The Bible: Portable Like Never Before

Last night a friend posted this on my Facebook page:

Hmmm.....Wonder what would happen if we treated our BIBLE like we treat our CELL PHONE? What will happen if... we CARRY it everywhere we go; flip through it throughout the day; went home to get it if we FORGOT it; RECEIVED messages from the text; COULDN'T live WITHOUT it; GAVE it to KIDS as gifts; used it in case of emergency? One more thing, it would NEVER be disconnected. JESUS has already paid the bill. Pass this on cause it's so true...thought this was worth re-posting.

I'm not a fan of the "post this in your status if you've lost someone to cancer" or "if you love Jesus you'll forward this" stuff, but I like the simple challenge this one presented. What if . . . we valued the Word of God as much as we value our gadgets?  What if . . . we stayed in touch with God as often as we do with our Facebook "friends" (some of whom I've never met nor really know who they are)?  What if . . . we spent as much time in the Word as we do online every day?  And so on and so on, you get the picture. 

Our Lord told us "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:21).  I've heard a more 21st century version of this: what you spend your time doing shows what your values and priorities are.  If we sat down and crunched the numbers, I'm sure many of us--myself included--would be disappointed at how little time we spend in the Word each day versus how much time we think we spend. 

So now that I've beat us all up for being bad Christians, let me flip it around (as all good sermons should) to a positive note.  Hearkening back to those gadgets mentioned above, it's now easier than at any time in history to stay plugged-in to your bible.  I'll share some of the ways I try to keep Scripture in front of my eyes throughout the day. 

I use the Daily Bible app by JoanSoft on my smart phone.  As the name implies, it sends a daily verse to your phone, which you can then share--should you be so inclined--on Facebook and other social media.  I've also got Olive Tree's Bible Reader software on my smart phone.  It comes with the King James translation for free, then you can purchase other translations if you like.  Olive Tree also has tons of other bible related software for smart phones and other mobile devices.  I purchased the Greek New Testament with bible dictionary and parsing included.  Now when the pastor makes a reference to "the original Greek text" I can look it up for myself on my phone (which works best if you've actually studied Greek, which I have; not boasting, just sayin').  If I'm going to read the bible on my phone, though, the app I like best is The Bible App by lifechurch.tv.  This is YouVersion's portable version of their bible software.  I'm not sure where the lifechurch.tv comes in, but that's the one you'll want to look for when you're browsing the market for apps.  This bible app has lots and lots of free translations available, some of them are downloadable to your phone and thus available offline (in case you don't have good cell reception in church).  Depending on how old school or neu skool you are, these apps are great options in lieu of bringing an actual bible to church with you. 

On Facebook I have a fair number of christian pages in my news feed, so I'm constantly getting quotes from Scripture throughout the day.  I make a point of taking the time to read every one; otherwise, what's the point, right?  The ones I subscribe to are JesusDaily, YouVersion, The Bible, and GodVine.  I'm sure there are more out there, these are just the one's I've come across and "liked." 

So back to the "bible challenge" my friend posted on my Facebook page.  Unlike most of those convicting challenges that get passed around the Internet, I felt pretty good about myself after reading this one.  That's not to paint myself in the light of a holier than thou, all that and a bag of chips christian.  But I do always have a bible with me and I do try really hard to read it daily, even if it's just the little snippet quoted by my daily devotional.  Obviously I've got great room for improvement but, as the saying goes, "I'm not yet where I want to be, but thank goodness I'm not where I was." 

ESV Study Bible

My goal before starting ministry school in the Fall is to finish reading the Bible.  I just finished the book of Ezekiel and picked up a reading plan at YouVersion that will take me through Proverbs and Psalms in one month.  I’ve already read the New Testament, so I just need to finish the Old Testament and Psalms and I’ll be done.  

Things were going much faster before my wife bought me the ESV Study Bible.  I’d previously been reading from my Green Bible and making all my highlights and notes in it.  [Truth be told, it’s one of probably 10 Bibles that I own, but I’d chosen it to be my primary “read through the Bible and mark it up” Bible.]  Before I began reading each successive book in the Bible, I’d consult the Oxford Guide to the Bible for background information, cultural context and so on.  My ESV Study Bible has changed all that.

The ESV Study Bible is a typical study Bible with extensive notes, cross-references, charts, supplemental info and so on.  But to me, its best feature is that it’s available online!  So when it gives a cross-reference, rather than holding my place and flipping pages to find the reference, I simply click on the hyperlink and a pop-up window displays the cross-referenced verse.  Easy!  Another feature that I really enjoy is that you can have the Bible read to you by simply clicking a button.  I’m doing this for Psalms.  I’m not much of a poetry guy and I’m finding it easier to read the Psalms by having them read to me while I follow along with the text (either on the computer screen or in the Bible itself).

I’m one of those intellectual, perpetual student types that prefers the feel of an actual book in my hands as opposed to reading a digital copy.  However, with the greater ease of having notes and references hyperlinked, I’m finding that I prefer the online version of the ESV Study Bible over the tome itself.  And it is a tome--I should put it on the scales and see how much it weighs. 

So, with all the notes typical of a study Bible and the ease of the hyperlinked cross-references, my Bible reading has slowed considerably as I avail myself of all these great features.  The flip side of that, though, is that I’m doing a much more in-depth reading than I was previously in my Green Bible.  I had intended to put-off this more in-depth reading for my second trip through the Bible.  This first read-through is intended to familiarize myself with the entire Bible and allow me to say “yes, I’ve read the whole thing.”  I started a Bible-in-a-year reading plan last year and, obviously, came up short.  So I’m using the start of ministry school as my new target date for completing my read-through.  Plus, I figure that before I graduate I’ll be expected to have read the entire thing anyway, so this way I’ll have a leg up.