From time to time people ask me, “Where do you get your inspiration? What resources do you use to prepare your sermons and classes?”

First of all, my mentors instilled in me the belief that the Holy Spirit is the pastor’s best guide and teacher. You have two sources of inspiration — what you know and what you don’t know. That means He will use what you do know and step in where you come short. Having preached my first sermon when I was 16, (only God knows how), that was very reassuring advice. I was encouraged to just open my mouth and let Him fill it. He’s never let me down since.

I’ve learned to be tuned into God’s Spirit for the things I don’t know. But I’ve also learned the value of accurate, reliable, and easy-to-access Bible resources to draw on. Over the years I have used a few Bible software packages, but more recently I have found Logos 4 Mac to be the best I’ve used so far. Here’s why.

What I like about Logos 4 Mac is the vast and varied resources it offers.

I can look up a verse and see how it is rendered in several Bible versions, side-by-side, in seconds. Then there are in-depth commentaries, illustrations, graphics, maps, dictionaries, topical collections and more — all accessible within just a few clicks. I could say it’s a case of “Open your Mac screen and Logos 4 Mac* will fill it!”

The program is such a time-saver. If you are studying, say, the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-26, you don’t need to fumble through different topical Bibles, commentaries, and cross-references, using valuable time you may not have. You just type “rich young ruler” into Logos’ Passage Guide and its live search results takes you right to the text, in multiple Bible versions side-by-side, and a plethora of other resources related to the passage, including relevant songs, suggested PowerPoint slides, audio sermons, illustrations, and other media. All that is put in front of you in just seconds. And when you have more than one resource open, say, a Bible and a commentary, it will even “turn the pages” for you and keep both resources in sync! You can’t beat that.

You can also prioritize your search, meaning you can choose what resources will show up top on your searches, avoiding the need to wade through volumes in your library that are not particularly interesting to you at that time. In other words, use what you need, when you need it.

But what I like the most are the free iPhone and iPad apps that come with Logos. They let you access Logos from anywhere via a Wi-Fi connection. Some resources are also downloadable for offline viewing. I can even have my iPad on the pulpit as I preach and bring up an article on my Logos app that I might want to use. Really useful. Logos users who don’t have those devices can still access their libraries from any computer online at Biblia.com. It’s free of charge and that computer doesn’t need to have Logos installed.

The program is not cheap, but a real bargain when you consider what you get for it. It’s worth every cent you save up to buy it — plus they offer different packages that will suit from the basic user to the full time student.

I must say that having come from a few lightweight Bible programs, Logos seems a bit daunting at first. I wish it were a little bit more intuitive to use, but the folks at Logos have very helpful video tutorials on their site to get you started. Be prepared to spend a few hours learning the software.

Another important point to make is that if you’re not running a particularly fast Mac, you might feel Logos behaves a bit sluggishly, as it seems to pull a lot of processing power from your computer.

All in all, I recommend Logos 4 Mac to serious Bible students, from beginners to experts, who want to save time while having access to great Bible resources.

But remember, it’s the Holy Spirit who brings it all together.

* Logos is also available on the Windows platform.