Life Application Bible Studies: 2 Corinthians New Living Translation

Though there are Life Application Study Bibles for the NLT, NIV, and KJV, the Life Application Bible Studies are specific to the NLT translation.

Over the past two years, I've posted several times about Bible translations. It was this Bible study that challenged me to really examine what the differences in the NLT are and discuss them with the person I most trust when it comes to discussing translation--my husband. He has wisdom about the Bible that I don't have and he has much better retention of information that he has learned than I do. He's like my back up drive for the computer in my head. I know that I've learned things, but often I can't find them in my head so then I go to him for the back up. =)

At the beginning of this study, there are several pages that first explain the New Living Translation. Next, there are several pages that explain the Life Application Bible content and structure. Then, comes the text from 2 Corinthians and then the Bible study.

If you haven't read the NLT before or the Life Application Bible, it would be really helpful to read these first few pages. I need to be honest. I have had some concerns in the past about both. And after reading and discussing them, I still am not fully at peace about them, but I do feel a lot better about them. I understand now that the NLT was translated using fully legitimate translation methods and that the Life Application Bible makes the Bible very accessible for people who have not read the Bible a lot, but I am still cautious. I am cautious because as a culture, we are so tempted to want things spelled out for us, to have our ears tickled rather than rebuked, and for everything to be easy to understand. I say this knowing these things about myself and my own heart. I want to read books that are easy to read and which at the end of the day, I can enjoy without too much effort. But, that isn't always the best thing for me. Most often, actually, it's not. But, let me get back to this study...

This study is a good one. It is very practical and includes both practical questions to encourage you to reflect on how the Bible relates to you and your life and also practical footnotes to learn what the Bible says. Since this study is written for the NLT, which is different than other translations, it is important that you answer the questions using the excerpted book from the Bible in the study.

For me, it is not what I would normally choose for a Bible study. It is almost too practical for me. There is a temptation, I think, when we focus so much on how God's Word applies to our own lives and what it means to us to lose sight of God and that the Bible is really about HIM and Not About US. I remember several years ago discussing a story from the Bible with my husband and the point came up that what is included in the Bible is what God wants there. The details that are included are the ones that are needed to point us to Him, rather than to point us to the people in the stories.

I asked my husband about all of these things I was thinking about this study and he brought up some very good points to me. He pointed out that I've been reading the Bible and attending church for many years. I've listened to many sermons and have attended Bible studies. For someone who has just come to know the Lord, the NLT, the Life Application Study Bible, and this Bible study series is a great place to start! He pointed this out to me and I think he's right. The notes on the passages in the Bible are like mini sermon summaries. They give you the meat you need in compact bites.

So, in the end, would I recommend this Bible study? Yes. It is a great Bible study for a new believer or for someone who desires a very conversational, easy to read Bible (the NLT) or Bible study.

Please note that I was given a complimentary copy of this book for review by Tyndale Publishing.

Comparison of Verses

Tonight I was reading the Mom's Bible again (NCV) and compared this verse: NCV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything. NIV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. The Message 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewis...

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...

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