Wednesday 3 February 2010

Study Hard !!

Do you have a good study Bible? If not, get one! There are many good ones out there, just make sure you have one! I loaned my ESV (English Standard Version) Study Bible to a neighbor for the past two weeks and I was anxious to get it back!

The ESV Study Bible requires a wheel barrow if you plan to carry it to church! LOL !! I use to carry it in a large cloth bag, but decided against it - just too bulky. I would spread it out on the pew and go to work with my pen and highlighters!

The ESV is a "Word for Word" translation of the original texts. The NIV (New Interntaional Version) is also a great translation but is more of a "Thought for Thought" translation. Also, the NIV is up for revision in 2011. I am not a big fan of the Thompson Chain Reference as most of the study aids are in the back where as you will find most of the ESV study aids right with the scriptures. I have previously owned 3 Thompson Chain References.

The important thing, is to get into the Word - and study. Remember, try to get a good "Word for Word" translation - paraphrases are okay for general thought reading but are not the best for study applications. Just my thoughts! Now I need to go study!! I have A Sunday School lesson to prepare for that I teach. I love my Burgundy, genuine leather ESV study Bible - cost was around 60 bucks, the hardback is around 30 bucks.

God Bless!

Papa

8 comments:

CrossView said...

We love and use our study Bibles. And we have lots of translation Bibles and paraphrase ones. No matter what my mood, there's a language for God's Word. LOL! When I'm tired, I do best with the simple ones. When I'm rested, I'm game for KJV.
And we head to biblegateway.com often, too.

Today I'm tired. Probably best for me to stick with a children's Bible and concordance. ;o)

Bernard Shuford said...

I currently use a KJV Study Bible, and while I like it, I desperately wish that all the cool stuff in the ESV Study Bible was available in KJV :) See, I like to just have ONE primary Bible, so that all my scribbling and stuff is all in one place, but our church is KJV "preferential" and since I sometimes read Scripture in services, I don't want the multiple translation problem. That said, I'm awfully close to buying a ESV SB hardback for use at home. I just DON'T like reading the Bible on the net. It just does NOT work for me, even though I've got it on my Blackberry, etc. Books, man, books. :)

Indian Lake Papa said...

Crossview - Study Hard! I find studying at times hard to put down!

Bernard - I agree, the ESV has a lot of "cool stuff". I am fascinated at the study resources in the ESV and feel comfortable with its translation accuracy. I at times still go back to the KJV.

Peter Olson said...

Reference: Mathew 24:15 & Mark 13:14
I think it is really cool when I read the Bible and I hear God's Word speaking directly to me. "let the reader understand" - Pete's translation of that phrase: Hey dummy, are you following me on this?

Keep up the great work! Excellent advice.

Devoted said...

O, I gotta make a run to Mardel now! Thanks for the advice. I have a study Bible on CD rom...but there's nothing like flipping the pages of a Bible to get me crackin!

Indian Lake Papa said...

Peter - scripture is our foundation as Christians. A must do!

Devoted - if you are looking for a great study Bible - the ESV Study Bible is at the top of my list - very easy to use and as accurate of a translation as you can get. I LOVE the introduction each book has and the numerous maps that are located throughout the text where you need them. A GREAT Bible!

Ed said...

Finding a good study guide, where references are easy to locate, is very important aid for the learning process.

I can see you are making good use of your ESV Study Bible. Once it gets published on an iPad, or similar reader, you won't need your wheel barrel anymore. :)

I am not yet ready to fork out 60bucks for a Bible Study, as long as I can use the Internet resources for free.

Free is about all I can afford nowadays. :)

Indian Lake Papa said...

Hi Ed! I just loaned my ESV out again - another friend is looking for a Study Bible. It really is a good one!!

The on-line resources for just about anything are phenomenal!! I too use them for scripture study.