Laridian is announcing our first “How Do You Use PocketBible” contest. (If you use MyBible or iPocketBible or Noah…feel free to enter as well, it’s just easier to say “PocketBible” instead of “PocketBible, MyBible, iPocketBible and/or Noah.”) It’s simple to enter and you can enter three different places (but you can only win once).
Each winner will receive PocketBible for Windows Gold Edition on a USB drive. That’s a $199.99 prize! You can enter at all three places, but you can only win once.
Blog site: Leave a comment right here on this blog post (we will not read any entries sent via email). Laridian staff will go through and pick our favorite as the winner. We will only read the first entry from each person, so it will not help you to post more than once…just make your first post really good!
Facebook: Our fans on Facebook can leave a comment on our wall. The winner on Facebook will be the person with the most “Like” clicks on their comment (so get your friends to vote for your post). This one will be more difficult than the blog site as there is a restriction to the number of characters you may use (Facebook restriction, not a Laridian restriction). Again…only the first comment will count (if you don’t like your comment, delete it and comment again). You will not win if there is more than one comment from your account.
Facebook is not letting up click “Like” when people post to the fan page. Laridian staff will pick the winner for Facebook as well as for Twitter and the blog. Sorry for the confusion.
Update (6May09): Facebook is now allowing you to click the “Like” link under the wall post on the PocketBible fan site, so…for now…we are going back to the original idea. You pick the winner on Facebook by telling us who’s post you like. Click away!
Twitter: This will be the most difficult. Be creative! Twitter PocketBible with your 140 character description of how you use PocketBible. Laridian staff will pick our favorite. And like the blog site and Facebook, we will only read the first Tweet from each person…so make it good.
We’re excited to see the different ways that people are using PocketBible. So join the fun! You could win $199.99 worth of Bible software on a USB drive!
Enter by May 22, 2009. We will announce the winners at the end of May.
I have been an avid user of MyBible since 1998. I have never appreciated it more than a dark day in September 2001…
My father-in-law died suddenly on September 22, 2001 – just 11 days after 9/11. I was out of town and had to fly back to meet my wife and kids who were driving to Grandma’s. The airport was eerily empty that Saturday night. I flew in a mostly vacant puddle-jumper airplane through a horrendous Texas thunderstorm. I had bought my mother-in-law a condolence card at the airport and during the flight I was looking in MyBible on my Palm device for an appropriate verse to share. Thinking of my father-in-law, I searched for the phrase “righteous man” in the NASB and God led me to use NLT translation of this verse:
The righteous pass away;
the godly often die before their time.
And no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand that God is
protecting them from the evil to come.
For the godly who die will rest in peace.
Isaiah 57:1-2 (NLT)
I shared this passage in my eulogy at the funeral and heard from many there how God used it to comfort them – realizing that Grandpa was in Heaven now, and was protected “from the evil to come.”
I love my PocketBible and use it wherever I go but the most important place is when I minister in our local Juvenile Detention Center in which I am limited in what I can bring. Because I have everything on my PDA Phone I can get to information right away to answer questions that these kids might have. Thank you for providing this type of tool!
My PocketBible is with me all the time, whither I go to the market or I’m on a missions trip. I use it for all the wonderful reasons others use it. It a great product and I been using it since it first came out. But what I love the most is late at night when I can’t sleep or the Lord wakes me up, I just reach over on the night stand and pick up my PDA and the Word is right there. There’s no better comfort then that. Thank you with providing us with the best.
No matter how thoroughly I prepare for Bible translation sessions in Huichol of Mexico and Pidgin of Hawai`i, questions often come up in the sessions that I haven’t prepared for. That’s where PocketBible pays off for me — the versions, commentaries, dictionaries that aren’t in the Wycliffe/United Bible Societies software on my laptop often give me the lead on an answer, right on the spot.
I have been thrilled to use my Pocket Bible for many years now, promoting it wherever I can.
As a Registered Paramedic I often find myself in situations where the support of scripture readily accesible is invaluable. I continue to use it to share thoughts with colleagues and patients wherever the opportunity is appropriate.
Thank you for providing this resource, enabling me to underpin my witness.
I always have it with me
I use it all the time
I wouldn’t be without it
I’m so glad it’s mine
When I need an answer
It always seems to help
It just makes things easy
When talking to a friend
When I listen to our pastor
I can turn real quick
To find the bible passage
Just takes a couple of clicks
When reading through the bible
Which I’m doing through the year
I can read each passage quickly
In lounge, in bed, in bath
Pocketbible is the one
I wouldn’t be without it
I love to use it daily
It really is the one
I work as a missionary evangelist and, to save space and weight, use PocketBible as my main Bible for daily reading and sometimes even for preaching. For me, the best use though is always having a commentary set on hand to help me prep when I get last minute invitations to preach. This has been an awesome tool many times. It’s great traveling with a mini-library on my phone.
I’m hoping for other Bible language options in the future.
Having the bible available on my phone when I find a few extra minutes gives me the opportunity to stay in God’s word.
I have it on my Palm Phone which I carry everywhere with me. I am a pastor and use it with people in my church to share verses and help in counseling. I am also a chaplain with the local police department. I use to in talking with the officers and with the folk in town we sometime have to deal with. Quoting scripture to folks in need – particularly when there has been a death as I did this week. It is so handy having different versions of the Bible with me. Some folks I meet are KJV only and Others NIV. I have 4 versions in all to meet the needs of all I come in contact with. I also use it for personal bible study when away from my computer. I love the note taking area and the ability to mark in color the text. It has become my most handy tool I have ever had.
I have really enjoyed my Laridian Pocket Bible. My primary use of it is “on-the-go” when I recall a passage and I want a more accurate recollection, it is right here in my pocket. When I am in a worship or teaching setting and I want to compare other versions with The Message I usually carry. Or, when I am looking for a traditional commentary on a specific passage it is easy to find. My favorite use is when I want to find particular passages relevant to various situations for which God’s Word is the ultimate reference material and guide.
It was 2008 and way past time for a change. I had been using Brand X version 4 Bible software for Windows 95 since 1996 – I think you know which one – because it was simple and intuitive. I had many updates beyond that version, and several other programs, but mostly they were like firing up your 747 to take the garbage out to the dumpster. So with the arrival of Vista on my new notebook I decided to look around for a simple and intuitive Bible program for the 21st Century. I looked at them all, and tried most, and wasn’t convinced until I found PocketBible for Windows. Now when I catch a train to Prague, or head out to Kosice on the EuroCity, I carry PocketBible on my notebook in my backpack. Plugging into a power outlet on the train, I can work for more than 4 hours with just a gentle clickety-click of the rails in the background – pasting Bible text into my PowerPoint and getting ready for a great time together with Christians in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria. I use the original language resources, commentaries, dictionaries, but the most fun is to play the mp3 version of the NIV I have on my computer while I follow along in PocketBible. That’s the way to do your daily Bible reading – even when you’re tired and you remember, “Oh yeah, I forgot to do my daily reading!” With the various Bible characters, a little background noise from the Bible period, and your PocketBible, the reading is done before you even notice the time. I feel like one of those people in Luke 19:48, “hanging on to every word” that Jesus says. My recommendation? You have your technology hanging all over the place – what are you waiting for? Put some spiritual software on that hardware, and let the Spirit fill your “wetware.” “Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it!” (Ezra 10:4 NIV).
I have been using PocketBible since the beginning when I purchased my first iPAQ Pocket PC over 8 years ago. My PocketBible Collection has grow over the years to not only contain serveral different versons of Scriptures, but the use of the dictionaries, commentaries, and devotionals as well. As a chaplain, I have replaced my hard bound Bibles with my PocketBible. I do not leave home without it. I have been know to have a Bible on me at all times. The PocketBible has given me the conviences of having several Translations available to be at a moment notice. I also have found other applications to be helpful in my ministry as well. I have used my PocketBible to write sermons, the easy copy and paste features allows me to add Scripture to my sermons, newsletters, other publications I write during the course of my ministry. I love the ability to read Scripture to my patients and families even in a darken room. I really appreciate being able to read from different translations especially since I minister to different faiths and denominations. So, I can read from the particular translation that is familiar to the particular patient I am visiting with at the time. I have found the Bible Study notes to be great in my personal Bible Study time. I even found the devotional books available to be valuable as well. For example, I have Morning and Evening Devotional Book by Charles Spurgeon. When I had a patient who had dementia, this was the one devotional book that she and her daughter read everyday. I would be able to read the Scripture passage for the daily devotional from my PocketBible and then easily switch to Morning and Evening to read the daily devotion. This was very meaningful time for my patient and her daughter especially as they found connection and growth in their relationship with God. I can go on and on, but PocketBible is a resource I perfer not to be without. It has been a great assess to my ministry and peronal spiritual growth. I like the ability to pull out my Pocket PC and dive into the Scriptures and when necessary have the Biblical resources of Study notes, Bible Dictionaries, and even the complete text of Robertson’s Word Pictures to assist myself and others in gaining a greater understanding of not only the Bible, but drawing us closer to a fuller relations to God through our savior Jesus Christ. Lastly, I have found the newer features with the ability to highlight, create notes, list, and underline to be very useful. My PocketBible is full of my personal notes, highlighted Scripture Passages and personal List that I can pull up for any particular moment to provide comfort, encouragement, and guidiance to those I come in contact with on a daily basis.
I am leading a session of “The Bible in 90 Days” at our church, and am using Pocket Bible on my Touch Pro to do my reading. I always have my phone with me, and I’m already in the habit of reading news on the phone, so this makes much more sense than toting around two pounds of paper.
I used Laridian’s book builder to create a 90-day “devotional” with links to the reading designated for each day. One tap, and the reading loads up. The highlight makes it clear when I come to the end of the day’s selection.
Even better, setting the Bible to auto-scroll makes reading more comfortable, and helps me keep my focus – if my attention fades or I start gathering wool, I know right away!
As a side benefit, the auto-scroll makes my reading time quite predictable, since each day’s chunk of scripture is very similar in length.
I have not carried an “analog” Bible with me for almost 5 years now. Sadly, my Windows Mobile SmartPhone is with me 24/7, but that means so is PocketBible. It’s main use is for my daily reading. I’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover four times using PocketBible; once with the Palm version, once on a Sone Clie’, and twice on my SmartPhone. Two years ago, I purchased Book Builder and started building creative ways to read through the Bible – Chronologically, backwards, forwards, etc. We almost always get away for Thanksgiving, and I spend the down time creating my reading plan for the next year. It gives me the feeling that I am planning how I will grow spiritually over the next year.
MyBible has been very helpful to me by looking up scripture in different translations when I am out with a Bible study group. However, It is so handy to look up the scriptures I’ve been memorizing in the special section of the program. Now I am planning to replace my cell phone with a Palm Centro with Verizon. I’m hoping to transfer all of the MyBible programs to the new phone, so I can have it all in one instrument. Thanks for this program.
Brad Beeler
MyBible has been very helpful to me by looking up scripture in different translations when I am out with a Bible study group. However, It is so handy to look up the scriptures I’ve been memorizing in the special section of the program. Now I am planning to replace my cell phone with a Palm Centro with Verizon. I’m hoping to transfer all of the MyBible programs to the new phone, so I can have it all in one instrument. Thanks for this program.
Brad Beeler
One of the features I like about the PocketBible software is the ability to keep notes attached to any verse in the Bible.
It would also be very helpful to have a feature for adding your own cross-references (without having to create them in a note); so that user-added cross-references display in-line with the text, just as permanent cross-references do in Bible books that have them.
I quickly read through the entries so far and don’t think I saw many using the Bookmark/Categories. I do a lot of street witnessing and talk to people in the translation they know.
I have 37 different categories for such as the JWs, Mormons, Jews, etc. I use the Blue Highlight for when speaking to Jews, Red for OT Adonai’s words, etc.
I believe all should be evangelized. In fact, from my Strong’s references, I learned that “evangelical” is a contraction of “eu” (good) “angeleos” (SP? for “angel” or “messenger”). So, all Evangelicals are, by definition, messengers of “Good News” (The Gospel).
From the Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNTC), I learned what “Tanak” means (it’s the acronym “TNK” for law, prophets, and writings…I’m going by memory so have grace). Our learned pastor (still loves the “analog” Bible) often says, “I didn’t know that.”
Thank you, Laridian. I have been using your product for 1.5 hours a day for the last 7 or 8 years.
To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (NIV, Mi 6:8)
Where don’t I use it. I am a missionary in Atlantic Canada which requires alot of travel. I use my PocketBible on my HTC Touch for study as I perpare for sermons, devotionals, and Children’s Meetings, and for personal Bible Reading. I use it most as a quick reference. I will be in a service somewhere or on the road and I hear a topic or a reference that causes me to open my PocketBible and look deeper. One of my favorite uses is for Children’s Meetings. I use it instaed of a printed Bible. Most, if not all of th echildren are into playing with their electronic devices and I want to show them that they can study God’s Word and use electronics. The first time they see me use it the reaction is “Wow, what’s that?” Almost as good as when I bring out my puppets.
I am a missionary in Siberia, yes you read it right, Siberia. I have been using PocketBible in various forms since 1999. I travel about 100,000 miles a year and bring PocketBible on my HTC Advantage or on my Windows PC everywhere I go. It is my primary bible and for the past 6 years I have only used a printed bible when I preach. (I have preached from my handheld a half a dozen times or so) I have 5 bible translations, 5 commentaries, several maps, devotionals and a bible reading plan. I have read through the entire bible using your plans each of the past 8 years on PocketBible. Each morning our family of five reads a chapter of the bible and discusses what it means and how we can apply the chapter to our lives. I use one of the commentaries or translations to clear up a point almost every day.
As a missionary, I am constantly working in two languages: English and Russian. Having multiple English translations helps me clarify difficult verses in Russian and provides commentary and insight with the many people that I disciple. The pocket sized computing bible helps me prepare sermons on a train, look up commentaries 500 miles from home, and even find answers to sticky questions while teaching a seminary class. Many Russian brothers and sisters come to me now and ask: “Andy what does your computer bible say about….?” It has become a resource for me and many other people.
I don’t plan on living life, following Jesus or training others without PocketBible. I can’t wait to have an offline version on my iPhone and one day, maybe just maybe we will have foreign language translations of the Bible.
Finally, when my daughters head off to college I plan on cutting and pasting many of my bible notes that relate to them in a special document. It is my prayer that the notes, thoughts and prayers that I have written for them over the years will be comforting when they are 12 time zones away. I couldn’t do this without PocketBible.
Gratefully: Andy