I love a good study bible. REALLY love a good study bible. In burgandy. With gold pages and a ribbon. Last month I got an email from Precepts Ministries that they are introducing a New Inductive Study Bible in the ESV translation. You could reserve it, it would be 40% off with free shipping and a free study online on how to use it appropriately. I quickly reserved my very own copy. New Inductive Study Bible in ESV? I don't have one of those. SURELY this would solve my problem and help me get into the word more. Because the wall that I am hitting....its all about which bible I use. Totally. (No, I didn't go to the bookstore to take this picture. These are all mine.) You may notice in the STACK of bibles in this picture that I already own a New Inductive Study Bible in NASB. Never.been.cracked. Not even once. But one in ESV would become my new favorite instantly. I am sure of it. And I would use it diligently every day all the time.
Don't get me wrong here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a new bible. Nothing like opening it for the first time and putting your nose right in there to smell the new ink. (Secret's out....I'm a book smeller. Hello, my name is Dawn....) And this one is sure to be awesome. The point with me is that I.DON'T.NEED.ONE!
In my quest to be more financially responsible and realize how blessed I already am, I realized I am searching for a solution to a problem that a new bible just will not address. I was talking to a friend about my dilemma. Which bible to use as my everyday bible? Which one is the best? Which one will fill my needs? She said when a pastor friend was asked that question he answered "the one you will listen to." Point taken. The cost of one of these bibles would send a child in Uganda to school for a WHOLE TERM! And my going back and forth over which bible to use was masking a much bigger problem. It's so much easier to get worked up over which version, which commentary author in the study notes, how wide the margins are, single column or double column. By the time all that is settled I don't have much time to read the thing. And quite frankly, it is so much more comfortable to debate bible version than it is to address the constant searching to find the perfect thing (bible, book, food...) that will fill my soul instead of spending time with the Lover of My Soul.
I have heard time and time again that the evil one does not have to use evil things to get us off track. We would recognize that so fast! He just has to keep our nose out of the book and suitably distracted. With spiritual people, he uses spiritual things.
So, with the help of a friend and accountability partner, I see that I am going to have to work hard to get out of the instant gratification and distraction thing. That buying this bible won't solve a thing and to address the real problem here.
But I just got another email from Precepts Ministries. They got an early shipment of those bibles in. They see I reserved one but have not purchased it yet. Just click here to complete the transaction.
Kay....you're killing me.
Dawn :)
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