If you’ve ever felt like the Bible is overwhelming, or that it doesn’t make sense when you read it, you’re not alone! I felt the same way a while back, so I started looking into how I can begin to understand the Bible, and build my confidence of knowing what the scripture is actually saying.
I got tired of saying to myself, “What the world did I just read?” So sit back and relax, because I have done the work for you. Hooray! In this podcast episode, I’m giving you 4 Apps to help you understand the Bible better. Throughout this episode I’ll walk you through what the app is along with my top three favorite features of each one. This is one of five episodes in our Toolbox mini series that’s all about tips for spiritual growth. Let’s do this!
Here’s a peek into the Toolbox mini series (bullet points clickable):
- 5 Elements of a Consistent Bible Study (episode 291)
- 4 Prayers for During Bible Study (episode 292)
- 4 Apps to Help You Understand the Bible Better (episode 293)
- 10 Newly Released Bible Studies (episode 294)
- 4 Tips to Memorizing Scripture (episode 295)
YouVersion Bible
What is YouVersion?: Already installed on over 660 million unique devices all over the world, the Bible App offers a free Bible experience for smartphones, tablets, and online at Bible.com. Their generous partners make it possible for them to offer 3,000 Bible versions in 2,000 languages for free, and without advertising. How incredible is that? YouVersion is my go-to Bible app, and the great news is that you can install your favorite translations so you can still have the Bible even when you don’t have cell service. Looking at you, church sanctuaries that never have cell service.
There are so many amazing features in the YouVersion Bible app, but for today’s episode I’ll narrow it down to my three favorite app features. This was quite the challenge, and when you download the YouVersion Bible app, you’ll understand why I love it so much.
My first favorite feature: I love the fact that you can compare multiple versions of the scripture at the same time. I enjoy being able to look up a verse, and then see it in the NLT, CSB, NIV, and ESV all in one glance. Those are my four favorite translations, that I typically use and reference, but you can do this with any of the versions they have.
Being able to access this feature helps me develop a better sense of what the scripture is saying while using a variety of words to express meaning. If you need help clarifying the text, this is a great feature to use. You can find this feature on the Bible tab in the app.
My second favorite feature: On the Home page of the YouVersion Bible app, it gives you a specific verse of the day, a guided scripture talk that goes along with it, and a guided prayer time after. This feature refreshes daily, and brings a fun, gamifying sense with it as it tracks your progress for you. It even gives you the opportunity to send you a daily reminder notification that makes it easier to complete. There have been so many times throughout the use of this app where I open this feature, and BOOM, it’s the exact scripture that I needed to hear that day. Look at God go!
My third favorite feature: Whoever is in the shareability department at YouVersion does a phenomenal job, so shout out to you, human! Throughout all parts of this app, there is always a way to easily share the scripture. For example, anytime I see a verse I love, that resonates with me, or that makes me think of someone, I can click that verse, hit the share button, and send a quick text to a friend.
The YouVersion Bible app has made this so simple. Bonus to this feature, you can make it pretty! Right next to the share button is an image button. You have the opportunity to turn a verse into an image that catches the eye. If you’re into sharing scripture on your social media, or want a specific verse as an image, this feature is for you, friend!
Daily Audio Bible
What is Daily Audio Bible?: The Daily Audio Bible (DAB) is committed to guiding Christian’s worldwide into an intimate and daily friendship with the Bible. This is accomplished by providing the spoken Word of God freely in multiple languages and by the creation and establishment of communities that have no geographical limitations. Their efforts are devoted to exposing the rich texture and heritage of the Bible’s life changing power by educating the Believer on how to engage in and interact with the ancient Scriptures in a future world. When you stick with it, you’ll have read the whole Bible in a year!
The Daily Audio Bible, or DAB, shines a bright light into the world, and this is the app that got me started on my consistent reading of scripture several years back. If you prefer to learn by listening, want to learn about God on your commute (or during chores), or if reading is a struggle for you, this app breaks those barriers. I am forever thankful to the DAB team and all they do. Through their faithfulness to God’s calling on their lives, the DAB team has changed the discipline of Bible reading for me. Below are my three favorite features of the app.
My first favorite feature: Within the app there are “channels” ranging from different progressions through the reading, multiple language access, and even a kids DAB! How cool is that?! A personal favorite channel is the “Daily Audio Bible”. Each day you listen to some old testament, new testament, psalms, and proverbs. If you’re looking for a regular switch up in your reading routine, this is the channel for you!
My second favorite feature: The “Chronological” channel walks you through the Bible in the order that it occurred. This channel is a helpful way to tie the whole story of God’s love throughout the progression of the year. If you prefer a big picture overview, while staying in a timeline, this channel is for you! Fun fact, you can choose a different channel at any point. I personally like to shift between the “DAB” and “Chronological” channel year after year.
My third favorite feature: The prayer community! At the end of each daily reading there is an opportunity to hear other DABers pray over each other, check in on previous callers, and send in audio prayer requests. This is equal parts inspiring and challenging. Hearing the stories of others calls us into action as we lift up one another in prayer. There is also a prayer wall on their website that can be used similarly to calling in. You can type up your prayer and leave it on the prayer wall for others to prayer over. While you’re there, you can spend some time reading the prayer requests of others and pray over them. It’s such a supportive community.
The Bible Recap
What is The Bible Recap App?: If you’ve ever closed your Bible and thought, “What did I just read?”, this podcast and app is for you! In about 8 minutes a day, they’ll give you a summary and highlight reel of that day’s Bible reading from their 1-year chronological plan (free on the Bible app), and you can start anytime—it’s always a good time to read the Bible!
I have had the chance to interact with Tara-Leigh Cobble, the host of The Bible Recap podcast, and y’all, she is so great! She loves the Lord, and is using her skills to help people all over the world learn about God. She’s joined us on our podcast, she’s spoken at our church events, and she is a joy to be around.
My first favorite feature: The Bible Recap podcast! Hands down, from the Bible Recap App, the actual recap episodes with TLC are phenomenal. Tara-Leigh breaks down the scripture in a way that is easy to understand. If you’ve struggled through the text when it comes to traditions, history, or archeological facts, she covers it. As she does this, all the pieces come together and deepen the learning.
My second favorite feature: the God shot. At the end of every recap, TLC gives her “God shot”. This is where she finds the character of God in each daily reading. I love this perspective with daily Bible reading because it ties into the big picture of God’s giant love story to us (the entire Bible). I also find this feature particularly helpful when the daily reading topic is hundreds of years of lineage, continued tales of wandering in the desert, or a personal favorite…boils and how to take care of them. Yum.
My third favorite feature: It’s all in house. In the app alone, you can listen to the daily reading, hear TLC’s recap, and more! If you’re looking for a one stop shop, the Bible (Recap) App will do it for you. If you’ve heard her podcast, she points to this often, so you know it’s got to be great!
The Bible Project
What is The Bible Project? The Bible Project is a nonprofit, crowdfunded organization that makes free resources like videos, podcasts, articles, and classes to help people experience the Bible in a way that is approachable and transformative. They do this by showcasing the literary art of the Scriptures and tracing key biblical themes from Genesis to Revelation.
From personal experience, the Bible Project has helped me wrap my mind around the scripture in a tremendous way. If you’re a big picture thinker or a visual learner, this will be helpful! My kids also prefer to visually learn, so it’s been great pulling up one of their videos, watching it together, and then going through a Q&A session with them to tie all the pieces together. Now, onto the features!
My first favorite feature: As stated before, but worth the deeper dive, 10/10 recommend for all my visual learners! The Bible Project has helped me better understand the Bible in a way that I didn’t even know could happen! I have always heavily learned through visuals and storytelling, so these videos were a game changer. It has helped me retain information better, see the whole overview, as well as understanding the details I would have definitely missed.
My second favorite feature: The Bible Project is full of synopses and overarching themes with the books of the Bible. I personally like to zoom out to see the whole story, and then zoom into the details once I know where the story is going. I love the videos that cover the entire synopsis of a book in the Bible. If I’m about to start a new book of the Bible in my reading plan, I pop over to the Bible Project and watch their video that covers the whole book. It gives me the chance to see the big picture in a visual way; which helps me understand the Bible better as I read.
My third favorite feature: Topical videos and thematic videos. If you can think of an idea about what the Bible Project could cover, trust me, it’s there. They have a wide range of themed video series (eternal life, sabbath, the Holy Spirit, etc…) each video brings clarity and understand to the Bible. You could literally spend hours consuming amazing content and learning more than you realized you ever could. Just. Wow.
To sum it up. YouVersion, The Bible Recap, The Daily Audio Bible, and the Bible project are my four favorite apps that will help you understand the Bible better. Each of them have played a role in my understanding of the scripture, and I know they can for you too.
Now is your chance. There is no more guessing on what to do when you don’t understand the scripture. Download these four apps, and dive back into the greatest love story ever written. Understand the Bible better today!
Links from the Show
- YouVersion Site
- Daily Audio Bible Site
- The Bible Recap Site
- The Bible Project Site
- Toolbox mini series
- 5 Elements of a Consistent Bible Study (episode 291)
- 4 Prayers for During Bible Study (episode 292)
- 4 Apps to Help You Understand the Bible Better (episode 293)
- 10 Newly Released Bible Studies (episode 294)
- 4 Tips to Memorizing Scripture (episode 295)
