Need Answers?

Newly Updated, 12-25-23

God’s Word has answers to ALL of life’s challenges, but you need to pour it into your mind in order for you to grasp the treasure of wisdom it holds.

Today is the perfect time to start with the “DailyBible” app. It takes you through about 15 minutes of reading from 4 different portions of Scripture so it’s well rounded. I love to let it read aloud to me in the mornings while I eat breakfast. The app is automatically set up to take you through the whole Bible in a year. You may choose your favorite version of the Bible in this app.  It is a free app on Android only.

General Bible App for iPhone and Android

Download YouVersion app on your phone. There are many Bible study plans available through YouVersion, but I do not recommend them. Since I originally wrote this blog many false teachers have been added to their lineup, therefore I cannot recommend them. Here is a free Bible in a year plan through a trusted source: the Navigator’s “Discipleship Journal Reading Plan” (If that link doesn’t work try this one: alternative link) What I like about this plan is that it draws from 4 sections of the Bible daily, giving a broad overview of the Bible as a whole while not bogging down in more tedious passages. You may choose the version you prefer in this plan; which is another reason to love it. Most versions can be read aloud by clicking the speaker icon.

I personally have an Android and use the RealLife app (see below) for the daily portion, but I also keep YouVersion on my phone. It has the capability of downloading an offline version which is handy. If I need to focus on a specific passage not included in my daily reading it is a better app for this purpose. It is also nice to listen to entire books at a time (I frequently find that Psalms and Proverbs have a cleansing effect on those days when your mind needs rest and refreshment). For the past 2+ years, I have been using YouVersion as my “radio” during my morning chores. I have managed to read completely through from Genesis to Revelation 4 times/yr this way. It’s been amazing! I wanted to get a better handle on “the whole of Scripture”. This has been an invaluable thing to do. It brings the entire 66 books of the Bible into better focus and helps me understand how deeply entwined the Old Testament is with the New. The New Testament is a reflection and fulfillment of the Old Testament. If you do not read or study both together, you cannot expect to understand either.

Bible Hub (website) is to me the most amazing resource imaginable. It essentially takes the place of a well rounded pastoral library. I have used it for years by searching the website on my phone. The app (Android) is also available, it is another app (ios) I use daily. Because Bible Hub is such a rich resource it can seem intimidating at first, but it needn’t be. You can choose to use only the things with which you are familiar and bypass the things that seem like too much.

Multiple study options are available at Bible Hub for free. When I first found this site I was astounded. Although we have the paper versions of Strong’s Concordance and Nave’s Topical Bible, as well as a Lexicon, Interlinear and many commentaries, there is no longer a need to lug these heavy tomes out when I want to do a quick word search. My favorite resources to use are the INT (Interlinear), STR (Strong’s Concordance) and TOP (topical Bible). I also sometimes refer to COM (multiple commentaries)

Options for search

STR: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible lists every single word in the Bible in English, Hebrew and Greek. Every word is numbered and the verses where they are found are also listed.

TOP: Nave’s Topical Bible is a resource which allows you to pick any topic and easily find a biblical reference to the topic.

COM: Commentaries. When we were in seminary and Victor was choosing his pastoral library, it was the commentaries that were the killers when it came to price! All of the serious commentaries come in multiple volumes. You needed more than one set so you were not relying on one man’s opinion. Bible Hub gives complete access to dozens of commentaries we never had a hope of purchasing! That said, I rarely go to commentaries, I would rather compare passages to other passages in the Bible itself. Once in a while I will find something that has me stumped and I will consult a commentary or two. How amazing it is to not have to wade through a dusty library to find the right one. They are all at your fingertips in a second!

INT: The Interlinear Bible is probably the tool I use most on Bible Hub. It is a verse by verse Bible which gives the English version along with the Hebrew or Greek, transliteration, part of speech represented and Strong’s Concordance number of each word.

I linked Amazon’s description of each book so you can understand the size and scope of these books and the price. The commentary I selected from Amazon is a 5 volume set of only the New Testament. Amazon’s price today is $158 for the new hardcover version. The primo Kyle and Delitzsch 10 volume commentary was a set which Victor aspired to own one day. When we were in seminary it cost close to $1,000.00, an unimaginable expense on a young pastor’s salary, equivalent to a nice used car in the mid eighties. It is available on Amazon now used for over $300. Bible Hub gives the world these treasures for free. Please take advantage of it, it may feel like the 1st time you dive into the deep end of the pool, but you will feel a sense of refreshment and accomplishment that rivals that feat.

My Personal Favorite

In the fall of 2020, the church we’d been a part of had not opened. We found a fantastic church that had opened in May of ’20. When we began to go to services; CA was still in lockdown, masks required, and there was (still is nearing ’24) a general feeling of subjugation in the air. We were more than a little surprised to enter Calvary Chapel Chino Hills to find people sitting packed like sardines, mostly maskless. We later learned that there had never been an outbreak of Covid to speak of. A few people got it, but people were being trusted to behave responsibly and the church has flourished as a result. It was a little disconcerting sitting so close to strangers again, but it also felt SO right! God tells us to submit to earthly authority in Romans 13, but it never calls us to be subject to mindless tyranny, and that is what the lockdowns quickly became in CA.

Jack Hibbs is without doubt the best teacher we have ever had the privilege to sit under. The Real Life app has been a lifesaver to us. We have been able to follow the church’s One Year Bible plan for free through the app (it also reads aloud); and follow Jack’s daily radio show as well as every service and program delivered through Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.

I hope you enjoy these wonderful resources! Please tell me if you try them <3 Caren