online devotional tools

Gone are the days when people come over and ask to borrow a book from my library. Nowadays, it’s just easier to find what you’re looking for online. Thank God for Google! But amidst all the options floating around in cyberspace, who can tell what’s a good resource with good theology. I’ve come across some with sites that teach some weird stuff. So I thought I’d share some online resources I use for study and devotionals.

1. www.ibs.org - The International Bible Society. When you’re at your computer and you don’t have a bible, this is a good place to search for a passage. They have many translations, and you can even parallel them. I like to parallel different translations to see how they interpret certain passages and verses. Also, a new site I like is www.youversion.com. On YouVersion you can make notes on your bible study and share it with others. And sharing is caring! Both sites also give daily reading suggestions for those times you don’t know where to turn for a good quiet time.
2. www.crosswalk.com - An intersection of faith and life. Though I don’t come here as often, this is a loaded site. It contains devotionals, commentaries, concordances, videos and blogs. More than enough to choose from, and mostly good stuff.
3. www.soniclight.com - This is a good place to find a decent online bible commentary. Dr. Constable, a seminary professor, has made all of his study notes available online. He has a commentary on every book of the bible that you can download as a PDF and take with you.
4. www.monergism.com - This one is a little heavier than the others. But great stuff here. Articles, commentary, daily devotionals, sermons and hot topics. Monergism is the name for the belief that the Holy Spirit alone can act to bring about conversion. Sound reformed? That’s because it comes from John Calvin’s theology. Thus, this site comes mostly from a reformed view.
5. www.desiringgod.org - This is John Piper’s collection of ministry resources. An index of his sermons as well as articles and blogs are available here. Sometimes when I’m stuck in a preaching rut, I turn here to get unstuck.

These are just a few places I frequent for online help when preparing messages, bible studies and for personal devotion. I’m sure there are many more gems I have yet to discover, but sometimes less is more. Do you have any websites that have helped you in your spiritual formation?? If so, please share!

In tomorrow’s post will share what blogs I read.