Journible: Write out a Book of the Bible

Journible The 17:18 Series: Acts. By Rob Wynalda. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books. pp. 328. 2013. (List Price $15.00 Hardcover)

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4 1/2 stars out of 5

In Deuteronomy 17:18 God commanded that whoever is king over the people of Israel should write out his own copy of the law. Although the Bible never mentions whether any of Israel’s kings followed this guidance, we know that King David wrote many Psalms speaking of meditating on God’s word throughout the day (cf. Psalm 19 and 119), so it is likely that at least he did.

The 17:18 Series is inspired by that passage in Deuteronomy and aims to provide high-quality, hardcover journals for people to write out a book or books of the Bible by hand for devotional and study purposes (Journal + Bible = Journible). I recently received the Acts Journible to review and offer my thoughts on the book and the series.

The Journible has a lot of features that make it unique from other journals. All the left-handed pages are lined and have questions or points to encourage journaling your thoughts on the passage at hand. The right-handed pages are also lined and contain verse numbers for you to write out the verses. The number of lines varies depending on the length of the verse, and the author consulted multiple Bible versions to ensure there was enough space to write out the whole verse. This is very helpful because you know you won’t run out of space on a page or pages in the journal before you’ve finished. I once tried writing out Ephesians in a small notebook and discovered too late that I didn’t have enough space to finish the last chapter. Journibles won’t let that happen and even ensure you have space to write out your thoughts as well.

After using the Acts Journible, I came away enjoying the experience. It helps with retention and memory, and is a fun way to delve into the details because you have to write out each and every word. After looking at the price of journals in my local Christian bookstore, the price for each Journible is pretty good, especially since it is hard-backed and has thicker pages to prevent ink bleeding through.

If you are looking for a new devotional experience, I recommend The 17:18 Series. You can use your preferred Bible translation and focus more on smaller passages of Scripture. I think the Psalms or the book of Proverbs would be very enjoyable to write out because they are more poetic in nature and have complete thoughts that are communicated in one verse or a few verses.

If you’re wondering how you can use Journibles for yourself or a Bible study group, here are some ideas I’ve thought of or that were listed on The 17:18 Series website:

For everyone:

• Personal devotions and journaling
• Write out one of the books of the Bible and include messages for your children. Pass them on to your children as a “coming of age” gift and family legacy of faith
• Follow along with a verse-by-verse sermon series

For pastors, seminary students, and others in ministry:

• Sermon preparation
• Bible study group (assign a passage to write out and discuss the following week)
• One-one-one discipleship (assign a passage to write out and discuss the following week)
• Greek or Hebrew study, practice, and review
• Foreign language study, practice, and review (great for missionaries and cross-cultural ministry)

I received this book for the purposes of writing a review. The opinions expressed are my own.