Hey y’all. I’m Lisa Harper. I am a Bible teacher. I’m a very mediocre author. I speak at conferences when I’m invited. I’m a grateful adoptive mom. I’m a a recovering Pharisee and a redeemed hot top mess. And I am super super excited about this new resource from Zandervin Bibles. It’s the NIV Application Bible.

This study Bible follows the premise of the NIV application commentary series, which was built to really explain the original context and the meaning of scripture before connecting that to contemporary life. So, I I’d love to take a look inside with y’all and and just go over some of the resources that are included.

Every single book of the Bible starts with a book introduction, which gives you the basic information like the book’s author, when it was written, as well as perspective and application. uh so that God’s words uh really line up with our lives. And then as you get into the text at the bottom of each page, you’ll find original meaning notes.

Those are the notes right there. Real easy to read. I can actually read it without my glasses. And then here in the blue, actually I would call that purple, but I could be almost colorblind at this age. So let’s just say blurpal in the blue purple. these shaded boxes, you have the real time application notes based on the meaning and the context of the passage, which so helps us connect these biblical truisms to daily life.

That’s where we really find that the Bible is not a rule book or a textbook. It’s a love story relevant today. Every chapter in these NIV application Bibles also include a question for growth at the top of the page. Like this one here in Genesis 2, they they include suggestions for prayer and reflection and and action. So again, all of these study tools really help us incorporate biblical truisms into everyday life.

this this becomes less about something that’s uh dutiful for us to do if we’re good Christians and it’s more about delight. It’s more about having a real vibrant relationship with a God who loves us more than more than we can even imagine. Okay. Also throughout this NIV application Bible, we’ve got a bunch of these people to know boxes.

Now I’ve moved from Genesis into First Kings. And so the the person to know here in First Kings 17 based on the last chapter is Ahab. You want to hiss when you say Ahab. And so it’ll explain Ahab was among the most wicked kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, doing more evil in God’s eyes than all the kings before him.

I love these people to know study tools because sometimes I forget. So these brief character studies, I mean, they remind us, they show us, they reveal to us how God accomplishes his purposes uh through people throughout this love story we call the Bible, this redemptive narrative. And each one of these people to know sections is followed by another application section.

I love these because they really help us understand how to integrate uh these lessons, the truths, and these stories uh to our everyday lives. Okay, now I’ve moved to Psalm 139, my favorite song in the psalter. And you see this tan box. The tan boxes are the character of God articles. They explore facets of who our God is and what they mean for us as Christ followers.