I looked at my alarm. It was not my plan to wake up at five a.m. on what should be a lazy summer morning, but three thoughts finally propelled me out of bed: coffee, quiet, and YouVersion. (Yes, in that order; don’t judge me!)
After using YouVersion almost exclusively the last time I read the entire Bible, I decided several months ago to use it again for my next read-through. Last time I followed my Guilt-Free Bible Reading Plan but used the New Living Translation on YouVersion to listen to every chapter on my phone. This time I’m trying a chronological plan for the first time and listening to the MSG paraphrase, both available via YouVersion.
Ever since I downloaded YouVersion years ago, I have loved having the Bible at my fingertips any time of the day. With YouVersion, I don’t have to carry a heavy, leather-bound study Bible with me in order to dig deep into God’s Word. I can leave my five-pound concordance on the shelf because I can do a word search in minutes. I can read, highlight, listen, memorize, and study whenever and wherever I am.
And I’m not alone.
Chances are, you have YouVersion on your phone as well. After all, it had been downloaded over three hundred million times!
And as of today, it is celebrating its tenth anniversary as our premiere electronic Bible app.
So in honor of YouVersion’s tenth anniversary, here are 4 ways you can use YouVersion every day (as well as some fascinating history and stats about the app that you might not know):
1. Read the Bible in different versions
Because the Bible has been formatted into so many different versions (in English alone), I am a firm advocate of using more than one version for personal Bible study. While I have chosen one version for memorization, (NIV), I have benefited greatly from widening my reading to include other versions as well.
2. Listen to the Bible
This is by far one of my favorite features of YouVersion. Whether you want to use it during your personal prayer and study time or you want to use it when you are driving in the car, the benefits of listening to the Bible (as opposed to just reading it alone) are endless. With at least fifteen versions of the English Bible are available in audio format on YouVersion, chances are your favorite version is among them.
3. Create verse images
Every day, YouVersion highlights different verses of Scripture with beautiful and artistic images, but it doesn’t stop there. You can also click on any verse to see if an image has already been created for it, and you can create your own in just a few easy steps. From there, you can save it and share it to social media to encourage your friends. (Follow me on Facebook and Instragram to see the verses I share). I just love the creativity and connection involved in sharing verses this way. It helps remind me that I’m not alone. We’re each a member of God’s huge family, with brothers and sisters in Christ that span language, distance, and time.
4. Highlight and take notes
While the images feature is how I share God’s Word, the highlighting and notes features are how I hide God’s Word in my heart. You can add friends and connect with others directly via YouVersion, but to be honest, I’ve kept my account mostly private because the temptation to connect with others instead of connecting with God is just too great. So I read, highlight, and take notes, all within the app, and everything remains just between me and my savior. Personal. Private. Intimate. I love that.
Did you know?
- YouVersion was created by a church – not by a business, not by a non-profit ministry, not by a group of Silicone Valley tech giants. It started because a normal, everyday church wanted a way to help its members to grow spiritually.
- YouVersion was among the very first 200 apps available when Apple opened the app store on June 10, 2008.
- In a single minute, the app is opened 8,640 times, 648 verses are shared, and 31,920 chapters are read throughout the world!
- In 2017, 16.7 billion chapters were read and 39 million Bible plans were completed via YouVersion.
- The most popular verse of 2017 was Joshua 1:9. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
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