“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” 1 Samuel 16:7, NLT
Saul was tall and handsome—an impressive-looking man. Samuel may have been trying to find someone who looked like Saul to be Israel’s next king, but God warned him against judging by appearance. When people judge by outward appearance, they may overlook quality individuals who lack the particular physical qualities society currently admires. But appearance doesn’t reveal what people are really like or what their true value is.
Fortunately, God judges by faith and character, not appearance. And because only God can see what’s on the inside, only he can accurately judge people. Most people spend hours each week maintaining their outward appearance; they should do even more to develop their inner character. While everyone can see your face, only you and God know what your heart really looks like. What steps are you taking to improve the attractiveness of your heart in God’s eyes?
This means that anyone
who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life
has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT
Raised in a home of drug addicts, Tim Nickels saw getting
high as just part of the daily routine. He remembers the first time he realized
his homelife was different from that of other families.
“When I was in first grade, my dad got high with my teacher.
When I told my friends, my teacher was fired. My dad told me that I couldn’t
talk about it and that our lifestyle was a secret. Even at that young age, I
started to realize that something was wrong.”
But Tim didn’t heed that warning in his heart. He followed
in his dad’s footsteps and started living in addiction. But although he was
chained to drugs and alcohol, he had the desire to break free, and he tried
numerous times on his own to get clean and start over.
During one fitful night, he had a dream about hell that
shook him to his core. He woke up sweating and crying. A new craving started to
overtake him—a craving for a relationship with Christ. He desperately wanted to
know about him, so he turned to a King James Version Bible that was sitting on
a shelf in his house.
“I got so frustrated that I couldn’t understand it,” remembers Tim. “But then a woman gave me aLife Application Study Bible, and it blew me away. It was like a whole new world had been opened up to me. A Bible translation I could understand, and then notes, books introductions, commentary—I just devoured it! I couldn’t get enough.”
After pouring over the Bible, he knew that he needed to get
involved in a church. He found a local congregation and attended a service
where an evangelist was preaching.
Tim’s son was dedicated by the pastor who helped him find new life in Christ
“I surrendered right there to Jesus, and he took away my
desire for drugs and alcohol. I had tried over and over again on my own, but it
was only in Jesus that I found true freedom. Twenty-five years later, I’m still
free.”
Tim continued to read his Life Application Study Bibleand was drawn to 1 Samuel 16:7: “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
“This spoke to me,” Tim recalls. “God can use anyone if they
are willing.”
God was about to make his plan very clear to Tim.
“My pastor told me that he thought God was calling me to be
a pastor. Me? I was so scared. I thought, I can’t do this! But I
followed his will for my life, and I am so thankful!” Now Tim has been a pastor
for over twenty years, and he currently leads a church in Kentucky.
“It is definitely one of my top recommendations for anyone who is struggling to understand the Bible,” says Tim. “And yes, I recommend the Life Application Study Bible to many who are trying to understand how to live out what the Bible says. I am an example of how God can use any of us if we submit to him and keep our eyes focused on him.”
We all are influencers. Every single one of us. If we
follow Jesus, we have been given a platform—whether it is in our homes, at the
office, at school, or even in the dentist’s office! Recently, a lady on social
media brought her over-stuffed, beautiful journaling Bible to the dentist’s
waiting room to Bible journal before her appointment. To her surprise, her
Bible gave her the opportunity to talk about her faith when she normally
wouldn’t have been bold enough to initiate a conversation about God. Her Bible naturally
opened up the opportunity to share about him.
Tyndale author Emma Mae Jenkins
invites young girls to step into God’s calling and live in ALL CAPS in her
amazing book, ALL-CAPS
YOU:
“To live in ALL CAPS is to give attention and to tune in to
the words that God has spoken, even when the words of the world sound loud. In
the Lord we lack no good thing. We are fully loved, fully chosen, and fully
known by God, therefore we can fully be who he has called us to be—we can truly
live our lives in ALL CAPS.”
Riley
is one of our Inspire
Prayer Bible
Ambassadors. We asked her to tell us a little bit about herself in the
interview below. She and so many other Bible journalers know how to live
the ALL CAPS life. We are ambassadors for Christ (VERSE) and God has chosen
people of all ages to draw others into greater awareness of his abounding love
and grace and truth.
Over the course of the next several months we are going to
shine the spotlight on some of our Inspire Prayer Bible Ambassadors as
a way to encourage all of us to keep living boldly for Jesus and to shine his
light brightly wherever God has us!
RILEY: Raised on Sweet Tea
and Four Wheelers (and Jesus, of course!)
What are some of your
favorite hobbies? (Besides Bible journaling in your Inspire Bible, of
course!)
I
enjoy mud riding and laughing with my family.
Tell us when you first
encountered God and how your choice to follow him has impacted your life.
I
first encountered God by growing up in a Christian household, and my choice to
follow him has changed my life because I’ve become a better person.
Who (or what) has had the
biggest influence on helping you grow in your faith?
Bible
Journaling has impacted and improved my life by bringing me closer to the Lord’s
Word in a fun and creative way.
When did you first start
Bible journaling?
April
14, 2020
Do you have any tips to share
about how to stay close to God each day?
•
Read your Bible
•
Pray
•
Worship God
Who is your favorite person
in the Bible and why?
Jesus,
because he died on the cross for our sins.
What Bible verse would you
like to encourage others with today?
Philippians
4:13: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Would you like to say a
prayer for the person reading this right now?
Dear
Lord, I pray for the person who is reading this right now. I hope with my words
and encouragement that they will become closer to your Word, their faith will
grow strong, and they will become a Christian who rejoices in your Word. In
Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
May Riley’s story be an encouragement to stay in the Word,
on our knees, and eager to share the hope for which God has planted in our
hearts as we trust in him.
“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.” Colossians 1:6
Last month we introduced you to the new Filament Bible Collection (don’t worry if you missed it; we’ll cover it here too). We have so many great Bibles coming your way that we didn’t want you to miss any. A few came out earlier this summer and others are releasing later this fall, but here is a quick look at some amazing Bibles!
Daily Reading Bibles
The One Year Bible reading plan is the best-selling daily reading plan Bible. This fall we are releasing the next edition in our prayer-focused Bible series. In addition to the daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs,The One Year Pray for Life Bibleincludes daily prayer prompts that invite you to get on your knees to pray for the sanctity of life from womb to tomb. We are thankful to Joni and Friends who helped us create this Bible at a time when it’s so desperately needed. We will also be releasing the One Year Bible daily reading variety in the ESV translation. See all our One Year Bibles.
The Daily Reader’s Bible offers a fresh way to read through the Bible in one year. Each day includes three readings that draw from a theme focusing on story, teaching, and wisdom. This thematic approach to devotional Bible reading helps the reader understand how all the genres of Scripture fit together to convey God’s truth. Learn more about the Daily Reader’s Bible.
Journaling Bibles
The most recent edition to our journaling Bibles is the Inspire PRAYER Bible. It joins the Inspire family which includes the #1 selling creative journaling Bible. Inspire PRAYER has even more space to create, 400 beautiful full- and partial-page Scripture line-art illustrations to color, 32 colorful and gorgeously designed see-through vellum pages featuring prayers, and 142 Inspired Prayer journaling prompts to inspire personalized prayer. Learn more about Inspire Prayer.
We listened! We have had many requests for this, and we are excited that this fall we will be releasing our beautifulInspire Catholic Biblein a large print edition. Learn more
Our Inspire fans can’t get enough of these beautiful Bibles. This fall we also will be releasing the bestselling Inspire Praise Bible in a softcover.
The new Filament Bible Collection combines the best of print and digital. They feature comfortable reading Bibles in an easy-to-carry size. But there is so much more! Experience mind-blowing study, devotional, and video materials at your fingertips through the Filament Bible app. Learn more about the Filament Bible Collection.
Watch Video about the new Filament Bible Collection
The Epic Bible: God’s Story from Eden to Eternity
With illustrations by top DC and Marvel artists and adapted from the NLT translation, The Epic Biblewill take readers on a stunning visual journey through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The cinematic storytelling will captivate teens, those new to the Bible or readers looking for a fresh approach to Bible reading. For more information on how comics put the KAPOW into Bible reading we’re hosting a free webinar featuring the creator of Kingstone Media, and artists from DC, Marvel, and other comics. Learn more
Watch TheEpic Bible trailer
NLT Study Bible Large Print
Many people have asked and now we are able to offer the updatedNLT Study Bible in large print. It will be releasing this fall. Learn more.
“Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, NLT
Our addictions may be so ingrained in us that we define our identity by them. We may even begin to feel that we are predisposed to behave as we do. We may grow discouraged as we are condemned for behaviors that seem beyond our control. How can we escape this self-perception that defines us in terms of the addictions that dominate our lives?
One passage in Scripture seems to identify people by their behavior: “Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). This doesn’t seem fair. We feel like we will never be able to escape our addictive nature. But the passage continues: “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (6:11). “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God doesn’t just erase our sinful behaviors. When we identify ourselves with Christ, he gives us a new identity. We will always remember what we were and realize that our sinful nature and our body may always be predisposed to a particular addiction. We may even still slip up at times, but we need no longer define ourselves by our addictions. In Christ we are all the forgiven, cleansed, and holy children of God.
The remarkable new Filament Bible Collection features comfortable reading Bibles in an easy-to-carry size. But there is so much more: mind-blowing study, devotional and video materials at your fingertips through the Filament Bible app.
It’s the future of Bibles: Learn more without carrying more.
We’ll stop talking so you can see it for yourself.
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:1-3, NLT
Hebrews 11 is one of the most extensive essays on faith in the NT and one of the most loved sections of Scripture, yet misconceptions about faith abound. Some see faith as meaning any form of spirituality (“he is a person of faith”). Others understand it as a resolute belief that something good is going to happen to them, a ticket to health and wealth. Still others think that faith is a blind leap against known facts. None of these constitutes biblical faith.
Instead, faith involves confident action in response to what God has made known (11:1-3). As seen in the examples listed in ch 11, faith comes into play in a variety of life’s circumstances. The results of faith also are various. Some people get rescued, achieve success in life, and get some of what God has promised in their lifetimes.
Others get mocked, beaten, tortured, put in prison, and killed. Faith is sometimes rewarded sooner and sometimes later, but people of faith anticipate the rewards because of their confidence in God’s character.
What does it mean to live by faith? It means that, in our various circumstances, we live out our belief “that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (11:6). Those who live by faith take confident action based on what God has revealed about his character, seeking to do his will in all things.
Jay is the pastor at Life House Church in Harlingen, Texas. As a bilingual pastor, Pastor Jay has a passion for both the NLT and NTV. He is excited to share his story of how these translations have helped him grow in his love for God and others.
When Elizabeth first heard about her church’s initiative to read the whole Bible together in community, she was hesitant. But she discovered in the process how amazing the love of Jesus truly is for the outcast, and it changed everything for her. Watch Elizabeth’s story here.
All across America, Bible book clubs are forming to read and discuss the Bible together. They’re using Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience as the tool to facilitate reading at length. Each book in the Immerse collection is designed to be read in community over either an 8- or 16-week time frame. Immerse: Messiah covers the entire New Testament and is a great place to start.
