iJesus

Thanks to Apple's innovation with iTunes, iPhones, and iPod Touches, we are now able to access thousands of games, news sources, and social web applications with just a few taps on a screen. Since I am a Verizon Wireless customer, I do not have access to an iPhone unless I switch over to the new AT&T system and pay a hefty price for it. Since I appreciate the value that iPhones have, I decided to drop some money on an iPod Touch, which has all of the same functions of an iPhone except the ability to make phone calls and send text messages. However, with its wireless internet capabilities, I have access to Twitter, Gmail, and pretty much any other channel of hand-held communication. I even have a Bible application.

I have never been the guy who gets excited about reading. I made it through high school and three and a half years of college by reading only three books from cover-to-cover that I was required to read . Many of my friends make fun of me for this, but devote my time to things that I do like, and reading is not one of those things. As a Christian, this has posed a major hindrance to my spiritual growth because God's word and instructions for life are written down, and to learn them, I have to...Read.

One of my friends with an iPhone is an elder at my church back home, and he showed me the Bible application on his iPhone. With this application, I can follow along with a daily Bible reading course, look up verses in nearly 15 different versions and 20 different languages, and find commentaries of any verse that confuses me just by tapping the screen of my iPod Touch. Just like Twitter and Facebook connect people to the social web, this application helps reconnect me to God. It's weird to think about.

My "get-my-life-right" initiative started Sunday night when I went to buy groceries at Wal-Mart. Whole grain bread, skim milk, Total cereal, 100% orange juice, and other items that are potentially beneficial to my health were on the list. I started training for a half-marathon. I wake up early to eat a bowl of Total cereal, drink a glass of orange juice and a glass of coffee, and pull out my iPod Touch to guide me through the day's Bible study. I have tricked myself into reading the Bible. Since I'm not holding a book in my hands, it just doesn't feel like reading, and I am now connected to God's Word again. I feel like I'm missing something, though.

Even though I am reading the Bible, I still feel like the personal aspect is missing. When I have the Bible application open, I am still one tap away from checking the weather with my Weather Channel application, tweeting my status on the Twitter application, checking the sports scores on the Sportacular application, and finding a movie to go see with the Flixter application. Instead of taking a timeout from my on-the-go lifestyle, I have simply implemented Bible study time into it, creating a false sense of pausing with God. I read, scroll down, read, scroll down, and even when I learn something new from reading I Corinthians, the process feels rushed, forced, and impersonal.

I suppose that one of the reasons why spiritual growth is a journey is because I not only have to figure out what path God wants me to take, but I also need to find out my method of transportation - how I will get from point A to point B. Reading is a tedious task for me, but I understand it to be a necessity for spiritual growth. iPhone or not, having a personal Bible study must be personal. I'm working on it.