Category: NLT Resources

Article from the Every Man’s Bible

TODAY WE KNOW JOHN as “the apostle of love,” but he didn’t start out that way. Had he not allowed Christ to soften his personality and temperament, history might have remembered him in a very different light.

Whenever the Gospels mention John, they usually tie him to his brother, James. The pair ran a fishing operation with their father, Zebedee. John was among the first disciples to hear and follow Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:21-22).
John tended to think in black and white with little gray, and he interpreted any slight as a personal attack. Early on, John’s hot- blooded temperament prompted Jesus to give him and his brother the nickname Boanerges, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).

As the time grew near for Jesus to die, the disciples’ travel plans took them through Samaria. But when the Samaritans— who detested the Jews as much as the Jews hated them— heard that Jesus intended to visit Jerusalem, they refused to welcome him. When John and his brother learned of this slight, they snapped, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” John learned an important lesson that day when Jesus rebuked him for his hateful question (Luke 9:51-56).

At another time these “Sons of Thunder” approached Jesus privately and asked him for a favor: They wanted special seats of honor in the coming Kingdom . When the other disciples heard about their secret request, they were less than impressed. Jesus used the ugly incident to teach his followers that honor and positions of spiritual leadership come through service, not through power plays or personal striving (Mark 10:35-45).

As John watched his Master live and work and minister over the course of three and a half years, he gradually changed. Being part of an inner circle of three (with Peter and James), John gained a special insight into the character of his Lord. He witnessed Jesus bring a dead girl back to life (Luke 8:49-56). He saw Jesus robed in light at the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13). And he joined Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of his Lord’s arrest (Mark 14:32-42).

By this time, John had softened considerably. A combination of personal failures and his Master’s stubborn grace began to transform him. John was the only disciple who saw Christ’s crucifixion— and it was John to whom Jesus gave the responsibility of caring for his grieving mother (John 19:25-27).

John is a perfect example of the power of Jesus Christ to change lives. This hard nosed, hot- tempered businessman became an example of grace and love— and eventually wrote five books of the New Testament. The next time you read 1 John, remember that a former “Son of Thunder” penned the compassionate words.

Take a look inside the Every Man’s Bible

Caroline is our youngest Inspire Bible TOUR host yet! Amber Bolton told us it was wonderful to work with Caroline and to see the passion she put into it.

Hi! My name is Caroline Fisher. I am 15 years old and am a sophomore in high school. Of course, homework and chores occupy a lot of my time. However, when I’m not doing these, I enjoy yoga, reading, photography, art, hanging out with my friends, and of course, Bible journaling! I am left-handed, which some people say adds to my creative spirit. I am extraordinarily blessed with an incredible family, including two adorable kittens, and I am very involved in my school and church. I am a part of Team LEAD, a mentoring program for middle schoolers. I am also in Concert Choir, Spanish Club, and Educational Helpers, and I am usually a part of the dance team but recently had to take a season off. And I actually have a job at my church! I am the Sunday School Assistant each Sunday, helping out with children’s Sunday School. I love kids, so this job suits me perfectly. Every Sunday is an adventure that I so look forward to. I also go to youth group, which meets every Wednesday night. Before youth group, we usually go to a coffee shop—we’re all very close friends!

I have attended church my entire life. Currently, I attend Valparaiso First United Methodist Church. I have attended this church since I moved to Valparaiso nearly fourteen years ago. My church is truly a wonderful place and I am so lucky to have it. Being in high school, my faith is constantly challenged. Most of my peers are pretty accepting, but it can be tough when less than 10 percent of the student body regularly attends church. With this challenge, though, my faith has grown much stronger. When you’re part of a minority, it can be easier to grow your faith more securely because it’s something unique to you, making it more fun and inviting to explore. One of my many life verses is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I have been Bible journaling for almost seven months now. I am so glad that I have discovered and expanded on this creative outlet. My favorite part about it is decorating the page and being able to really connect with Scripture. Journaling helps the verse(s) to really sink in and helps me to truly believe the Scriptures. I first found out about the Inspire Bible TOUR after stumbling across Amber Bolton on Instagram. As I fell in love with her work, I began to explore workshops and hoped that one would show up near me. After months of wishing, I decided to make my dream a reality. Hosting a workshop had never occurred to me before, but I realized that there was nothing really stopping it from happening. My highlight from hosting the workshop was probably seeing all the smiling, excited faces ready to learn and praise the Lord. I loved seeing how joyous and fulfilled everyone was.

As the host, I organized everything between my church and Amber, found funding, set up decorations, and spoke at the event. There was a lot of work involved, but that’s right up my alley! I absolutely loved hosting. I saw God a lot throughout the weeks leading up to the workshop. One way that he particularly surprised me was with the turnout. Being a relatively small church, I figured we’d be lucky if we had 25 participants, but it ended up being over 50! And there were people from all different walks of faith attending—from those who could memorize the book of Psalms to those who didn’t know what a Bible was! Another thing I did not expect was how quickly the workshop would fly by. I ended up being at my church for over 6 hours that day, but it did not feel over 2! I would say I knew almost half of the people who attended. The community outreach I did was extensive! I designed posters and put them everywhere. And it was great to see so many faces I did not recognize. I was dramatically impacted by hosting the workshop and by attending it. It was so rewarding to be able to put so much effort into preparing and organizing the workshop and then actually get to sit down and attend it as a participant.

The workshop itself was phenomenal. Even as a somewhat “experienced” Bible journaler, I learned so much and absorbed everything Amber had to share. I keep describing that day to people as “life-changing”—and it truly was! It was surprising to discover how much work goes on behind the scenes for an event. Much more work went into the workshop than I ever would’ve fathomed as a participant. It was almost like Christmas: The day was built up, anticipated, and talked about so much, and then it was over in an instant. But God was unquestionably smiling upon the faces of everyone who was at the workshop. We talked, smiled, laughed, prayed, and bonded over the experience.

God certainly used this experience to stretch me. It gave me hope, purpose, and, of course, involvement in a wonderful activity. I’ve grown in my faith through this experience and have found myself closer with God. To those of you scrolling through the TOUR website, deciding if you should pursue this “crazy” idea—do it! I would never hesitate to tell someone to host a workshop. Although it’s hard work the reward is so worth it, much greater. My time in God’s Word has most definitely changed for the better since the workshop. I learned so much and was able to apply it to my journaling. I feel like I am more mindful and aware as I read, and can really take the verses and passages to heart. And my church started a monthly Bible-journaling group! Every second Monday, we spend the afternoon at Starbucks unleashing our creative sides.

I was inspired in so many ways through this workshop. It was truly a transformative experience. I will never forget this life-changing event and will be forever thankful to God for leading me to do this and blessing me with the successes it has brought.

Find out more about the Inspire Bible TOUR

by Kim Adetunji, brand manager

In 2016 Tyndale House Publishers formed a partnership with avid Bible journaler, Amber Bolton (of Instagram’s @biblejournaling). Since then, Amber has traveled across the country offering two-hour-long Inspire Bible TOUR workshops. She also offers frequent Facebook Live Bible studies using her 4-Step Bible Study Process.

Inspire Bible TOUR workshops are booked through Amber at inspirebibletourbooking@gmail.com, and Tyndale helps get the word out. Often, new people are drawn into local churches through these workshops. And Bible-journaling groups are frequently formed out of the workshops, as Amber encourages participants to keep meeting as a community of Bible journalers.

Amber was an early adopter of this practice after discovering it on Pinterest before it became widely known and appreciated. She champions artistic Bible engagement as a beautiful way of worship and of reflecting on God’s Word. As a youth pastor she has a passion to see people reading, digging into, engaging with, and living out God’s Word.

Her introductory workshop offers participants the opportunity to explore God’s Word creatively and to experience a fresh approach to Bible reading. She guides people through hands-on activities to inspire creativity in their daily walk with the Lord. The workshop is designed to focus participants’ hearts on Christ as they learn to color, paint, draw, and letter their way through God’s Word.

Read how Amber inspired 15-year-old Caroline

by Kim Adetunji, brand manager

Did you or someone you know receive a journaling Bible for Christmas? You may be excited to get started but aren’t exactly sure how. Or maybe you are afraid to mess up. Sometimes all the extra space in the wide margins can be intimidating. Where do you start? How will you identify what to journal about? What does a creative response to Scripture even look like? What supplies do you need? There are many great questions that people wrestle with when they are just getting started. But just remember, your Bible is the holy Word of God. And God speaks to you through his Word! Our goal as followers of Jesus is for Scripture to be written on our hearts so that we can live it out in our daily lives. We want to know God and to make him known, and we want to become more like him. Bible journaling can help us do this. Not only does it give us a beautiful, meaningful tool for Bible study; it also gives us a collection of entries that we can look back to time and time again and be reminded of truths from the Bible and of God’s faithfulness.

Our advice for those who are just getting started is: Just get started! Dive in. Do what feels comfortable and natural to you right now. Use supplies you already have. Let God lead you. Instead of buying all the supplies you see others using, be creative about using things around the house. Use a cool Christmas card you received to make an amazing insert, or place a picture of a family member near a Scripture you are praying over them. (Many people tape on such items by using decorative tape called washi tape, but any kind of tape works great!)

Your Bible journaling doesn’t need to be anything extravagant to be meaningful. This is your Bible. This is your time with God. Let God lead you, and don’t let your fears or questions (whatever they may be!) hold you back from jumping in. No matter what your finished page looks like, what is of utmost importance is being in the Word. Soak it in. Meditate on it. Live it out. Bible journaling is a mechanism by which we can draw nearer to God through his Word and through using our God-given creativity. We all have creativity, but it’s often expressed very differently by each of us. Don’t let all the glitz and glitter of supplies and techniques distract you from the One who is pursuing you!

If you are looking for more Bible-journaling resources, check out this 15-minute video by Amber Bolton. In it, Amber gives you a small taste of her two-hour-long workshops. You’ll learn about her 4-Step Bible Study Process and find encouragement to get started. The video is a study of 1 John 4:7-21. Get out your Bible and let’s get started!

In this video, Amber is using the Inspire PRAISE Bible. Inspire PRAISE is the second Bible in the bestselling Inspire Bible line, with over 500 all-new line-art illustrations to color, including full-page illustrations. It has some special features that the original Inspire Bible did not have, such as thicker white paper, colorful vellum see-through journaling page inserts, stickers, and even a pocket in the back. There is a large-print edition now available as well, though it does not include the stickers or the pocket.

If you are ever able to attend one of Amber Bolton’s Inspire Bible TOUR workshops, we would encourage you to go! Or if you would be interested in hosting an event in your community, contact us. Workshops are for people of all ages and stages of faith. They are for those who have never Bible journaled before and for those who are experienced Bible journalers. Each workshop is unique because of the diverse mix of people that attend, and it’s a fun way to meet others from your community who are interested in Bible journaling. You’ll likely come away feeling inspired and blessed to be a part of the community of believers seeking to know God more through this creative avenue.

Want to know more about Amber Bolton?

Interested in more information about the Inspire Bible TOUR?

Sometimes we feel that we are too ordinary for God to use for his purposes. Throughout the Bible we see God using everyday, ordinary objects in extraordinary ways. Check out this list from the Hands-On Bible of common items God used in the Bible for his glory then imagine what he can do with your life.

God often uses simple, ordinary objects to accomplish his tasks in the world. They just need to be dedicated to him for his use. Look at these everyday objects from Bible times to see how God used them. Then ask yourself: “What do I have that God can use?” Anything and everything is a possible “instrument” for him!

This is just a start. Tell us in the comments what objects from the Bible would you add to the list?

Learn about some of the features of the Hands-On Bible

by Kim Adetunji, brand manager

As the year winds down and a new year is on the horizon, many people begin reflecting on the previous year and making plans for the new one. Our thoughts may return to the highlights and lowlights of the year we are in as well as remembering God’s faithfulness and the lessons we learned. We then turn to our goals and aspirations for the new year, the things we want to get right this year and the things we want to keep—or start—doing. The new year holds so much hope and promise, especially when the current year has been a difficult one. It’s a brand new beginning—365 days to pursue God, become more like Christ, rest in his presence, listen for his voice, and follow where he leads. It’s exciting to think of the possibilities that lie ahead.

Will the new year hold new friendships, a new job, or new opportunities? Will we finally reach that goal we’ve been striving for? Will our long-time prayers for a spouse or healing or a mended relationship or a different heartache finally be answered? Will our trust in God grow deeper than we ever thought possible? Will our hard hearts soften? Will we experience joy once again? Will we finally be able to put aside that fear, anger, resentment, disbelief, or “you name it” that is holding us back from trusting God fully? Will we surrender new areas of our lives to God? In what ways will God stretch us beyond what we think we are capable of? Will we sense God’s deep, unconditional love anew? Who will we share the Good News with this year?

We may even think about new ways we’d like to grow spiritually, whether it’s growing more patient with our spouse or kids or letting the peace of Christ rule more fully in our hearts. How could we move toward God’s plan for us rather than shrinking away from where we hear God calling us to. What are new ways to step out into obedience this year? How can we slow down our schedule just a little bit more to create space to listen for God’s gentle whisper? What truths from Scripture have I dismissed? How can I give God my very best each day? Do I dedicate enough of my day to those things that draw me closer to God and allow me to hear his voice? Am I following through on God’s promptings? Am I open to allowing God to challenge me in a new area?

Do you plan to track your prayers in the new year? the ways you intentionally follow God’s lead? your service projects and how God expands your heart through those experiences? the ways you’ve seen God’s faithfulness in your life? answered prayers? words from him? verses you’ve memorized? There are so many unique ways to track our spiritual growth and keep focused on our goal to pursue and honor God. Each of us is unique, and there is no one right way to do it. If you’re like me, you may be constantly seeking new ways to become more efficient with recording and tracking everything that is meaningful—all in one place.

As the new year approaches, you may search for a new journal, notebook, daily planner, or app to help you organize your year and capture all the memories, highlights, and learnings. Journaling Bibles are a great way to capture all that God is doing in your life in one place. There are two One Year Bible journaling editions—Expressions and Reflections—that give you a daily reading plus space in the wide margins alongside each day’s reading to reflect on the passage you’ve read, write notes or journal entries, keep track of highlights from your day, or archive mementos or pictures. It’s a very practical way to document God-sightings in your life while being intentional about reading God’s Word daily.

Many people have been doing this, where their Bible becomes a treasured keepsake with 365 days’ worth of investment in knowing and following God, including observations from his Word and practical applications. The One Year Bible readings offer a portion from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs for each day. It is organized so you’ll finish the Bible in one year with the investment of just 15 minutes a day. At the end of the year, you will have an incredible collection of highlights, milestones, and so much more to look back on in your Bible as you look toward the new year.

Check out the One Year Expressions Bibles

Check out the One Year Chronological Expressions Bibles

Check out the One Year Reflections Bibles

A recent popular trend is ancestry kits. People want to know their heritage—where they came from and who they are. Throughout the Bible we see the importance of lineage. Slugging through those difficult names can seem like a burden, but the point is that each of those names has a story. It is a lineage of choices, mistakes, triumphs, joys, and sorrows.

Through Christ we are part of God’s lineage of grace. We can pass on more than just DNA to the next generation. We can leave a legacy of faith. That’s what our friend Hank is doing.

Each year he chooses a different family member and reads through a One Year Bible, making specific notes and sharing personal insights that he felt God calling him to share with that loved one. Is there a more beautiful gift than a legacy of faith and love?

“For 19 years I read a One Year Bible, and each year I dedicated it to a family member to be given to them when I die. The notes in the margin were personal, such as ‘This is my prayer for you.’ I’ve underlined,circled, and highlighted many passages, letting them know what inspires me. It is my legacy to them.” – Hank Snyder

What notes, reflections, inspirations, and prayers would you share with your loved one? What has helped guide you through God’s Word?

Look inside the OneYear Reflections Bible

Article from the Swindoll Study Bible

Read John 1:1-18

THE SON OF GOD, as “very God” (to quote the Nicene Creed), arrived on this earth as a man. He came to the mountains He created. He faced the rivers with their rushing currents. He crossed the valleys. He gazed upon the sea. He walked beneath the skies and the stars and the moon and the sun. But the tragedy of all tragedies is this: “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him” (John 1:10). The world didn’t recognize the One who had created it. In other words, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11).

In our world, people look at the beauty of creation but refuse to acknowledge the Creator. Imagine Walt Disney coming to Disneyland on its opening day in 1955—but nobody even acknowledging him or acknowledging the fact that everything in the park had come from his imagination and creativity. Imagine them all saying, “Oh, it just happened.” Such an illustration can’t really do justice to this magnificent passage of Scripture, but you get the picture.

We all know the Christmas story: The Creator came to our planet as a baby, but there was no room at the inn for the One who had created the rocks from which that inn was made. There was no welcome mat for Christ. Isn’t it remarkable that the One who is coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Spirit—the One who divinely decreed the events that would run their course on this earth in perfect timing with His profound plan—could come to the earth and be beaten and spit upon, have spikes driven through His hands and feet, be hung on a cross, and be cursed until He died? Even after being raised from the dead, He is still denied, rejected, and refused some twenty centuries later. There is still no room for the Savior.

What about you? Do you know what it means that God, who made everything, reduced Himself to take on skin, subject Himself to the very gravity that He put into effect, and limit Himself to a tiny space of property—for you?

From the vanishing point of the past to the vanishing point of the future, Jesus Christ remains in His nature and His attributes very God. But Christ, in order that human beings might be able to see what God is like in tangible form, became a human for all eternity future. This introduction to the Gospel of John concludes, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18).

Do you wonder what the Father is like? Make a study of Christ. Do you wonder how God could be a God of grace, at the same time both gentle and full of justice and purity? Look at Christ. He shares the Father’s divine nature, and He explains it and models it in perfect terms so that we can grasp the person of the Father.

The world didn’t recognize the One who created it. Do we?

Take a look inside the Swindoll Study Bible

“Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew 1:19, NLT

We aren’t given many details about Joseph, but we can draw a pretty
accurate portrait from what we do know. He was a “good man” and betrothed to Mary—meaning he was in a covenant almost as unbreakable as marriage and bound by God and his own sense of honor to fulfill it. These covenants could only be broken if the terms had been misrepresented or if one of the parties fell into sin. And from Joseph’s perspective, that’s exactly what had happened. Those around him would have affirmed his right to cancel the wedding.

That’s what Joseph planned to do, though not publicly with his indignation
on display. He could have divorced Mary and openly answered the
questions that would follow, but he preferred to endure any questions quietly and let the silence cover her. As Mary’s betrothed, Joseph was just as chosen as she was, and his quiet sense of honor may be one of the reasons God chose him. Most men would have a hard time letting God rearrange their expectations for life and marriage and then fading into the background of the story. Joseph took on a responsibility no man before or since has taken on, and we hear very little else about him throughout the Gospels—an early death in Jesus’ late childhood or early adulthood seems a natural conclusion. But we know God trusted him to handle earth’s greatest treasure and allow his wife and her son to get far more attention than he ever would.

In Their Steps
Some of the most vital roles in God’s Kingdom remain in the background of the Kingdom story. Many personalities aren’t equipped for that level of humility. Joseph was. Mary apparently lived long enough to tell Luke some of the things she stored in her heart (Luke 2:51), but Joseph must have treasured the story too. And he submitted himself to it honorably.

Taken from the Dancing in the Desert Devotional Bible

by Laura Livingston, Resource Development Officer at Oasis International

Have you ever been out to dinner in an exotic restaurant and the menu was incomprehensible?  I recently experienced that in an Ethiopian restaurant. If the hovering waiter hadn’t been there to explain to what the unpronounceable dish names referred, I would never have been able to order. Once he helped me understand, I enjoyed an incredible culinary experience. There was Injera and Doro Wat and Fir-fir available, but with no one to explain it in my language, I had no way to satisfy my hunger.

That experience is not unlike the challenge of pastors and leaders in French-speaking Africa trying to prepare to preach with little or no resources in their language of education. They are hungry to feed on the Word of God, to go deeper in their understanding, but often the resources are only available in English, and even more often they are not adapted to life in Africa. The Africa Study Bible: French Edition, a theological library in one volume, will open a whole new world of understanding to Francophone pastors in Africa. It will put the food on the table!

There are 600 million believers in Africa that are tragically under-resourced for discipleship, according to the International Review of Mission. Yet, the Church is growing faster in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. According to the Pew foundation 25 percent of the world’s Christians are located in Africa and that will rise to 40% by 2050. In partnership with Tyndale House Foundation, and using their New Living Translation, Oasis International published the landmark Africa Study Bible (ASB) in English last year. The ASB is the first study Bible that applies God’s Word to the contexts of Africa. With over 2,600 features written by 350 contributors from 50 countries, looking at God’s Word through African eyes, the English edition of the Africa Study Bible was launched to enthusiastic acclaim in seven countries and is already in use in 16.

With its commitment to empowering discipleship, Tyndale House has been a key partner for Oasis International in developing this unparalleled biblical resource. A Kenyan pastor, participating in an ASB training seminar, described the potential impact of the ASB this way,

The Africa Study Bible makes it very easy for us to connect directly to our context. It is going to encourage (young pastors) back to study the African cultures, the way of life, and the storytelling that will be very important in their preaching because they are serving people who are living in this context.

Oasis has launched the Africa Study Bible in seven countries already and is working hard to reach all 24 countries that have English as a language of education. However, 23 more African countries have French as an official language. And while contextualized discipleship resources are certainly not abundant in English-speaking Africa, they are significantly more scarce in Francophone Africa. Dr. Daniel Bourdanné, General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) describes it this way,

French-speaking Africa is known for its material poverty. One element of this poverty is the lack of Christian literature resources in the French language. The need for French-language Bible study materials is and remains to be, an even more profound source of poverty for the region.

An Oasis partner visiting the library at one of the most prominent seminaries in Francophone Africa, FATEB (Central African Republic), reported that only 20 percent of the books were in French, while the remaining volumes were primarily in English, a language many of the students can’t understand. The library of the Yamoussoukro Bible Institute (Côte d’Ivoire), where I lived and taught for 34 years, typifies the problem with its shelves full of old, tattered, English commentaries and theological books donated by retiring missionaries. Almost none of the students can read and understand them. It was not uncommon for me to visit former students only to discover that the pastor and his wife’s main resources were well-worn photocopies received years ago in our classes.

One key reason for this lack of resources is the religious makeup of France. Christian resources in English are available in Africa from sources in the United States and England, among others. But few comparable resources come from France in which only five percent of the population attends a church of any sort and 24 percent are avowed atheists (2014 demographic survey).  The impact of the Africa Study Bible: French Edition will be even greater than the English edition because the need for resources is exponentially greater in French.

Believers in Francophone Africa are hungry for biblical resources in French adapted to the contexts in which they live. The Africa Study Bible puts the food on the table for those who are hungry to feed on the Word of God. Every one of its features was written to look at God’s Word through African eyes. Finishing the Africa Study Bible: French Edition is an obtainable goal. To date, almost all the ASB notes and features are translated into French, but funds designated for the French edition are exhausted and work has slowed on this crucial project. At this pivotal moment in the project, God, in his grace, has provided a matching grant of $150,000 to bring this study Bible to completion.

Oasis International is boldly asking God to provide the first $50,000 by the end of 2018. And we are asking you to give whatever you are able to help us reach that goal. Together we can make the Africa Study Bible available in the 23 countries of Africa that needs contextualized, biblical resources in French. Together we can put the food on the table and feed half a continent with a deeper, fuller understanding of God’s Word!

Give today

Laura spent 33 years as a missionary with the Christian Missionary Alliance in Cote d’Ivoire (West Africa) before joining Oasis International.