My wife often accuses me of loving technology for its own sake. But there is so much that can be done using the latest means of communication: blogs, podcasts, websites, and prayer newsletters. For many users of these communication tools, Bible software is indispensable. Allow me to show you how today's Bible software titles can add spiritual flavor to technological advances.

Weblogs
A blog (shorthand for weblog) is a journal where ideas run like racehorses. I host two of these, and I find I need constant input from Bible software to keep up with the many readers who post comments. On one blog, we were discussing the value that action has over words. I opened the QuickVerse™ program to look up everything I could find on the issue of action versus religious conversation.

Fortunately, QuickVerse™ is simple to search. It allows me to create my own booklists and even my own books, clipping and pasting from various volumes within the vast QuickVerse™ library. I can also e-mail directly from the program, sending verses or clips from these books to blog participants without having to open my e-mail program. Within seconds, I am back on the blog, entering the digital conversation with speed and theological accuracy.

I might find an answer in Unger's Bible Dictionary and add a quote from the Explorers Bible Study. QuickVerse's™ many commentaries and dictionaries give me all the tools I need to add authority to my online commentary.

Podcasts
Several members of my church host podcasts. A podcast is an informal, online broadcast that can be downloaded to any MP3 player, or listened to on any computer. It requires either detailed planning or the ability to compose the program on the fly. Most podcasters usually go for the second option.

Franklin Electronic Publishers produces a quality set of tools that can be handy when using the Bible with podcasting. Their handheld Bible (KJV or NIV) can be searched much more quickly than a standard desktop computer. In addition to search capabilities, the Franklin has a built-in clock for watching the time on the podcast, and an organizer for outlining its content. Franklin also makes a handheld Holman Bible Dictionary, which is useful for looking up alternate translations. Holman has built-in reference material linked to all the major translations available today.

Current Issues
This past December, the film version of the C. S. Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened in theaters around the world. Our church community put together an outreach package to help believers communicate the deeper truths of this story. We used several different programs to aid us in compiling the material and publishing it on our web page.

Logos Bible Software from Libronix was essential for searching out the themes of spiritual warfare, good vs. evil, and even references to lions. As we found a useful idea, we pasted it to the clipping area. In addition, I began using InterVarsity Press's Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, which contained several pithy sections on spiritual warfare. Working with the Libronix database, the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture library contains medieval and early church writings, which are as timeless and useful as any I have found.

Group Studies
Online communities are groups of people who identify each other on the Internet based on some affinity or subject. For instance, I participate with many others in discussing the "emerging church," a postmodern take on contemporary Christianity. To keep up on other current trends in theology, I employ several programs. In addition to Libronix and QuickVerse™, I often turn to the Zondervan NIV Bible Study Library. It contains many seminary-level volumes, as well as popular titles on theological and biblical subjects.

For instance, I recently worked through seven of the nine study Bibles in the New American Standard program to prepare for a discussion on the Sermon on the Mount. In addition, I used the Dictionary on Cults and Occult to counter a serious error being introduced by a new participant. In another discussion on Creationism, I used insights from the Dictionary on the Christian Church and the Dictionary on Bible Archeology. Often, community members will ask me to look up things in the study library. I now encourage them to buy their own.

Newsletters
Since desktop publishing software is now common, many Christians are utilizing this tool to keep up with all their friends. The NAS Electronic Bible Library is a simple and helpful program to keep the content sharp in your newsletters. Based upon the text of the New American Standard Bible, there are a variety of textbooks and study guides that make searching and finding Bible truths enjoyable. You could make reference to a Bible character in the newsletter and within seconds have all the background material necessary from the NAS Topical Bible, NAS Concordance, or Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. All of this comes with the Libronix search engine capabilities and therefore can be pasted neatly into a newsletter.

Information travels faster today than ever before. Bible software and tools help you keep up with the pace by making research fast and easy. No matter how you are using Internet and web technology to communicate with others, you can be prepared with appropriate, relevant, and life-changing truth from the Bible.

Mike Phillips is a freelance author, counselor, and church planter living in Sacramento, California.