Every now and then I like to get on my “band wagon” or my “soap box.” I have quite a few soap boxes! Which one am I on today?

I wonder why people are forgetting about their Bibles. Yes, I know most people read their Bibles on their iPhones today and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But I feel sad that they are discarding their Bible they can hold in their hands. There’s something about holding the written Word of God. I love to hold it in my hands. I love to even caress it. I love to underline my Bible. I love my well-used Bible, and I constantly wear out my Bibles.

In my personal devotions, I use my iPhone to check Hebrew and Greek words and sometimes another translation, but I love to read my printed Bible. Far less side-tracking. Oh yes. It is so easy to get side-tracked. Even though I am a disciplined person, I find I have to be extra disciplined if using my iPhone. I can be checking a Hebrew word and in comes a message, DING! It is so tempting to check that message. But I mustn’t! That’s why it is much healthier to read the printed Bible in your hand.

It is rare to see people bring their Bible to church today. This really saddens me. Even the preachers preach from their iPhones. Oh my, I think there is so much more authority about them holding God’s Word in their hand as they preach!

And the congregation. There are those who are diligent to read along on their iPhones when the Scriptures are being read, but oh my (oh my again!) I know that most are not doing it. And many are checking their messages—in church! Can you believe it? I think it is sacrilege. Oh yes, they are just too tempting and distracting! I’d like to ban iPhones from church! Wow, this won’t be a popular devotion!

I think it’s time we brought our Bibles back to church. What a wonderful thing it is to see a whole congregation with their Bibles open and a notebook ready to write down what God is saying to them. When people bring their Bibles to church you know they mean business with God. You know they are a student of God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15). You know they are a Berean, those who search the Scriptures daily “to see if those things were so” (Acts 17:11). It’s good to check out the preacher.

Here’s a good challenge. Why not make it a new project to go to church this coming weekend, making sure everyone in the family is carrying their Bible! It will give your children a renewed encouragement of the importance of the Bible. It’s not any ordinary book. It contains the eternal living words of God. And when other families see you all with your Bibles, hopefully they will be encouraged to do the same thing. Encourage your children to look up the Scriptures the preacher is referring to (and even to have a notebook to write them down). They will become far more involved in church.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

What about when you are reading the Bible in public, perhaps on an airplane or waiting room. You may love to do it on your iPhone, but that doesn’t scare anyone. Get out your Bible and you’ll get some reaction or even avoidance! The literal Bible has power to convict people even without reading the words.

It’s time the Bible came back into the open! Anyone with me?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I love Your Word. It is my life and my sustenance. Help me to be a true student of Your living Word, reading my Bible where I will not be distracted by my iPhone. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

“I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:99).