My Bibles (and what I want in a new one)

 After sharing with you the saga of my Bible hunt, here is my post on the Bibles I already have. First, though, I want to tell you what I wrote to the people at Thomas Nelson (via Facebook). I am sure you will enjoy the giggle. I am surprised they were so nice and patient with me.

So, yeah, I might be asking a lot of a study Bible because they apparently don't make them the way they used to.

By the way, this will mainly be a photo post.

Anyway, Here is my KJV Study Bible from Thomas Nelson that I got back in 2004 and love, love, love for all the reasons listed in those messages. The biggest thing I can say is that everything in this Bible is just so extensive and detailed.

It's tri-tabbed (I guess that's what you call it when books are tabbed by 3's).

The TOC with my top faves marked:

The "How to Use" section breaks down what all the symbols and numbers mean. This is perfect for those of us who aren't used to using the center references or finding the markings on verses for the footnotes.

This is the only Bible I own (or have seen) that gives a list of the doctrinal footnotes. And the list is extensive. In addition to what's shown here, there's another page and a half. I look through some of these in between my Bible readings. 

This How-To section is 6 pages long and goes in-depth on studying by chapter or by book and even shows a way to conduct a family Bible study. Impressive and very, very helpful.

This is a section that is much like a "comfort" verse book. I have a purse-sized Bible Promise book that this reminds me of.

Keep in mind what I said about how extensive and detailed the features are. Almost every Bible I have seen has a sort of introduction to the different books. I feel like I am getting a short capsulized lesson on history and cultures when I read the ones in this Bible.

This is the outline for Genesis

I love the Psalms and I love how this shows in detail the sections of Psalms. There are almost 2 complete pages of this.

See what I mean? Even on the page introducing the New Testament, it's pointed out which of the apostles were Greek or Jewish and what their education and occupations were. It's the details, right?

 Okay, I could go on forever about that study Bible but let me tell you about these others. The NASB is considered to be a really good translation because it stays so true to the KJV. I have read in places that the NASB is actually equal to the NKJV but just lacks the poetics. I got this Bible in 2001 from a Christian bookstore in Anchorage that was the best ever. I hate that they ended up closing maybe 3 or 4 years (?) after I got this Bible.

It's got some good maps and timelines like this. They are starting to come loose from the binding. I will be trying to fix this with some hot glue. Maybe.

This one also does a good job of providing detailed footnotes. The print is not as dark and defined as in the KJV Bible but it's not bad.

As you can see, this one came without tabs of any kind and I had to put them in. 

Now, this Amplified Bible is the one I have had the longest - since 1998. I had a small KJV back then and I remember having so much trouble reading it. One of my friends told me about the Amplified version and gifted me with this copy. I don't know what happened to that KJV unless I re-gifted it to someone else. 

I should prepare you for this next photo. It was a long time ago and apparently, I didn't know nothing bout no tabs! I vaguely remember doing this using stuff from work. It didn't age well. The Bible is in decent shape but has a LOT of wear and tear.

This last Bible was a beautiful and thoughtful gift from my niece. She is artistic and I went through a stage of thinking I had talent. This is a 1-year Bible and that is the only way you can read it. The books are not in the normal order. I am not a fan of the NIV so I never use it. Still, it was from my God-child-niece so it will always be here.

Isn't it beautiful? It's even more vibrantly colored in person.

It does have some aids inside but since I never use it, that doesn't matter to me. I  do like making notes on the sides. I have considered getting a compact Bible with places for notetaking.

This truly is a Bible for an artistic person. Almost every page in it from front cover to back is meant to be colored and drawn on.

So there you have it. And now that you see my love for that old KJV Bible, I want to tell you something kind of funny about it. When I was looking for the same on but in NKJV, I was checking the copyrights and all the details. I learned that this was formerly published as "The Liberty Annotated Study Bible." 'Liberty' as in Jerry Falwell being listed as one of the contributing editors. It was published as "The Annotated Study Bible" and as you can see, it is in a cheaper, hardback version on Amazon. I was making a great salary back when I bought my KJV but I know that I didn't pay more than $40 or $45 for it (which would now be about 100 bucks, I suppose...).

No matter what you might or might not think when you hear the Falwell name, this Bible is the one to have. If I were you, finances allowed, I would snap one up. I understand that they are no longer in print. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing the different Bibles I have and understand what I am looking for in the NKJV now. 

Peace

--Free

"You Are Going To Hell, My Friend"

 I'm not talking to you in that title. That is my conscience talking to me.

The other day, the thought popped into my head about whether or not I could only think I am saved.

Hmmm...

That's a thought that will keep you up at night. It sure did cause me to toss and turn. I immediately started checking some resources. I was so frantic that I went online and literally typed into the search: "can you only think you are saved". No question mark needed. 

After checking a couple of overly reassuring pages, I added "Got Questions" to the search and several choices popped up. I chose this one If you doubt your salvation, does that mean you are not truly saved?

I read it, re-read it, printed it out, and read the hard copy, and underlined some parts. The gist of it is:

• Belief alone is not enough. Even demons believe.
• Belief and faith are different things.
• If we have saving faith (belief), we won't willfully continue to sin.
• We will still sin because, well, we are human. As Chuck Missler put it, we are "born this way" and "S-I-N- positive"
• The point is: do we struggle with our sin? (I wasn't struggling with this one particular sin; it was a part of my daily life. I set time aside for it!)
• True belief transforms us from one who happily sins to one who struggles against sin.

So...

I sent an email to end a sort of relationship that I know is not right or honest (none of your business!) and then prayed right then and there for forgiveness and strength. I know that I am going to need to examine my life every now and then.

I am going to continue my Bible studies but, in place of the particular sin I mentioned giving up, I will be using that time to pray about any other sin I am possibly wallowing in.

I just wanted to share this and I hope that you share that Got Question link with everyone you know. I don't want any of us to end up in the Lord, Lord situation. You know, this one:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven..."

The fact that I could have died in my sleep, still in my willing and continual sins, hurts my heart. And it was a warning I needed.

Peace

--Free

Why I Returned the Wiersbe Study Bible NKJV

I was originally going be doing this big review of the Wiersbe Bible. As it turns out, I will mostly be reviewing my KJV Study Bible and what I look for in a study Bible. And I might as well tell you now that I packed up the Wiersbe Bible back up the same day I got it. I only needed to look at a couple of pages to know that it is not the study Bible for me. 

These are the photos I snapped quickly (because I didn't want to crease any pages):

It is a beautiful Bible but, other than a soft and pliable cover, I am not picky about the outside of them.

Comes with two ribbons, btw

Not tabbed at all

Now, this is the first important part...

The font is lighter & more difficult to read.

That was the first thing that put me off. Remember, this was supposed to be in LARGE PRINT. Nope. It wasn't. And because I sent this back and am expecting a refund, I made sure to save this:

As I said in another post, I wanted the NKJV because I hoped to get something easier on my brain than my KJV Study Bible. It's been my companion book for over 16 years, but I no longer have the ability to deal with the old English pronouns. I love my NASB Study Bible for bedtime reading but I prefer the poetic flow of the NKJV. 

This is my old Bible and some of what I love about it. For one thing, those thumb tabs...

The Wiersbe has no thumb tabs but I knew that. However, like I mentioned, not only was the print not "large" but it is also much fainter than that in my KJV as you saw in that previous photo. Since it's hard to imagine how that looks to me in person, let me emphasize it:

Is it me or is the Wiersbe's font even smaller???

Now, my KJV Study Bible is not featured as having large print. When I got it way back in 2004, I wasn't wearing glasses or contacts. I can see it much better than I could the Weirsbe. So, back it went. UPS picked it up this morning, thank goodness

I am still on the hunt for a Study Bible (NKJV) but for now, I am using my other Bibles.  Here are the ones I have that I will be comparing in my next post.

• King James Study 
• Amplified Bible
• New American Standard Study
• One-Year NIV

After you see the next post, I would love to know if any of you know of a Bible that meets my needs. I am sure you won't because I also need the Bible to be in the under-$50 range.

Peace

--Free