Studies In Scripture » Randy A. Brown

Writing in an Expensive Bible

Randy A. Brown — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:38:49 +0000

Many of us don’t feel comfortable writing in our Bibles. The more expensive the Bible the harder it is to take a pen to it and start writing. Many times I write something barely legible and try to fix it only to make it worse. I used to struggle to come up with something to write, and when I did finally write something it was almost irrelevant. Sometimes I would write an observation that was so obvious that the note didn’t help me. Here are a few tips that may help you if you want to write in your Bible but don’t know where to start.

Print out a Bible page and practice before writing in your Bible. You can print a page by highlighting the text from a Bible online, download a printable Bible, or print a Bible from software on your computer. This will allow you to get more comfortable with writing with the Bible text before writing in your own Bible.

Write your notes on paper first, and then transfer the note to your Bible when you’re ready. This way you can work out what you want to say, and then decide if it needs to be written in your Bible. I’ve written many notes that I won’t transfer to my next Bible. Writing your notes out on paper first helps you to see beforehand if it really needs to be in your Bible or not.

Buy a cheaper Bible and practice. You don’t have to start with the most expensive Bible. I started with an inexpensive Bible and developed my own system. I learned what I liked and didn’t like and bought another Bible and started over. I did this several times until I was ready to write in a better quality Bible.

Get good quality pens for marking your Bible. Marks that bleed through and smear look terrible in your Bible. I recommend pens or pencils that don’t leave indentions in the paper, bleed through, fade, or smear. My favorite markers are Pigma Micron. They are archival quality and work great. My favorite pencils for coloring are PrismaColor.

It’s OK not to write in your Bible- even if it’s made for writing in (like a wide margin Bible). Don’t let others pressure you into writing in your Bible if you don’t want to. Don’t feel obligated to just because others are doing it. Use whatever system works for you. If you would rather write in a notebook than your Bible, that’s perfectly fine. The key is that you take notes as you study the Bible. Work with the text and apply what you’ve learned- even if you don’t feel comfortable writing in your Bible.

Bible Study Methods – Book Study

Randy A. Brown — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:53:27 +0000

Book study is the most basic and fundamental Bible study method. It can be helpful to study a little here and a little there, but studying the whole book helps keep everything in its proper context. Studying the Word of God one book at a time helps to get the big picture. It’s like looking at the Scriptures first with a telescope before looking at the Scriptures through a microscope. The telescope gives us the proper foundation to see how all the parts fit together as a whole so that when we look through the microscope we can better understand how the parts relate to each other and how they are to be applied.

Book study is the most difficult and includes many other study methods. It includes inductive study, where you write questions, answers, thoughts, lists, etc. It also includes marking, where you mark the main points, topics, etc. It includes topical study, where you identify topics throughout the book. It can also include a devotional study, where you journal what is speaking to you at this specific time in your life.

There are many ways to do a book study. This is not the only method you should try, but hopefully there will be something here that can help you grow in God’s Word. Always begin with prayer. Ask God to lead you as you dig deeper into His Word.

First, read the whole book. If it’s a small book try reading it in one sitting. If it’s a larger book, try reading as much in one sitting as possible so you can get through the book in just a few days. Don’t worry about the details yet. Just try to grasp the main points.

Next, read the book again. This time, write down the main points that speak to you.

Then, read the book again. This time try to answer who, what, when, why, and how. Write your answers to each question. Ask yourself the questions as many times as you can. Write down who the writer is and who the writer is writing to and why. What are the circumstances that caused the book to be written? What are the key thoughts, passages, and verses? What is the literary style? Does the book have a key verse? Who are the key characters? What are the key events? Were the key points applied? How?

Next, read the book again. This time, divide the book into sections. Take the major points and events in each section to create your own headings for each section.

Next, read the book again. This time, this time, take the headings you’ve written to help you form an outline of the book.

While reading the book, use your outline to help you write a summary of each chapter. Once you’ve written a summary of each chapter, try writing a summary of the whole book.

Read the book again. This time, mark the text. Mark the main points, topics, and events that speak to you.

To grow even deeper, try writing your own commentary of the book. Also try teaching the book to others. Use your notes as your teaching material.

This method is a lot of work, but when you’re done you will master the book. Each time you read it you will see something that you overlooked before. This method is the most difficult, but most complete and thorough method of Bible study. I feel that it gives the greatest results. This method will help you build a foundation to build your own cross references, word studies, topical studies, character studies, etc., and it will give you what you need to teach it to others. You might even remember a verse or two along the way.

12 Minute Prayer Challenge by Anita Sargeant

Randy A. Brown — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:06:07 +0000

Most Christians struggle to pray just a few minutes a day. Eventually, a few minute a day becomes a few minutes a week. A lot happens to our spiritual health and growth when we let our prayer time slip. We become caught up in the cares of the world. We lose sight of what God wants us to do. We become lukewarm, and eventually cold and backslid. The solution is prayer, but the question that keeps us from prayer is how to start. How do we build a successful prayer life that will help us to grow in God?

12 Minute Prayer Challenge by Anita Sargeant is a book that shows just that. In this book, Anita Sargeant demonstrates how to build, develop, and maintain a successful and consistent prayer life. Anita lovingly and vividly shows us how to pray using the Lord’s Prayer as a model. She uses the unique analogy of a house and its rooms to teach the Lord’s Prayer and provides example prayers to get us started.

The example prayers even have a devotional element to them. You could read the prayers as a short devotional or daily meditation. Some of the prayers include questions for us to answer and blanks to fill in. This helps us to think deeper about our prayers, which helps us to get more out of prayer.

Even though this is a small book, it is very obvious that a lot of difficult research has gone into writing it. Anita has included lots of scientific facts about prayer including quotes from neurologists on the benefits of prayer.

Anita also shows that 12 minutes is just a starting point. Once you’ve developed a 12 minute prayer habit, it is easier to pray longer and more fruitful. I highly recommend 12 Minute Prayer challenge by Anita Sargeant. Praying just 12 minutes a day will make a difference in your spiritual journey.

You can purchase 12 Minute Prayer Challenge by Anita Sargeant from ApostolicWinds.com or Pentecostal Publishing House

This review copy was provided free for review by the author. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review.

Prayer

Cambridge Concord in Black Calf Split Leather, KJV

Randy A. Brown — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:27:53 +0000

Cambridge has been busy bringing out new editions. Their newest edition is an old classic in a new package. The Concord is a classic setting that has been around for many years, but now it’s available in calf split leather.

The Concord has a nice layout and set of features that works:

8-point semi-bold font
Red letter
Self-pronouncing text
Translators to the Reader
Center-column references
Thin opaque paper
15 maps
Sewn binding
Gilded edges
2 ribbon markers
Thumb index
Bible dictionary
Glossary
Concordance
Calf split leather cover
8.25×5.5×1.25

Cover

This new edition comes in calf split leather. Calf split is a higher quality leather than French Morocco. It is thicker than French Morocco and has about the same stiffness, but the finish is not as shiny. It might loosen up with use. It has a fine pebbly grain that looks like calf-skin. It is very pretty.

Binding

The Concord is Smyth sewn. This allows the Bible to lay flat, even at the beginning or end of the Bible. It has the same construction as the French Morocco edition.

Paper

The paper is an opaque India paper. It is thin, but it’s not easy to see through. It is more opaque than most Bibles that I’ve seen. It has a slight cream tint, which makes it easier to read for long periods of time.

Cross-References

There are plenty of cross-references and translation notes in the center-column. The references have a unique system in that they are not keyed to the text with letters and numbers. Instead, they have the verse number on the side of the column that contains the verse, and then the references and notes. The translation notes give you the word or phrase that the notes refer to. There’s no way to know which portion of the verse the references refer to.

Text

The font is around 8-piont and is semi-bold. It is clean and easy to read. The red is bold, but not too bold. It’s really red and not brown or pink. It’s a deep, rich red that looks nice. This is my favorite red-letter. The text is clean and unobstructed from cross-reference and translation note keys, making it a very readable text. One thing I like about all Cambridge Bibles is the consistency of the print- even in the red-letter text. With most publishers, the text will be dark on one page and light on another. The red goes from red to pink and then red again. Not so with Cambridge, and this Concord is no different. The boldness of the print remains constant no every page (as you would hope with a Bible in this price range).

Concordance

The Concord’s concordance is the same concordance that is found in the wide-margin edition and the Cameo. There are lots of entries- more than most Bibles, but I find this concordance to be confusing. Most concordances have one verse per line of text. This one starts the next verse directly after the last verse (on the same line). This causes you to read through the entries more closely to see where one verse starts and another ends. To make it more confusing, some of the entries are out of order because they relate to another verse that is similar. This makes me think I’m looking at verses in one book when I’m actually looking at verses from a completely different area. If you can get used to it, it has plenty of entries to be a great study tool.

Glossary

There is a seven page glossary that explains the meaning of words that have either changed meaning or are no longer used since the KJV was first translated. The definition includes the part of speech and a few of the most prominent verses where the word is used.

Bible Dictionary

The real jewel in this edition is the Bible Dictionary, which is one of my favorite features. At 128 pages, there are plenty of entries on many topics including people, places, objects, information about each book of the Bible, harmony of the Gospels, names and titles of Jesus, chronological tables, quotes and the verses where they are quoted, and more. There is a wealth of study information in the dictionary. I like having a dictionary this handy in my carry Bible.

Maps

The Concord has the same standard 15 maps as the wide-margin and Cameo. They are four-color and look great.

Translators to the Reader

This edition still has the Translators to the Reader. I feel that this is an important document that should always be included with the KJV. Many publishers have excluded it from their Bibles, but it’s important to know the thoughts of the translators for any translation.

Thumb Index

It’s good to see this Bible being offered in thumb-index. This thumb index is different from those found in other Cambridge Bibles. All of the index tabs are facing the same direction. I like that many books have their own tab. I can go straight to Mark instead of having to find it once I’m in the ballpark. It is also available without thumb-index.

Ribbons

There are two black ribbon markers. They are 5/16 wide and are more than long enough to pull to the corner and open the Bible with. They are longer than the markers in my Concord wide-margin. Now that I’ve had Bibles with two markers it’s hard to go back to just one. I think two markers should be standard in all Bibles.

Size

I like the size of this Bible. It’s around 8.25×5.5×1.25, making it a hand-sized Bible. It is much smaller, thinner, and lighter than the wide-margin and still has slightly larger text. The text is not much larger, but it is larger. This is the size Bible I want to be holding when we’re standing and reading the Bible for a long period of time. It is easy to hold in one hand and read.

Conclusion

The Cambridge Concord reference edition in black calf-skin (with red-letter and thumb-index) has a lot to offer in a hand-sized Bible. The calf-split is a good compromise between goat-skin and French Morocco without sacrificing quality. It has a superior paper and print combination. The only paper that is better is in the wide-margin edition. With thumb-index, red-letter, and a Bible dictionary, the Concord in black calf-split leather makes a great carry and study Bible.

Baker Publishing provided this Bible free for review. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Journaling Through the Word of God

Randy A. Brown — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:30:11 +0000

Journaling is a great interactive Bible study method. It helps you to interact with God’s Word by recording your thoughts on what you’re reading. Going back through your journal can help you reflect on what God has shown you in His Word. Your journal can be in your Bible, in a separate notebook, or even in a digital format. Your journaling method can be as simple as recording a thought about a passage, or as complex as developing a verse-by-verse commentary. Journaling is a great way to grow deeper in God’s Word.

Advantages of Journaling

Journaling your way through the Word of God has many advantages. For one, it causes us to slow down and look deeper at the text. It can be so easy to focus on breezing through as chapters a day as you can, but it’s also easy to breeze through those chapters and miss the details. Journaling helps us to slow down and look closer at what is going on or being said. It allows us to see things we might normally gloss over and not really see.

Journaling also helps in memorizing Scripture. I have a hard time memorizing Scripture. I can repeat a verse, or even write a verse over and over and it can still be difficult to remember. When I take my time and talk about a verse, whether I’m talking or writing, I often remember a verse without even trying.

Types of Journals

There are many options to keeping a journal. One popular method is to use a Bible made just for that purpose- a journaling Bible. A journaling Bible is a Bible with writing space; usually on the outside margin and ruled. Some leave one side of the page blank. You can also use a regular wide-margin Bible. I’m partial to the wide-margins available from Cambridge and LCBP. An advantage in using your Bible for your journal is that you will have created your own devotional Bible or a study Bible complete with notes. For my journaling I will use the Take Note Bible from Nelson. It is available in both KJV and NKJV for around $20.00.

Another option is to write in a notebook. The advantage to using a notebook is you are not limited to the space in your Bible and you can use any Bible.

You could print the Bible pages and write on the pages that you’ve printed. The advantage to this is you can print what you want when you want.

Another option is to keep your journal digitally. This includes a smart-phone, tablet, PC, laptop, blog, etc. The advantage to using a digital device, especially a PC, is that you can easily publish your work. This allows you to use your journal as teaching material, study material, blog posts, newsletters, devotionals, or even a book.

I really like journaling in a Bible, but I recommend starting out with pen and paper. Most people are reluctant to write in a Bible because they are afraid of making mistakes. Notebooks can be used anywhere and feels slightly more inductive. If you want to journal in a Bible, I recommend buying an inexpensive Bible for this purpose, but practice on paper first.

The most important thing is to get a journal that you feel comfortable writing in and put it to use.

How to Journal

Whether you follow a reading plan or just read what you feel lead to, journaling is a great benefit to your daily devotional routine. Here are a few tips to get started. You can use any one or all of these tips in any way that works for you. This list is not exhaustive, but it might help get you started:

Always start with prayer
Read the whole chapter first
Reread a passage several times
Look for the main points
Summarize the main points
Pray for guidance
Write down your thoughts on those points
Write down your observations
Write down any definitions that help you to understand the passage
Write down any references to similar verses
Write questions and answers you have about the text
Make sure to keep everything in its proper context
Use more than one translation if you need to
Write down how this point applies to your life
End with prayer

What to Write With

Pigma Micron markers work the best for me. They are archival quality and do not run, smear, or fade. They have very little bleed-through and come in many colors. You can use any pencil or pen that will write well in your Bible or journal, but Pigma Micron is my choice.

Concluding Thoughts

My time for journaling at least a few times per week. Don’t get in a hurry. Don’t feel like you have to journal through the Scriptures by a set time (like once per year). Journaling is different from reading. You might read the Bible through in a year (or more), but you might spend a week journaling just one chapter or passage. That’s OK. The purpose of journaling is to dig deeper into God’s Word, and that takes time.

Pray at each point. Start with prayer. Observes the Scriptures, and then pray about your observations. Pray about the application, and then apply the Scriptures. Finish with prayer, and then share with someone else what God has shown you in His Word.

What do you do with your journal when you’re done? I like using my journal to reflect on what God has shown me in the Scriptures. I also like using my journal as a teaching tool- both for developing lessons and for teaching from. If I’ve journaled in my Bible, then my Bible could be a good study Bible or carry Bible.

There’s no better time to start than now.

Applying the Word of God

R L Allan Oxford Clarendon Wide Margin KJV in Black Highland Goatskin

Randy A. Brown — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:01:42 +0000

R L Allan’s latest King James edition is the nice wide margin that was formerly published by Oxford. The font, layout, and margin are the same, but this wide margin has been given Allan’s exquisite binding treatment, making it the most durable and flexible wide margin available in KJV.

Here are the basic features:

Highland Goatskin
Epistle Dedicatory and Allan Royal License
Center column References
Chapter summaries
3 Dark Blue Ribbon Markers
Leather Lined
Smyth sewn
Semi yapp
Gilt line inside
Red under gold page edges (art-gilt)
8/9 point Bold Clarendon type
Italics for inserted text
Same pagination as regular size Brevier Clarendon editions
8.5 x 7 x 1.5 inches
1.5 inch margin
1536 pages
15 (16 pages) full color Oxford Bible maps
26 page for notes
48 pages of lined writing paper
Coated writable India paper

Binding

The binding on this Allan is superb. It is leather-lined and includes a semi yapp. The highland goatskin is one of the softest and most flexible leathers available for a Bible and this highland goatskin is as nice as any I’ve seen. It includes the leather glued into the leather lining and end-pages, making this a well-build Bible that should last a lifetime. It is a sewn binding that lays flat.

Layout

I love wide margin Bibles. In my opinion, everyone should use a wide margin Bible for study- especially those in teaching/preaching roles. The margins are 1.5 inches on the sides and 1 inch top and bottom.

Paper

The paper is coated India paper, making it excellent paper for writing. It is thick and opaque, and has a slight cream tone which is easy on the eyes. It doesn’t have a shine to it at all, making it excellent for reading and marking. There are 26 blank pages in the back for writing or drawing and 48 pages of lined paper for notes. The art-gilt edges have a copper tone, which I love, but it’s not as dark as the Longprimer.

Text

The font is an 8-point bold Clarendon. The readability of this Bible is better than most due to the boldness of the font and the opacity of the paper.

At the beginning of every chapter there is a summary. I like having chapter summaries because they are useful for searching. They are small and I might not agree with all of them, but they are there.

At the top of each page is a short summary of that column. I like that they are included because they can be helpful when trying to find something quick.

Also at the top of the page is the name of the Book along with the chapter number that begins on that page (or is continued on that page) – with the exception of Psalms, which only has the book name.

This edition does include italics for supplied words (something that is missing in the Longprimer- another Oxford edition).

References

I’m not sure how many references there are, but there are a lot. I like to use Genesis 1:1 to check the number of references. This one has 8 references (not counting that some of them include 3 verses). The references are keyed to the text with letters. I would like to have the verse numbers in the center column to make it easier to find the reference, but that is a small matter.

The center column also includes translation notes with alternate readings. The translation notes are keyed to the text with numbers. They are physically as close to the verse as possible, but, just like the references, you will have to hunt for some of them.

Ribbons

Allan sets the standard for ribbons. This edition has three ribbons in a beautiful dark blue. They are wide and long enough to be useful because they will reach all the way to the corner of the page.

Maps

The Oxford maps are gorgeous. I’m a sucker for full-color maps and these are some of the best looking I’ve seen. These maps do include some ‘traditions’ for some locations. Also, there may be a few locations that are not as accurate because of later archaeological finds, but that is to be expected.

Concordance

This edition does not have a concordance. I would have liked a concordance, but I’m not sure how they could have gotten it in there. A concordance would have completed the study value of this Bible. Considering that I use this Bible at home where I have access to good concordances, and that most concordances in Bibles are not as useful as they should be anyway, the lack of a concordance isn’t a deal-breaker for me. However, a concordance would only improve the value of this Bible. The lack of a concordance could keep me from using this as a carry Bible.

Comparison with the RL Allan Longprimer

Conclusion

The Allan Wide Margin in KJV is an exceptional Bible. I have come to really appreciate quality in a Bible- particularly the binding, paper, and font- and the Allan delivers on every point. The Oxford Clarendon Wide Margin from RL Allan and Sons is sure to be the Bible that is cherished for a lifetime of study.

Click here to buy from Bibles-Direct.com

or here to buy from EvangelicalBible.com

Add Your Own Headings to Your Bible

Randy A. Brown — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:57:42 +0000

Many Bibles, especially study Bibles, have headings within the text. Headings usually do a great job of summarizing the text in just a sentence. The headings can be very informative and can make the text easier to read by breaking the text into sections. Headings are especially helpful for scanning the page for a certain event or topic. If you have a Bible with wide enough margins, you can add your own custom headings.

There are many types of headings: some more theological, others more informative, some include references, some have many headings, and others have very few. Some are distracting when reading, while others are barely even noticeable.

Some may laugh at the idea of writing headings in the margins of a wide-margin Bible, feeling that we’re just making our Bibles the same as other study Bibles, or that the headings are not helpful. I suggest that making your own headings is a great way to delve into the text- pulling out the main points of each passage. It helps in study because you are thinking deeply about a passage to determine how best to describe it in just one sentence. Headings are also a great searching tool. If I’m looking for a certain miracle that Jesus performed, I can read down the margins (at the blue writing in my Concord) until I find the passage I’m looking for.

One of my favorite heading-systems is from the Thompson Chain Reference. Its headings are in the margins with the chain references. This works great for me because it keeps my text clear. I can read the text without interruption, and if I want to use the headings they are there in the margin. For this reason, I recommend a wide-margin Bible.

What you will need:

Wide-margin Bible. Any good wide-margin Bible will do. One of my favorites for this project is the Note-takers from Local Church Bible Publishers. It is single column and has a 2.5 inch margin on the outside of each page. LCBP also has a regular wide-margin. LCBP is also releasing a wide-margin in large print. It will have the same print as their large print hand size, but will have around 1.5 inch margins all around. Another favorite is the Cambridge wide-margin series. And of course RL Allan has a new wide-margin in KJV.

Pens. My favorite for this project is the Bible Marking Kit from Pigma-micron. You could use just a single color for the headings (I’m using blue in my Concord), or you could use different colors for different Scripture types. For example, you could use one color for history, another for doctrine, another for parables, and another for poetry, etc.

There are several ways to come up with your own headings. You could open up several Bibles and compare what they have, and then make your own based on your specific tastes (using your own theological view, or focusing on specific topics such as Creation, history, archaeology, etc.).

My recommendation:

Study each chapter and write down the main points. From those points, write a short sentence that describes each point. At first you might want to look at other Bibles for examples and reference. This will help you to write the headings the best you possibly can before writing them in your Bible. Once you feel comfortable with each heading, transfer them to your Bible. Don’t get in a hurry. If you’re not sure, don’t write it. You can always come back to it later. If nothing else, it can open up an area for deeper study. Even if you decide not to write the headings in your Bible, you’ve dug a little deeper in God’s Word- and that’s always a good thing. If you do decide to write the headings in your Bible, you have a study Bible that is made from your own study instead of someone else’s. You will have a unique study Bible that is completely your own.

Creating Your Own Chain Reference System

Randy A. Brown — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:16:30 +0000

Chain references provide a great way to perform a topical study. Most Bibles that have references do not have chain references. Instead, they have cross references. Cross references are great, but it can get very confusing when you have to flip back and forth over the same verses over and over. Some Bibles do not have the verses linked to the reference, so there’s no easy way to know which reference will go with which portion of the verse. If your Bible has any room for writing at all, you can greatly expand the study quality of your Bible by adding your own chain reference system.

Chain references do not work like cross references. With cross references, the reference might refer you back to an earlier verse, forward to a later verse, or both. If you have five verses, each referring back to the other, it can take you a lot of time and frustration to flip back and forth until you’ve found the verses you need. If your Bible has lots of references (some have 100,000), this process gets even more confusing and time consuming- especially if you want to study a specific topic.

Chain references are topical based and provide a link to the next verse in the topic. Instead of five verses that connect back to all five verses and leaving you not knowing which to choose, the first verse provides a link to the second verse. The second verse provides a link to the third verse, and so on.

Creating your own chain references is a great way to perform a topic Bible study. When studying a topic, write down every major verse within that topic. You will use this list to create your chain reference system. Do not try to find every verse. Instead, find the major and most verses. These will come from sermons, class-room teaching, coursework, books, tracts, other chain reference systems (such as Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible), and even cross references. Here’s where you have to decide how detailed you want to break up the topics. You can keep them general, for example “The Armor of God”, or you can get more specific within the major topic, for example “The Helmet of Salvation”.

Next, place the verses in Biblical order. This helps keep the order and flow logical and you can move through the Bible in one direction.

Once you’ve decided what verses go under what topics, it’s time to write them in your Bible. I recommend using Pigma Micron markers to write in your Bible. You can write them in the margin if there’s room. There are a few Bibles that have a blank center column for writing in. I recommend a wide margin Bible if possible. With a wide margin Bible you have enough room to write the name of the topic with the next reference. If you don’t have enough room to write the name of the topic, you might want to write a number for the topic, an abbreviation, or even a symbol to represent the topic. You could even use different colors to represent the topics. You could have the last verse to reference back to the first verse.

Last, write an index in the front of your Bible that contains the topic names and the first verse in each chain.

The chains are a great tool for Bible study, Scripture memory, and witnessing. They can be expanded to as many topics as you want. I recommend making your chain reference system even if your Bible already has chain references or cross references because it will make your Bible a better tool for you.

Creating Your Own Study Bible

Randy A. Brown — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:30:53 +0000

Ryan Gustason of Pentecostal Blogger has written an article on creating your own study Bible. He is using a red-letter Word document, created his own layout, and downloaded a unique font set to create his own symbol system. Ryan provides links to all the downloads you need to create your own study Bible and symbol system. You can see his article here:

Creating a Study Bible

Making Your Own Loose Leaf Bible

Randy A. Brown — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:04:06 +0000

Loose-leaf Bibles provide a great way to add your own notes and pages to your Bible. There are several available from Hendrickson, so at first printing your own hardly seems worth it. It comes down to what features you want in your Bible. Printing your own give you even more advantages and options. For one, if you don’t like something you’ve written or highlighted, simply print the page out again and start over. Loose-leaf Bibles are a nice way to make your own Study Bible- you can type your own notes and then print it out without having to write anything by hand.

Printing your own also allows you to choose your own features such as the font you want, including size and style, paragraph format, and you can print the words of Christ in red. You could even print topics in specific colors, highlight the text, underline, bold, add symbols, references, definitions, images, or anything else you can think of. A Bible printed on copy paper has far less bleed-through and the text can be much bolder, making it easier to read and mark. You might not want to carry it, but it will make an excellent study Bible.

For my loose-leaf project I will be using KJV. This has to do with copyright issues (the KJV is public domain) and it is the main translation I use. I will add my own headings in the text, make it red-letter, choose the specific font that I want, add my own references and translation notes, add Hebrew and Greek definitions, make it wide margin, have OT quotes in the NT to be in a different font-style, and possibly use blue-letter for the words of God in the OT. Some of these features will require more work than others. Since I can make more than one I’ve decided that I want my first one to fit in one binder, so I will be making trade-offs with font-size and margin-width, and I won’t add references. Also, I will be printing on both sides of the page.

First, get a KJV text. Since the KJV is public domain it is freely available online in many places. I recommend downloading several and choose the format you like the best. If you plan to add features such as notes, references, headings, etc., and change the font style and size, the page layout of the KJV you download won’t really matter because it won’t look the same anyway. Here are a few choices:

http://printkjv.ifbweb.com/
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/KJB/pce.htm
http://bibledatabase.org/bibles.html
http://www.biblicalscholarship.net/AV.htm
http://www.bibleprotector.com/
http://www.basicchristian.org/

Here’s one in red-letter with some headings in the text:

http://home.comcast.net/~classichauslimited/htmlpgs/kjvbibles.html

It’s easy enough to change the font and page layout using a word processor. If you choose a PDF file, simply save it as text or copy and paste into your word-processor. None of these texts come with references or notes. There are other places to get the text- especially if you don’t mind copying one book or chapter at a time.

Next, format the text the way I want it. I want a large font and wide-margin. I will have to decide which is more important and make adjustments as necessary. I recommend experimenting with one book before printing the entire Bible. For my first attempt I will print only a few chapters. It might take me several tries before I like what I have. Since I’m experimenting, I ended up printing several variations. I decided on a 12-point Times Roman font. I don’t like the shade of red, so I’ll keep experimenting until I get something that works for me. I might even go with black-letter.

The last step will be choosing a binder and punching the holes. You can use one large binder or several smaller binders. You can even use a spiral binding if you want. I’ve decided to use my pages loose rather than place them in a binder- at least until I get the text exactly the way I want it.

Printing your own loose-leaf Bible is a great way to study and write in your Bible. You have much thicker paper than what you can get in any Bible, you can have any size and style font you want, and the text is bold and crisp. You won’t be straining to see the text and you can’t read three pages deep. You can have any size margin you want, and you can interleave as many pages as you want any time you want. If you don’t like what you’ve written or marked, print that page again and start over. You can spread out the cost by only printing a book at a time. If nothing else it can be used to help you in your Bible study by allowing you to interact with and mark your text without writing in your primary Bible.