Tools to Be Equipped!
These downloadable resources are designed to inspire and encourage you anytime, anywhere. Print and post on your mirror, on the wall in your prayer closet, on your computer or in your cubicle at work. Then allow the words and the prayers to saturate your heart, mind and soul so that you can live life more abundantly. For more details, engage in the LIFE Lesson Bible study Know God, Study God’s Word, Meditate on God’s Word Morning and Night.
30 Days of Meditation
God’s Word is the reciprocal communion with God, allowing Him to speak to you and to fill you with His Word. Meditating on God’s Word is spending concentrated, purposeful, and intentional time pondering God’s Word. This allows God’s Word to saturate us, penetrating our hearts, and seeping into our bones, becoming active and alive within us (Proverbs 4:21). These 30 day meditation challenges are designed to help you spend focused time in communion with God and to hear from Him regarding varying aspects of your life.
“O how I love your Law. It is my meditation all the day … Your commands make me wiser than my enemies … I have more understanding than my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:97-99). Meditation will make us wise, give us greater understanding and will also give us guidance in our daily lives for prosperous living (Joshua 1:8). It will change our mindsets (Philippians 4:8-9) and give us fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)!
But meditation doesn’t come easily, it’s something we have to practice until it becomes a habit. Until it becomes a as natural as breathing. These 30-day challenges will provide you the opportunity to practice meditation, to transform your mind and have your spirit renewed (Psalm 51:10, Romans 12:2)!
Recommended Virtual Bibles and Study Tools
Bible Apps
YouVersion – This is my go-to Bible App. I love the “compare” feature of varying translations. I also like the Highlight Feature as well as the Notes feature. I also engage in some of the Study Plans and the great thing is that you can study alone or with a group. I use this app primarily on my phone. https://www.youversion.com/
BibleHub – https://biblehub.com/ – I use this app as well, but primarily on my laptop. I can search texts easily and I also use the translations and the commentaries.
BibleGateway – https://www.biblegateway.com/ – I use this app as well, but primarily on my laptop. I can search texts easily and I also use the translations and the commentaries.
OpenBible – https://www.openbible.info/topics/ – I use this app to search the scriptures for particular words or topics.
Websites
Bibleref.com – https://www.bibleref.com/ – I This is an online commentary that provides insights to the Bible, verse by verse.
GotQuestions.org – https://www.gotquestions.org/ – This site provides answers to some of the “big questions” about the Biblical narrative.
The Bible Project – https://bibleproject.com/ – This site provides videos, podcasts, blogs, and educational studies to help you better understand the Bible. They tap into all learning styles (audio, visual, written) and they make the Bible narrative simple and personal.
Books
I have read countless books and have been inspired by many. And throughout the LIFE Lessons, I’ll reference books that I found to be relevant to the particular topic or theme of the lesson. These books listed below however, served to guide my journey into getting to know God more intimately as well as His purposes for my life.
- The 40-Day Surrender Fast Paperback – August 14, 2011 by Celeste Camille Owens From Amazon
- The Pursuit: 14 Ways in 14 Days to Passionately Seek God’s Purpose for Your Life Paperback – December 1, 2015 by T.C. Stallings From Amazon
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: KJV Edition, Hardbound (Key Word Study Bibles) by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (Editor), Dr. Warren Patrick Baker D.R.E. (Series Editor) – https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/hebrew-greek-key-word-study-bible-kjv-P005128206 This Bible has been amazing for me. Biblical Hebrew words tell stories and to understand the story is to understand the meaning of the word (https://theexplanation.com/from-dust-you-came-biblical-meaning/). I learned so much about the need to understand the meanings of words, not just the English or contemporary meanings, but the original meanings or contexts in which the words were written. It’s easy to use, and has made the Word of God come to life in incredible ways.
The Original African Heritage Study Bible
The Original African Heritage Study Bible: King James Version Hardcover – by Dr. Cain Hope Felder (Editor), James W. Peebles (Contributor) – https://www.amazon.com/Original-African-Heritage-Study-Bible/dp/0529100673 This Bible has provided me another lens through which to study and understand the Bible through the perspective of Africa and descendants of Africa. It has answered numerous questions for me as well as raising many others. It has helped me see “me” in the Bible for the first time.
The Chronological Study Bible
The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version Hardcover – by Thomas Nelson (Author) – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0718020685/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1> This Bible has helped me see and read the Bible as a story, as a narrative. It has also provided some context with respect to the historical, cultural, social and political climates of the Biblical times.
