By Faith Alone

When I downloaded the My Bible program for my new Palm Z22 handheld this morning, I also downloaded three bible translations which I frequently use and By Faith Alone, which is James Galvin's compilation of 365 devotional thoughts by Martin Luther. I've enjoyed the first entry: the program is clever enough to make Day One 19th January, the day I first opened the program.

But I don't think I can copy from the text and download it into a memo and then plonk it in my computer next time I do a hotsync, which is a bummer.

The first reading is called Faith Comes First and is a good representation of Luther's teaching about faith and works. I liked this comment:

Some people value good works so much that they overlook faith in Christ. They preach about and praise their own works instead of God's works.
Faith should be first. After faith is preached, then we should teach about good works. It is faith - without good works and prior to good works - that takes us to heaven. We come to God through faith alone.

What bible versions did I download? The demo version of the program, which I used to try it out included the venerable,but increasingly archaic King James Version. I added the TNIV, the ESV and the NLT. I'm using the TNIV for memorisation, and am pelased to have the other versions available on my organiser [can't bring myself to call it a pda as it sounds too American, if I may say so.