9 Powerful Apps to Enhance Your Bible Study.
Let’s face it . . . we have a love/hate relationship with technology.
Maybe you hate technology because . . .
You tell your teenager for the 1.23 millionth time to put the phone down.
You have a conversation with your husband while his head is buried in the phone.
You go to a restaurant and notice that 99.6% of the people at the tables are on their phones.
You go to church and see a child playing on his tablet during the sermon. (this one gets me, folks!)
Maybe you love technology because . . .
We are connected to our families like never before.
We are notified ASAP of emergencies.
We have Google at our fingertips and can answer any question on the spot.
We have directions, phone numbers, notes, games, recipes, to-do lists, and more right at our fingertips.
We love technology.
We hate technology.
It’s a vicious cycle.
But with proper balance and monitoring, we can use our phones and devices for purpose.
Today, I want to share with you how I use my iPad and iPhone for my Bible study by sharing a handful of apps that have blessed my life and made Bible Study more accessible.
The apps I am sharing, I personally use on an every day basis. Most, if not all of them, are FREE and are amazing resources to enhance your Bible Study.
DO YOU USE A PAPER BIBLE?
I do. When I am studying, I use my SHE READS TRUTH Bible and my LIFE APPLICATION BIBLE. I love using a paper Bible when I study and when I go to church.
THEN WHY A BIBLE APP?
I use my Bible apps to access different versions of the Bible. The SHE READS TRUTH Bible is in the Christian Standard Bible version and My LIFE APPLICATION Bible is in the NKJV. But I often refer to the King James Version, Amplified, and New Living Translations during my Bible Study time. A Bible App is perfect for this because they contain so many different translations at no extra cost to me.
So while I use my paper Bible for studying every day, I use the Bible apps to access different translations.
DO YOU GET DISTRACTED?
Not really. If a text or phone call comes in while I am studying, I won’t answer until after my study time. I don’t have Facebook so that isn’t a distraction. I check my Instagram account only a few set times a day, and there’s nothing else on my phone that I would get distracted by. I set aside time every day that is just for the Word and the Lord, and I try very hard to adhere to that.
THE BIBLE APPS
My most frequently used Bible apps in no particular order!
YOUVERSION.
“A free Bible on your phone, tablet, and computer. YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God's Word into your daily life.” (website)
Available on most platforms.
I love this app because there are no ads, it is free, and it offers so many languages and translations I couldn’t attempt to write out all of them. I love the wide variety of reading plans. This year, I am reading the Bible in a year chronologically with this app. I also love the wide variety of devotions.
BIBLE GATEWAY.
“Take the Bible with you wherever you go. The Bible Gateway App is the OFFICIAL and FREE mobile Bible reading and learning experience from BibleGateway.com." (website)
Available on most platforms.
This is another fantastic app that gives you a lot of translations right in the app. You can read and listen to the Bible, take notes and highlight, share verses with friends, and pick a reading plan. It’s an excellent resource.
BIBLE.IS.
“Read. Listen. See. Experience the Word of God like never before. Free.” (website)
Available on iPhone App Store, Google Play, and Kindle Fire.
This is an awesome app! You can READ the Bible in 1257 available languages. You can LISTEN to the Bible brought to life in high quality, dramatized audio, and you can SEE the Word with the JESUS Film integration. I love to listen to this with my son in the car. He loves the dramatized voices. It’s a great app to be able to listen to the Word as well as read.
THE STUDY APPS
I use these apps to study the word for deeper meaning.
BIBLE STUDY TOOLS.
“Access the largest library of Bible versions and study tools from your phone tablet.” (website)
Available on iPhone App Store
While you can read tons of translations from this app, highlight and take notes, I use it for the Bible Study Tools themselves. You can dig even deeper into studying the Word of God with concordances, commentaries, and dictionaries. I can also access The Strong's Concordance directly from this app. It’s an amazing tool!
READ SCRIPTURE.
“Spend quality time reading the Bible daily while learning how to read it with contextual videos from The Bible Project.” (website)
Available on iPhone App Store and Google Play.
This app from The Bible Project is incredible. Hand-illustrated Bible Project videos explain difficult concepts and themes alongside scripture text. The videos are absolutely amazing. You can also track your progress by seeing where you've been and where you are going.
THE STRONG’S CONCORDANCE.
"Strong's Concordance, is a concordance of the King James Bible (KJV) that was constructed under the direction of Dr. James Strong (1822–1894) and first published in 1890.”
Available on iPhone App Store.
COST: $4.99
I use this app every single day. It is the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and gives you the Hebrew and Greek meaning of every word in the Bible. It is essential to my study. While it does cost $4.99, it is easily accessible to me and well worth the cost. You can also access it for FREE at the Bible Study Tools, but it takes a bit more digging.
THE DEVOTIONAL APPS.
I use these apps for daily devotional reading.
FIRST 5.
“The App that will transform your time with God. We say we put God first … So wouldn’t it make sense that we give Him the first 5 minutes of each day?” (website)
Available on iPhone App Store and Google Play.
What do you do when you first open your eyes in the morning? If you are like me, you probably reach for your phone. This app has really caused me to stop that habit, and give God the first moments of my day. Yes, I reach for my phone, but with the purpose of connecting with the Lord in the morning, not with my email!
“The vision for First 5 was developed by Proverbs 31 Ministries in order to connect a woman’s heart to God’s Word the First 5 minutes of her day. First 5 will greet you up with a short teaching first thing in the morning, so you can exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.” (source)
SHE READS TRUTH.
“She Reads Truth is an online community of women who read the Bible together daily.” (website)
Available on multiple platforms.
This is an incredible app for studying the word with fellow believers. It contains a full text Bible in a variety of translations. There are study tools that allow you to highlight the Word and see additional devotional content. There are reading plans that keep you connected with the She Reads Truth community.
LOVE GOD GREATLY
“With the Love God Greatly App you’ll ENJOY the EASE of our resources and the encouragement of our community right at your fingertips!” (website)
Available on iPhone App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, Windows Phone.
This is a beautiful app. Find easy access to all of the Love God Greatly posts, Bible studies library, daily reading plan and devotionals. There are weekly videos, challenges, and memory verses as well.
I hope that these apps will help you as you study the Word and make connections to your daily lives. Whether it is the Bible Apps, Study Tools, or Devotionals, I pray that they nourish your spirit, soul, and mind with the power of the Word of God.
We don’t have to have a love/hate relationship with technology. I believe with moderation and balance, we can use the technology for God’s glory and for serving His Kingdom.
If you have a favorite Bible App or Study App that isn’t on the list, let us know in the comments below!
