Who would have thought just a few years ago that words like these would come out of our mouths on a pretty regular basis: Twitter – now, “X,” Google, iPhone/iPad, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, droid not as a Star Wars movie character but as technology (android) on a smartphone. Smartphone? These words, concepts, and technologies are part of our everyday vocabulary and make it pretty clear that we’re living in the 21st century. Who knows what we’ll be saying and doing next? And it will be soon – things keep changing quickly.
A phrase that accompanied the iPhone release in 2007 was, “There’s an app for that.” Apps are applications/computer programs that you can download onto your phone or tablet to make it do pretty amazing things – games, banking, GPS navigational tools, news, weather, sports, making purchases, play music, read/listen to books. Apple’s iPhone store now has nearly 2 million apps while the Google Play Store has more than 2.5 million.
Some apps are downright weird. There’s something called Bacon Clock. It’s a digital clock with numbers made of strips of bacon and a calendar burnt into slices of toast. Some are downright scary. There used to be one called iVoodoo. This app let you take out your frustrations with people who frustrate you in the privacy of your phone. iVoodoo displayed a creepy looking doll on the screen that resembled a scary gingerbread man. You could name it – your boss, your ex, your mother-in-law, random government officials – and then proceed to torture the digital doll with the sharp objects that surround it. Well, let’s remember that we’re still children of God living in the 21st century.
If you can name it, think of it, there’s an app for that. Naturally, people have had some fun with that phrase. A while back, the “Pickles” comic strip, that features an older grandparent couple, had the grandpa saying, “I hate most TV commercials. But I love that one that gives you all those different reasons to take a snooze.” His grandson asks, “Which one is that, grandpa?” He answers, “You know, the one that says, ‘There’s a nap for that.’” Then the next couple of days showed grandpa in various positions of repose: If you wife wants you to take her to Yarn Barn, there’s a nap for that…If your neighbor wants to borrow your mower, there’s a nap for that…If the sermon runs a little too long, there’s a nap for that.
Wouldn’t it be great if life could be as simple as that – whatever problem or challenge we face – there would be an app for that, to solve it. Money problems. There’s an app for that. Marriage in trouble – there’s an app for that. Teenager’s getting a little rebellious – there’s an app for that. Under a lot of stress – no worries, there’s an app for that.
Actually, there is something that applies in every one of those cases, in every aspect of life, in every challenge and difficulty – the Word of God. Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Scripture is powerful because it is the Word of God. And it is practical, useful in every situation. It applies. There’s an app for that.
But there is a danger that we treat the Word of God as merely a patch and repair type thing, a quick fix, use it only when we have a pressing need. Actually, there’s an even greater danger – that we not use it at all. Around world, Bible has been translated into more than 1,000 languages, far more than any other book.
Every year, more than 65 million copies are bought in the U.S. or given away by groups like the Gideons. Nothing else is a close second. The average home has three Bibles, which doesn’t count the apps that enable you to download it to your smartphone. It’s strange. A lot of people cheer the Bible, buy the Bible, give the Bible and own the Bible. They just don’t read the Bible. We can nod our heads to that – yep, a lot of people give lip service to the Scriptures, but aren’t in the Word for themselves.
So, here’s the question for you: do you open yours? Are you in the Word for yourself? Daily?! Paul writes, “Continue in what you have learned.” Continue, don’t stop, keep on learning, reading, studying, taking in the Word of God. “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14,15)
Be devoted to the Word. There’s power here. God’s power. Forget the hit and miss approach, the 911 calls for spiritual help. Continue in what you have learned, daily. Enjoy constant growth and strengthening through this divine app. The Word of God repairs, restores, renews, refreshes, and redeems. Why would we not use it? Why would we rely on anything else?
God be with you,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
A phrase that accompanied the iPhone release in 2007 was, “There’s an app for that.” Apps are applications/computer programs that you can download onto your phone or tablet to make it do pretty amazing things – games, banking, GPS navigational tools, news, weather, sports, making purchases, play music, read/listen to books. Apple’s iPhone store now has nearly 2 million apps while the Google Play Store has more than 2.5 million.
Some apps are downright weird. There’s something called Bacon Clock. It’s a digital clock with numbers made of strips of bacon and a calendar burnt into slices of toast. Some are downright scary. There used to be one called iVoodoo. This app let you take out your frustrations with people who frustrate you in the privacy of your phone. iVoodoo displayed a creepy looking doll on the screen that resembled a scary gingerbread man. You could name it – your boss, your ex, your mother-in-law, random government officials – and then proceed to torture the digital doll with the sharp objects that surround it. Well, let’s remember that we’re still children of God living in the 21st century.
If you can name it, think of it, there’s an app for that. Naturally, people have had some fun with that phrase. A while back, the “Pickles” comic strip, that features an older grandparent couple, had the grandpa saying, “I hate most TV commercials. But I love that one that gives you all those different reasons to take a snooze.” His grandson asks, “Which one is that, grandpa?” He answers, “You know, the one that says, ‘There’s a nap for that.’” Then the next couple of days showed grandpa in various positions of repose: If you wife wants you to take her to Yarn Barn, there’s a nap for that…If your neighbor wants to borrow your mower, there’s a nap for that…If the sermon runs a little too long, there’s a nap for that.
Wouldn’t it be great if life could be as simple as that – whatever problem or challenge we face – there would be an app for that, to solve it. Money problems. There’s an app for that. Marriage in trouble – there’s an app for that. Teenager’s getting a little rebellious – there’s an app for that. Under a lot of stress – no worries, there’s an app for that.
Actually, there is something that applies in every one of those cases, in every aspect of life, in every challenge and difficulty – the Word of God. Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Scripture is powerful because it is the Word of God. And it is practical, useful in every situation. It applies. There’s an app for that.
But there is a danger that we treat the Word of God as merely a patch and repair type thing, a quick fix, use it only when we have a pressing need. Actually, there’s an even greater danger – that we not use it at all. Around world, Bible has been translated into more than 1,000 languages, far more than any other book.
Every year, more than 65 million copies are bought in the U.S. or given away by groups like the Gideons. Nothing else is a close second. The average home has three Bibles, which doesn’t count the apps that enable you to download it to your smartphone. It’s strange. A lot of people cheer the Bible, buy the Bible, give the Bible and own the Bible. They just don’t read the Bible. We can nod our heads to that – yep, a lot of people give lip service to the Scriptures, but aren’t in the Word for themselves.
So, here’s the question for you: do you open yours? Are you in the Word for yourself? Daily?! Paul writes, “Continue in what you have learned.” Continue, don’t stop, keep on learning, reading, studying, taking in the Word of God. “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14,15)
Be devoted to the Word. There’s power here. God’s power. Forget the hit and miss approach, the 911 calls for spiritual help. Continue in what you have learned, daily. Enjoy constant growth and strengthening through this divine app. The Word of God repairs, restores, renews, refreshes, and redeems. Why would we not use it? Why would we rely on anything else?
God be with you,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
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