The best CHRISTmas present this year for me...

My parents got all four of my sons new Thomson Chain Reference Bibles.

They gave my two youngest sons theirs on CHRISTmas day. My mother showed them how to use the study tools in their new Bibles and I watched my 9 year old and 13 not just tolerate the instruction but got excited about them.

My oldest boys, 18 and 19, drove down the day after CHRISTmas and met us for lunch. My older boys were also excited. My 9 year old even helped Grandma show his brothers how the study tools work. The 18 year old said that he and his girlfriend had been looking at some end times stuff using the Bible I gave him several years ago. He was thankful for the ability to study more effectively.



There are not many things that warm my heart more than seeing my sons appreciate the Word of God.

 

It is a great Bible. I have been giving Bibles that had good concordances and cross references, even if not chain. I also preferred to give ones that were short on commentary. I wanted to establish the ability for personal study by looking at context and definitions of key words without becoming dependent on the thoughts of others.

There is certainly a time for commentaries to come after the basics are learned.