Men4God Weblog

Despite the conventional wisdom that says pornography is the biggest thing on the internet, I have found a number of great sites that Christian men can use to explore and increase their faith. Here is a list, in no particular order, of some of my favorites:

1. eBibie.com: There are lots of sites out there where you can read and study The Bible (I normally use Bible Gateway when I quote it). But eBible is different, because it allows you to create your own bookmarks and notes like you would in a paper Bible. But what’s even cooler is that you can make them accessible to the rest of the members. This means you can learn from others. What’s more, you can make friends and possibly use the site as a social networking site for the Word of the Lord! ( My wife says this makes me really nerdy but I don’t care, I think this would be the best way to socially network).

2. Another good site that is similar to eBibie is BibleGateway.com. While this site does not have all the cool bookmarking and social features, it has almost every version you can think of including my favorite (Amplified) and in lots of languages. If you want to read The Bible in a different language, or you are looking for a specific translation, this is the place to go.

3. Another neat site that I recommend as a Bible study companion is Bible Map.org. This site uses Google Maps to show you where every chapter of the Bible takes place in the Holy Land. Simply select a book and chapter from the drop down menus and the menu not only moves to the right area, but puts pins on the map to show you specific places tied to that chapter. Click on the pins, and a bubble pops up with more information and links to other articles. I like this idea because it not only provides the maps that many good paper Bibles have but Bible websites don’t, it is provided by He Lives Ministries which looks like a good online ministry (although I have only given it a cursory overview).

4. If you are looking for Bible software, I highly recommend My Bible by Laridian Software. I first discovered this company when I was looking for Bible software for my Palm Treo 700p, and was delighted to find a versatile program that not only has dozens of translations to choose from, but also has dictionaries, commentaries, and other reference material to help you study on the go. Laridian has developed Bible software for virtually every mobile platform out there including Palm, Windows CE, Windows Mobile based pocket PC’s, Windows Mobile based Smartphones, Ipods, Iphones, Ipod Touch, and Blackberry. The software is easy to navigate and allows you to carry the Bible virtually anywhere you go.

That’s great for portable device users, but what if you are primarily a computer user? Last year Laridian released a Windows based version of their software that can be used as a stand alone product or in companion with your mobile device, as all your notes, bookmarks and highlights can be synced together. So you can use the software on your device, on your computer, or both!

I should give you fair warning that while the sites I have listed above are free, My Bible Software isn’t (well, actually the Bible reader software is but the Bible and study material modules cost money). But if you use a portable device it is definitely worth it.

In conclusion, with all these choices, I don’t want to hear anybody use the excuse: “I can’t study The Bible because I don’t have access to it. If you have access to a PDA, smartphone, Ipod, or a library with internet access, you can study the Word of God.

And if that doesn’t work, I suppose you can study the old boring way by going to a local bookstore and buying a paper Bible, or stopping buy a local church to ask if they give Bibles away or sell them at a discount. No matter what way you study The Word, the important thing is that you study His message to us at least a little bit each day. Thus you can rightly say: “Thy Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee (Psalm 119:11).”