In our 21st Century culture Christ might well be saying:

"Let Me take your Steering Wheel! Let Me be the driving force to take you where you need to go!  I know the way! --- ‘I Am The Way!’"

Note: The 21st Century steering wheel of our vehicles is a possible close equivalent to the yoke that Christ spoke of in His first century illustration when yoked animals pulled the carts on the streets and plows in the field. As a youth Jesus probably made a few in Joseph's carpenter shop.  [Look at Link 1 for an in-depth rational for this application of an instrument of control putting Christ in control of our lives that may well be comparable to the yoke.]
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CHRIST’S AVAILABILITY ~ Jesus said: "Come… Let Me Teach You!" NLT
    "Learn From Me"! Matthew 11:19 ESV & NIV-2011 [Imagine an available Bible Teacher 24-7-365 at your disposal!]

OUR RESPONSIBILITY ~ Jesus said: "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!" NLT "…Bear witness about Me"! John 5:39 ESV  Searching the Scriptures requires RESEARCH!

OUR RESOURCE ~ Jesus promised an omnipresent Teacher, the Holy Spirit, to guide us into the truth of His Word. John 14:26 ~ "When the Father sends the Advocate as My representative --- that is, the Holy Spirit, He will teach you everything..."
John 16:13 ~ "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth."

OUR ACCOUNTABILITY ~ Jesus said to Peter and to us today: "Do you love Me? … Then feed My sheep!" John 21:17 NLT ~ This is the "bottom line" of Bible Research Motivation! We are accountable for helping others to follow Christ! Matthew 28:18-20

QUESTION: What is the essence ("genius"?) of this Bible Research website?
+ We advocate using more than a simple Bible.
+ Stop reading the Bible, …and
+ START RESEARCHING the truths Christ wants to teach us.

In short, Use one or more STUDY BIBLES alongside your present Bible!

Our Twitter 140 Message: "Stop Bible Reading! Start Bible Researching!" Quit feasting on the research of others. Find joy in first hand research. (Fish or Feast?)

MY PASSIONATE 2012 BIBLE RESEARCH CRUSADE:               

           To get people to STOP reading the Bible. Why?

Our Twitter 140 Message: "Stop Bible Reading! Start Bible Researching!" Quit feasting on the research of others. Find joy in first hand research. (Fish or Feast?)

          &
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Visit us on facebook at Studied Bible.

[LINK-1 ~ Christ as Lord in control of our daily life.]

QUESTION? CAN WE COMPARE CHRIST'S "YOKE" TO OUR STEERING WHEEL --- Does it accurately picture Lordship and Discipleship?

My tentative ANSWER: THE "YOKE" OF THE FIRST CENTURY IS A NON-COMMUNICATING IMAGE OR IDIOM IN TODAY'S CULTURE. People today generally define a "YOKE" as the "YOLK" of an egg.

MY RATIONALE:  In the First Century yokes were very familiar and possibly even visible in the villages and fields (comparable to today’s pick-ups and tractors) as Christ shared this object lesson in the countryside and travels of His day.
In Joseph’s carpenter shop Jesus probably made more than a few. (He probably made quite a few between ages 12-30.)
We do not know how He supported Mary when sometime in that time frame before His public ministry. Yokes were as common as control-to-work "tools" in New Testament times and for many centuries later just as the "steering wheel is" today or a harness system before the last century before the invention of autos, trucks, and tractors.
If Jesus were with us now the word "yoke" would probably NOT fit what He wanted to communicate. Galilee was the setting for Christ’s Matthew 11:28-30 universal invitation to "all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens." His invitation is still for us today!
Twenty-first Century people generally probably cannot relate to this illustration. Most do not even know what a yoke looks like, much less how important they were or just exactly what Christ invited us to do in joining Him in His yoke. This use of a steering as the closest substitute we have come up with after many years of research is an attempt to apply the truth involved in Matthew 11:29.

THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DOES A YOKE DO?
 "Take My yoke upon you." · Yokes keep us close to one another. (A Lord & Master to Disciple Relationship?) · No two yoked animals pull at the same pace. One takes the lead.
Christ's offer means that He offers to help me to pull my "heavy burdens" as long as I daily join Him in His yoke.
· Christ offers His strength yoked to our weakness. He is stronger than I am carrying more than His share of the load. Paul in Philippians 4:13 pointed to Christ's strength pulling with me in "all things."
· In Christ's Yoke we are going along with Him at His pace, where He leads, where His Father wills us to go, --- all this to do what work needs to be done to accomplish God's best in and through our lives.
· Yoked with Christ daily helps us to consciously feel His presence and in that relationship He said in the context: "Let Me Teach You" NLT or "Learn FROM Me". ESV, NIV.
· We have the greatest chance of becoming more Christ-like when yoked to Him --- or when He controls our lives like we control our steering wheels to go where we want to go and do what we want to do. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS IT MADE FOR ME PERSONALLY IN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST?
I can only speak for myself. If this Matthew 11:29 verse means more to someone else than I have illustrated, I want to learn from their ideas and inspiration --- and Christ-like example.
· In the last 10 or so years Matthew 11 has become an integral part of my life. My website has a biblical prayer based on this text on www.studiedbible.org under "Researched Studies" --- scroll down to the # 3 "Prayer section" to see how I personally have applied it for some years.
· I have also done an in-depth 5 version and 6 study Bible research study footnotes, and a print out of the context from Matthew 11:25-30. I conclude it with a composite translation using all five versions NLT, ESV, NIV, HCSB, & MESSAGE. I present it in a prayer format in which individuals can use it to personalize it by putting in their names and identifying the "burden" they are praying about.
· In recent months it has occurred to me that oxen do not sleep in yokes. It takes a fresh yoking of two animals to do the daily work. I feel a need to daily invite Christ into my yoke. · In my first waking moments before arising for well over a year I begin the day with this simple prayer: "Lord, where do You want us to work today and what do You want to help me do."
· Only recently have I come up with the STEERING WHEEL as a way of visualizing Christ in my yoke in 21st century terms. Eveyone on earth can identify with the function of a steering wheel. Most people can use them. After years of searching for a readily identifiable equivalent to the yoke, this is the best I can do so far. It would not surprise me if Christ appeared in my presence today that He MIGHT say: & 21st Century Version: "Let Me Drive You Wherever You Need To Go Today… I already know the best roads to take! Let Me Take Control Of Your Steering Wheel! In reality, ‘I am THE WAY!’ ~ JESUS – John 14:6

THIS MENTAL IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST AND HIS DAILY PRESENCE HAS REVOLUTIONIZED MY PERSONAL CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS IN PRAYER.
With Christ at the prayer controls (steering wheel, throttle, helm--- driver's seat, cockpit, or in control of the ship steering device) I can put Christ in charge of my prayer concerns while driving, sailing the ocean, or flying to distant places on mission fields in Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa, or Japan.... wherever! (I did so this morning--- 12-8-11)
I can mentally visualize myself on a virtual visit to pray for needs that are shared on our Church prayer lists, e-mails, or in Adult Communities Classes.  My Christ-driven prayers take me to Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa, and wherever I feel led to intercede in behalf of missionaries, of the persecuted, or spiritually hungry people in the world Christ loved and died for.
This same prayer avenue with Christ in the driver's seat helps me to praise and thank God for people who have blessed me or been a blessing to others.

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[Link 2 ~ Jesus Christ as our Teacher]

JESUS CHRIST wants and deserves to be our TEACHER!

He also wants the Holy Spirit to "guide us into all truth!"  Is this happening for us?

INTRO to our 2011 www.studiedbible.org website.                                                       
  NOTE: The "d" in "studiedbible" is for "DOING" it! ... "Just DO BIBLE STUDY!"]

QUESTION: If "The World’s Best Seller" is the Bible, does it autimatically follow that it would also be the "World’s Best Read’ and the most life-changing Book in the world?

QUESTION: If a majority of people really seem think Bible Reading is "BORING" or that they do not honestly read it all, then why bother trying to encourage the reading of it?

Here are TEN ways to wrongly read the "Written Word."

Wrongful Bible Reading ways:

1. IF you only read when you can find time --- when you find your "round tuit"?

2. IF you regularly watch the clock as you read?

3. IF you forget what you read minutes later?

4. IF you read dutifully or out of a sense of guilt?

5. IF you ONLY listen to the Bible when read by others?

6. IF you have given up reading pre-2000 versions because they are hard to understand?

7. If you refuse to find a current everyday language version to at least try to study together with your present favorite version in order to compare it and let the Spirit speak to you.

8. IF you lose interest in finding answers to questions as you read because you do not have a shelf full of Bible research Books or a Bible teacher to supply those answers to your questions?

9. IF you own one or more Study Bibles but have never spent quality time to explore what its many special features offer for research joy?

10. IF you resist change to your Bible reading habits by being unwilling to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to new experiences of spiritual insight and joy in Bible reading and research.

Get into Christ’s Yoke and let Him have the control of the "Steering Wheel" daily and let Him be the Lord of our life and walk with Him!

Let us take Christ’s invitation to "Let Me Teach You" (NLT) seriously!

Let us claim Christ’s promised John 16:13 gift of the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all truth" (NLT) as our 24-7-365 "Teacher"! (John 14:26)

Our prayer for more Bible Researchers!

"Living Word, Our Teacher, and Holy Spirit our Guide into all truth, Help each follower of Christ to find Him to be LORD of their Bible Researching joys!   Amen"

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[LINK-3]  Serious Questions To Ask Yourself.

PERHAPS YOU REALLY ARE SINCERE IN WANTING TO GET MORE OUR OF YOUR BIBLE READING AND YOU ARE  READY AND SEARCHING FOR NEW WAYS TO STUDY AND LEARN GOD'S WORD --- TO RESEARCH IT!  (May your "tribe" increase!)

DUMB QUESTION?  If all or any of the above about "Wrongful Bible Reading" is truly the case, then maybe it is time to just "STAMP OUT BIBLE READING" altogether --- completely!
Are you willing and ready to join me and be a martyr in such a daring crusade? [People generally are shocked when I suggest this to them.                                                     
      [Now that I have your attention --- Please re-read & reflect on the above."]

NOTE: INFORMATION ABOUT "OUR TARGET AUDIENCE" can be located on "Research Tutor Tips" on the website.

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[LINK4]  BECOMING A PASSIONATE SEARCHER FOR TRUTH.

MY PERSONAL CRUSADE AND PASSION:

· My 50 years of Study Bible Research has changed my life.
· I believe that serious research of a 21st Century Study Bible can contribute to your Christ-likeness as you interact with the Study Bible features.

  Find the joy of applying the truth gleaned to your day-to-day walk with Christ, and enjoy life-changing results in becoming like Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ~ "The Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image." NLT

I am passionate about my desire to have every follower of Christ make Him Lord and Teacher at His invitation:
                 "Come...Let Me TEACH YOU…" Matthew 11:29 NLT.

& My fervent prayer for people who want a new relationship with Christ as the driving force of their daily life is that they, too, will discover the joy I have every time I open God’s Word with an inquiring mind to learn more.

& I want all my current and future friends to discover the convenience of owning a PORTABLE BIBLE RESEARCH LIBRARY and to find out how easy it is to do Bible research using 21st Century Study Bibles.

& I want them to appreciate the fact that Study Bibles have been the end product of years of research by many others from hundreds of Bible atlases, commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, original language studies, and many more resources. This is the kind of information located on the page or in the Bible in your hands makes Bible Research truly an exciting spiritual adventure!

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[LINK-5]  Allow me to encourage and motivate you to make a habit of researching God's Word.

CHALLENGE AND RECOMMENDATION: You could use 2 or more of the Study Bible Options identified in our web site: www.studiedbible.org ~ "Study Bible Shopping."

YOUR CHOICE:  There are several researched Study Bibles available and recommended. 
Here are my personal favorites: Life Application Study Bible-NLT (2004) [Also available in four other versions]; Parallel Study Bible-NLT (2011); or English Standard Version - Student Study Bible (2011).                             
         (Use all three OR any that you may already own, use, and enjoy!)

Check out the website "Study Bible Shopping" recommendations and feature comparison chart!  You may examine them on the internet by visiting the "Related Links"!

          Be an Excited Study Bible Researcher!
          
                                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is my personal "Show~&~Tell" invite:

Would you be willing to join me for a Thirty Minute Interactive "WEBSITE WALK-THRU" of our 2011 Edition of our Cyber Bible Research website?

Please Visit "09 Contact Us" at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to learn how to get one-on-one help for getting the most out of this website:
1. By Face-to-Face phone appointments. [E-mail us your phone number and suggested contact time for an appointment and we will return your call as soon as possible.]
2. By E-mail~to~E-mail encouragement & guidance. E -Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 3. By Computer-to-Computer & Long Distance connections.
[Send your e-address and phone number with suggested contact day and hour for an appointment to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .]

     We sincerely believe that a 30 minute one-on-one

   "Walk-Thru" visit can save you 30 hours (or more) of

 searching on your own for ways to appreciate this website!