Trash The App

Do you have a Bible app on your phone? I used to. I deleted it. Want to know why? I have FIVE reasons.

I was watching a sermon by Pastor James MacDonald this past weekend. He was talking about our modern technology and how we have all these conveniences right in the palm of our hand. The phone!

We have an app for this and an app for that. Everything created and designed to make our lives more convenient. But is convenience necessarily a good thing? Not always. Pastor James had one section of his talk called "Down With Fake Bibles." He spoke specifically about the Bibles we have on our computers and on our phones.

Here are Pastor James' top five reasons to delete your Bible app. I agree with them all, especially #4.

1. Not personalized - Although most Bible apps have ways to underline and highlight text it's not the same as doing so yourself in your own personal Bible. Years later, when your kids look through your Bible and see your handwriting. That's personal.
2. No Context - I used my Bible app to read and that's all I did. Read. There were no footnotes or other references along with the text. It was just there to read. It's just not the same as having a good study Bible to learn more AS you read.
3. Not Special - How many apps do you have on your phone? Dozens, right? And your Bible is just another app? No! The Bible is The living, breathing Word of God! It's special! We should treat it that way.
4. Not Observable - When my wife walks in the living room and sees me on my phone she has no idea what I am doing. I could be on Facebook. I could be texting a friend. What she thinks I am doing is up to her imagination. When I am reading my Bible and she sees me reading it she KNOWS what I am doing. There is no doubt. Very important!
5. Not Inconvenient - Convenience is the way to go these days. If we have a Bible app it's convenient for us to read. It shouldn't be convenient. How many times do you leave the house and then go back because you forgot your phone? Do you do that with your Bible? Our Bibles need to be things we remember as stand alone items.

The pastor's message hit a chord with me to the point where I deleted my Bible app. And you know what? I'm glad I did. To feel God's Word in my hands is far better than holding some "smart" phone. Let God's Word be an inconvenient truth in our lives. It is sharper than a two-edged sword.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." - John 1:1 & 14

Down With Fake Bibles - James MacDonald
The Word - Sara Groves