Buying gifts for my father is not always an easy task. I mean what do you buy a man who has everything already! My father is now 80 years old and has gotten a lot of things over the years. One of the best gifts though that I have gotten him was a Bible. Being a Godly man, he uses Bibles a lot and over time his wore out. Of course he still has his very old bible, it probably almost as old as he is!
Now I can’t say what all daddy does with his bible but I can tell you what I do with mine. However, I know that daddy takes notes in his bible and that he reads it everyday and when he was able he taught Sunday School for over 60 years and in the end of those days he used this bible.
“Life Application Study Bible, King James Version.” What is a Life Application Study Bible? Well let me tell you what it is. It’s a Bible that will allow you to find answers to questions that you may have such as: What does this passage mean?, or How does it apply to my life?, or Why does some of the Bible seem irrelevant?, or I love God, why can’t I understand what He is saying to me? And many others.
Now I know that there are some who don’t read the Bible daily, if at all, (it’s a personal choice), and I know it’s because of life’s pressures and perhaps one cannot find the time. But as a Christian myself I do find the time to read and study my Bible. This new Bible helps me to understand some of the above questions and it has helped me to understand some of the famous history of the Bible. And by my applying God’s Word to my relationship with Him, it is evidence that I am obeying Him. But it is the responsibility of each individual to apply the Word of God to his or her own lives.
The best way that ”Application” can be defined is to first determine what it is not. It is not just accumulating knowledge, or illustration, or making a passage “relevant” but begins by knowing and understanding God’s word and it’s timeless truths. You can’t stop there either! Only a good application shows the truth and how to apply it to your life, and how the reader will respond to what God is teaching them.
This Bible offers several explanatory notes, which are the notes that help the reader understand things like culture, history, context, difficult to understand passages in Scripture, maps, charts and diagrams.
There are over 10, 000 Life Application Notes that help explain God’s Word and challenge you to apply its truth to your life. There are “Personality Profiles” that highlight significant people in the Bible and the lessons that you can learn from their lives.
You can also find what is called “Megathemes”, which explains the major themes of each book and their importance for you in today’s world. There are charts and maps, which are found throughout the text to help you quickly, locate key places and grasp a possible difficult situation. You will find an “Index/Dictionary/Concordance” that will help you quickly find the information you need for study and instruction. And there is a “Daily Reading Plan” provided with an outline for reading the entire Bible in one year.
The Bible that I have also has The Word of Christ in Red Letter and presentation pages, 220 in text maps, 100 Bible Character Profiles, Gold Page Edges, 360 Charts, Topical Index and a Ribbon Marker.
There is a timeline that starts at the beginning of the History of the Bible, starting in the front of this Bible and going through all the introductory pages, pages of explanation of how to use the Bible, etc. Also available in the very front are pages for you to record your family tree, special dates, a presentation page, marriages, births, baptisms, death and special memories.
I also have available to me a “Timeline” which puts the Bible into its historical setting, and lists the key events of each book and the date when they occurred. I also have a “Vital Statistics” where I can find a list of straight facts about the book, which is great for a quick informational item at a glance.
There are “Profile Notes” where I can find about the strengths, weaknesses of Bible people, their greatest accomplishments as well as their mistakes and key lessons in their lives. I can also “Cross Reference” which is found in the margins in the Bible that helps me to find related passages quickly.
There are “Textual Notes” that are directly related to the Kind James Version that provide me with explanations on certain wording in the translation, alternate translations and information about readings in the ancient manuscripts. Here I can also find a parenthesized number that relates each passage to the Harmony of the Gospels. And of course there is an “Index”.
I purchased these new Bibles from a local Bible Book Store. I paid 46.79(sale price) for them. The list prices runs from 58.00 and up depending on where you buy it. You can find this Bible as well as others at any bookstore or Christian bookstores.
There are some of you out there who know I have strong faith so you will certainly understand why I love this new Bible. For those of you who don’t know this about me, well you do now.
I have learned a lot of history that I didn’t know existed about some things. For instance did you know that there was a Hazael in the Book of 2 Kings that murdered King Ben-hadad? Well there is and you can find that story in 2 Kings, chapter 8, verses 7 – 15. Did you know that Jesus told a Parable about weeds? You can find that Parable in Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 – 30.
There are so many, many more stories in the Bible and this Bible is helping me to find them all a lot quicker. It is teaching me things I didn’t know, and reminding of things I already knew.
I really enjoy reading the “Vital Statistics” and reading about the “Authors”(at least the ones known of Scripture, ) I like reading about the “Date” the Scripture was written, the “Setting”, the “Key Verse” the “Key Person” and the “Key Place”. All of this is very helpful to me, and my studies of God. And really very interesting!
There are all kinds of Bibles out there and we all have to be careful when choosing a Bible for ourselves. Remember that all italics in any Bible are added by man and are not said by God. Man has put those types of words in the Bible for a better understanding for us all. And you also have to remember that some notes are also added by man/woman because that is what they believed happened at the time and when these people wrote certain note they added their thoughts. Most Bibles don’t tell you this, but some do. I am very fortunate to know who the Author of the Bible truly is and that is God Himself. He chose to use the “man” authors to write the words for Him, just as He chose me to Minister that Word for Him as well as my father and mother.
Living in the Word for me is my life. I do APPLY the Word of God to my every day life and I teach my children to do the same for my father taught me the same and this was perfect gift for him. When we go home he has his copy right beside his chair and he reads it often! He even uses it during the Christmas Holidays to read about the Baby Jesus.
I hope that this has helped in some kind of way.
God Bless!
© LKD 2004