The Bible, in my opinion, is the most important and influential book in the world, and you need one.  One thing to note there are several versions of the Bible out there, I use a couple different versions for research etc.  I personally prefer the New International Version(NIV) or the King James Version (KJV).  The NIV is a newer translation written in modern English that tracks closely to the KJV.  The KJV is an older translation written in an old English style.  The KJV is the go-to source for many churches and is probably the most used version.  Another alternative is the New King James Version which reflects the KJV but in modern English.

 

In the digital age, we do have some other options, but I still like to have a book in my hand occasionally.  The YouVersion Bible app is my go-to app for a Bible on my phone, and it is available free from the great people at Life.Church.  The Bible app has some features that are great for new believers, we’ll discuss those a bit later.

You also have a couple websites that are good resources, and YouVersion is one of them.

A Few Web-based Bibles

Bible.com (YouVersion)

Bible Gateway

Bible Hub

 

Now that you have a Bible, here’s the important part, START READING IT!  So many believers rarely touch their Bible, expecting others to read it and spoon feed it to them.  Which is naturally better than nothing, but to really mature as a Christian you need to have your own study habits.  It really is a habit, and it can be difficult with all the other worries of life screaming at you, to make the time.

Here’s what I know.  While you are a new believer and have that fresh fire burning inside you, if you will develop the habit of daily Bible reading it will be much easier.  The excitement of the new experience helps to keep you motivated while your human side develops the habit of daily Bible study.  Another tip that may help to solidify the habit is to try to read and study at the same time every day.  For me I start the day with my Bible and a cup of coffee, it is amazing at setting the tone for the day, and many times I will end the evening with a little more reading.

Notice that as I wrote this I transitioned from talking about Reading the Bible to Studying the Bible.  There was a good reason for that, it is what Christians do as they grow in their faith.  Reading the words is good but studying the words and letting the truths and principles in the words stir your spirit is when you really start to grow.  You can even ask God to help you study, ask him for wisdom and he will give it to you.

James 1:5 (NIV)  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

One more thing, before we close this topic out let's discuss devotionals.  Devotionals are short easy to digest writings around scriptural topics, and frankly, some are better than others.  I’m not real fond of the devotionals that have a single verse of scripture and then 5 or 6 hundred words of a man’s opinion on the verse.  I typically like more scripture and less opinion.

There are devotionals everywhere, almost every ministry has them in some form or another.  One good place to find some devotionals, especially if you are on the go a lot, is in the YouVersion Bible app.  They have devotions from a wide variety of authors and ministry teams on just about any subject you can think of.  I can’t vouch for every devotion or reading plan on the platform, but many are definitely good.  They also have a reading plan to get you through the whole Bible in various time frames.  One great thing about their plans and devotions is they give you a reminder on your phone so you don’t forget.

 

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