Product Reviews
These articles tell you about the many fine products available from Olive Tree.
Desktop Here!
Nov 22nd
It’s official. Our BibleReader is in the Mac Store.
For over 12 years Olive Tree has dedicated it’s time and resources to providing premier Bible study tools to your mobile device. With the advent of the iPhone, Olive Tree quickly became a leader for Bible study in the app world. And the iPad…Olive Tree brought you one of the best looking and best study tools available on a tablet.
Now, after meeting everyone on their favorite mobile platform, Olive Tree is stepping it up once again.
Olive Tree is excited to bring you a desktop app for Mac (PC coming soon)!
Taking the concepts from our iPad and iPhone app, we’ve brought a whole new experience to desktop Bible Software. Whether you just want to read with no distractions, study with the Resource Guide, take notes while you’re reading, or searching your library, you will find Olive Tree’s desktop app to be just as simple and beautiful to use as the app on your phone or tablet.
For more information about the BibleReader on Mac you can look here.
To keep up with our latest news please follow us on Twitter or become a fan on our Facebook Page
Billy Graham – Nearing Home
Nov 9th
Do you have a mentor or an elder that has shaped your life in an unforgettable way? Have you watched a loved one age with such grace and dignity that you desire to model your life after theirs? While we may look up to our elders, many of us still tend to shy away from the difficult issues that the older generation face. But we can only ignore the truth for so long. We are all getting older and for some of us, that reality is beginning to rear its ugly head. If you’re like me, getting out of bed in the morning produces a symphony of groans, pops and creaks that aren’t coming from the bedsprings.
For believers, more than failing physical bodies, growing older brings its share of challenging questions: What is God’s purpose for this time in my life? How do I serve God with my growing limitations? How do I remain hopeful when I’m surrounded by pain and loss?
These concerns are addressed honestly in Billy Graham’s Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well. Written for more than just the elderly, Graham teaches readers of all ages how to prepare for the challenges of growing old. At ninety-three Billy Graham is no stranger to the difficulties of advanced age, but he doesn’t let it keep him from faithfully ministering to people around the world. His new book shows that old age is “not a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth.” Instead, Graham uses examples form Scripture to show how God continues to work through His people, no matter their age.
No one knows God’s plans for the future, but we can know for sure that whether or not we live to be ninety-three, someday all of us will be called home. It is Graham’s desire and ours here at Olive Tree that we would learn to grow older with grace and, like our mentors before us, find the guidance needed to finish well.
The New Norwegian Bible
Oct 19th
I know what most of you are saying: “Finally!”
Well, if you’re from Norway, this is actually a really big deal. Olive Tree Bible Software is the first to offer the Bibelen 2011 for mobile devices!
Out of necessity, most translations of God’s Word in Norwegian have been idiomatic to a greater or lesser extent.
On the other hand, “Bibel 2011″ is based rather upon a concordant translation principle, where the translators aim to reproduce the Biblical texts as close to the original as possible.
The language used is good and makes biblical text understandable for today’s people. This version comes in two dialects: The Bokmål and the Nynorsk. We also have the Bibelen 1978/85 Bokmål.
Another thing we, at Olive Tree are excited about is that since the translation is based on the oldest manuscripts it’s very reliable.
To view all Norwegian Bibles Click HERE.
Mac & PC Coming Soon?
Sep 15th
Please Note: Since this blog was written we have released the Mac version.
For over 12 years Olive Tree has dedicated it’s time and resources to providing premier Bible study tools to your mobile device. With the advent of the iPhone, Olive Tree quickly became a leader for Bible study in the app world. And the iPad…Olive Tree brought you one of the best looking and best study tools available on a tablet.
Now, after meeting everyone on their favorite mobile platform, Olive Tree is stepping it up once again.
This winter, Olive Tree is bringing you a desktop app for both Mac and PC!
Taking the concepts from our iPad and iPhone app, we are bringing a whole new experience to desktop Bible Software. Whether you just want to read with no distractions, study with the Resource Guide, take notes while you’re reading, or searching your library, you will find Olive Tree’s desktop app to be just as simple and beautiful to use as the app on your phone or tablet.
To keep up with our latest news please follow us on Twitter or become a fan on our Facebook Page
Future popup window ideas…what are your thoughts?
May 6th
We are considering a new popover for our parsed text in the iPhone & Android platforms. This would include resources such as the CWSB and GNT Parsed. These diagrams are “wireframes” and not actual polished screens. I am not sure if the screens for the iPhone are trying to cram too much into a small space or if they are pushing information too “deep”. Please post your comments to our Facebook Page.
Here is how the original language parsed text popover would look on tablets.
Here is how the original language parsed text popover would look on smartphones.
A few issues to consider with this on popovers is that the definition is still a click away (it is a click away with the current popover). Not all of the parsing information will always fit and so it will be linked to with a more button.
Here is how the CWSB would work for a smartphone.
Here is how the CWSB would work on a tablet.
Please post your comments to our Facebook Page.
Pastor John Piper mentions Olive Tree
Feb 22nd
In a previous blog post we mentioned our trip to Minneapolis and the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference. Wow!…was it a busy time! There were times at our booth that conference-goers were stacked three deep the width of our booth. Personally, I was drinking tea and popping mints just to keep from losing my voice!
It was exciting to hear Pastor John Piper give a shout out to Olive Tree in the the last session. In the video below you can hear him mention his use of Olive Tree in his personal devotions at 1 hr 24 mins. into the video.
Yesterday, he mentioned Olive Tree in the Desiring God blog as a great resource to commune with God. He wrote, “I’m serious. Never has God’s voice been so easily accessible. The ESV app is free. The OliveTree BibleReader app is free. And so are lots of others. Let the Bible threaten your focus. Or better: Let the Bible bring you back to reality over and over during the day.”
Thank you, Pastor John.
From Palm to iPad
Feb 15th
The years have been good...
I have been using Olive Tree Bible Software since 2004. I began mobile study with an ancient Handspring, moved to a Palm T3 then a Palm T5. I loved the T5 and it served me very well for several years, but eventually I was won over to the iPhone by apps like Olive Tree’s Bible Reader 4.0+. These days I am LOVING study on the iPad using the BR5 and awesome features like the Resource Guide, note-taking capabilities, and resources like the ESV with Strong’s and the lemma feature.
I have been a pastor for over 20 years and remember the days when my study for a sermon took at least 10+ square feet of space, with a Strong’s Concordance opened up, several commentaries scattered about, and other background study volumes in addition to one or two notebooks for recording my findings. I have always had a strong desire for greater compactness and mobility in my study. Wouldn’t it be beyond amazing to be able to do a study from an entire, well-equipped biblical library while at the same time keeping sermon notes and do the entire study regardless of where I am? I can do that now! With the IPad and BR5, whether I am in my office, at the mall, in the van waiting for one of my children to finish choir practice, or doing a mission trip in the Ukraine, I have all I need in one compact device. Text to detailed study to observations to sermon notes seamlessly!
This is also a great way to buy up those 5, 10, or 15 minute time slots during the day. Open up the IPad, choose Olive Tree, and I am suddenly and instantaneously surrounded by all the Bibles, commentaries, and original language resources I could need, and they are even put in systematic order for me in one place with the dream-come-true Resource Guide. My thanks to God for the technologies that have been harnessed for Kingdom work and to Olive Tree for pressing on to develop tools for those of us who use them not only for our devotional life but for vocational work for the Body of Christ.
Mike Williamson
Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church of St Cloud, MN
Four Olive Tree Testimonials
Jan 10th
“I hardly even use my PC for bible study anymore; with all that’s available on @OliveTreeBible there’s no need!” – T.C., TX
“Using BR5 w/ iPad for sermon prep has allowed me to spend far less time tied to my pc, and more time w/ my family. Thank you. 9 years using OliveTreeBible and its always improving. Now with BR5 and iPad, it’s my primary Bible software. -David Palmer, SC
“I’m thrilled to have my AccordanceBible library on my iPhone but OliveTreeBible is still my primary mobile Bible reading software, elegant.” – John, MO
“I’ve just been in a warm cafe looking out over the Mediterranean, reading BR5. Actually, marveling more than reading. While there, I emailed friends saying that the world had just changed. Bible-study-wise, there was the world before BibleReader 5 and the world after BibleReader 5. This software is the stuff we dream of, on a phone, in my pocket. My friends, my old mum, my old dad, everyone I know thinks it’s amazing. Well done.” – Jools, Malta
iPhone, iPad Update to Verse Chooser
Jan 5th
From our wonderful users input, we are including the following updates as options in the BibleReader 5 ($.99 already out and free soon to come). Watch the App Store for your updates to take effect soon! The verse chooser will also be updated on the iPad.
