s the first time the language or dialect has been written down. So not only do they have to translate the Bible (or books of the Bible) – the structure of the written languages also has to be invented! The Church services and celebrations of a new translations are amazing (we’ve been sent photos!).
It’s truly humbling what easy access I have and has made me re-evaluate how I use (or actually don’t) the resources. I want to use all the resources I have more effectively; to help my study God’s word and realise what a privileged position I have compared to so many of my fellow Christians around the world – where still, in many countries, you can be arrested for simple having a Bible!
For my own use, I find the YouVersion app, great when heading out to House Group (all I need is my phone). However, when doing deep study I still prefer my favourite red letter ‘paper’ NLT.
Some questions for you:
#1 What’s your favourite Bible (online and offline!) – How do you read yours?!
#2 Do you think we take the ‘easy access’ we have for granted? (and how can we value them more?)
#3 What Devotionals/Bible Studies do you use?
#4 Are there any other resources you’d recommend?
[Image via James Cooper]
Joanna says
1. I have an ESV slimline bible that goes with me to church and is used for my bible study at home. I have a very small TNIV bible that lives in the bag I take with me to college and gets used at campus bible talks and bible study group. It is excellent because it has a zip up cover that stops the pages from getting damaged by everything else in my bag.
App wise, I use YouVersion and the ESV study bible app on my iPod touch. It is great having the ESV study bible in app form because the print version is very heavy. I’ve also got a couple of bibles and commentaries on my kindle. I don’t find the kindle ideal for commentaries since the navigation isn’t wonderful but it does save me a lot of money and bookshelf space from getting print commentaries.
2. Absolutely. I’m not sure what the solution is.
3. I’m about to start using Dig Even Deeper by Andrew Sach & Richard Alldritt. It is a study on Exodus. The previous book in the series, Dig Deeper, was a really helpful overview of bible study methods.
4. There is a useful tool kinda hidden on the ESV website that allows you to export mp3 files of just the verse or selection of verses you want. It is really useful when memorising scripture or if you want to listen to shorter portions than a whole book. http://www.crossway.org/blog/2008/11/mp3-api/
James Cooper says
Thanks Joanna. That MP3 api is very nifty!
Adam Shields says
I realized a couple days ago that I don’t even know where there is a paper bible in my house. I have not regularly used a paper bible for years. I primarily read on my ipad. Occationally on my phone (usually Olive tree on both, but occasionally Youversion.)
Anything we have free access to we do not treasure. But certainly the solution is not less access to scripture. I do think we should re-introduce memorization as an important spiritual discipline (not that I memorize a lot of scripture, just that I see the value of it.)
I have recently decided to spend six months on a single book of the bible. I just finished my third book on Luke and will start a very academic commentary. I have read through the bible multiple time and like Mc’Cheyne’s reading plan, but I still felt I was doing too much cursory reading. I this it was a Jerry Bridges book that suggested concentrating on one book of the bible for six months to really get into it.
The book I just read that was a good devotional commentary is Michael Card’s Luke: The Gospel of Amazement. It is his own translation and commentary that is written in a very readable, devotional format. My review of it http://bookwi.se/luke-card/
James Cooper says
Thanks for the thoughts Adam – wow no paper Bible in the house!!
The Luke book looks very interesting, have to add it to my wishlist.