A few years ago, I received a terrible email. The company that had created the Bible software I had used for over 15 years—BibleWorks—was closing its doors. Updates would no longer be provided, which meant that, as my computer operating system continued to update, it was only a matter of time before my favorite study tool was rendered unusable.
“Oh, my software, BibleWorks, O BibleWorks, my software, my software!” I was crushed. BibleWorks wasn't a software; it was a friend. We’d spent thousands of hours together. And my grief was not over the thought of learning a new software; I couldn’t imagine another tool that could rival BibleWorks’ power and utility. I was convinced that life after BibleWorks would be a wasteland of second-bests.
Uncertain if I could ever love again, I had no choice but to turn to another tool. I tried a couple of options, but landed on Logos. “You’ll never be BibleWorks, but I have to have something,” was my attitude.
Why am I telling you this? Believe it or not, I want to commend Logos to you! Simply put, I…love it. I’ll always remember fondly my days with BibleWorks, but Logos has won me over.
I have no financial incentive at all to recommend Logos. As one brother to his brothers and sisters, I tell you this is a phenomenal software that could be a great benefit to you in your pursuit of the Lord through the Word.
For a while, Logos has been listed on our Resources/Bible Study page as a paid bible study tool. It is certainly true there are tiers that provide resources and features that require payment, however, the free version has plenty of features to be very helpful to you:
- 2 Audio Bibles: Lexham English Bible, English Standard Bible
- 1 Study Bible: Faithlife Study Bible
- 2 Bible Commentaries: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Word Studies in the New Testament
- The Lexham Bible Dictionary
- Multiple Devotionals, including Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening
- Ten Interlinears. (Interlinears show the original text in parallel with a corresponding English translation. This allows one to easily see which Hebrew or Greek word underlies any English word in a translation.)
- Various cross-reference tools, including The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and Old Testament Quotations and Allusions in the New Testament
- Notes feature. The software allows you to take notes linkable to any Bible or other resource. The sky is the limit regarding how you use these notes and there are a number of ways to organize them.
Two tools that I believe would be extremely helpful to anyone.
Devotional Workflow. This is a tool that walks you through steps for reading and devotionally digesting a passage of the Bible, tailored to whatever section of Scripture you’re reading that day. It provides a guide for praying, reading, reflecting, and praying back through the passage. If you feel like your devotional time lacks focus…this workflow could be a blessing to you.
Basic Bible Study Workflow. Bible study is more involved than Bible reading. This workflow will guide you through the basic process of studying whatever Bible passage you choose. If you’ve got no clue how to study or you could just use some guardrails to keep you on task, this is a great tool.
Because Logos offers desktop, web, and mobile versions—all of which automatically sync—you always have your tools, your notes, your studies available. While some features, like the workflows, are only available on the desktop version, the notes are with you everywhere.
The Support page offers a wealth of tutorials so that you can get the most out of all the tools. Well worth the time.
One other thing to share…whenever we start a new Home Fellowship Group book at PBF, I try to get the electronic version on Logos. I understand a lot of people like the print versions; I’m certainly sympathetic to that. However, Logos allows me to take notes on the book and jump to any Scripture reference in the book with a simple tap of the reference. That book is then also included in any future search I do.
The free version of Logos includes 25+ digital resources, which if paid for, would be worth almost $800. But again, the free version is…free.
There are other great tools out there. And some among us prefer to live the analog life. I just wanted to share something that has been incredibly useful to me. May the Lord bless you in your pursuit of the Bible no matter what your preference!
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