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Making Vital Connections With a Children’s Audio Bible

By Susan Slobac

Audio Bible study offers an easy to utilize method of spending time with God’s Word in the busiest of schedules. An added benefit of the audio Bible on CD is that it is flexible enough to be played back in a variety of different ways: from your home computer, or a personal CD player or DVD player. The audio Bible has now become widely available over the internet and can easily be be used in conjunction with digital technologies. One popular example is the MP3 Audio Bible which is increasingly popular with the general public. Your children can benefit from all of the digital expertise of audio Bible recordings. These recordings are brought to bear on the Word of God in order to share it with a multitude of people who, for many reasons, are not readers. Very young children, for example, are not at a stage in their development where they are able to read, and can thus benefit from being introduced to the Bible through listening to the children’s Bible in an audio format.

Children learn in predominantly one of three different ways: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Auditory learners learn by hearing new information, while visual learners gain new knowledge by seeing it, and kinesthetic learners are hands-on types who learn by doing. If your child happens to favor the auditory learning style, then sharing the Bible with them in an audio format might be just what they need to make a vital connection to the wisdom found in God’s Word.

Audio children’s bibles share the best of the Bible’s stories from both the Old and New Testaments in a dramatized version, which includes spoken character voices, music and even sound effects, to bring the Bible to life for your child. It also utilizes a child-friendly version of the Bible, which stays true to the meaning of the Bible but utilizes language that a child can understand easily. Another added attraction to audio children’s Bible stories on CD or mp3 is that they also often include songs which are age-appropriate for children and fun to sing.

Podcasts of children’s Bible stories are also beginning to be available on line. What this means is that you can purchase a subscription to the online service, and then have access to a list of all the different podcast episodes available, so you can pick and choose the ones you would like to listen to. They also come in a regularly downloaded time schedule, so that you can add them to your mp3 player for your child to listen to when he or she is on the go. Mp3 digital audio files compress the entire New Testament into a single CD, so there are no bulky books to cart around or find storage space for. The digital audio quality is the highest available, and provides a rich and clear sound of the Bible stories being shared.

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Audio Bibles and Podcasting Technologies

By Susan Slobac

With busy daily schedules, every member of your family likely faces time crunches on a regular basis. From the minute the alarm goes off in the morning, the heat is on to get ready and out the door in time for the commute or ride to school. There is precious little free time while at work, and then afterward another commute, a quick bite to eat and usually then off to an evening activity, such as sports, choir practice, or other social events. With such a packed time frame in which many of us live, Bible study can often fall to the bottom of our “to do” lists.

The solution to the dilemma of finding time to read the Bible, is to listen to it instead. With the introduction of the audio Bible this has become a simple answer. There are now audio Bible studies taking place acroos the World. Your personal audio Bible study will really take off because you can listen to your favorite passages while you do other things, such as commute or work around the house. The new aural technology of audio Bible podcasts are sweeping the Internet. Podcasting takes place when audio files are created and then made available online, so that individuals can download audio Bible files to their personal home computer or mp3 player. Audio Bible podcasts make fitting in time for Bible study much easier.

Audio Bible podcasts are available in several different versions, so you can select the ones that best meet your particular needs. If you enjoy hearing about missionary work being done in the field that utilizes the revolutionary new digital technology of the audio bible, you might enjoy podcasts that feature true stories from the missionary field and how lives are being changed through hearing the Word of God.

You can also subscribe to audio Bible downloads of the NIV audio Bible in a dramatized version of the New Testament. The great thing about this entertaining version, which features music, sound effects, and dramatized character voices, is that you can load it onto your mp3 player and take it with you wherever you go. You can listen and learn anytime you have a free moment in your busy daily schedule, because the audio Bible is ready whenever you are.

Children can also benefit from the audio Bible. You will find podcasts of a children’s version of the Bible, which includes the best stories from the Old and New Testament, all available in podcast format on the Internet. These wonderful podcasts expose your children to the best that the Bible has to offer, and also include age-appropriate fun songs that they will also enjoy singing along with.

We always benefit from the wisdom contained in the Proverbs and the Psalms. Now podcasts feature these wonderful books from the Bible, a chapter at a time for you to listen to in order to grown in knowledge and understanding that only comes from regularly absorbing the Word of God.

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Liberty Focused

By Thomas Greenslade

Free at last, free at last
I thank God I’m free at last
Free at last, free at last
I thank God I’m free at last
Way down yonder in the graveyard walk
I thank God I’m free at last
Me and my Jesus going to meet and talk
I thank God I’m free at last
On my knees when the light pass’d by
I thank God I’m free at last
Tho’t my soul would rise and fly
I thank God I’m free at last
Some of these mornings, bright and fair
I thank God I’m free at last
Goin’ meet King Jesus in the air
I thank God I’m free at last

On 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., quoted this Negro Spiritual in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Even more than the longing for social equality and political freedom, God’s people long for freedom from all that goes along with sin. Strangely, as soon as God has set us free, we are prone to enslaving ourselves again. Paul bemoaned the condition of the Galatians. So soon after they had been saved out of a bondage to laws and rituals, they become enslaved to laws and rituals again. “But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? … It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 4:9; 5:1 NIV)

There are core passages in the Bible that we refer to again and again when we are dealing with specific issues. For example, 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. Romans 7 is the “struggle with sin” chapter. John 3 is the salvation chapter. The core chapter about the liberty of the believer is Romans 14. We usually go to it in reaction to legalism. It does touch on that a little, but that is not the point of the chapter. The message here is much richer, and deeper. Usually I have heard people use this passage as ammunition when they argue with someone who will criticize their liberty. Actually, the message of this chapter is one of concern for that believer who hasn’t realized his liberty yet. The question is what is your attitude toward that person who criticizes your liberty? Are you concerned for them or contending against them? In this article I want to help you focus your liberty.

“What is Christian Liberty?”
Do not miss what is said in Romans 14:12, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Popular thinking says, “I have the liberty to do anything I think is right, and I should not be judged by anyone for doing it.” Did you notice what the focus in that statement is? “I… I… I…” That is what you will not find in Scripture. What you will find is that I do not have to do anything to be saved. I will no longer be condemned for the sin I have committed. I am not under the old Law. It was fulfilled by Jesus for me. But, does that mean that the only law that rules my life is what I want to or don’t want to do? Not so. “…the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” ( Romans 8:2 NASB) One law has made me free from another. I am free from the law that condemns, but I still am under a law that guides behavior. “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” ( James 2:12 NKJV) What is the Law of Liberty? It is basically this:

• “… let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way… For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” ( Romans 14:13, 7-8 NIV)
• “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.” ( 1Corinthians 10:23 NIV
• The reason he wrote this was that the Corinthians were doing whatever they wanted to do without any consideration of how it might impact others. Then they objected to anyone who challenged them on it.
  The Lord Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” ( John 13:34 NIV) Your concern is not that you are going to be condemned. Your concern is this, “How is what I am doing going to affect someone else?” That focus of the Law of Liberty is what is explained in Romans14.

The Focus of Liberty
First and foremost, “…none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” ( Romans 14:7 NIV) It is not, “What can I do for me?” It is, “What can I do for you, Lord?” The basic rule of life is, love the Lord who loves people. I serve Him by treating people tenderly and carefully. Remember, Jesus said that the Law is wrapped up in two statements:

· Love the Lord your God with all of yourself

· Love your neighbor in the same way that you take care of yourself

Do I love God? Then I will also love my neighbor. Do I not love my neighbor? Then I do not love God. Who is my neighbor? He is the person I would hold in the least esteem. Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach them this. (Luke 10:30-37) The Jews hated Samaritans, but Jesus flip flopped and used the perspective of the Samaritans. The person the Samaritan would hold in least esteem would probably be a Jew. Today, for the Jew, you could replace the Samaritan with a Palestinian, or more especially with the al Queda.

I wonder who it would be for you. Who do you esteem the least? Do what is love for that person. This is what Romans 14:1 is focused on. “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” The word “Accept” in the original language does not just mean “to be with you,” but “to help” him. It is like saying, “Lend him your hand.” The Syriac version does say, “Give him a hand.” Do like the Samaritan did for the beaten Jewish traveler. Read about it in Luke 10:30-37 and then look again at Romans 14:1. Here is what he tells you not to do, “dispute over doubtful things.” Do not argue with this errant believer about the standards & beliefs about which you believe he is wrong. Listen to this testimonial.

• “I can truthfully say that I am slow to see the blemishes of fellow beings, being myself full of them. And, therefore, being in need of their charity, I have learnt not to judge anyone harshly and to make allowances for defects that I may detect.” — Mahatma, Gandhi.

Gandhi was not a follower of Jesus Christ. He was a Hindu. If anyone should truly be like this, it should be the experienced and mature follower of Jesus Christ. The weak believer has doubts. He worries that he must still do these things to be right with God. Please understand a difference. There are mature, strong Christians who keep certain standards, not because they believe that they must in order to be right with God, but they do so out of a love for God and revulsion for worldliness. They believe that for them this is better. For instance, I have friends who don’t have a TV. They don’t think it is a sin for me to have a TV, but their stomach is so turned by the pervasive carnality on TV, and they are so concerned about the effect of TV on the sensibilities of their family, that it is better for them not to have TV. When they were visiting in my home they didn’t scorn me at all. On my part, in respect for them, I did not turn on the TV. This is different from the person who is convinced that God is going to judge you for having a TV; that watching any kind of TV is a sin. That person thinks that if you have one you are out of the will of God. That is the person you are relating to in Romans 14:1. Is he wrong for judging you? Yes he is wrong. You can state that you see things differently than he does. You can even discuss it if you both can do it calmly, but do not get hot and argue with him. If he gets hot try to graciously bow out. “But he makes statements that are condemning toward me!” What did Jesus do when the Jews condemned him? “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”(1 Peter 2:21,23 NIV) Leave your defense in God’s hands. You receive them, and lend a hand to help them.

What kinds of things might that person have erroneous standards about? As an example Paul lists eating foods, observing a holy day, drinking wine. In other words, anything… (Romans 14:2,5,21 NIV) Can someone follow a diet without condemning you? Sure he can. Can someone abstain from work on Sunday without condemning you? Yes. But what if he does condemn you? Don’t you try to argue him into seeing it your way? You can not change any man’s heart. Only God is able.Your responsibility is to not condemn that man for his condemnation of you. That is God’s business. Instead, “…If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…” (Romans 12:20 NIV) Give him a hand. Receive him to help him in some practical way: food, drink…, a hand. Does God love him? Yes! So do that which is love for this person that God loves, who God loved so much that while he was still a sinner, Jesus died for him. (Romans 5:8 NIV)

It is hard to relate to someone who is condemning toward you. This focus helps you. It defines what your master wants you to do with that person: not to convince him, but to help him. “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat …” (Romans 14:3 NKJV) Did you catch the direction of the despising? It is not the one with all the rules who is despising the one who doesn’t. It is the strong believer despising the legalistic believer. Don’t do it. “But what about him condemning me?” Let God deal with it. Leave room for God to work. (Romans 12:19 NIV) It is between God and him. Romans 14:4 tells you, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” God is able to deal with him. Leave it there.

Focus is the key to so many things: your camera, binoculars, glasses… When you go to renew your driver’s license they will check your eyesight. Why? Driving blind is dangerous! Dangerous to whom? To yourself? Yes, but their concern is mostly that it is a danger to others. “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Corinthians 8:9 NIV) “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13 NIV) Here in Romans 14 the focus is “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8 NIV) If your eyes are filled with the Lord the things you do will be guided by His concern for others. Is that a description of you?

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