Category: My Story

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?

My parents and my Inspire Bible.

How has Bible journaling impacted 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.

Be inspired! @theinspirebible

Connect with Riley! @biblejournaling.faith

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

Learn more about the Inspire Bible line.

TYNDALE, Tyndale’s quill logo, New Living Translation, NLT, the New Living Translation logo, Inspire, and LeatherLike are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Ministries. Extrabiblical artwork, cover design, and product design of Inspire copyright © 2017 by Three Streams Publishers, Ltd.

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.

Learn more about the New Living Translation

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.

Learn more about Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience

By Paul Caminiti, Institute for Bible Reading

Around 538 BC, the nation of Israel limped home. After seventy years of Babylonian captivity, they returned to Judah to find Jerusalem in ruins. The wall was torn down, the gates were destroyed, and the Temple was little more than a pile of rubble. Nehemiah weeps when he learns of the condition of the city.

The people are disoriented. The glory days of David and Solomon are long gone, and their once world-class city is a shell of its former self. They rebuild the Temple, and those old enough to remember the glory of the first Temple weep tears of mourning. Nehemiah rebuilds the walls and gates surrounding the city, but reality bites. The once-proud superpower has been reduced to a third-rate nation with no king, no army, and no treasury.

Then something amazing happens. Once the basic infrastructure is set up, the people come to Ezra, their chief priest, with a request.

“In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey” (Nehemiah 7:73–8:1).

Although the walls and the Temple were standing again, the people sensed that something was still broken: themselves. They believed that healing would come through re-immersion in their Story. Ezra responded immediately by organizing a corporate day of Scripture reading.

“He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:3).

Church in the Age of Coronavirus

The COVID-19 virus hardly needs an introduction. Over the past few months our lives and habits have been upended. Words like “crisis” and “pandemic” flood our thoughts and our imaginations. We’ve been isolated, cut off from our friends and loved ones, and even spent many weeks unable to even gather for worship on Sundays.

During this time, pastors scrambled to create infrastructures with which to “do church” during these strange and unsettling times. And though slowly we are coming out of isolation, what has been discovered is that returning to “normal” will look different.

During those lonely days, technology helped us to piece together a vague sense of community; it was and continues to be a difficult season of change. Infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm said while many view the crisis as a “blizzard” that must be waited out with extreme measures for a short period of time, the more appropriate response is to view it as the “beginning of winter.” While the ultimate severity and longevity are unknown, many indicators point toward a likely scenario: things are going to be different for a while.

In their moment of uncertainty and disorientation, the nation of Israel turned to their Scriptures to remember their identity, to recount God’s promises and his rescue, and to be reminded of the kind of people they were called to be. During the winter of coronavirus, could the Body of Christ do something similar?

Returning to Our Story

Shaken from our usual routines and frenetic pace, the virus has given the church an opportunity to evaluate. What can “church” look like in an ever-changing world? Like Israel, we’re faced with a bit of a blank slate. Like Israel, we can choose to return and re-focus on our founding Story told in the Scriptures. A modern-day Ezra Moment, if you will.

To help, we’ve created “Immerse from Home”—a completely free downloadable resource that includes everything you need to (virtually) gather in community for a two-week book club reading of Luke-Acts.

Originally intended as Volumes 1 and 2 of the same combined story, Luke-Acts comprises a quarter of the New Testament. In a period of uncertainty and anxiety, what could be more orienting and grounding than the story of Jesus and the story of the early church?

If you and your group enjoy the Luke-Acts experience, you can continue reading the New Testament together using Immerse: Messiah. If you live in the U.S. there is a 20% off discount on ImmerseBible.com

The Beginning of Something New

In his wisdom, Ezra understood that an emotional one-off event wasn’t sufficient and that he needed to create a comprehensive plan for sustainable rhythms of immersion in the sacred texts. The Scripture Reading Marathon became a turning point for the nation, but only because it was a starting point.

Nehemiah goes on to tell us:

“On October 9 the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the law in greater detail” (Nehemiah 8:13).

In the same month, during the Festival of Trumpets, “Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God on each of the seven days of the festival” (Nehemiah 8:18).

“On October 31, the people assembled again. . . . They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them” (Nehemiah 9:1, 3).

For the first time in their history, the Scriptures became central to Israel’s way of life. Synagogues, created expressly for the public reading of Scripture, sprang up throughout Israel. Scattered song lyrics from David, Moses, Asaph, and others were compiled for the first time into the Psalms. By the first century AD, young boys between the ages of 6 and 10 were expected to memorize the Torah.

So we ask: could the COVID-19 virus instigate an Ezra Moment? Could we take this opportunity to re-immerse ourselves in our Story?

We invite you to take action. To try something new—and ancient. Pastors, call your congregations into this experience. Small group and Bible study leaders, challenge your groups to a two-week commitment. Regular “Joes” and “Janes,” try this with your spouse or your kids (use the Family Guide for younger kids) or invite some family and friends to weekly Zoom calls. Invite that one coworker or neighbor whom you’ve never felt comfortable inviting to a Bible Study.

As the Scriptures washed over the nation on that first day of reading, the people began to weep. It’s unclear why—perhaps because they hadn’t heard the Word in so long, or perhaps because they’d never heard it at all. Perhaps because they were overwhelmed by guilt as they realized just how far they had strayed from their calling. Regardless, guilt and shame would not have the final say. Nehemiah jumps up and addresses the people:

“Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God. . . . Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:9-10).

“So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them” (Nehemiah 8:12).

Learn more at Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience

Learn more about the Institute for Bible Reading

by Steve Bundy, Senior VP of the Christian Institute on Disability

“Please, quiet down, I’m on a call!” I said through gritted teeth. Even though I tried to exude calmness in my voice, in reality, I was like a duck swimming in water, calm on top, but furiously paddling just beneath the surface. My mind churned as I felt anxiety and pressure building in my attempt to balance working remotely while sheltering in place with my family. During this season of social-distancing, many can likely relate to the stress of trying to work from home with children who have their own pent-up frustrations as they attempt their new online education. Add to that no outside activities, no favorite shopping malls and no restaurants, and the “cabin fever” sets in.

When you’re a family like mine that has a child with special needs, it can be like adding rocket fuel to a fire. We are usually prepared for challenges surrounding vacations and holidays when routines are lost, but when weeks turn into months with no school, no therapies and no breaks—it can easily turn into no patience. Exhaustion and despondency can quickly develop when we as parents are giving constant attention to our child’s needs throughout the day with little to no relief. And, let’s not forget the challenges our children face. Many, like my son, cannot comprehend the reason for sudden school closures and changes to his normal routine. As a result, the occasional outburst is evolving into frequent full meltdowns.

The truth is that these are uncertain and unprecedented times for everyone. But I find peace in knowing that the Word of God transcends all time and circumstances. Scripture is indeed timeless, and we can apply it to our lives—even during a global pandemic. In Psalm 91, the psalmist reminds us that during the most trying times, God is indeed our “shelter, refuge and place of safety.” It’s believed that Moses wrote this psalm during the 40-year period of the Israelites’ wandering through the wilderness. It was a time, as the psalmist indicates, of “disease, terror and disaster.” If ever the people of God needed a refuge, it was during the wandering years. It is a psalm of comfort and confidence in the Almighty who provides protection and security even in the most uncertain and fearful times of life. The promise remains, “For those who live in the shelter of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

If you identify with any of the challenges or frustrations I shared, I encourage you to read Psalm 91 aloud with your family. Discuss God’s promises and declare that he is your refuge! Pray and have an honest (and age appropriate) discussion about your family’s worries, anxieties and fears. As you adjust to this season of sheltering in place at home, here are a few additional tips that may assist you in not just surviving these times, but thriving in them:

• Spend a little extra time in your devotions. Whenever sports teams are disrupted and have setbacks, the head coach usually returns to the basics…the fundamentals that built the team in the first place. This is not a time to go “AWOL” on spiritual disciplines—press into the things of God. What is he teaching you? How is this season stretching your faith? If you are looking for a good daily devotion, check out Shelter in Place with Joni on the YouVersion Bible App https://www.bible.com/ or log onto Joni and Friends to access our online bible study www.joniandfriends.org/bible-reading-plans.

• Create a new routine and try to stick to it. There will need to be some flexibility relative to everyone’s needs, but a routine will help you and your family feel a sense of “normalcy,” decrease frustration and help with expectations. For special needs children, routine often helps decrease behaviors because they begin to get a sense of what is coming next.

• Celebrate the little accomplishments. Set small goals and simple action steps to get them done. All of us have had to put activities, events and trips on hold for this season. Completing small goals, as simple as they may seem, can give you a sense of victory and progress in your day, week and month. Reward yourself, your spouse or your children for their accomplishments.

• Reach out and connect to your church, Sunday school class or community group. Connecting virtually to others accomplishes a couple things. First, it helps prevent you from isolating and becoming emotionally discouraged. Sharing your experience with others can facilitate a sense of release and refreshment, reminding you that you’re not alone and that others know and understand what you are going through. Scripture reminds us to pray for one another all around the world that we would stand against the discouraging attacks of the devil who wants to devour us (1 Peter 5:8-9). Secondly, it provides you with an opportunity to minister to others. Taking your eyes off of your own problems and assisting others is often the best recipe for shaking off discouragement and replacing it with joy.

• Similarly, stay connected to your child’s school and to local social services. Schools are making teachers, staff and therapists available for consultations and providing virtual instruction. This can assist in keeping your child from boredom and can also help with routine. Likewise, reach out to the Social Services Agency in your community to find out what resources are available to your family. Depending on your level of comfort, additional caregiving or respite hours may be available. If you do welcome caregivers or respite staff into your home, be sure they are following CDC recommended COVID-19 protocols.

• Finally, live with grace. Lots of grace! Don’t sweat the small stuff. Remember, every family member is living with adjustments, fear and disappointments. Work to accommodate one another’s needs, space and schedule. This storm will pass and on the other side you want to look back with gratitude for the grace you gave, not regret for unchecked emotions. As you receive the grace of God in your time of need, pass that along to those you love most!

Learn more about Joni and Friends

by Molly Jo Nyman, freelance writer

It started with dissatisfaction.

Notes written by Bible scholars in Ron Beers’s study Bible were full of facts but left 25-year-old Ron uninspired.

“All the notes were information,” Ron recalls. “In Genesis 41, I learned that ‘all the Egyptians were clean shaven, so it was important that Joseph appear that way in the presence of Pharaoh.’ Well, that’s interesting but . . . so what?”

With gifted storyteller and author V. Gilbert Beers as his father, Ron was used to being inspired. Family meals were served with Bible stories so engaging that no one zoned out. His young life was rich with experiences that helped him lean in and expect the Bible to connect to everyday life.

Ron had an unusual response to his dissatisfaction: He studied his study Bible.

And his discovery was startling.

After a thorough review of the study Bible he owned, along with a few others, Ron found zero help in connecting daily struggles and needs with the wisdom of Scripture. No notes on how to deal with worry, priorities, doubts, or relational conflict. Not one connection to personal application.

He began to wonder if there could be a study Bible that was more helpful. He thought about what it might look like. Then he became convinced that a completely new and different kind of study Bible was needed.

This new kind of study Bible would continue to provide accurate information, but it would also connect to inspiration. It would help people not just to know but also to do so that they could experience the transformative power of God’s Word. It would connect the dots.

As luck—or rather God—would have it, Ron was working at the national headquarters of Youth for Christ in Illinois on new product development (primarily books). It was a front row seat not only to see the need for an application-oriented study Bible but also to observe the approaches—what worked and what didn’t in helping people connect God’s Word to everyday life.

Youth for Christ was passionate about reaching young people with the gospel and helping them become “lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their Godliness in lifestyle . . .” (as quoted in their mission statement). And in the mid-1980s, youth ministry was thriving with hundreds of high school kids showing up for club meetings.

With crazy crowd breakers and hilarious games, meetings were fun but also focused on felt needs and common youth issues. Topics like loneliness or fear were opportunities to show kids that Jesus cared about them personally and how his Word could actually help them.

When the Bible was taught, the focus wasn’t on Bible literacy, cultural context, and historical facts. It was focused on the exact thing Ron wanted this newfangled study Bible to do.

“All around us people were asking, ‘If God really cares about me and my daily life, my community, my nation, my world, then shouldn’t the Bible put forth a clearer blueprint for how to navigate daily challenges? Shouldn’t its transformative power be more obvious?’ That’s what we wanted to get at,” recalls Ron.

“Because when people see how amazingly relevant the Bible is to any issue they’re facing, they’ll hunger and thirst to devour the Scriptures, deepening their relationship with God and transforming their relationships with others.”

Ron brought the idea of an application-oriented study Bible for high school students to his boss, Bruce Barton, vice president of the ministry service division and the force behind Youth for Christ’s new publishing emphasis at the time, and he also shared it with others.

According to Jim Galvin, Youth for Christ’s national training director at the time, the idea germinated and grew as most new ideas do—with a little bit of conflict and bashing.

“We would meet to brainstorm products for Youth for Christ, and Ron kept bringing [the idea for a youth application study Bible] up. I was the most vocal against it,” Galvin said. “High school students didn’t use study Bibles. We worked with high school students; we knew them. And they never, ever open a study Bible.”

But that didn’t stop Ron from continuing to bring it up. So to squash the idea, Galvin wrote a detailed memo.

“It basically said, if we’re going to do a study Bible for high school kids, it has to be done right, and it has to include profiles of Bible people, charts, a Bible outline, study notes, and a whole bunch of features,” Galvin recalled. “I was hoping Ron and others would say, ‘This is way too much work. High school kids wouldn’t use this product, anyway.’

“Talk about backfiring. When Ron got the memo, his reaction was, ‘Now that’s what I’m talking about!’”

Fun fact: Notes and feature in your Life Application Study Bible were written, revised, and reviewed by writers, editors, and scholars at least 17 times. As the story of its creation is told, you can trust its guidance even more.

The Life Application Study Bible is now available in Personal Size, Full Size, and Large Print. Learn more

by Evie P., Bible Team Marketing Coordinator

In less than a week our house has gone from trying to figure out work schedules, concerts, carpools, playdates, birthday parties, church activities, volunteering at schools, and getting ready for Easter outreach to isolation. Even for the introverts this sudden turn has brought a huge change in routine. It’s caused confusion, stress, fear, anxiety, and wondering if our toilet paper supply will last. (Trust me, I know this is serious, but we still need laughter.)

In the middle of all of this, I am so thankful that we serve a God who is always faithful. He never changes (Hebrews 13:8). We can leave all our worries at his feet (1 Peter 5:7). And he is in control (the whole Bible really speaks to this, right?).

Not being able to talk to friends or those we love physically has led many of us to spend more time on social media to connect with each other. Sheryn tagged us in her Instagram post with her COVID-19 quarantine story. And it brought me so much hope and inspired me to use this time to be still and know that he is God! Read it and be blessed.

I am a single mom of a six-year-old girl, Keilah. Our entire country has been placed by our government under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since I live in the nation’s capital, we are on “enhanced community quarantine” for at least a month.

This means almost everything is closed. The only reason we can leave is to get food, medicine, or to seek medical care.

With the schools closed, my daughter is at home with me. Usually I do my morning devotions alone after she has left for the day. I wasn’t going to let quarantine stop me from getting into God’s Word, so I opened my NLT Bible and started reading.

Usually, Keilah and I do devotions together before her bedtime, but that morning she plopped down next to me with her Bible in hand and said, “Can I read my Bible too?” So side by side we read together. She loved that we had the same Bible, but just different covers. What a joy to read it together.

Something good from this quarantine.

“I was so excited when I got my Bible. I’ve spent the whole day reading it along with some other girls and I already feel closer to Jesus.” – Crystal

Crystal’s words challenge me. I love the Bible, but when was the last time I spent the whole day reading it? Am I still excited when I go to open God’s Word, or has it become a mundane routine? Crystal’s words challenge me because we have very different lives. I wake up each morning and choose what to wear, what to have for breakfast, and when to open the door and walk outside. As a prisoner, Crystal doesn’t have those or many other choices. But the choice we both have is to follow Christ and grow in our relationship with him through his Word.

Through our partnership with Prison Fellowship we have been able to get The Life Recovery Bible into the hands of thousands of prisoners like Crystal who are in prison but hunger for the hope in God’s Word. At no charge to the prisoner they are able to receive a special edition Life Recovery Bible in English or Spanish through the Prison Fellowship ministry. Many of these men and women have been enslaved by addiction. Whether it’s an illegal substance, power, money, or something else, that desire is overwhelming and they’ve risked everything while in its deadly grip.

But God’s Word is a bondage breaker! Through his grace and saving blood we are no longer slaves. The Bible is filled with stories of people who needed second chances. We all have times when we have struggled and needed God to forgive us and allow us to start again.

“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13, NLT).

Here are some examples of people who have found new life while reading The Life Recovery Bible and are living out the transforming power of God’s Word.

Delivered from the Sting of Spiritual Death

Bound by sin, my life a mess.
Taken by trials, I failed the test.

A slave to drugs that kept me in chains.
Smoking and shooting was burning my brain.

That list hit of dope should have been the final blow.
But because of God’s love, mercy said “No!”

I ended up in prison. It should have been the end.
Then God sent me Jesus, my heart He will mend.

I found true love from my Creator and Lord.
So I walk with him, my Helmet, Breastplate, and Sword

This might sound strange but take it from me.
I had to come to prison so I could be free.

“I was in a long, deep prayer to God. It was a very difficult day, and I was praying for comfort, for strength, just crying out to my Abba Father. I asked him to fill me with his Holy Spirit. With my eyes still puffy and red from crying, my heart still bleeding and aching, I saw an officer come to my cell door and place a new Life Recovery Bible in my hands. God heard me. He came to me. He held me. He showered me with His great, powerful, sovereign love. God always knows what we need when we need it.” –Melody

“I put my Bible to good use every day. I spread the seeds of God’s Word and even started a small group of believers. We get together and love to read God’s Word daily. Thanks to the powerful notes and information in The Life Recovery Bible,we’re able to have a better understanding of the Bible.” –Tylor

Find out how you can get involved with Prison Fellowship

by Amanda H., Bible Journaler

I love to Bible journal. I find myself these days spending any spare time I have, sitting at my table thirsting for time in his word. Ever since I discovered Bible journaling, I have a hunger for God’s word like I have never had before. I am so thankful for this community and for what it has taught me.  I have many journaling Bibles but the one I always reach for these days is my NLT Reflections Bible. I have the hardcover cloth, teal version. This is actually my second one that I’ve had. The first one, I sent off as a Traveling Bible to be journaled in by ladies all over the United States and eventually gifted to a family who lost their daughter to cancer. It was such a special gift!

Bible journaling is a way for me to connect with my Savior. It’s a form of worship for me. It allows me to meditate on his word and grow creatively while I study it. When I begin my journaling process, I pray over the verse I’m journaling and ask the Lord to speak to me. I always have my worship music keyed up as well. This is another way for me to connect with him. With the music going, prayers being said, meditating on the verses, it’s an amazing time to spend being creative!! Whether it’s using stamps, watercolors, printables, acrylic paints, or distress oxides (my absolute favorites), it’s time spent in his word.

I love how the Reflections Bible has white pages because all the colors and designs just seem to pop off the pages and when you highlight the verses, it seems to show up even more.  After I am finished with creating, I will usually write a small prayer, date my entry (I hope to pass my Bibles on to my family someday for them to enjoy, that’s why I date them, plus I like to look back on the entries and see where the Lord has brought me from on those days), and close with prayer. If I decide to share that particular page with social media, I’ll snap a picture sometime after. It’s time well spent, I’ve learned a new verse or revisited an old one. I’ve been able to use my creative skills and I’ve had alone time with my Savior all rolled up into one. My heart couldn’t be fuller!

The Reflections Bible has another favorite of mine, it’s in the NLT translation. When I’m reading or listening on audio to the Bible, it’s one of my favorite translations to use. It’s so easy to understand and still holds true to the original text. If you look on Tyndale.com, you can read in detail how they have translated the Bible, what process what used, ancient texts, and much more information is given. I love to read the history and know in detail about the translations I read. This is why NLT is one of my favorites. 

For more inspiration from Amanda follow her on Instagram @journalingandgrace

Learn more about the NLT Reflections Bible

How the Christian Basics Bible came about

By Mike Beaumont, editor of the Christian Basics Bible

Penicillin, saccharine, Coca-Cola, the microwave oven and the pacemaker…all have one thing in common: they all came about by accident, discovered when someone found something that they weren’t originally looking for. And that’s how the Christian Basics Bible came about.

It all started with my being deported from India….

After more than 25 years of working with churches, leaders and seminaries in India, I landed at Chennai to find that I had been ‘red flagged’ and was promptly put back on the very plane from which I had just disembarked. Over those 25 years, I had made hundreds of friends – one of them, a seminary student from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) with whom I had become particularly close when his father suddenly died and, as acting principal of his seminary at that time, was able to help him get back home to his family in that time of need. That moment forged a link between us that lasts to this day. When he graduated, he returned to Myanmar where he became a lecturer at a seminary in Yangon. After much pestering, he persuaded me to go there as a visiting professor – and so began my love for Myanmar and its many different peoples.

As it happens, my long-standing friend and co-author of Christian Basics Bible (CBB), Martin Manser, also has a link with Myanmar since he married a Burmese woman. And it was this love of Myanmar on both our parts that would lead to the production of CBB.

It was while Martin was in Yangon visiting his wife’s family on one occasion that he met the Director of Christian Literature Crusade Myanmar. Knowing  Martin was an author and editor of many years’ experience, he shared with him his longing for some kind of Study Bible in the Burmese language, since there wasn’t a single one at that time, and wondered whether Martin might be able to help. Martin promised to give it some thought. And as he did, two things came to mind. First, he remembered that he had written some short introductions to the books of the Bible some years earlier, but nothing had come of the material. Second, he reflected on how he and I had collaborated on writing projects for over 20 years. Suddenly, the light went on. What if he put those two things together?

When he got back home, he contacted me, asking whether I would be interested in partnering with him in producing the first ever Study Bible in the Burmese language. As we prayed about it and discussed the idea further, we began to get really excited and felt this was something that God wanted us to do. For us in the West, where there is a plethora of Bible translations and editions, it’s hard to grasp what it is like for many Christians in the world where they often only have one basic translation, often without any notes or helps of any kind in it. This was certainly the case in Myanmar, where there was only one Bible text  – the Judson Bible, produced in 1834 and without a single footnote or comment in it. Even worse, there had been no revisions of that 1834 text; so many of the words in it were now simply quite meaningless in modern Burmese. So CLC got to work slightly updating the Bible text, while Martin and I got to work at our end – Martin using his skills as an editor to plan and shape the material, me using my skills as a writer to start producing the content – introductions to each Bible book and notes on key themes every 6 or 7 chapters or so. The publisher had requested we keep the material simple and compact, yet comprehensive – quite a challenge! And, of course, it had to be culturally relevant for Myanmar where some issues arise that just aren’t tissues in the West. After lots of hard work, we are glad to say that the Myanmar Study Bible was finally in the hands of Christians there – the first Study Bible in the Burmese language.

But what, I hear you thinking, does all this have to do with Christian Basics Bible?

Because this is where the penicillin and saccharin and Coca-Cola come in. For it was while we were working on this project for Myanmar that the idea of CBB was born. One day, during a phone conversation about the project, Martin suddenly said to me, “You know, this material is really good. I’m sure there is potential for it being used much more widely.” And immediately, I knew that he was right. For there we were, trying to express what are often complex and profound spiritual truths in simple ways for Myanmar Christians, when many in the West were in need of exactly the same thing. In fact, I had been greatly exercised for a number of years as a pastor by the fact that more and more people in the West were becoming more and more ignorant of even the most basic Bible stories (let alone doctrines). And so when they became Christians, they brought very little, if any, of the Bible background that people of a generation ago would have brought, making the Bible so much harder to understand.

And so we began to dream. What if we were to produce an edition of the Bible that was especially written for people who came to faith with little or no Bible background? What if we were to write things in really simple way, avoiding ‘Christianese’ and technical language that those of us who have been Christians for many years so often take for granted and use without thinking? …

And so we began to draft an outline of what would become known as Christian Basics Bible. It would have some introductory essays on things like how to become a Christian and how to read the Bible; each Bible book would begin with a simple summary of what it was all about and what the reader should look for as they read it; there would be notes, but not too many so we didn’t overwhelm the reader, focusing on key ideas, people and events; it would have sections at the back, with a glossary to explain words whose meaning we often take for granted, and a section outlining some of the basic truths of the Bible,  to help people know where to look when they were thinking about various issues. We then produced some sample material to show the kind of thing we were thinking of, and sent it off to Tyndale.

We can’t tell you how happy we were when we got an immediate positive response from them!  (Any author will tell you they often expect at least ten rejections before any publisher even starts to show an interest.)  Tyndale was excited by our concept and asked if we could meet senior staff members who were due to pass through London England soon. And so, over lunch in a London hotel, CBB was born. Like Coca-Cola, by accident.

Over the next couple of years, Martin and I devoted much of our time to the project, writing and re-writing until we got the tone that we wanted – pastorally warm; simple yet Biblically accurate; written in language for people who hadn’t been exposed to the Bible before; seeking to be as neutral as possible over issues over which equally-lovely Bible-believing Christians have genuine disagreements so that it could be used by the widest possible base; and, of course, based on the easy-to-read New Living Translation. Yes, I know some Christians don’t like this edition because they think it isn’t close enough to the original text. Well, it is close – it just uses a different translation principle: what is known as ‘dynamic equivalence’ rather than ‘word for word’. And since it is designed for people who have little or no Bible background, it is so much easier for them to read and understand in comparison to versions like KJV or NASB or even NIV.

As the final edited text started drawing to a conclusion, Tyndale’s design department got busy, producing some amazing info-graphics for the back of the Bible. Then they asked for our input on its cover. I said I didn’t really mind how it looked – providing it didn’t say ‘Holy Bible’ and have a cross on the front! If that shocks you, then please remember the purpose of CBB: to be an edition for new believers from little or no Christian background, not primarily for those who had been Christians for a long time for whom such things have become the norm. (And anyway, the original Bible texts didn’t say ‘Holy Bible’ and have a cross on them!). And so we came up with the idea of a cover with three building blocks, reflecting what had become something of a sub-title for CBB: Foundations of the faith for followers of Christ.

What a joy it was to hold my very first copy in my hands, some three years after that Coca-Cola moment!

Since its launch Christian Basics Bible has been well-received. Those who have recently become Christians and who come from little or no Christian background, have found it easy to read and understand. But also those who have been Christians for many years have find its approach and simplicity refreshing, commenting on how they have now understood things in the Bible that have passed them by for years.

So there it is: the Bible that came about ‘by accident’. But many of the things that come about ‘by accident’ prove to have enduring popularity. Our prayer is that this might be true of Christian Basics Bible.

Watch this video to learn more about the Christian Basics Bible