Juggling Sheep
Welcome to Juggling Sheep, Jay Perry's blog about time management and personal productivity for pastors. Learn to balance work, life, family, and personal spirituality.

Share your best practices, tips and tricks, processes, sermon planning ideas, and resources. Feel free to email me: jaylperry[at]gmail[dot]com.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Reading on My iPhone

One of the unexpected benefits of owning an iPhone is that I now have more time to read the Bible and other books.

Sure, the first couple of months were full of finding new apps, tweeting more regularly, facebooking from anywhere, etc. But a couple of the apps have actually helped me to be more productive. *SHOCK*

I'll write another post about the iPhone apps I use for GTD, but this one is about reading.

So, maybe it turns out I wasn't always reading books because I didn't always have books with me. Sitting in a waiting room, in a cafe, at a park, while my son is climbing over the play structure at the mall, etc. But I do always have my iPhone with me.

First, I read the Bible with You Version (FREE). The iPhone app still isn't what I'd like it to be. I want to easily highlight specific words or multiple verses. I want to be able to take notes and make comments in an intuitive way. But, I can read the Bible, in the version of my choosing (except there's no Greek or Hebrew!) wherever I want. I can download Bible versions to reside on my iPhone, so I can read scripture even when I don't have a wireless signal. I can highlight the things that jump out at me. I can quickly find specific text references. I can use the nifty read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year function to tell me what part of the Holy Scriptures God should be speaking through today (just kidding).

If you don't have an iPhone, you can still use You Version online. It's an okay free online Bible program. Although, frankly, what I want from an online Bible site is good exegetical resources.

Second, I now use Kindle for iPhone (FREE). Just download the free app onto your iPhone, buy Kindle books at Amazon.com, and *POOF* they show up on your iPhone. I've found the Kindle app to be intuitive. I can highlight, make notes, copy and paste into other applications... And my notes and highlights are sync'd with all my other Kindle devices (umm... I don't actually have any others. I'm just sayin' I could if I did.).

And it turns out you can read your Kindle books on a PC, too (but not a Mac, yet) with a free Kindle reader download.

From time to time, authors offer their new books on Kindle for FREE.

Some church-related ones FREE on 11/20/2009:

Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing:
How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes

by Geoff Surratt

Apprentice
by Steve Chalke

Halley's Bible Handbook with the New International Version
by Henry H. Halley

Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands

by Nancy Ortberg

The Dude Abides
by Cathleen Falsani

Sin Boldly:
a Field Guide for Grace

by Cathleen Falsani

See all of Amazon's new FREE Kindle books.

4 comments:

M.A.C. said...

Hi Jay,

I hope you don't mind answering a couple of questions I am asking all believers everywhere;

Do you believe that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to start a new religion called Christianity?

And Where is the text in the bible that supports the popular Christian belief that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to start a new religion called Christianity?

Jay said...

Thanks for the question, M.A.C.

I believe that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to be the Messiah for the world, as prophesied in the Jewish scriptures.

God has always had one plan of salvation for everyone. In the Old Testament (the Jewish scriptures), Jesus' ministry was foreshadowed by the Sanctuary and the different festivals and feast days.

I see Jesus as the fulfillment of Judaism. Christianity began as a Jewish sect - a continuation of Judaism, not something completely separate.

M.A.C. said...

Hi Jay,

I hope you don't mind continuing some dialogue on this topic.

If there is no biblical text to support Christianity as a religion i.e separate from Judaism. Do you think the current status quo of denominational divergence is in danger at the judgment seat of Christ?

Christ said;

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Sounds like Jesus is talking about church folk here. What do you think?

Alan Baljeu said...

Hi Jay, If you are still into reading the Bible on your iPhone, you will find Paul Avery's Holy Bible app does most of what you are asking for. You can highlight stuff, take notes, and features multiple translations, it has the Greek, though not Hebrew.