The Bible daily becomes more and more accessible to the world through increased literacy, cheap printing methods, and online downloads…the problem, however, is that the people now reading the Word of God do not know how to find it’s true meaning.

I, myself, have struggled with this very problem for most of my own life. My affection for sermons and books comes from a dependence upon other people, whom I trust to interpret the Word of God accurately in my ignorance.

In my previous small group, it was requested that we take time apart from study guides to study a book of the Bible directly, and I specifically avoided doing so because of my fear of misinterpreting the text.

In my time here, I have spent time specifically learning how to study the Bible on an academic level, and in a small group setting, thanks both to my school and my church. I am grateful for the opportunity to sit under men who have spent time learning to facilitate group discussion. I am elated to be listening to the instruction of men who have spent their entire careers studying the Word of God and translating many of the English Bibles we use today, including the newly released Lexham English Bible.

Unfortunately, the proper tools for proper Bible interpretation are still largely inaccessible. The most used English Bible interpretations are not free electronically (NIV, NASB, NKJV, MSG, NCV, NLT) and the only commentaries and lexical aids available are those that are so old they are outside copyright protection. These commentaries, like the one by Matthew Henry, are not helpful in understanding the text, since they mainly rely upon a limited understanding of Greek and the context of first century Israel. Dictionaries and Commentaries (IVP Bible Background Commentary and the TDNT) and Lexical Aids like BDAG and HALOT are $100+ a copy, in print or electronically. Bible Software with relatively helpful and accurate commentaries cost from $200 up to $2,000.

Scholars and teachers in the Christian circles get paid poorly enough, so I do no wish to downplay what little royalties they receive, however, I dearly hope that we can make these resources cheaper and cheaper in the future. In this respect, I do recommend to the computer user, The Word Bible Software, which is available freely and includes some original language tools, and iLumina Software, which is the best commentary-type resource I can find for the price.

I am also extremely hopeful that we can start teaching our church members, especially our small group leaders, to lead Bible studies with a accurate understanding of the text. I think the Bible is a book that needs to be experienced in a group setting apart from listening to the pastor lecture from the pulpit. I think it is powerful and life changing to discuss the text at every level, and I hope to help men and women feel more confident in leading those discussions in the future.

I am confident that I have one of the best marriages around…and I love Stacy with all my heart. We talk, and laugh, and pray, and play together…and still I would wish for nothing more than longer weekends and more time with her. But love is daily challenged in my life. Lust crouches at the door to my life seeking to breach our relationship.

Life as an American is a constant battle against all the things that our society indulges in and celebrates. I can’t go a day without having to turn down the messages I hear from people and advertisements: eating too much, drinking too much, playing too much, being too selfish, and lusting over women that don’t belong to me…

Sometimes I grow tired of doing all the filtering. Perhaps that’s the new strategy of advertising…wear down their defenses. If that is so, then it’s working. I am prone to wander, so after constant bombardment, my sinfulness would like nothing else than free reign on the internet.  I need more than a break from sorting junk, I need a blockade against pursuing it.

A month ago I sought out and installed something that was previously unavailable: a really effective, FREE, internet filter. I’ve been using the K9 filter for a month now, and I’m loving it…so I want to pass it along to you. It provides high quality filtering for free, for individual users. They sell the filter to businesses, and then use the proceeds of those sales to give it away to individuals.

Best of all…the filter is not easy to disable. As an IT guy who’s fought with his share of viruses, I’ve learned a host of skills that make me a menace to programs both good and bad. In my weakness, nothing is underneath me…so in my strength, I’ve tried to beat the filter. I can’t. If you don’t have a filter…give this a try. It’s really worth it. After all, it’s not costing you anything…except freedom to indulge your sinful self. And that’s a road that should be barricaded at any cost…not just when it’s free.

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

In my first post, I tore down a number of electronic Bible study tools saying they were inadequate for the task. I still wholeheartidly believe that you are better off utilizing a church library or pastor’s commentary collection that using the current software that’s available out there.

However, if you are studying the original language of the Bible from a knowledge of Greek or Hebrew, than there is no greater resource available than good software. Two programs stand out among the crowd: Bibleworks (for PC) and Accordance (for Mac). While I am not well-versed in either program, I find it incredibly helpful to be able to define works by simply scrolling over them in any translation I use in Bibleworks.

Brandon Johnson, who has had more experience with Bibleworks, has shared his thoughts here. I’ll refer you to that summary for now, and return with my own evaluation sometime. Don’t forget to view his pdf example, here.