However, every good gift from God can be abused. Of all the study tools, perhaps in our day the Study Bible is the resource that is most often misused. For example, many who have taught the Bible have felt the frustration when, instead of meditating on the passage of Scripture being taught, several in the group were busy reading and then sharing from the study notes at the bottom of the page!I read this article this morning and could not agree any more with the author. I went through a period of time in college where I would read a verse, then read the study notes, then read the next verse, then look for notes, etc. I wasn't listening to what God was trying to teach me, I was reading what God taught someone else years ago.
I love study bibles. I think they have a great purpose. And I have at least 3 of them. But I finally realized that I wasn't really getting anything out of my bible reading and I needed something different. I went on a hunt for a bible that was just a bible. No study notes, no devotions. Just cross-references and maps and the Word of God. It took me awhile to find one, but I finally did. I've been using my Just a Bible Bible for about 7 years now and I LOVE it. I am amazed at how much God shows me when I'm not reading somebody else's interpretation of scripture.
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