Any book that claims to be accurate to the dot of the i and the crossing of the t thousands of years after it was written, instructs me on all aspects of my life and describes consequences that will occur if I do not follow gets my attention!

Because I am not naive to the fact that God would know all events and possibilities, I look to Him for the "best" route to take in this life. I no longer think of obedience as anything other than a way of protecting me from heartache and a way He blesses me with a personal love relationship with Him as I show Him my love for Him through obedience. The Bible takes any guessing out of the beginning and what will be the continuation of our existence.

I own several Bibles. I was hung up on the King James Version as I thought it was the proper and correct Bible because I grew up on it. I learned later that, although it is written beautifully, I prefer the New International Version.

The New International Version - The Living Insights Study Bible with Charles R. Swindoll as General Editor includes the following wonderful features: summary charts and articles at the beginning of each book of the Bible, in-depth articles on key doctrines of the Christian faith, character profiles, in-text charts, section summaries, "living insights," an end-of-paragraph cross-reference system, parallel passages in the Gospels, a glossary of doctrinal terms, comprehensive indexes and an NIV concordance. Charles Swindoll is a great theologian. He has included many nuggets of wisdom throughout this edition.

I often wondered about the transcribing process and accuracy. Charles Swindoll quotes Dr. Charles Ryrie regarding the transcribing process: "To guard against any errors slipping in, the one who was doing the copying carefully counted the number of letters and words on a page to be sure that every letter got into the new copy. He also counted to he middle letter of each page and each book, and then did the same on the new copy to double-check the accuracy of the copy. Try doing that with the page you are reading now, and then imagine doing it for an entire book of the Bible. That kind of painstaking care assured accurate copies."

Mr. Swindoll also discusses the sections of the Bible, the central theme of Jesus Christ as it appears in each book, including the Old Testament. I enjoy the introduction to each book the most. His insights really help me understand what to expect. The introduction to each book lets you know who the author is, approximately when it was written, the purpose of the book, the key message, key verse, key terms and distinctives. It also has a good description of the contents. In response to John 3:1-20 "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night . . ." Mr. Swindoll writes:

"There's a world of difference between religion and regeneration. Correction: There's an eternity's difference. Religion says this: 'By an external system of deeds, you can gain God's favor.' Regeneration says, 'No; by an internal gift of grace, God gives you His life through Jesus Christ." Religion says, 'I can achieve God's favor by what I do. And when the judgment day comes, God will see that my good outweighs my evil.' Regeneration says, 'All my righteous actions are as filthy rags. I have no good in myself. I can only rely on Christ's death on my behalf.' It's in this context that we need to look at Nicodemus."

The knowledge this book has given me has led me to fully experience the fruits of the Spirit as a result of my personal salvation through Jesus Christ's complete work on the cross. God is righteous, perfect and pure. He cannot have anything less than that same purity in His presence. This is why I accepted Jesus Christ's perfect blood as covering my sins. This way, in God's eyes, my sin is as far as the East is from the West. All He sees is His perfect Son's blood. Jesus Christ clearly claims in the Bible to be the only way, the only truth and the life. He said no one can come to the Father, but by Him. This knowledge alone is worth the price of any Bible. It influences how each and every individual will spend eternity. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions at all.

The Concordance and indexes are extremely helpful. Any problems or confusion in my life can directly be addressed by God's word with this easy reference. I can tell you from experience that it is much easier to do things God's way and try to see things from His perspective.

I recommend this particular Study Bible to anyone over 10 and the Bible itself to all ages. It is the most important book ever written. The creator did not leave His creation stranded, but left us this wonderful instruction and information manual. I am very blessed to live in a country where I can own one, read it openly and discuss it freely.

As Proverbs 1:7 states: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

If you like this book, you would love Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.



Recommended: Yes