The word for today book

	Living Water Study Guide by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 4.51 avg rating — 174 ratings — published 1996 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Love: The More Excellent Way by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 4.42 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 2008 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	The Gospel of John Illustrated Gift Book by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Philippians Bible Study by Kay Nolte Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Pleasing God Book and Journal Pack by Kay Nolte Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	End Times Video Collection DVD by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1980 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Let Us Reason by A.E. Wilder-Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2008 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	The Book of Romans by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2003	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Creation Versus Evolution MP3 by Chuck Smith, The Word For Today (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
	Fruit — Study Guide 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

More books by The Word For Today…

In 1965, Pastor Chuck Smith began his ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Only twenty-five people attended. What began as a small chapel has now grown into a church that seats over 2000 and is filled almost nightly. From the beginning, Pastor Chuck welcomed all, young and old, without judgment, placing his emphasis on the teaching of the Word of God. His simple, yet sound, biblical approach draws 25,000 people weekly.

The Word for Today is the Radio and Publishing Ministry of the late Pastor Chuck Smith. Our desire is to see the body of Christ grow in their knowledge of God through the study of His Word. We are committed to bringing you the solid and consistent teaching of the whole Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith. Within the pages of this catalog are teaching cassettes, and many wonderful books which will equip the believer and deepen your understanding of God’s Word.

The Word for Today radio and TV programs can be heard on stations nation-wide. The program can be heard in over 350 cities world-wide, and airs more than 300 times daily.

Follow us on twitter: @word_for_today

Like us on Facebook: The Word for Today — Pastor Chuck Smith

The Word For Today (known as The Word For You Today in some countries) is a free, daily devotional written by Northern Irish Christian pastor Bob Gass and published around the world by United Christian Broadcasters (UCB). Over 3.5 million copies are distributed quarterly worldwide. Gass said the devotional «is a kick start for cold mornings, when you don’t feel like reading your Bible or find it a bit dry, that’s when you need a good injection of inspiration. That’s what I want to provide for our readers, something to focus their minds on God’s goodness».^[1]

The Word For Today

Editor	Bob Gass until his death in late 2019
Frequency	Quarterly periodical
Format	Daily devotional
Publisher	Bob Gass Ministries (within the United States) United Christian Broadcasters (outside the United States)
Total circulation (2009)	3.5 million
Founder	Bob Gass Gareth Littler
First issue	March 1, 1994
Country	United States
Language	English language Spanish language Portuguese language Afrikaans language Italian language
Website	United States website United Kingdom website Australia website New Zealand website

Word 4U 2Day

Frequency	Quarterly periodical
Format	Daily devotional
Publisher	United Christian Broadcasters (outside the United States)
First issue	August 1, 2003
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English language
Website	United Kingdom website Australia website New Zealand website

A million copies are distributed to UCB listeners, hospital patients, prisoners and residents of care centres throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Separate versions are produced for Albania, Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Caribbean, Holland, Estonia, Portugal, Philippines, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa (Afrikaans and English languages), Spain and Italy by the UCB national UCB body or an affiliate. Another version is distributed by Bob Gass Ministries in the United States.

Production of a contemporary version called Word 4U 2Day (known as Word For You Today in some countries) began in August 2003. It was developed in conjunction with The Message Trust, a Christian youth ministry based in Manchester. It is an adaption of the original devotional, geared to appeal to the younger generations in society. The first edition of The Word 4U 2Day rolled off the press in time for August 2003 with a print run of quarter of a million copies. Since then it has increased in popularity and is popular with other age groups as well.^[1] (Word For You in the UK is now only available via the UCB Player app.)^[2]

HistoryEdit

United Christian BroadcastersEdit

United Christian Broadcasters was set up to Christian radio station Rhema Media in New Zealand, to allow groups in other countries set up similar stations in their own countries. It became an umbrella body for autonomous affiliate broadcasting organisations in different parts of the world. The first affiliate in Australia supported new Christian radio stations, called Rhema FM, before establishing its own group of radio stations, operating as the Vision Radio Network.

Other affiliates followed in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Pacific countries, South America theDove in Oregon, United States. Smaller broadcasters were set up in Madagascar, Brazil, the Philippines and Estonia, by building up local support and then obtaining terrestrial licenses.^[3] At its height in 2011, UCB was a group of 32 organisations which claimed to reach millions of people in at least 24 different languages through radio, television, printed devotionals and websites. Several million copies of The Word for Today were published every quarter, in about a dozen languages.

The Word For TodayEdit

Gass (born 1944 died 5 June 2019) was an American-based Christian pastor, broadcaster and author of several books. He was raised in Northern Ireland, but moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the United States when he was 18 years old. Gass, along with his brother Neil and sister Ruth, were brought up in a strong Christian tradition by their mother after their father had died when Bob was just thirteen. He became involved in Christian leadership for over 40 years, but much of his inspiration was based on the Biblical principles instilled in him by his mother.^[4]

He began collating his inspirational writings in 1992 and in 1993 started sending copies to friends and supporters in the United States.^[4] Astounded by the response he received in the United States, Gass offered his devotional readings to Gareth Littler, the former Chief Executive Officer of UCB, to encourage their listeners. In April 1994, The Word For Today was launched with an initial print run of 3,500 copies and circulated to UCB’s supporters within the UK. The reach was later expanded to other parts of the world.^[1]

Bob Gass MinistriesEdit

Gass ran Bob Gass Ministries from his home in Georgia, with an international purpose and scope. His organisation retains the right to distribute the devotional within the United States.^[4]

He has also written several books, including:^[5]

• A Fresh Word for Today, ISBN 0-88270-762-0
• Best of the Word for Today, ISBN 0-88270-731-0
• Forgetting Your Past, ISBN 0-88270-817-1
• Discovering Your Destiny, ISBN 0-88270-863-5
• Starting Over, ISBN 0-88270-828-7

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

• The Word For Today

The Word For Today Bible is an NKJV study Bible from Pastor Chuck Smith. This is a revised edition with updated with more notes than the previous edition. It provides cross-references, commentary on the text, a nice concordance, reading plan, and maps.

This Bible is available in a range of covers including paperback, hard cover, imitation, bonded leather, genuine leather, and cowhide, and in a range of colors including black, brown, burgundy, tan, and more. Some editions are available with thumb-index. The edition I’m reviewing is black cowhide without thumb-indexing. ISBN: 9781597511209

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Purchase from Calvary Chapel Store

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BINDING

This edition is black cowhide. It’s soft to the touch and has a nice grain. The spine shows NKJV and The Word For Today logo in the center and at the bottom in gold. It has a vinyl paste-down liner and the text-block is sewn. It has no issues lying open on the first page after it’s broken in.

Cowhide is one of my favorite covers and this one is as good as any I’ve seen. I love the soft texture of this cover. Even with the paste-down liner it’s as flexible as any goatskin cover I own. Even though it’s flexible it doesn’t feel unwieldy and can be held open in one hand.

The overall size is 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5″. It doesn’t feel like a large Bible. For me this is the perfect size for a study Bible. It has one black ribbon that’s more than long enough to pull to the corner.

PAPER

The paper is probably 30gsm or less, which makes sense considering it has over 1800 pages in just 1.5″. It’s white in color and doesn’t have any glare under direct lighting. One problem with the paper is its low opacity. The show-through isn’t so bad that I won’t use it, but it does stand out to me – especially in the poetic settings. Three of the thick pages in the front are ruled and are labeled for notes.

TYPOGRAPHY

The text is presented in double-column paragraph format with poetry indented with each poetic line indented further. Letters are indented evenly. OT quotes are in oblique type. Section headings are in all-caps in bold. Commentary is placed at the bottom of the page and is separated from the text with a line that includes the logo. The header is also separated by a line and shows the book name, chapter, and range of verses in the center and the page number in the outer margin. References and footnotes are placed in the center column.

The font is 9.5 red-letter. I like the style of font. Both the black and red text have about a medium darkness and are fairly consistent throughout. It’s easy enough to read. If it were darker the show-through would be overpowering, so this level of darkness works well for this paper.

The verse numbers are fairly large but they don’t stand out. This is great for reading but might make it more difficult to find specific verses quickly.

It has around 38 characters per line with around 7 words per line. It also has a good amount of leading so the text never feels cramped. This does cause poetry to have lines with a single word, which is typical of double-column settings.

REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES

References and footnotes are placed within the center column. References are keyed to the text with letters and footnotes are keyed to the text with numbers. The center column includes the chapter numbers in bold followed by all the references for that chapter. The verse number are also in bold.

The reference and footnotes keys start over with every verse. This means that each page could have a dozen or more a’s. They’re also evenly spaced. My personal preference is to go through the entire alphabet because for me it’s easier to look for a letter than a verse number, and to place them near the verse they correspond to. That’s just my preference. This system works fine.

This edition seems light on cross references. Fortunately there are more within the commentary and helps make this a good edition for study. Here are some examples to help you compare:

• Genesis 1:1 – John 1:1-3; Acts 17:24
• Deuteronomy 6:4 – 1 Cor. 8:4,6
• Isaiah 9:6 – Luke 2:11; John 3:16; Matt. 28:18; Judg. 13:18; Titus 2:13; Eph. 2:14
• Matthew 17:20 – Luke 17:6
• Mark 11:23 – Matt. 17:20; 21:21
• Mark 12:29 – Deut. 6:4, 5
• John 1:1 – 1 John 1:1; Rev. 19:13; John 17:5; 1 John 5:20
• Acts 2:38 – Luke 24:47
• 1 John 1:1 – John 1:1; John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16; Luke 24:39; John 1:1, 4, 14

Footnotes provide alternate renderings, cross-references, OT  quotes in the NT, textual variants, etc. The footnotes are great for study – especially to see textual variants without phrases such as “the best mss say…”.

BOOK INTRODUCTIONS

Book introductions take about a page and show the author, date of writing, type of book, and theme. It covers the purpose of writing, circumstances of writing, keywords from the original languages that provide insights into the book, and even some tips for interpretation. These are good introductions and provide insights that help with understanding the original audience and setting.

STUDY NOTES

The study notes are primarily commentary, although there are a few maps throughout the text. The commentary isn’t overdone and includes references, manuscript information, insights on events, renderings in other translations, Greek and Hebrew word studies, places, apologetics, application, etc.

Even though Chuck Smith will point out his personal beliefs, the commentary does include multiple views. Overall I like the commentary and find it informative and useful. As always, I recommend that you use commentary for research but realize that it’s written by fallible man and can contain errors. I recommend you do your own study coupled with prayer, allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.

365 DAYS THROUGH THE BIBLE

This is a daily reading plan that takes you through the Bible in normal biblical order. It provides the date and chapters to read. I like seeing reading plans included in Bibles and this one is as good as any.

CHARTS OF MONIES, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES

This is 5 small charts that provides the unit, value, equivalents, and translation. These are helpful for study.

CONCORDANCE

The concordance is 136 pages with three columns per page. It includes topics rather than just words. It’s actually a good concordance for study. Here are a few sample entries with the number of references given to help you compare:

• Christ – 33
• Christian – 2
• Christians – 1
• Christs – 1
• Faith – 56
• Faithful – 26
• Faithfulness – 9
• Faithless – 2
• God – 70
• Goddess – 2
• Godhead – 2
• Godliness – 6
• Godly – 6
• Gods – 7
• Praise  – 38
• Praised – 6
• Praises – 5
• Praiseworthy – 1
• Praising – 3
• Pray – 23
• Prayed – 3
• Prayer – 21
• Prayers – 9

MAPS

It has 10 maps on 8 thick semi-glossy pages. The maps are colorful and includes distance, topography, borders, routes, cities, mountains, battles, cities that were attacked, cities that were burned, unconquered cities, Scripture references, cities of refuge, dates, journeys, etc.

There isn’t an index but they are annotated well and are easy to use. My only complaint with the maps is they show the Red Sea crossing at the Reed Sea, which implies the Bible is in error when it says Red Sea. There is no reason to believe they didn’t cross the Red Sea just like the Bible says.

Maps include:

1. World of the Patriarchs
2. The Exodus from Egypt
3. The Conquest of Canaan
4. The Twelve Tribes
5. David and Solomon’s Jerusalem
6. Jerusalem in New Testament Times
7. Paul’s First Missionary Journey
8. His Journey to Rome
9. Paul’s Second and Third Missionary Journeys
10. The Holy Land in the Time of Jesus

ENDING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WORD FOR TODAY BIBLE

The Word For Today Bible from Pastor Chuck Smith is a simple but useful study Bible. It doesn’t include articles, charts, lists, photos, etc., but these are not always needed and this helps bring the size down which makes it easier to carry and use. The commentary isn’t overdone and does include multiple views and lots of Scripture. The font is readable but could be improved with better paper. The cowhide cover is soft and flexible even with the paste-down liner. If you’re looking for an NKJV study Bible that doesn’t go overboard with articles, charts, and lists, the Word For Today Bible is a great choice.

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Purchase from Calvary Chapel Store

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Photography by hannah C brown