Wordle is a simple, free, online service for creating word clouds (collages) from text that you supply. Wordle emphasizes repeated words from the source text in the resulting collage. The more often a particular word is repeated, the larger the font it receives in the word cloud, which makes Wordle ideally suited for exposing key words in Scripture.

Not only is Wordle useful, it’s just plain fun!  You can customize your word clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

In this article, we will focus on using Wordle to reveal key words (and themes) in Scripture.  However, there are countless ways to use Wordle :

• Print your word clouds to use as handouts or visual aids in Bible study class.
• Place them in your weekly church bulletin.
• Send links for your Wordle images to your friends.
• Embed the images directly into your website or blog.
• Use them as screensavers.
• Create attractive book covers.
• Have t-shirts printed with your Wordles.

The ideas are limited only by your imagination.  And because there are no licensing restrictions on the images you create, you can even sell them.

Bible Study Examples

Let’s look at a couple of examples that highlight key words for Bible study, and then we will look at how it’s done.

As I was studying Zechariah chapter 12, I noticed that I was repeatedly marking the phrase that day.  Just for fun, I decided to drop the full text of Zechariah 12 into Wordle, and I got the following word cloud.

From the image above, we can immediately see the topics in Zechariah 12.  Lord or God will, of course, be a repeated word in nearly every chapter of the Bible, so it is not so unexpected to see Lord prominently displayed in this Wordle.  (After all, it is His book!)

Beyond that, we can easily see that Zechariah 12 focuses on Jerusalem, Judah, house, David, and that day.  The prominence of the word like would also seem to indicate that the author makes frequent use of comparisons, which is noteworthy.

Even if you have never read Zechariah chapter 12, you already have some ideas about its content just from observing this simple word collage.  This would be a great way for teachers to introduce a Bible study lesson.

Because this example bore such interesting fruit, I decided to copy and paste the entire text of the book of Zechariah into Wordle.  Look at this fascinating result!

I was stunned that this randomly generated word art chose to display the most oft repeated key word, Lord, in enormous letters beneath all the other words!  It seems to shout that the Lord is the foundation of all things.  It makes you want to praise God!

We can also see that His name, Lord of hosts, receives significant billing in the book of Zechariah (which actually has bearing on the message of the book).  As with Zechariah chapter 12 above, we see that Jerusalem, Judah, house, and that day are key words throughout the entire book of Zechariah as are land, nations, and angel.

Sometimes, seemingly common words will be featured in your Wordle (though the most common words, such as the, and, but, etc., will be omitted by default).  In our Wordle of the book of Zechariah, declares and saying are examples of fairly common words that appear to be repeated rather frequently.  You might not always mark these as key words in your Bible.  However, by the inclusion of these words in our word cloud, we can infer that the Lord of hosts (armies) has something to say about Jerusalem and Judah in that day (referring to the future).  Indeed, Zechariah is a prophetic book centering on Jerusalem and Judah.

As you can see, using Wordle to expose key words in Scripture can be a useful and compelling exercise.  Give it a try, and feel free to share links to your Wordles in the comments below.  We can all use the encouragement!

How to Create Wordles

Now let’s look at how to create Wordles:

1. Navigate your browser to http://www.wordle.net.
2. Click the Create option at the top of the page.
3. Copy your source text from another website or Bible study tool (such as e-Sword), and paste it into Wordle’s text field.  (You can also manually type your text into Wordle.  Although this can be tedious, there may be instances where this can be handy.)
4. Click the Go button.
5. If desired, customize the style of your Wordle, using the Font, Layout, and Color menus.
6. Then take a screenshot of your Wordle, or use the Print button or the “Save to public gallery” button to put your finished word cloud to work.

Here’s a brief video tutorial demonstrating how to create and edit a Wordle:

Additional Wordle Tips

Phrases

Wordle will only count individual words by default.  However, you can force Wordle to keep certain words together in phrases (as I did with the phrase that day in the examples above).  Use the tilde key (~) to join words into phrases.

For example, I used Microsoft Word to quickly Find & Replace every instance of that day in the book of Zechariah with that~day.  This forced Wordle to treat the phrase that~day as a single entity in its word calculations.  (Note that the tilde (~) will not show in your word cloud.  It will be replaced by a space in your final image.)

If you are unsure how to do this, watch this brief video tutorial.  Don’t worry; it’s easy!

Word Forms

Wordle counts different forms of the same word independently.  Therefore, a key word may not appear as prominently in your word cloud as it otherwise would if all the various forms of the word were added together.  For example, suffering is a key word in 1 Peter.  However, it appears in various forms throughout the book:  suffer, suffers, suffered, suffering, sufferings.

If you are preparing a visual aid for a Bible study lesson or a similar situation, you might want to paste your source text into Microsoft Word first and use the Find & Replace feature to replace the various forms of a key word with a single form of that word.  Then copy your modified text into Wordle.

Using the 1 Peter example, I replaced suffer, suffers, suffered, and sufferings with the word suffering, so that my resulting Wordle (below) would reflect an accurate count of the number of times this theme occurred throughout the book.

Synonyms

Like “word forms” (above), Wordle does not count synonyms as a single key word.  This could reduce the significance, and therefore the font size, of a key word or theme in your resulting word cloud.

Again, using the Find & Replace feature in Microsoft Word, you could replace synonyms of known key words with a single term to ensure that the key word receives appropriate respect in the final word cluster.

An example would be 2 Timothy, where suffering is a key word.  Depending on your Bible translation, you will encounter various synonyms for suffering in 2 Timothy, such as hardship, persecution, trial, or tribulation.

Summary

Identifying key words in Scripture is a great way to build your knowledge and understanding of God’s word.  A simple tool like Wordle can very quickly reveal key words in a passage or book of the Bible, which can be both enlightening and encouraging.

If you plan to use your Wordles for teaching or for publication, you may want to spend a few minutes preparing your source text by consolidating phrases, word forms, and synonyms before generating your final Wordle image.

And if you find that creating Wordles to expose key words in Scripture is useful, be sure to share your artwork with us in the comments below!

In this article, we will discuss 1) what wikis are, 2) how they are useful, 3) what their benefits are, and 4) how to get started with your own wiki.

What is a wiki?

Simply stated, a wiki is a website where users create and edit pages (or entries) simply by using their Web browser.  Wikipedia is the most famous example of a wiki.

Wikis are equally effective when used for personal (private) knowledge spaces and when used for group collaboration.

How is a wiki useful?

Wikis can be used for personal Bible study as well as group study.  Here are some ideas:

Personal Learning

Use a private wiki as your own personal learning space to:

• Organize Bible study notes
• Collect resources and reference materials
• Track your prayer journal
• Manage to-do lists

If you are familiar with the inductive Bible study method, you know that it is very beneficial to mark key, repeated words throughout your Bible in a consistent and recognizable manner.  It is even more enlightening to make lists of what you learn from each key word reference that you have marked.

For example, you might color the key word “covenant” with a red pencil every time you encounter it.  Then create a new page in your personal wiki called “Covenant”.  Each time you mark “covenant” in your Bible, add the Scripture reference and what you learn about “covenant” to your wiki entry.  You will be surprised and excited by how much you learn using this simple technique.

Group Collaboration

Use a private wiki for the members of your group Bible study to:

• Collaborate on Bible study notes (such as key word lists)
• Collect and share recommended resources
• Ask for help and share encouragement
• Log prayer requests and answers to prayer

What are the benefits of a wiki?

In today’s world, there are many tools for collecting information and for collaboration.  What makes wikis beneficial?

• They keep you organized.  If you are an information pack rat like me, then you tend to have all sorts of files (documents, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, images, videos, sound files, etc) in all sorts of places (like those post-it notes that litter your desk).  Data management can be a daunting task!  Wikis simplify data management by keeping all your information in one electronic repository.
• They are searchable.  No more hunting for that elusive file or reference!  Wikis index your information, so you can quickly retrieve what you need simply by using the search field.
• They are accessible.  Because wikis are online, you can access them from any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.  You don’t have to worry about having certain notebooks or files with you at all times, because your wiki is available wherever you are.
• They are safe from loss or destruction.  You don’t have to fear that you might lose your information if your computer crashes or is stolen, because your wiki is stored online.
• They make sharing and collaborating easy.  If you choose, you can invite certain individuals to view or edit a wiki.  Shared wikis can greatly improve group participation and project management.

How do you get started?

There are many wiki services available.  However, to get started quickly, my recommendation is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Sign up for a free PBworks account.
2. Set the security for your wiki (also called a workspace) to private.
3. Start creating pages for your topics, key word lists, resources, etc.

After you sign up for a PBworks account, you can create and manage multiple wikis from a single control panel.  You might use one wiki for your personal Bible study purposes and another for your group Bible study collaboration.

Wikis hosted by PBworks are intuitive and easy to use.  However, if you get stuck, they provide helpful how-to video tutorials, a user manual, and free training webinars in their Support Center.

In what other ways might a wiki be useful for Bible study?  Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

Now, with recent software updates, the free iBooks app is available for the iPhone and the iPod Touch as well as the iPad, and it supports PDF documents in addition to ePub books.  This is great news, especially for those of us who collect PDF documents, such as commentaries, sermons, and other Bible study resources.  Now we can manage our book collection in iTunes along with all our other media, and we can read and annotate them with our mobile devices.

So, I encourage you to download the latest version of iTunes, and, if you have an Apple iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, install the free iBooks app.

Do you need some good Bible study PDF documents to get your iTunes book library started?  Navigate to the commentary directory at PreceptAustin.org, and select a book of the Bible.  You’ll find hundreds of free PDF commentaries with brief comments by the site author regarding the veracity of each.

It is important to point out that there is a difference in the way PDF documents and ePub books are utilized on your mobile devices.  PDF documents do not support highlighting or note-taking features, whereas ePub books do:

If you are someone who likes to annotate their books with notes and highlights (like I do), then I recommend converting your PDF documents to ePub format before importing them into iTunes.  This isn’t as difficult as it might sound.  Here’s how:

1. First, download and install the free Calibre ebook conversion utility (for Windows, Macintosh, or Linux).
2. Then follow the steps in this brief video tutorial to convert your PDF documents to ePub format (specifically for Apple devices).
3. Then import your ePub books into iTunes.

(Images in PDF documents may appear upside down (or otherwise misaligned) when converted to ePub format.  Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided, to my knowledge, and is the result of the way images are stored in PDF documents.  If a particular PDF document relies heavily on images, you may want to simply import the PDF version into iTunes and forego the ePub version.)

Hop on over to Apple, and kick start your ebook library.  Let us know what your favorite ebooks are in the comments below.

We become frustrated when we want something and we don’t receive it.  For example:

• Do we want someone to behave in a different manner?  Are we frustrated because we cannot control them?
• Do we want a situation to have a different outcome?  Are we frustrated because we can’t dictate the results?
• Do we want things we cannot have or afford?  Are we frustrated because someone else has something we want or because we never seem to have enough.
• Are we weary of chasing after something that seems constantly out of reach?  Are we frustrated because we never reach that elusive goal no matter how hard we try?

Here’s the key:  We become frustrated when we don’t get something that we want, and we don’t get what we want because we want the wrong thing.

If we desire God above all else, we won’t be frustrated, because we will never fail to obtain what we desire.  God designed us to want His delight and His glory (Psa 37:4; Jer 29:13; 1 Pet 1:8; Rev 4:11).  If we are constantly looking out for our own delight and our own glory, we will eventually become frustrated, and frustration leads to a host of other negative emotions, including discontentment, anger, and despair.

This happened in the days of the prophet Haggai.  A remnant of Israelites had returned to Jerusalem and Judah after being held captive far away in Babylon for seventy years.  They started rebuilding God’s temple in Jerusalem, which had been completely destroyed by the Babylonians, but they soon stopped under intense pressure from their enemies.  Then apathy set in, and frustration followed:

“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house [God's temple] lies desolate?”

Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!

“You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!”  Hag 1:4-7

For fifteen years, they forgot about God’s unfinished temple, and they focused on building their own houses, their own finances, their own comforts.   But it was a frustrating time, because nothing they did would satisfy:

“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

“Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce.

“I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”  Hag 1:9-11

While they were sleepwalking through life, God was trying to get their attention.  Do we stop and listen when frustration and dissatisfaction begin to bubble up within us?  We should.  God has something to say:

“Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the LORD.  Hag 1:8

I added the emphasis on the words pleased and glorified.  Take note:  God created us for His pleasure, His glory (Rev 4:11).

If we desire anything else above His delight and His glory, we will undoubtedly experience frustration.

The following quote from John Piper really helped me to see this truth:

The first message in [Haggai] chapter 1 reveals to the governor and priest and people that the reason they are all frustrated is that they have tried to make their own lives comfortable while neglecting the temple of God…

So they lived in perpetual frustration and discontentment. Nothing satisfied. We can’t pass over this lesson easily.  It’s for us, too.  If you devote yourself to sowing and eating and drinking and clothing yourselves and earning wages, but neglect your ministry in the body of Christ (the temple of God, 1 Cor 3:16-17), you will live in constant frustration.  If you spend your time and energy seeking comfort and security from the world, and do not spend yourself for the glory of God, every pleasure will leave its sour aftertaste of depression and guilt and frustration.

Both then and now the real problem is not the neglect of a building but indifference to the glory of God.  The temple of the Old Testament existed for the glory of God.  And the Church today exists for the glory of God (Eph 1:6, 12, 14).  Indifference to the growth and spiritual prosperity of the Church and its mission is always a sign of failure to love the glory of God.  And the sour fruit of this failure is a life of chronic frustration.  He who seeks to save his life will lose it to continual frustrations; but he who loses his life for the glory of God and the good of his cause will find life, deep and fulfilling.

(Desiring God Resource Library:  “Take Courage:  You Build More Than You See”)

So what can we do to ward off frustration?  We must want the right thing, and the right thing is God Himself, His delight, His glory:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  Matt 6:33

To finish Haggai’s story, the people listened to God.  They obeyed His call to consider their ways and return to Him.  As a result, God sent one message of encouragement after another:

“I am with you.”  Hag 1:13

“Take courage…for I am with you.”  Hag 2:4

“My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!”  Hag 2:5

“I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory.”  Hag 2:7

“The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, … and in this place I will give peace.”  Hag 2:9

“… from this day on I will bless you.”  Hag 2:19

And God kept His promises.  Ezra chapters 5 and 6 provide additional insights into the historical setting for Haggai (and Zechariah).  The poor remnant of Jews that returned to Judah were surrounded by enemies that tried again and again to thwart their efforts to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem.  When the people obeyed God and sought His glory above their own, He not only routed their enemies, He forced their enemies to pay for the very rebuilding project that they had tried to dismantle.  Marvel at the following royal decree of King Darius of Persia (520 BC):

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, keep away from there.

“Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site.

“Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay.

“Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

“And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this.

“May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”  Ezra 6:6-12

Ask God to make you a man or a woman who delights in Him (Ps 37:4).  Ask God to make you a son or a daughter in whom He delights (Ps 18:19).  Go ahead.  Give it a try.

Bible.is

Perhaps the best part is the variety of Bible versions from which to choose, including scores of non-English translations.  (More versions are constantly being added to the new mobile platform.  The audio Bibles are streamed from Faith Comes By Hearing, the online service that hosts Bibles in more than 400 languages.)

Thankfully, the audio Bibles do not use computerized voices.  Each audio Bible is read by human voices, and, in some cases, they are dramatized, using multiple voices and sound effects.  I recommend the English Standard Version (ESV) Dramatized.

The Bible.is app is currently available for iPad / iPhone / iPod Touch.  However, it will soon be available for:

• Android devices
• Blackberry devices
• Windows Mobile devices
• Symbian devices

In addition to reading and listening to the Bible, Bible.is offers the following features:

• Bookmarking verses
• Highlighting passages
• Taking notes
• Sharing verses on Facebook

The only drawback to Bible.is is that it requires an Internet connection to stream the audio Bibles.  However, if Internet connectivity is a persistent issue, you can always download the audio files from Faith Comes By Hearing, and sync them with your mobile device of choice.

As described by the developer:

“The lack of an open, high-quality source of Bible cross references on the web has always bewildered me. This project is an attempt to remedy that deficiency.”

Visit Bible Cross References. Plug in a Bible verse, and click the “Find cross references” button. Easy enough.

You will be presented with a red box containing the text of the verse upon which you searched followed by a series of pink boxes, each with the text of a different cross reference.

The data for this cross reference lookup service is a combination of The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK), a valuable Bible study tool, blended with data from the Topical Bible and Twitter Bible Search, both of which are additional online services provided by OpenBible.info.

While I’m not so sure that data from social media is the most reliable means for finding accurate cross references, the foundational data from the TSK is certainly useful. Besides the ingenuity of using social media data in cross reference lookups, the developer has added a voting system that allows users to enhance the relevance of results over time. I find this feature very intriguing. Even the TSK serves up some references that aren’t always useful. The yes / no voting buttons in the search results will allow the most relevant cross references to rise to the top while also pushing the least relevant to the bottom of the search results. This is a wonderful idea and could prove to be very worthwhile, especially if it is adopted by a community of serious-minded Bible students.

At present, there is no feature to suggest additional references for a particular verse, but this may be added in the future.

All in all, here are the things I like about the cross-referencing service at OpenBible.info:

• It is simple and easy to use.
• It is based on the TSK, which is a reliable cross-referencing tool.
• The full text of all cross references is displayed on-screen simultaneously, which eliminates unnecessary clicking.
• The yes / no voting buttons will allow the most relevant references to rise to the top over time.
• The results also print cleanly from your Web browser, displaying the full text of all the cross references, as seen in this example of John 15:7.

Give it a try, and let us know what you think. Are there other online cross-referencing tools that you recommend?

You can learn more about e-Sword here, and you can download the latest update here.

Version 9.6.0 isn’t a major update.  However, it does introduce features that allow you to highlight and mark commentary and dictionary modules.  Previously, you could only highlight and mark Bible modules.  A full range of formatting options are also available for Study Notes and (unlocked) Topic Notes.

These are welcome features for those of us who like to annotate their study materials.  e-Sword is my study software of choice, and I am always looking forward to “what’s next”!  (I’m dreaming of an e-Sword iPhone / iPad companion application…)

“O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?”  Jer 5:3

That was how Jeremiah responded to God’s command to roam through the streets of Jerusalem and see if he could find even one man who did justice and sought truth (Jer 5:1).

The answer to Jeremiah’s rhetorical question is yes.  “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His (2 Chron 16:9).”  But what did God’s eyes see when He looked at Jerusalem?

“Although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”  Jer 5:2

They superficially acknowledged God, but their hearts did not belong to Him.  They were very much like the rebellious men of Crete that the Apostle Paul described to Titus in this way:  “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him.” (Tit 1:16)

What does God see when He looks at your heart?  Does he see a man who does justice?  Does he see a woman who seeks truth?  Or does He see superficiality and hypocrisy?

The Hebrew word translated “truth” in Jeremiah 5:1-3 is emuwnah, which literally means “faithfulness”.  It is used in two ways in the Old Testament:

1. In an intellectual sense, emuwnah describes the facts that are used to determine whether something is true or false.
2. In an existential sense, emuwnah is an attribute of a person, i.e. faithfulness.

Emuwnah means that your words match who you actually are.  It means firmness, faithfulness, and fidelity.  Emuwnah is also used in connection with God, not just man.  In Deuteronomy 32, the Song of Moses, we learn that God Himself is:

“A God of faithfulness (emuwnah) and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.”  Deut 32:4

So, God is looking for men and women like Himself, and it is not too much for Him to expect.  We are commanded to be holy, because He Himself is holy (1 Pet 1:16, Lev 11:44, Lev 19:2).  Praise God that, because of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to transform us into His image of faithfulness (2 Cor 3:18)!  This sanctification is a work of God, but we also have a responsibility to seek truth.  How? Dig into the word of God, the Bible, and you will discover the truth yourself.  By consistently devouring the word of God, your mind will be renewed, and you will be transformed (Rom 12:2).  You will become a man, a woman of faithfulness!

From Jeremiah, we learn about the dysfunctional relationship between the people of Judah and truth (emuwnah):

• God’s people refused to obey His word.  Truth (emuwnah) had perished (Jer 7:28).
• Lies and not truth (emuwnah) prevailed in the land.  The people proceeded from one evil to another (Jer 9:3).
• Their apostasies were numerous (Jer 5:6).  Apostasy means to turn away from something that you once held to be true.  Judah had turned away from truth.  They had turned away from God.
• They had “broken the yoke and burst the bonds” (Jer 5:5).  They refused to be constrained by truth, and their obstinacy resulted in evil.

Think about it.  Doesn’t that list describe the United States of America today?  Listen to what God says:

“Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself?”  Jer 5:9

How can we expect anything other than the judgment of God for our unfaithfulness?  In Romans 1:16-18, Paul restates these precepts on a personal level.  The righteous man will live by faith.  On the other hand, ungodly men suppress the truth; they forcibly hold truth down by their unrighteousness.  The result is God’s wrath.

But the people of Judah didn’t stop at disobedience:

They have lied about the Lord
And said, “He will do nothing;
Misfortune will not come on us,
And we will not see sword or famine.”  Jer 5:12

Not only were they guilty of harlotry, but they flat out lied about God.  When God called the people to repentance through His prophet, Jeremiah, the people responded by proclaiming that God would not judge them.  They lied!  They denied the truth in their unrighteousness (Rom 1:18).

In Jeremiah 5:15-17, God begins to describe the nation He will use as the instrument of His judgment against rebellious Judah.  We will later see that this is the nation of Babylon (modern-day Iraq).  Babylon would ruin everything, including the fortified cities in which they trusted (Jer 5:17).  Even so, there was still hope for the people of God:

“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make a complete destruction.”  Jer 5:18

Yes, the people would go into captivity (Jer 5:19), but God had made unbreakable promises to their forefathers concerning the nation of Israel.  Because God is faithful (emuwnah), He will never utterly destroy Israel.  Today, we are witnesses to God’s faithfulness.  After nearly 2000 years of being scattered throughout the world, the state of Israel was reborn in 1948.  Truly, God’s faithfulness is unquestionable!

Sadly, the people of Judah were “foolish and senseless” (Jer 5:21).  Translated literally, they were people “without heart”.  Faithfulness (emuwnah) is a matter of the heart.  Therefore, it is the fear of God that will be a boundary to protect your heart from rebellion (Jer 5:22).  The fear of God will foster faithfulness in you.  Without the fear of God, you will be stubborn and rebellious, and you will walk away from God (Jer 5:23).  And in case you are ever tempted to blame God for His righteous wrath, He reminds us that we have only ourselves to blame in the face of judgment (Jer 5:25).

God’s eyes were looking for truth (Jer 5:3), but what He found was wicked men (Jer 5:26) who excelled in deeds of wickedness (Jer 5:28).

Jeremiah 5 closes with an indictment on the leaders of Judah and the people of Judah:

“An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!”  Jer 5:30-31

To be candid, many in the church in America today “prophesy falsely”.  They teach lies, because that is what people want to hear (2 Tim 4:3).  Many in the church today want to ignore sin and its devastating results.  They only want to hear about health, wealth, and happiness.  They want their ears tickled by lies, because sin and judgment are uncomfortable subjects.

Likewise, our leaders rule on their own authority rather than look to the God of truth.  There is no fear and trembling, only pride and power.

God asks:

“But what will you do at the end of it?”  Jer 5:31

In other words, how will you respond when God’s sure judgment comes?  Will you be swept away, or will you be able to stand because God sees faithfulness (emuwnah) when He looks at you?

” … if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, … even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares the Lord God.  Ezek 14:13-14  (emphasis added)

If you determine to be a man of faithfulness or a woman of faithfulness, you must seek “the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer 6:16) as we will see next time.

This is part of a series of notes on Jeremiah:

• Jeremiah 1 | Jeremiah’s Call
• Jeremiah 2 | Emptiness
• Jeremiah 3-4 | Harlotry
• Jeremiah 3-4 | Return to Me
• Jeremiah 5 | Faithfulness

Ray Stedman (1917-1992) was a pastor and Bible expositor in the United States during the twentieth century.  Learn more about him from the biography page of The Official Ray C. Stedman Library.

The Ray C. Stedman Library includes online versions of his 33 books, freely available, including his commentary on the book of Hebrews, which is part of the Intervarsity Press (IVP) New Testament Commentary Series.

Here is an index of the complete Ray Stedman library of resources with hundreds of downloadable PDF, MP3, and RealAudio files.

This page provides instructions for how to download multiple (or all) MP3 audio files at one time.  After downloading the MP3 files, you can track them in iTunes and sync them with an iPod (or any portable MP3 player).

For those of you that use the free e-Sword Bible study software, you can download a topic module of Ray Stedman’s Commentaries here.

If you use The Word Bible study software (which is also free), you can download a book module of Ray Stedman’s Commentaries here.  (After downloading, simply place the Ray Stedman Library.gbk.twm file in this directory on your computer:  C:\Program Files\The Word.)

• Podcasts (audio and video)
• Audiobooks
• Movies
• TV Shows
• Music
• Radio
• Games
• Applications
• iTunes U

Even if you don’t own any of the various flavors of Apple’s popular iPod series, you can still use iTunes, which is a free download, to store, manage, and track various Bible study resources.  This article will look at the various media formats listed above and examples related to Bible study.

Podcasts

Perhaps my favorite feature of iTunes is its ability to subscribe to audio and video podcasts.  iTunes can even download recurring audio and video podcasts for you automatically.  It will keep track of which episodes you have watched or heard (and how many times).  It remembers your place if you need to close iTunes in the middle of an episode.  You can even rate each episode (5-star scale) in case you want to revisit your favorite episodes again later.  Best of all, podcasts are usually free.

Think of the benefits of having your favorite teachers lead you through Biblical studies anytime, anywhere.  You can go at your own pace, and you can rewind, fast forward, and repeat as often as you like.  You can learn by yourself or with others.  You can often choose between audio-only format and videos (or both), depending on your circumstances and learning preferences.

There are many, many podcasts to which you can subscribe.  You can search for your favorite ministries and teachers in the iTunes Store.  Here’s how:

1. Launch iTunes.
2. Select iTunes Store from the left navigation panel.
3. Use the Search field to locate specific authors or ministries.
4. When you locate a podcast which interests you, click the Subscribe button.

You can also find Christian video podcasts at LightSource.com and audio podcasts at OnePlace.com.  Likewise, you can check the websites of your favorite ministries, authors, and teachers to see if they make podcast subscriptions available.

Here are a few podcast recommendations:

Precepts for Life

Daily teaching ministry of Precept Ministries International.  Usually taught by Kay Arthur.  Verse-by-verse study through a book of the Bible.  Occasionally, topical studies.

Video Podcasts [Click the Video Podcasting button.  Login (or create a free account).  Follow Instructions for iTunes Users.]

Audio Podcasts [Click the Podcast button.  Login (or create a free account).  Follow Instructions for iTunes Users.]

Grace to You

Weekly video and daily audio teaching ministry of John MacArthur.

Video Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

Audio Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

Desiring God

Weekly teaching ministry of John Piper.

Video Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

Audio Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

Renewing Your Mind

Daily teaching ministry of Ligonier Ministries by Dr. R.C. Sproul.

Audio Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

Although you cannot subscribe to Renewing Your Mind video podcasts via iTunes, you can view daily videos here.

Insight for Living

Daily teaching ministry of Charles (Chuck) Swindoll.

Audio Podcasts [This link will launch iTunes.  Click the Subscribe button.]

No video podcasts of Insight for Living are available at this time.

Note:  Subscribing to a podcast (video or audio) means that episodes will be downloaded and saved to your computer, so be sure you have available hard drive space for storing files.  Also be aware that video files are larger than audio files.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks have become quite popular in our fast-paced culture for their portability and for the freedom to multi-task which they afford.  iTunes can collect and manage your audiobooks, and, if you have an iPod, you can take them with you wherever you go.

Find some free audio Bibles here, or consider purchasing the outstanding Word of Promise Audio Bible.  You can also download audiobooks directly from the iTunes Store or other oline retailers, and you can import CD audiobooks that you already own into iTunes using the CD-ROM drive in your computer.

Although many audiobooks must be purchased, you can find some audiobooks online for free.  For example:  Free Bible Resources, Free Christian Audio Books, and LibriVox.  LibriVox has over 2600 free audiobooks at the time of this writing, though not all are related to the Bible or a Christian worldview.  Their goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio downloads, so you are sure to find many worthwhile options among their 2600+ audiobooks.

Some online retailers of audiobooks, such as ChristianAudio.com, offer a free audiobook for download on a periodic basis.  (You can join ChristianAudio.com’s newsletter to be notified of their Free Audiobook Download of the Month.)

Movies

Films, fiction or non-fiction, can supplement your Bible study and edify your Christian walk.  Of course, you must always exercise discernment in your choice of movies.  It is helpful to use services like MovieGuide.org, which reviews current movies from a Christian perspective and makes recommendations (or warnings) accordingly.

Movies can be purchased directly from the iTunes Store or other online retailers.  Modern Parables and 36 Parables have some interesting short films relating Jesus’ parables in a modern context.

While most movies must be purchased, you can find some movies (usually teaching videos) available online for free.  Be aware that movie files you download from the Internet may need to be converted to a format compatible with iTunes (.mp4, .m4v, .mov) before they can be imported into your iTunes library.  You can find a multitude of movie conversion tools online, many of which are free.

You can also bring DVD movies that you already own into your iTunes library, but this will require a DVD-ROM drive in your computer, third-party conversion software, and a bit of “know-how”.  The process of transferring DVDs into iTunes is beyond the scope of this article, but you can find several tools and instructional guides online.

You can watch movies in iTunes on your Windows PC or Macintosh computer, and you can also sync them with video-capable iPods to take with you on-the-go.

TV Shows

TV shows are essentially films (see Movies above) that occur in a serial (episode) format.  As we are all well aware, it is difficult these days to find much in the way of TV shows that can support a Christian worldview.  Nevertheless, you can purchase TV shows directly from the iTunes Store or other online retailers.  Like movies, you can pull TV shows from DVDs that you already own into your iTunes library using third-party software.

Music

Martin Luther, the great German theologian who sparked the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, is credited with saying:

“Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us”

iTunes is ideally equipped to manage your music collection.  After all, that is where it all began with Apple’s first release of iTunes back in January 2001 as a digital music database.  You can purchase music (via individual songs or entire albums) directly from the iTunes Store or other oline retailers, such as Amazon (which often has better prices than the iTunes Store).

You can also import your own music CDs into iTunes using the CD-ROM drive in your computer.  It is very easy, and no special software is required.  Apple has provided an instructional video for importing CDs into iTunes here.

It is not uncommon to find free music downloads on many sites around the world wide web.  You can add audio files to your iTunes library simply by navigating to the File menu and then selecting “Add File to Library…” (for a single audio file) or “Add Folder to Library…” (for multiple audio files in the same folder).

Radio

The iTunes Radio service allows you to choose from hundreds of music and talk radio streams.  The radio streams are organized by genre, such as Adult Contemporary, Classical, Religious, etc.  The religious category includes music streams as well as sermon channels and Christian talk radio.

Games

Games combine learning and fun, which aids knowledge retention.  Search the iTunes Store for Bible games, and you’ll find many options, usually free or very inexpensive.  Here are some Bible Trivia games.

You will need an iPod Touch or iPhone to use games from the iTunes Store.

Applications

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, you can take advantage of another powerful feature of iTunes to ehance your Bible study:  Mobile Applications.

Compare Bible translations, perform word studies on the original languages, easily cross-reference passages, view related commentaries, record personal notes, track reading plans, and more with mobile Bible study applications.

Some Bible study applications are free; some require an investment.  Some work without an Internet connection; some require an active Internet connection (either Wi-Fi or cellular service plan).

I reviewed some excellent Bible study applications for iPod Touch / iPhone here and here.

iTunes U

According to Apple’s website:

“iTunes U is a part of the iTunes Store featuring free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and more, that you can enjoy on your iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC. Explore over 200,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. With iTunes U, there’s no end to what or where you can learn.”

How might you use iTunes U to help you with Bible study?  Well, a quick search of iTunes U for Church History yields nearly 100 offerings at the time of this writing from organizations such as Liberty Univsersity, Dallas Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, Stanford, Yale, UCLA, and many others.  Perhaps you’re interested in learning more about Systematic Theology, the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible), the New Testament, or any of hundreds of other topics.  Check out iTunes U!

Summary

iTunes isn’t just for entertainment.  iTunes is a free personal library that can easily manage thousands of learning resources, such as podcasts, audiobooks, films, music, games, and applications.

If you own an iPod, you can extend the benefits of your iTunes library by carrying it with you wherever you go.  Listen to audiobooks in the car.  Watch video podcasts at the airport or during flights.  Listen to audio podcasts or music while doing housework.  Brush up on various topics from iTunes U while you workout in the gym.

If you are lucky enough to have an iPod Touch or iPhone, you have a wealth of mobile applications at your disposal to help you have a more efficient, effective, and enjoyable Bible study experience.

Take advantage of free resources, such as iTunes, to bolster your Bible study habits, … and have fun while you’re at it!

Do you use iTunes for Bible study?  What advice would you share?  Which resources would you recommend?