Are we in control of our phones or are they in control of us?
Over four billion people have a smartphone, which is about 54% of the global population, according to an Internet Connectivity report. In the United States the percentage is dramatically higher, a Zippia research study identified that over 80% (270 million) of Americans own one. (Image by upliftfamilies.org)
In the last 10 years smartphone ownership has skyrocketed among U.S. adults and teenagers, and so has its dependency. Americans average almost five hours a day on their phone, which is an increase of 52% from just a couple of years ago.
The data is in. We love our smartphones and cannot imagine living without them! As technology has advanced, we can do increasingly more with them in our personal lives, through our job, as students and in our churches.
But who is controlling who? Are we in control of our phones or are they in control of us? The first thing we look at in the morning is…our phone. When we walk out the door to go to work or school, we do so with…our phone. During the day, we are constantly engaging with…our phone. When we come home in the evening, we regularly have in hand…our phone. The last thing we look at before we go to bed is…our phone. The Zippia study reveals that we check our phone about 96 times a day or at least once every 10 minutes. We are engaging with our phones more than we do with our spouse, children, friends, and for Christians, even God.
I have a challenge. It would be the most difficult New Year’s resolution. Would you be willing to reduce your screen time in 2025?
How are phones, as well as TVs, computers, tablets and video games affecting us? Not so good. A PubMed Central scientific study wrote, “Dependency on digital devices resulting in an ever-increasing daily screen time has subsequently also been the cause of several adverse effects on physical and mental or psychological health.” The report discusses issues like anxiety, depression, poor sleep quality, obesity, poor brain development in children and many other alarming concerns for adults and kids.
The Bible says, “’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ’All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12) Are our electronic devices helpful? You bet! But are they controlling us? Yes.
Once God confronted a man over his anger saying, “…sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7) It is no secret. The inventors and marketers of our electronic devices want us to watch them, so they build them for the purpose of drawing you in. Your devices knock at your door every minute. Will you rule over its call to pick it up or will you refuse its desirable invitation?
Where do you start if you want to reduce your time on your electronics in 2025? 1. Set digital detoxes. On a weekly or even a daily basis, set times where electronics are turned off. 2. No electronics in bed. When you are getting ready for bed, turn off the TV and put down your smartphone. 3. A new morning routine. When you wake up, commit to getting out of bed before you look at your phone. 4. Create substitutions. Replace your screen time with reading the Bible or another book, playing a board game, face to face conversation, prayer, exercise, getting outside or serving another person.
It is written, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2) The Lord God, through Jesus Christ, calls people to set their minds upon Him. For in Him is life and peace. However, there is a raging battle that competes against this here on earth. Jesus came to die and rise again that we would have victory over these appealing and deceptive enemies.
A prayer for you – God of heaven and earth, help us to see our life through your eyes. Point out if we are spending too much time on electronics? Help us to accept the challenge for 2025 and begin to release the grip of these devices on our lives and fix our attention on you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Millions wake up each morning and go about their day without a sense of purpose for their life. Today is the day for a new start.
Each day when you get in your vehicle, you do so with a destination in mind. When you begin cooking, you have a mental picture of what you are going to make. While picking up your phone, you know what apps you are going to open. Every day, all of us have a sense of direction for ourselves in the different tasks we do. But the sad part is, when it comes to our overall lives, many have no direction. Millions wake up each morning and go about their day without a sense of purpose for their life.
This is not of God. He did not make us that way. Look at creation. It speaks of something entirely different. Every January 1st there is new year. Each Sunday is the start of a new week and there is a new sunrise each day.
Today is the day for a new start.
Are you living out your Divine Destiny? When Jeremiah was a teenager, while he was still determining a sense of direction for himself like other youth, God spoke to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Then there was Mary. As she going about her day and still unsure of her life’s direction God spoke through an angel, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)
Jesus said these words to a Roman ruler shortly before He was crucified, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37)
Jeremiah and Mary, like Jesus, lived with a sense of their Divine Destiny. And there are millions of others that live the same, yet sadly millions more live aimlessly. They wake up and go about the course of their day, without an overall sense of the Divine or any direction. They are not heading anywhere; just living. And there are others, that do have a sense of direction. They wake up with purpose. They set goals. However, they have no sense of the Divine because they are self-guided, self-improved and self-made. Consequently, without realizing it the direction they are headed is off course.
How can you live out your Divine Destiny? For you only get one life, and once you arrive at the funeral home, it is too late.
1-Know Jesus. Turn from operating life on your terms. Place your full trust in Christ and love Him with all your being. 2-Walk with Jesus. This is not just about a decision, but a daily walk with the King of kings, where you follow Him faithfully by obeying His commands through the power of His Spirit. 3-Draw near to Jesus. You will begin seeing the direction of your life clearer the closer you come to Christ through a life of worship, obedience and service. 4-Begin where you are. Divine Direction is not found after you get a degree, work through your current crisis, nor has it passed you by. It exists before you. It is found through what you are already doing. Open your eyes and see. 5-Listen and respond to God’s voice. When you are seeking to find the purpose for which you were born and living according to these ways, you have laid the foundation for God to speak. And when He does, you will hear from Him in His Word, or through others, in life’s circumstances, nature and or through the quiet voice of His Spirit. And in all these ways, God never contradicts His written Word.
Do not waste your life another second. Fulfill your destiny.
A prayer for you – Creator God, you made all of us with a purpose, but due to the curse of sin and our evil ways, we are not living it out. Today, we change that. We seek you with all our heart that we might live out your purpose for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
“There is a gift waiting for you that is greater than any physical thing you could wish for.”
It happened every year. I would wake up Christmas morning and discover many gifts, all beautifully wrapped, spilling out everywhere from under the Christmas tree. What amazed me, is they were not there when I went to bed on Christmas Eve. Somehow, someway they appeared overnight, and many were labelled “From Santa” while others were from dad and mom, and my brother and sisters. (Image by Isabel Perello from Pixabay)
As time passed, I began to wonder like millions of other kids, “Is Santa Claus real?” In my attempt to find this out, I plotted in how to slip out of my bedroom late on Christmas Eve and hid behind a couch, where the Christmas tree was in my line of sight. However, the plan did not go so well. For as time went by, the weight of my eyelids gave way, and I missed out on discovering the answer to the mystery.
What prompted me to wonder about Santa in the first place? The gifts. If there were never any gifts under the tree, I would not have asked my question, so why do we give and receive gifts at Christmas?
For that we go back to the late 200s. That was when Nicholas of Myra was born. He was a Christian minister, and when he was young, he became widely known for his legendary generosity in giving gifts to the poor and needy. Consequently, sometime after his death, he eventually became known as St. Nicholas. Then centuries later he became known as Santa Claus.
Why did Nicholas give to others? No doubt as a Christian minister he was impacted by the life and teachings of Jesus, who lived just a couple hundred years earlier. It is written about Jesus, “[He] went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” (Matthew 9:35-36) Jesus healed the sick, spoke good news to all, fed the hungry, loved the children, and did much good wherever He went. As Jesus selflessly gave to others, so did Nicholas, and so should we.
Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Because of Jesus. For He became the greatest gift to all mankind through His miraculous birth on the first Christmas Day. He was the supreme gift for every man and woman, and boy and girl. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”
Every Christmas tree ought to have under it a manger and a cross. For it was a gift when Jesus came from heaven to earth, born as a baby in a manger. When Almighty God took the form of an infant to save us, what an incredible gift!
And when the Son of God gave Himself to humbly die on a cross for the sins of the world, what a priceless gift! This is the true meaning of Christmas. There would be no Christmas without Jesus. There would be no Nicholas of Myra without Jesus. There would be no Santa Claus without Jesus. For Christ is the beginning, middle and end of it all.
There is a gift waiting for you that is greater than any physical thing you could wish for. It is something that cannot be bought, wrapped, or put under a tree. It is the gift of freedom. Freedom from the shackles of sin, along with its guilt and shame. And this gift comes with the promise of a new life and the hope of an eternal home. However, there is a high price to pay for this merciful and gracious gift. It will cost you your very life. To receive it you must yield all that you are fully to Christ and come under His Lordship. That is a high price, but it is worth it! And what if you refuse heaven’s offer? That will cost you too. For one day you will have to stand before Christ the King to answer for your decision.
A prayer for you – Lord God, when you sent your only Son from heaven to earth, to die and rise again on a cross, you gave the world the greatest gift. Thank you, O Lord! Bring many today to receive this gift by faith and be changed by your holy power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
