The author Richard Mason is a man on a mission. He would like to revolutionize the way we experience reading. He is enlivening storytelling through modern technology. Specially, he has developed an app that merges the written page with music, lights, and a stream of illuminating information.

He has started his work with his own book, History of a Pleasure Seeker. He imbedded in the text of his book something he calls “e-lumination.” In a way, it merges the words on the page with a movie that has a concert going on in the background. As you read along on line, you can view the setting through a whole series of photographs, hear music that depicts the scene and look up any concepts in a parallel encyclopedia. Talk about making a book come to life!

No doubt, Mr. Mason is on the forefront of a whole new literary format. It will be exciting to watch it unfold.

As I was thinking about this incredible “merge” I thought about the way most of us study our Bibles. We read along clambering over sections that we don’t really understand. Ignoring theological arguments we don’t get. Missing the cultural or geographical settings and we allow ourselves to be completely ignorant of the historical events surrounding that Bible story. And we wonder why we find it boring!

To my knowledge, no one has developed an app for Bible e-lumination. (Sure hope they do soon!) But in the meantime, there are some tools that you might like to consider adding to your personal library that can help enliven your time in God’s word. There are a number of one volume commentaries that can really help answer some wide ranging Bible questions. Consider adding The Wycliffe Bible Commentary to your family’s library.

And how about a really good bible atlas to help you picture the physical surroundings of a scripture passage? There is any number of good ones. I especially like the Then and Now Bible Maps published by Rose Publishing. It over lays modern-day cities and countries on top of a map of Biblical locations. Makes the newspaper come alive too!

Another great help in making the Bible come alive is The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times book by Ralph Gower. When you run into a Biblical custom that is hard to understand, this book will help you travel back in time and fully understand the setting and its application.

While we wait for the Biblical e-lumination app to be developed, this week let’s make sure we take responsibility and insure our personal Bible study time comes alive. It might take a little work, but it will be so profitable!

By His Grace and for His Glory,
Sherry L. Worel