Here's Your Sign!

Sometimes I have random thoughts that go through my head, and today's revolves around a sign that Christ-followers may benefit from having near their televisions, laptops, on their phones and tablets. Psalm 101:3 seems like it was written just for today's media-drenched culture. I've included a number of different translations below to get a feel for the "flavor" of the verse. How do you and your family maintain purity before the Lord as far as what enters your eyes?

New International Version
I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it.

Amplified
I will set no base or wicked thing before my eyes. I hate the work of them who turn aside [from the right path]; it shall not grasp hold of me.

New Living Translation
I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

English Standard Version
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

New American Standard Bible 
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.

King James Bible
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I will not set anything worthless before my eyes. I hate the practice of transgression; it will not cling to me.

International Standard Version
I will not even think about doing anything lawless; I hate to do evil deeds; I will have none of it.

NET Bible
I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. I hate doing evil; I will have no part of it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I will not put anything wicked in front of my eyes. I hate what unfaithful people do. I want no part of it.

Jubilee Bible 2000
I will set nothing of Belial before my eyes: I hate the work of those that betray; it shall not cleave to me.

King James 2000 Bible
I will set no wicked thing before my eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

American Standard Version
I will set no base thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; It shall not cleave unto me.

Darby Bible Translation
I will set no thing of Belial before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

English Revised Version
I will set no base thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave unto me.

World English Bible
I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.

Young's Literal Translation
I set not before mine eyes a worthless thing, The work of those turning aside I have hated, It adhereth not to me.

Insight for the Untrained

As we dive into the new school year and the new church year, the Lord has been impressing upon my heart and mind the utmost importance of living in His word and living out His word. One of the primary verses that our children's and youth ministry team is building the year around is Psalm 119:130, "Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines. They give insight to the untrained." (NET)

As we minister to young people, we must never forget the immense privilege it is to handle God's message correctly (2 Timothy 2:15), the soul-reviving power found in His word (Psalm 19:7), and the sheer life-giving power of His word (Matthew 4:4). We are called to make the impression of God's word onto the children in our care (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Sometimes something as simple as getting a new Bible can be the spark needed to ignite an excitement in God's word. In my position, I get to see a lot of the new products that come out in the Christian publishing world, and I love being able to pass along some of the "best of the best" that I come across. One of those is the Deep Blue Kids Bible. It is chock full of wonderful "helps" like an introductory page to each book of the Bible that gives a great rundown of the people, places, and things that you are going to encounter as you read. I'm extremely impressed with the quality of the readings, the engaging format, and the "user friendliness" of everything inside.

The Deep Blue website describes it in this way,

"Kids will dive deep into God’s word with the CEB Deep Blue Kids Bible. This engaging, interactive Bible offers four-color icons and illustrations throughout with a wealth of notes, devotionals, Bible trivia, and other interactive elements to capture inquisitive young minds. Plus the CEB Deep Blue Kids Bible will encourage a thirst for God’s timeless message as young readers join three life-like kids in discovering the Bible and what it means to their lives."

So how do YOU maintain enthusiasm for God's word in your life? In your home? What kinds of disciplines have you found to be helpful in keeping His message the most important one that you and your family hear?

God's Word in Our Heart

In church yesterday, we had several adults share a small part of their story about how they learned language (in celebration of Pentecost Sunday), and  a number of them remarked about the importance of Bible reading and scripture memorization at an early age. In fact one adult even had a little chart that her mother had made for her when she was three years old and memorizing Bible verses. She got to put a star on a crown for every verse memorized. Psalm 119:11 says,  "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Hiding God's word in our heart takes discipline and sometimes creativity! But the benefits are out of this world!

I want to introduce you to Seeds Family Worship and a really great method they have for memorizing scripture. You can check out their website and download a PDF of a Verse Memorization Checklist. And the really cool thing about each of the verses listed is that they coincide with a song that Seeds Family Worship has recorded which is word-for-word scripture. Music is a powerful way to remember things, and I love that Seeds has spent so much time coordinating all of these things. In fact, you can LISTEN ONLINE to get a taste of their great songs!

meBible App Review

With this post, I am excited to tell you about a really cool Bible app available as a free download for the iPad. The meBible Ultimate Research Bible app will totally change how you interact with scripture, and it even has some really great features that make you excited in new ways about digging into the Bible.  Here are just a few reasons why I think you will enjoy checking it out...

1. It has a terrific interface that allows you to "split" the screen, with the Bible on the top pane and your notes and/or Internet browser on the bottom pane. This makes it really easy and fun to find things like pictures and resources online and link them directly to a text that you may be studying.

2. There are loads of features that you can add once you have downloaded the app...things like commentaries, a Greek/Hebrew lexicon, Topical Bibles, and fun themes. Each of these items makes meBible more personalized and makes it feel more like "you."

3. And my favorite reason that meBible is so cool is because it was developed by my very own husband! Many hours of coding and thinking and praying have gone into putting this app in a category all its own. (And I'm not just saying that! If I wasn't married to the meBible creator, I still would count it as my favorite Bible app!) :-)

But don't just take my word for it, check out a recent review on iTunes:

"I'd give this 10 STARS if I could!  I just opened this Bible app for the first time & already love it. Firstly, because it's completely FREE.  Secondly, I love all the options - highlighting, adding my own notes, bookmarking. Thirdly & most important to me, are all the free foreign language translations.  Overall, I will use this app every day for hours & I'm very pleased with it. It looks great, the setup is user friendly, & I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of the additional tools once I figure them out."

You can go to iTunes and download it for yourself and give it a spin:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mebible-ultimate-research/id476441818?mt=8 

You can also check meBible's website for loads of great information:  http://mebible.info/ 

meBible connects the ancient truths of scripture with the modern amenities of the Internet right at our fingertips. Try it, I bet you'll like it!