The
Nature of this Site
This
site is for any who wish to use it to help them enter into a regular
Bible Reading habit, and to understand the Bible more fully. It is very
simple and straight forward and lacks any graphics. We have nothing
to sell and simply wish to provide these studies for free use by individuals
desiring to learn more of the Christian faith through the Bible.
But please be warned, you will only get value out of the Studies if
you spend time and follow the instructions. If you are casual with the
Bible, you will get little from it!
The
Author
The
author of the studies found on this site is Tony Thomas, a retired pastor
in Essex, United Kingdom.
Making
contact with us
If
you wish to contact Tony personally, with comments or questions, please
use tony.thomas@rochfordlife.com
Please do not send us spam e-mails for they will be automatically
deleted.
The
History
When
Tony's children were small, he and his wife, Helen, wanted to teach
their children the basics of the Bible and so Tony started writing
sets of very simple notes for their three children. These consisted
of half a dozen questions with spaces for answers based on a few Bible
verses each day.
Eventually
these basic children's studies developed, and sets of monthly daily
Bible reading notes came into being. As Tony developed these for
adult use, the present style developed and were published and sold.
To see more of his testimony and things learnt, then CLICK
HERE
The
Notes
As
you will see from the two main Contents Pages, the notes now cover a
large portion of the Bible. They have been written mainly for use with
the New International Version of the Bible. [There is now also an additional,
more detailed approach to Bible Studies - see 'Frameworks' on the fornt
page.]
The
style of Bible Alive notes [and the later Frameworks' notes] is to help
you, the reader, read and take in the Bible. The purpose is not for
the author to give devotional thoughts. You will be blessed
and changed when you regularly take in the Bible. We hope the
notes have been pitched at a level where new Christians and old alike
can find benefit from this approach.
You
do need to be warned, however, that this approach requires a measure
of self-discipline together with a genuine desire to learn what God
has said in His word.
The
objective of this site is now to make available, freely, these Studies
to any individual who would like to use them.
The
notes seek to be simple and straight forward for simple daily reading
or study purposes and do not seek to go into detail over authors, background
etc. which would be more the prerogative of Commentaries.
The
Overall Structure of the Studies
Each
"Study" is a reading for a single day, although some people
prefer to do two a day.
Depending
on the size of the book being studied, a Study usually will cover between
2 to 10 verses. A set of Studies covers approximately thirty
days.
At
the beginning of each set of Studies you will find an
INTRODUCTION
PAGE
that
sets the scene for the Studies to come.
Where
it seems appropriate, often about every seven days, there is a RECAP
page
to remind you of the things you have read in the previous week.
Sometimes there will be additional
specialist pages to
explain some concept, or background to the passage just read.
At
the end of each set of Studies you will find a SUMMARY
page
which gives you an overview of the chapters or book that you have just
read, and a CONCLUSION
page
that highlights some of the things the passages have taught.
The
Daily Approach
Most
Studies will start off with six "Find
Out" Questions,
to make you actually take in the verses for the day, followed by three
"Think"
Questions
to
just help you pause up and reflect on some of what you've read.
This
is then followed by a "Comment"
section
which
takes you back over the passage explaining the reading for the day to
help it remain with you even more.
Finally,
there is a two-question "Application"
at
the end of the Study, simply to point up a couple of things to be remembered
or to pray about.
Well
that is "Bible Alive". We hope you enjoy reading God's
word as much as we have done down through the years.
Additional
Resources
In
addition to the Daily Bible Studies, the site now also carries a number
of other series of teaching specific subjects based on the Bible, as
well as a considerable number of 'meditations' plus various books based
on the Bible that we have written to encourage Christians and Seekers
alike.
Be
blessed!