For the Bible Study I'm taking part in this year, I've been using my NLT Study Bible and have really been enjoying it. Using the NLT is helping me take a fresh look at Scriptures, especially passages that I'm fairly familiar with.

Whenever I read out loud in our meetings, at least one of the other participants comments on how much they enjoy hearing the NLT and comparing it with their version (usually an NKJV or NIV). A few weeks ago one of the other participants said that she was going to go look for an NLT for herself, based on hearing the passages I've read in our group meetings. After our meeting was over, I let her thumb through my Bible a bit and compare it to her NKJV. I pointed out that the study notes in my study Bible were somewhat similar to the study notes she had in her study Bible and suggested that she consider looking for Life Application Study Bible NLT in order to get a different set of notes. I used to love the notes in my Life App Bible, but in recent years, I've gravitated towards Bibles with more "scholarly" notes. But I still enjoy recommending the Life App Bible to people who are looking for a Bible with notes that can be used in devotional reading settings, and can help challenge them directly to find a way to apply the Bible's teaching to their daily lives.

Last week, she showed up for our meeting with a new Life App NLT. She had it again tonight and I asked her how she was liking it. She was very exited about it -- it's like the Word is opening up to her fresh and new, just by being exposed to a new translation.

This is exactly why I like having multiple translations available: any translation will be necessarily imperfect, and having multiple choices to compare with each other helps bring a fuller understanding of the Scripture. The same is true for the multitude of kinds of notes available: some are suitable for some kinds of study, some for others, and I think it's good to be familiar with the various kinds of study notes that are available.