You have a desire to grow spiritually and know that reading the Bible is an important part of that dynamic. Maybe you have tried to read a chapter of the Bible regularly, but felt overwhelmed by where to begin or where to go next.
As the internet and online resources have developed there has been an influx of information, how can you sift through it all and begin to see real results ?
These four apps are must-haves for any person looking to grow spiritually. They will help you gain structure, accountability, guidance, and variety.
USE YOUVERSION THE BIBLE APP to supplement your print Bible.
(FREE)
YouVersion is on of the most used Bible apps available. The interface is smooth and simple to use. This is my daily reading app preference.
Highlights:
- You can read multiple translations of the Bible and use the parallel feature to compare translation.
- There is a large library of reading plans with new plans continually being added.
- These plans vary in length and are searchable by topic and key word.
- You are able to create personal notes to enhance your studying and remember insights from your time in scripture.
- The Highlight feature allows you to identify favorite verses, with multiple color options.
- You can chose to receive daily verses.
- If you know other people who use the app you can become friends, see their activity, like it, comment, and now participate in bible planes together.
- You can also make verse images and connect to your preferred social media accounts.
One thing lacking is commentaries and research tools. YouVersion’s primary function is to replace the traditional paper Bible.
USE BIBLE STUDY TOOLS to provide access to new study resources.
(FREE)
Bible Study Tools started as a website before adding an app to their provided services. You can still access all of their services online. This has been one of my favorite resources for commentaries, dictionaries, lexicons, and so forth. Recently, Bible Study Tools has made a concerted effort to improve the user experience in their app.
Highlights:
- You can read multiple translations of the Bible and use the parallel feature to compare translation.
- Receive daily scripture verses.
- Read sermons from historic figures in the Christian faith.
- There is a large library of reading plans with new plans continually being added.
- These plans vary in length and are searchable by topic and key word.
- Access resources such as commentaries, dictionaries, and more.
This is a great app to begin a new level of research during your Bible study time. The resources provided are limited and dated, yet just as applicable and valuable today as when they were first written.
USE OLIVE TREE BIBLE APP to bolster your access to resources.
(FREE + in-app purchases)
Olive Tree Bible app boasts the ability for users to move between devices and access all their resources, notes, plans, and more. This has become my primary app for preparing sermons and studying for other writing I’m doing.
Highlights:
- You can read multiple translations of the Bible and use the parallel feature to compare translation. NIV, KJV, NKJV, and ESV are a few of the free Bible translations offered.
- You can purchase other translations, study Bibles, and more.
- There is a large variety of resources provided for free by Olive Tree.
- You can also purchase
- Unique to Olive Tree is the depth of resources: books, commentaries, devotionals, study Bibles, and more. (For purchase)
- There is a large library of reading plans with new plans continually being added.
- These plans very in length and are searchable by topic and key word.
- The Highlight feature allows yo to identify favorite verses, with multiple color options.
- The search function within the app allows you to conduct a search across all resources in your library.
This app provides the possibility of taking your whole library with you and sync across all your devices. Though once you start to use the app you will quickly want to begin making purchases and grow your library.
USE STRONG’S CONCORDANCE to gain a deeper understanding of individual words.
[APPLE] [ANDROID] ($4.99)
The Strong’s Concordance app is just that a concordance. It uses the King James Version of the Bible to provide insight to the meaning of each word or word-grouping.
The power of this tool isn’t found in it’s ease of reading the Bible, but in it’s ability to provide meaning. Strong’s provides insight to the original texts, the Hebrew and Greek words. It then shows how many times a word is used in scripture, allowing you to create the context to build your interpretation of meaning from.
3 things you get from Strong’s Concordance are:
- The meaning of words in their original language.
- The manner in which the word is used and how frequent it is used.
- The context of usage in throughout scripture.
This is a great app to supplement your Bible study and begin to learn the origin and meaning of the words in scripture. This knowledge allows you to begin to create a context through which you can read and accurately interpret scripture.
Conclusion
It should be noted that I am still a fan of a print Bible. There is something about having a book, feeling the pages against your fingers. You can slip away from the world for a moment and have no distractions. When reading a paper Bible you never have notification dings or flashing across your screen.
My day usually flows something like this, open YouVersion to read my devotional plan for the day. Later I will do some reading and research of a topic I’m working on in the Olive Tree app. I will often look at Bible Study Tools commentaries to supplement my study.
I hope this article helps you to grow in your relationship with God. Did I miss your favorite Bible app? Leave a comment below and share your favorite Bible study app.