Apps and Application

Some encouragement from Psalm 143 now:
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

We can rejoice in the Lord, because He is our source of truth and guidance - He is the One who brings clarity out of confusion, and peace when we are perturbed.   As we study and meditate on God's word, He will make Himself known to us.

Psalm 119 says this:
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

Angry Birds Space only came out last week, but it reportedly yielded some 10 million downloads in its first 3 days.

According to the BBC, the new Angry Birds instalment features 60 initial levels and six new characters and has what Rovio calls a "unique twist in a variable gravity environment".

NASA was also involved in promoting the game, posting a video showing an astronaut on the International Space Station explaining the laws of physics using Angry Bird characters.  The space agency called it "an exciting way to get people engaged with Nasa's missions of exploration and discover".

I know next to nothing about Angry Birds, but I do know about the power and popularity of apps - take, for instance, the YouVersion Bible app...in fact, every minute:  there are 40,000 minutes of Bible engagement being logged in, the app is installed on 69 new devices - 1 per second, and over 6500 chapters of the Bible are viewed.    And, there are numerous apps that provide unique and inspiring Christian content.

And, if you want to listen to Faith Radio, we are pleased to be part of the lineup of apps such as TuneIn Radio, through which you can listen to us anywhere in the world.    And, Shazam will help you identify some of the songs that we play here on Faith Radio.

So God has provided us with powerful tools through which we can grow in our faith, including these smartphone apps.   And, we are pleased that you are using Faith Radio as a unique tool through which you can hear God's word taught and enter into worship.  

But, the tools that we have are only a means to an end.   For example, while God uses the apps we download,  His desire is for us to download His truth and apply it to our lives.   So, an app is useful, but application is critical.   We can be challenged to hide God's word in our hearts and be confident that it will produce fruit as we meditate on it and actually personalize it, so we might live the truth.