How do I use Logos? To begin with, I am a layman. I grew up in Sunday school and church, but never really heard the gospel until my teen years. Now I may have heard it before then, but it never really penetrated until my junior year in high school, at which time I received Christ as my Savior. Since then God’s leading has been very real in my life, and He has allowed me to serve Him largely in teaching (Sunday school, Bible study groups and an occasional pulpit fill) and in administration (in church and the regional boards of a couple of Christian organizations).
A number of years ago I sold my insurance agency and took an early retirement to care for my wife who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. But what to do in retirement? I bought an aluminum fishing boat and motor along with equipment for a wood shop. And, at that time there was a new computer operating system called “Windows.” So I retired my old IBM DOS based computer and bought a new one.
Shortly after that, I think it was around 1992, I discovered and purchased a new Windows based Bible study program to replace the primitive DOS based one I had been using. That began a love affair with Logos, and we have grown together from that original version all the way through Logos 2, 3, 4 and now 5. The boat, used only a few times, is long gone, and the wood shop equipment has long been used only for maintenance around the house. But Logos remains a vital part of my life.
Every morning, after shaving-showering-dressing, etc., I put on the coffee, feed two dogs and a cat, and then sit down for my daily Bible reading (I follow the Gideon through the year plan) and a time of devotions. Then I turn on my computer and first check world news on The Times of Israel and then my E-Mail. Then I open Logos on one side of my screen and Word on the other. But what do I do with it?
Over the years my life has increasingly been one of study and writing; Bible study lessons and papers on various subjects, etc. Three years ago, though, my first book was published, an eschatological study entitled Nearing Midnight. I have now completed a doctrinal study (yet to be published) with the title of Pelagius, That Saintly Heretic in an Appellate Court, and I am currently working on another one, a collection of (opinionated) papers on a number of subjects called What Have You Heard? And Logos has not only enabled me to do all this, but enriched my life in the doing of it.
So, what do I like most about Logos? That’s hard to say, but perhaps the best thing is that it is such a well-rounded program, and that increasingly so through continuing development. And I can customize it (and have) to my own personal tastes. With the click of an icon I open my basic study set up; my preferred Bible, one commentary, and the list of all my other commentaries, all linked together. And with a click on a few other icons additional resources can be opened without having to look for them. In addition, I like the vast resources I have in Logos, from which I can draw and cite from the minds of many reputable and godly people. I like being able to so easily compare verses in all my preferred Bibles. And the access through the interlinears to the original languages is invaluable. Also, the ability to so easily copy and paste into Word is something I use every day, as well as being able to click on a reference I have cited in Word and having it open in Logos.
Well, I could go on, but let me simply say that for me Logos is a wonderful, God-given tool, and a very important part of my life. And, from the length of this you can tell that I like to write.
