Admittedly, I’m a complete dunce when it comes to my i-Phone.
For over a year my wife Michelle (a satisfied i-Phone user) told me about how it would add so much convenience to my busy pastoral lifestyle. I was very hesitant for the sole reason that everybody I observed who owned one always had their nose down looking at the darn thing! Eventually I caved, and after owning one for two years now I can say, “My wife was right.” I couldn’t imagine going back to a conventional mobile phone after owning one. With the flip of a thumb, no matter where I am stateside, I can access my personal and church emails, consult my online calendar, check Facebook and Twitter, access the Bible in multiple versions, get directions on the fly, take vivid photos and videos, show-off my beautiful family, check on my favorite German soccer team (Karlsruhe SC), get directions and restaurant reviews, check flight statuses, calculate, find the local time in Mumbai, and play a quick game of Zombie Highway. Amazing!
This summer I took my i-Phone to remote western Kenya. For those of you who’ve never been there, there is absolutely no coverage in remote western Kenya. The locals were amazed by it! I showed them photos of my family. I took a lot of pictures and videos of them at our open-air crusades. The orphans had a ball taking pictures of each other with it! I used the alarm clock feature every day to help me be timely (which in remote western Kenya means nothing!). I also listened to the songs repeatedly on i-Pod that I had downloaded in the States.
Why am I sharing this information with you?
I found that when I was disconnected from coverage, the i-Phone became nothing more than a sleek-appearing paperweight! In Solano County it was my lifeline (or so it seemed); but in Africa, all I could get from it was what I intentionally downloaded ’back home’. In other words, in California it’s a marvel with limitless evolving eye-popping potential. But where we were this summer, it was severely limited by what I had (or had not) put in it.
Pop Quiz Hot Shots!
Someone takes your one and only Bible - your Bible. It’s the one with your name embossed on the cover, the sweet handwritten dedication near the front, the highlighted verses, and the note somebody passed you while you were pretending to enjoy the sermon – your Bible!
Now here’s the proverbial ‘kicker’ – you can’t buy or borrow another one – ever!
Questions.
With what you’ve read and memorized from the Bible, could you continue to encourage yourself in the Lord?
Could you lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ?
Could you explain cogently the underpinnings of your faith?
The psalmist wrote a long time ago, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you’ (Psalm 119:11)
Are you currently and intentionally downloading God’s powerful and infallible Word into your heart?
Hide it now.
You’ll need it later!
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