KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible to Start Your Study Journey

Recently, I posted an article about obedience (Do What You Need to Do to Choose Obedience). Obedience simply because God requires it, is one of those ideas that tends to cause people to disparage Christianity. The idea that a grown, free adult would obey anyone causes some folks to lose their minds. But they don't know my God. Discipline can bring the same reaction. People think of switches, or being sent to bed without dinner, or an early curfew. But discipline, according to Webster's 1931 Collegiate Dictionary, is the treatment suited to a disciple or learner; education; training; drill. A second definition says it is the subjection to rule; control; habit of obedience. And subjecting oneself to another, yielding to their control-- particularly in our western way of thinking --can be an absolute no-go. As I've cited however, discipline is the treatment suited to a follower or someone seeking to learn from another greater than him/herself. We need to be disciplined if we want to learn, and in accordance with the second definition, discipline is a habit of obedience, a regimen that testifies we are willing to obey one greater than ourselves that we might learn. Bible study is a necessary part of that discipline if we truly want to know the One we are commanded to obey. It is in His Holy Bible that His character is revealed and we are given the information we need to make a rational decision of faith: obey God or reject Him.

As a member of Bible Gateway's Blogger Grid, I was given the unique opportunity to review a free copy of the new KJV Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible from Zondervan Bibles (2022). For those of you who have never used a Chain-Reference Bible, this is an excellent Bible for study. As Dr. Frank Charles Thompson observes, The haphazard reading of a few verses of the Scriptures every day is better than nothing, but it is not real Bible study. It is simply nibbling at the truth; strong Christians build themselves up by diligent study. If we wish to be firm in our belief, strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, we need to indulge in the wisdom of His words. The proper tools are vital to give us accurate information and keep us engaged. The KJV Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible will help you get started and stay with you along the way. Almost every verse is accompanied by a cross-reference or a "link" in a chain that will help you study topics and themes, passages and verses, and Bible personalities. 

As you can see in this passage from Exodus 33:1, two of the themes described in this verse are the Promised Land and God's Oaths. A Numerical Index in the back of the Bible provides us with a list of additional verses that contain the same theme:

Topics and Bible figures can be mined easily with these helps. There are over 4200 themes that can be researched through the Numerical Index. And that's not all! The KJV Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible has outlines for each book and a condensed outline of the Bible, an alphabetical index of topics, Bible character studies, charts, color maps, a harmony of the Gospels, and a concordance. There are many wonderful tools to help you in the critical discipline of Bible study as well as enrichen your Bible memorization regimen. The print is easy to read, and the text is aligned in two columns. Just a word of caution, however, the pages are thin: many of the gel pens that are out there for making notes in your Bible will bleed through the page; highlighters and ball point pens will work just fine. The complimentary edition I reviewed was the full text in the 1611 King James Version with the words of Jesus in red, a hardcover with a dust jacket-- beautiful, with two satin ribbon markers to help you in your research. If you would like to have your own, it can be purchased on Amazon and at the FaithGateway Store.

I would recommend a great study Bible like the KJV Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible to begin your routine of studying Scripture that you might stand before God, a workman, tested and true, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). #BibleGatewayPartner