By Karen O’Connor:
Can can we find God while using a smartphone?
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I remember the day my sister-in-law showed me her new smartphone, a gift from her son. Next thing I knew my daughter bought one and then a friend did the same. Finally I broke down, traded in my previous phone and bought myself one too. Little did I know at the time that within days of using it I’d be finding God on my smartphone using a Bible app!
Amazed at all the things my smartphone phone could do—from providing a weather report, to displaying a word game, to playing with my friend hundreds of miles away––I realized that only God could make all this possible through the talented people who came up with this amazing technology. Then when I visited the App Store on my phone, I found I could download a Bible app, too!
Related article: Updated App Guide: Best Bible Apps by Lenny Liang ()
ALSO: Logos has a Bible app you can download for free, for iPhone: Logos iPhone App or Android: Logos Android App (These links go directly to the download pages.)
That was one of the best features I came across. Now I can sit in an airport, or at the park, in bed, or during church and with just a few movements of my fingers, locate the book and verses from God’s Word that I want to read.
One Anglican clergyman in London, Canon Parrott–as noted in The Register article by Rik Myslewski–decided to bless all the mobile devices that his congregation uses at home and at work. Canon Parrott arrayed the altar of his church with four smartphones and two laptops, asked his congregation members to hold their smartphones above their heads, then intoned:
“By your blessing, may these phones and computers, symbols of all the technology and communication in our daily lives, be a reminder to us that you are a God who communicates with us and who speaks by your Word.”
He also added, reverently and humorously:
“May our tongues be gentle, our e-mails be simple, and our websites be accessible.”
Finding God on a Smartphone and on any mobile devices keeps our attention where it needs to be––on the Creator of the universe and all that is within it.
Bob Coy on Bible Apps: Nice commentary on whether your smartphone can truly replace a physical, more personal Bible:
Bible.is in Africa: Here’s one exciting way smartphones are being used to spread God’s word in other languages! This man in Sierra Leone, Africa is listening to the Bible in his heart language on the smartphone app, Bible.is and translating the Bible as he listens. Exciting!
©Karen O’Connor. Karen is an author, writing mentor, and frequent contributor to the Finding God Daily blog. Visit Karen on the web at www.karenoconnor.com
