Phil Gons

Bible & Tech

5 Reasons to Get Logos 5

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Logos Bible Software 5Three months ago we launched a brand new version of our Bible study software for PC and Mac: Logos Bible Software 5. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I’d encourage you to. Logos 5 is faster, better organized, and easier to use, and it has a cleaner look and lots of new and improved features. It’s a fabulous tool for studying the Bible, theology, church history, and so much more. I’ve been using it for more than a decade. It’s easily one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I wish every Christian family in the world owned at least one copy.

Here are five reasons you should consider purchasing it:

  1. It’s an excellent value. The base packages give you access to a wealth of books, data, and tools at a significant savings off print.
  2. It’s cutting-edge. You’ll get access to some one-of-a-kind data and tools that will help you study the Bible more deeply and efficiently.
  3. It’s accessible. Unlike most programs that limit the number of devices you can use your purchase on, Logos allows you to access your library on as many of your personal devices as you want: PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, and online at Biblia.com.
  4. It’s extensible. The base packages give you a library of hundreds or thousands of resources, but there’s plenty of room to grow from there. You can choose from more than 32,000 Logos and Vyrso books to grow your library to meet your needs.
  5. It’s on sale. The special introductory upgrade discounts end today (Monday, February 4, 2013).

If you’re still not sure, there’s a risk-free, 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. You can easily return it for a full refund if you’re not completely satisfied with your purchase.

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Does God Have Dreams for His People?

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The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

Talk of God’s having dreams seems to be growing in popularity—not the fall-asleep-and-see-strange-things kind, but the wishful, hopeful, I-really-want-this-to-happen kind. You won’t find this kind of language in (any?) English translations of the Bible. And you won’t find it in the writings of previous centuries’ theologians (e.g., Luther, Calvin, Owen, Edwards, Hodge, Spurgeon, and Warfield). But it’s all throughout the popular Christian literature of the last several decades.

I was reminded of this while rereading Sally Lloyd-Jones’s The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name with my wife and daughter during our family Bible time. There’s much to like about the book, but I’m not sold on the talk about God’s having dreams for His people—even in a book for children.

Here are three examples:

But God saved the best for last. From the beginning, God had a shining dream in his heart. He would make people to share his Forever Happiness. They would be his children, and the world would be their perfect home. (25)

God loves his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan—a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back. One day, he would make the world their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes. (36)

That’s the end of that dreamer! they thought. But they were wrong. God had a magnificent dream for Joseph’s life and even when it looked like everything had gone wrong, God would use it all to help make the dream come true. God would use everything that was happening to Joseph to do something good. (78)

It’s obvious that she’s using dream synonymously with plan, but I’m uncomfortable with some of the connotations and implications dream carries with it.

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8 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 8

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Windows 8 Pro UpgradeWindows 8 has been out for a few months, and it’s had mixed reviews. Some people like it; others hate it. I’m convinced that it’s a worthwhile upgrade for Windows 7 users (and a must for Windows Vista and earlier users)—especially at the current introductory price.

My experience with Windows 8 went something like this:

  1. Intrigued. When I saw what Windows 8 was going to try to do, I was impressed. Could Microsoft really unify desktop/laptop and tablet/phone OSes and apps?
  2. Frustrated. When I started trying to use it during the beta stage, my excitement turned to frustration. Where’s the Start button? Isn’t the new Start screen a step backwards? What use is there to having two different versions of the same apps? Why is sleeping, restarting, etc. buried? Wasn’t this really just two very different OSes poorly stitched together?
  3. Happy. Once I started noticing all of the nice little improvements throughout the OS and realized that I could ignore the new Start screen and launch apps and find stuff just as easily as I could in Windows 7 (hit the Windows key and start typing), I was sold on Windows 8.

Many others have had the same experience. So expect a learning curve and an adjustment period before you give up.

Here are 8 reasons you should consider upgrading to Windows 8:

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6 Tips to Help You Read More This Year

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Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading BooksI finished reading my first book this year, Tony Reinke’s Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books (Kindle | Vyrso). I read it on my Nexus 7 using the Vyrso app. If you want to read more books in 2013, you’ll find a lot of help and motivation from this fine book.

Tony gives six tips to help you read more books this year:

  1. Expect resistance from your heart.
  2. Make time to read, not excuses for why you don’t read. We all have good excuses.
  3. Cultivate a hunger for books by reading (and rereading) great books.
  4. Set your reading priorities, and let them drive your book selections.
  5. Stop doing something else in order to make time to read.
  6. Try reading three (or more) books at a time and take advantage of your environments.

On #5, I’ll be replacing some of my RSS reading with book reading.

Up next: Todd Billings’s Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church, which I’ll be reading in Vyrso.

What are you reading?

Boice’s Expositional Commentaries for $99.95

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James Montgomery Boice's Expositional CommentariesLogos is currently offering a huge discount on James Montgomery Boice’s 27-vol. Expositional Commentaries. Through Friday, July 13, it’s only $99.95 with coupon code JULYBOICE. That’s about $3.70 per volume.

These 27 volumes cover 24 books of the Bible. The print cost for all of these paperbacks at Westminster Bookstore is $409.08 with a list price of $620.64. So you’re saving a ton—both off the print price and the normal digital price (Logos normally sells the collection for $399.95).

Here’s the breakdown of what you get (with Westminster list and sale prices):

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The Works of Herman Ridderbos

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The Works of Herman RidderbosSince I first encountered Herman Ridderbos in seminary, I’ve been a fan of his writings and theology. I chose him as my theologian to study and present on in Advanced New Testament Theology. His writings changed the way I read and understand Scripture, helping me to see the more objective, redemptive-historical themes where I was inclined to see more subjective individualism. So I’m happy to see his works be made available to a broader audience who may not otherwise be acquainted with Ridderbos.

One of the great things about my job at Logos Bible Software is that I get to give input into what works we pursue and add to our offerings, which now number more than 26,000 resources (19,000 from Logos and 7,000 from Vyrso). I’ve been pushing for Ridderbos’s works for a while, so I was excited to see a collection go up on Pre-Pub earlier this week.

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Free Download—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

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Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

Logos Bible Software (my employer) is offering a free digital Christian book every month this year as part of its Free Book of the Month program. This month’s free book is John Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and it’s available for only a few more days. I’d encourage you to pick it up.

After you get the book, you can access it on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, or Android phone or tablet with one of the free Logos apps—or online at Biblia.com.

You can also enter to win a free copy of the 3-vol., 61-title Works of John Bunyan.

Here’s how Bunyan concludes his personal account “of the exceeding mercy of God in Christ” to him:

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