Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a story about my Bible.
Yep! For many years, I carried my Bible in my backpack. It was gray leather, small, easily fit into the backpack behind my wheelchair. It was the Bible I used whenever I traveled. Whether at a hotel, a restaurant table, or in an airplane, my Bible was always with me. Because it was small, the print was pretty tiny, but that was okay – my eyes were young and sharp, and I was able to easily read the small print. When I got into my 50s, I had to put on my reading glasses in order to read that Bible. That was okay for a number of years, but then when I got into my 60s everything changed. Even with glasses, there was no way I could read that fine print. I hated to give up that little leather Bible. I mean, it perfectly fit into my backpack whenever I needed it, especially in conversations with people on the road. But I had no choice, especially since there was no way my old backpack could contain a bigger Bible. So I had to resort to something else.
“Don’t worry,” said my husband, “just use the Bible app on your iPhone. Your iPhone goes everywhere with you anyway, and there’s no reason not to go digital.” It felt a little odd at first using a virtual Bible, but I didn’t want to go on the road without one. So I decided Ken’s suggestion might be a practical idea. In fact, I noticed that sometimes when our pastor asked our congregation to raise their Bibles, many held up their smartphones. I guess it’s a different age.
Although I do miss my old leather-bound Bible, I’m slowly getting into the digital way of doing things. And I can recall when I was flying home from a trip, I wanted to do some reading in the New Testament. You see, I’m reading through the Bible in a year, and I didn’t want to get a day behind. “No problem,” I thought, “I’ll just use my iPhone, even if it is on airplane mode.” Silly me! I had not stopped to consider that my Bible app required internet access, and at least on this flight, there was no Wi-Fi available. “There’s got to be a Bible on board,” I thought, and so I asked the flight attendant if maybe one of the other servers had a Bible with them. I mean, you know, an actual Bible with pages! Well what do you know! She came back a minute later with a Gideon Bible. It seems that at least on this particular carrier – which incidentally was American Airlines – Gideon Bibles are supplied. And so, my friend opened up my tray table, and I was able to do my New Testament reading using a Gideon.
Why do I share all this? Well, no matter what they say, there are at least some limitations to the digital age. iPhone Bibles don’t always serve you well everywhere, especially if you’re low on batteries! And secondly, thank God for the Gideons. For over 110 years, the Gideons have been placing Bibles in all sorts of locations around the world – even on airplanes. And thirdly, it’s not too late to sign up and join my husband Ken and me, and the radio team here at Joni and Friends, in committing to reading through the Bible in 2013. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Friend, if you want God to do a transforming work in your life in the New Year, then please join us in reading through the entire Bible in the next 12 months. Maybe you did it with us last year, and I invite you to join us again. You can sign up and get your reading schedule by visiting my radio page today joniradio.org. It’s a New Year’s resolution you won’t regret making, so read through the Bible in a year with Ken and me and the radio team at joniradio.org.
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