Practical Helps | Brandon's Desk

“Visit many good books but live in the Bible”—Charles H. Spurgeon.

There are millions of books available today that help us understand the Bible and its Author: paperback books, eBooks, Kindle books, etc. But with our ever-advancing culture, it is also important to remember that there are also a great deal of helps via internet. I would like to share with you three of the websites that I have found most useful for Bible study:

1. Bible Gateway

For years, one of the most helpful Bible study websites has been www.biblegateway.com, and I know that it will continue to benefit me spiritually in the future as well. On the left hand side of the page, you will find a directory of helpful information ranging from a “passage lookup” all the way to daily devotionals. You can search for any Scripture and read it in different translations using the “passage lookup.” You can hear the Bible read aloud using their various audio Bibles. Searching for Scriptures by topic, for example click on Topical Index and search for “salvation” and all of the Scriptures pertaining to it will appear in their contexts. You can also search Bible Gateway for any particular Bible word you are looking for. There aren’t any commentary helps on this website, which is a downside, but on the Additional Resources page, there are listed helpful commentaries that you can purchase or read elsewhere.

2. Bible Hub

Bible Hub (www.biblehub.com) was the first Bible study resource website that I was introduced to. It is one of the best and most helpful Bible study websites available. Like with other Bible study websites, you can read the different translations of the Bible. What is unique about this feature, however, is the Parallel reader. With it, you can read all the English translations of a verse on one page. Below the different renderings of verses are helpful commentaries by Matthew Henry, Barnes, and many others. Sermons is also a helpful feature in that it searches for sermons on the Scripture for which you are searching. The evangelists and preachers listed are endless. Another distinctive feature of Bible Hub is the helpful Greek and Hebrew tools. You need to be well-versed in using Greek, however, to really get the best use out of the Greek and Hebrew tools available. There are also Bible book summaries available, chapter outlines, Bible pictures, and even more helps available at Bible Hub.

3. ESVBIBLE.ORG by Crossway

Finally, the most helpful Bible study website that I believe is available is www.esvbible.org. You can easily create a free account with them, but in order to use the best helps, you will have to get out your pocket book. There are many features you can use without purchase: first of all, the English Standard Version of the Bible. In my opinion, this is the most accurate, literal translation of the Bible into English that we have available today. This version of the Scriptures really speaks for itself. Second, searching the Bible according to specific texts, passages, and key words is as easy as 1, 2, 3. You can also take exhaustive notes on any text or passage at any time. Another free feature is the John Piper Sermons app. You can read or hear any sermon by John Piper if it is related to the text that you are studying. However, the features you can use available for purchase are much greater. You can access the ESV Study Bible by using esvbible.org. This is one of the best study Bibles available today. The book introductions, the Christian doctrine, the precise explanations of texts are all things you will find in the ESV Study Bible. Most of the features of esvbible.org are apps that you simply add to your free account. The apps are endless—they range from different study Bibles by Crossway to Greek tools and sermon helps. This website has been a great help to me for years and will continue to be my favorite Bible study website. May we continue in our love for the Word, and more importantly—our love for the Author.

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes, that great wisdom book. There are many things in the book of Ecclesiastes that are very much worth examining and applying to our lives. But as he winds down this great book and brings it to a close, one of the most important of them all is found here 12:1.

Memory

First Solomon tells his readers to remember. Memory is a wonderful gift from God, and without it, life would be impossible. We depend on our memory a lot more than we think. You depend on what you learned and remembered from English class to understand how to read what I have posted here. You depend on your memory to understand the meaning of words, because you were taught them at a certain age. I remember how to speak to you about these things because of my memory, both of how to speak (because I was taught) and how to interpret and present Scripture (because I was taught). I remember reading the book of Ecclesiastes a few months ago. I remember how important it is to observe passages of Scripture. Without my memory of these things, living, speaking, anything at all, would be impossible.

God has (by His common grace) given mankind the wonderful ability to remember. Sometimes memory is awakened by nostalgia, or a picture book that we look at. But usually our memory is working subconsciously—without us really knowing. Other times, again, it takes effort to memorize. Solomon here tells his readers to remember—this is an action, and a command.

Who to Remember

Solomon doesn’t just tell them to remember how to live or how to think or how to work, but to remember the Creator. If memory of earthly things are literally enabling us to live life as we know it, how much more should memory of God be of greater worth to us?

There’s actually quite a few passages of Scripture that command us to remember God. “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18). In Nehemiah when the Jews were getting prepared to fight a great battle, “And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes” (Nehemiah 4:14). The Psalmist says, “When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:3), and again in Psalm 119:55, “I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.”

When You Are Young

These commands to remember God are for different reasons in the passages stated above, but when does Solomon say it is best to remember God? “In the days of your youth.” According to Solomon, these readers (who are young people) are to remember their Creator in the days of their youth.

Studies show that our habits are developed when we are young (ask any adult how hard it is to break free from a bad habit!). If you start smoking when you are a teen, chances are you will be smoking when you are an adult. It is not even arguable today that your youth and teen years are the most important years of your life. And that’s why Solomon commands his readers to remember their Creator in the days of their youth. Remember Him “before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.” Your days as a youth: It’s when you discover who you are. It’s when you discover what life is really all about. And these years are truly vital. They are your:

1. Energetic Years

When you are young, you have the most energy. Why would you wait until you are pegging out, and running down before you serve God? Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some grannies who can move faster than a Corvette when they see that candles are on sale in Wal-Mart. But when we are young, that is when our mind is developing, that is when our bodies are the most strong and muscular, that is when our minds are sharp and. God deserves our most active and healthy years. Remember God in your energetic years.

2. Sensitive Years

Studies also show that more people become Christians when they are young than they do when they are middle aged or older. A great reason for that is because our youthful years are our sensitive years. When you are young, that is when you are most sensitive to the things going on around you and the different issues that you are facing. As you get older, you get a bit callous. You get used to the things going on around you. What better time to remember God than when you are most sensitive? Remember God in your sensitive years.

3. Teachable Years

You learn more when you are young than any other period of life. Your brain is developing and when you are young, you are the most teachable. Allow God to teach you His ways and His thoughts through the Word of God while you are the most teachable. Remember God in your teachable years.

4. Dangerous Years

Living as a teenager is like living in a minefield. We experience hormones, temptations, peer pressure, the drive to feel accepted, testosterone, etc. None of us go through our teenage years without making mistakes of some kind. Maybe we experimented with drugs of some kind, maybe we got more sexual than we should have, or maybe we just blew up on someone because they looked at us the wrong way. Remember God in your dangerous years.

How to Remember God

During these best years, what are some practical steps that you can take to remember God?

Get to know God: Study God’s Word. Listen to good sermons, read good books, and study the Bible. Your brain is never in neutral-mode. You are always thinking about something. Fill your mind with the things of God revealed in the Word of God. What better way to remember your Creator than to think constantly His thoughts which are revealed in the Bible?
Join with your Creator’s friends: Find other Christians who love Christ and love His Word and build friendships with them. When you are around someone long enough, they begin to rub off on you; what better way to remember your Creator than to constantly surround yourself with the people whom He has redeemed?

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

Brandon's Desk

Category Archives: Practical Helps

Websites Useful for Bible Study