SheReadsTruth App
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that there are times where I really struggle to sit down and spend time in God’s Word. I’ve tried my fair share of Bible study notes and reading plans but have been massively helped by the SheReadsTruth app.
Through the app, you can access a wide range of Bible reading plans which go through either a book of the Bible or a theme. For each day, there are a range of linked Bible passages with a short commentary by one of the SheReadsTruth team. You can also share your thoughts and responses to what has been said by posting comments. These are a real encouragement, to hear how God is working through his word in the lives of other women all around the world – although some of the cultural references and examples are directed to a more American audience.
On the app, you can also read several Bible translations where you can bookmark and make notes linked to different passages. It has been a great encouragement to me, and I hope you find it a help too.
Hannah Mitchell
YouVersion Bible App
I am one of 390 million people around the world who have installed this app. David Suchet has become the most familiar voice in my life ever since. The app is free to download and gives you access to over 2,000 versions of the Bible in over 1,300 languages. Many versions come with full audio support to listen on the go – hence my familiarity with David Suchet! You can download entire Bibles through the app so they can work offline and in train tunnels during the commute to work. It comes with all the bookmarking and highlighting features you could desire. The app links to your social media accounts so you can share favourite verses, you can also create Bible art with many stored pictures or you can use images from your own photo library.
There is a community that sits behind the app allowing you to connect to friends from church and talk about passages online. You can also find local events to attend. The app contains thousands of hours of video content and has a sister app just for children (my kids love it). There are thousands of devotional plans to choose from and read each day on many subjects from prayer to pride or joy to jealously, written by respected ministers such as Tim Keller, R. C. Sproul, and even figures from church history such as J. C. Ryle and many of the Puritans. But there is also a lot of questionable material (doctrinally) – so do your research on the author before you read or share the plan out.
The app encourages daily devotions displaying consecutive days of use and ‘perfect weeks’; you also win badges for completing plans, reading challenges, bookmarking and highlighting passages and connecting with other believers.
As a pastor, I find this app incredibly useful for my own devotions. But it also allows me to set up groups around focussed reading plans and discuss the content with church members throughout the day through the comments section. I can also see when and what my members are reading and what verses have particularly spoken to them. Sign your church up today, stay connected throughout the week and read more of the Bible!
John Funnell
Daily readings app
When you’re about to pursue a time of devotion to God, the last thing you want is a distraction. When you’re using an app for that, such distractions come from either having too many bells and whistles or from being not very user-friendly. Daily Readings does the job here, but then what would you expect from the same team who designed the Christian Hymns app.
The main content of the app is the tried and tested devotion from Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening. Being well over a hundred years old, you might think that means outdated language. But the team have carefully updated some of the language – enough to bring it up to date. Each day you have a key verse to meditate upon and some thoughts from Spurgeon as he reflects upon it.
Having spent a few minutes meditating on Spurgeon’s verse of the morning or evening, you might be ready for something more, and this is where the team that created the app have added some ideal extra features. For one, there is a suggested longer passage that you can read so that your diet of Scripture is not a minuscule solitary verse but a whole passage. Sometimes this is the context in which the verse sits, but other times it is a related passage from another part of the Bible. You don’t have to pull up another app to read this, but tap the reference and up comes the passage in the ESV.
Taking things even further, you’re provided with a hymn which is chosen to fit the theme of the devotion to spend some time in further worship. But you’re not just provided with the words of the hymn, you’re even given the tune so that you could sing along. Finally, there are a few prompts to reflect and pray to finish. These are a brilliant addition so that your devotion in the Word leads into prayer and lingers in your heart.
If it’s lacking anything, then it would be a notification to remind you to do the devotion. This would have been particularly helpful for me for the evening devotions, as I’m only in the habit of doing a devotion in the morning! But other than that, if Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is the kind of devotion that will help you, then this app is ideal.
Jonny Raine
OurDailyBreadYouth
This is found on Instagram and directed at teenagers and young people. Each day there are three posts. One is a short Bible verse, one is the daily passage to read to ‘Explore the Bible Story in a Year’ and the third one is a devotional linked to the Bible verse of the day. This consists of an attractive photo/picture with a Bible reading and a 150-word devotional in the comments. These devotionals are directed at young people and are a good mix of illustration and solid teaching. For young people that use Instagram, it is an excellent resource. Search for ourdailybreadyouth.
Nichola Napper