There are so many benefits to having your Bible on a device. It is small and easy to carry. It is always with you, so you can read your Bible anywhere. You can have dozens of commentaries and study helps at your fingertips. You can even have multiple translations all in one place. But I still carry my physical Bible to church. I don’t do this out of habit, but I intentionally grab my Bible every time we are heading to worship.
Practical Reasons
There are some practical reasons for carrying my physical Bible to church. As advanced as we get, technology still fails sometimes. It may be due to a low battery, lack of Internet, or just a glitch in an app, but there is always a chance I will not be able to access my Bible on a device.
Also, technology is distracting. Of course, I can put my device in “do not disturb” mode so I’m not receiving notifications from apps on my phone, but I usually have to receive a notification before I remember to shut them off, so I have already been distracted. It is so easy to get sucked into a texting conversation, a twitter thread, or just scrolling through countless posts on Facebook or Instagram, not to mention sending pictures of yourself (yes, even pictures of you sitting in a service at church) through Snapchat (is that app still around?). But I can turn off my ringer, put my device away, and open my Bible for the duration of the message, and those distractions disappear.
Beyond staying focused during the service, I want my kids to see me reading my Bible. When someone is reading on their device, they could really be reading anything. No one around you knows whether you are reading your Bible or the latest dystopian novel to hit the market. Even if I can control myself and pay attention while using my device as my Bible, I don’t know that my kids will have the same self-control. Using a physical Bible eliminates the temptations and sets an example for my kids to follow.
More Complex Reasons
There are also some more complex reasons I carry my physical Bible to church. I remember sitting through religion class one rainy afternoon at the Catholic school I attended overseas (I was exempt from religion class, but it was raining that day, so I had to stay in the classroom). When the teacher handed out the Bibles and told the class which passage they would be reading, I immediately turned to the right page while all of my classmates turned to the table of contents. They were amazed that I knew where to turn. Having my physical Bible in church helps me become familiar with it. I learn where the books are, and when I’ve had a specific Bible long enough, I can even recall on which side of the page a particular verse is found. I have grown very comfortable knowing where each book is even when the pastor chooses a more obscure passage to preach.
Because I take notes in my Bible, be it on sticky notes or in the margins of my journaling Bible, I have my sermon notes available during my personal study and my personal study notes available during the sermon. I have often been pleased to see that the pastor mentions things from the passage that were of particular interest to me during my study time. And I’ve also been able to add notes as he preaches from a marked up, familiar passage.
Having a physical copy of the Scriptures also keeps me aware of context. When I am reading a passage on my phone, I may see one or two verses at once. But when I’m reading a passage in my physical Bible, I can see all of the verses around it. I am aware not only of the immediate context, but also the context that is the entire collection of 66 books. Each passage we study is a small part of a much bigger picture. The very practice of holding the weight of Scripture in my hands versus scrolling through a passage on my phone is a reminder that all of Scripture is the metanarrative of the Bible. There is an overall message supported by each passage I study.
While there is definitely nothing wrong with using the Bible on a device during church, I hope this has given you some things to think about as you walk out the door next Sunday to head to your local service. I would love to know if you have more reasons to add to this list.
Have you ever been on a mountain road? You know the ones where you hold your breath as you go around each curve, just hoping you won’t go off the edge and tumble down the mountain? Nowadays, it is common for those curves to have guardrails. Guardrails won’t stop you if you are coming too fast, but they are a barrier, one more thing for you to hit so you will slow down, bounce off, correct course, and not go off the road.
We often set up guardrails in our lives—a barrier to slow us down and give us a chance to course correct—so we don’t barrel into sin. These guardrails are usually based on our personal experiences, whether we have suffered the consequences of sin, been taught something is wrong, or learned from the mistakes of others.
For example, when it comes to dating, we know the Bible teaches that sex is reserved for the covenant of marriage. In order to protect ourselves and prevent that intimacy before marriage, we might set some rules: don’t spend time alone, don’t kiss, don’t even hold hands. If we follow these rules, we are less likely to end up in bed together. If you felt a conviction to set these rules for yourself in your relationships, then to break them is sin for you.
Another example is alcohol. Scripture tells us not to be drunk with wine. I know there is alot of context to this verse, but it is the verse most often used to support the idea of abstinence from alcohol. I personally do not drink. My grandfather was an alcoholic, so I grew up in a home where there was never a drop of alcohol. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “you won’t get drunk if you never take that first drink!” That was a guardrail my parents set in our home and one I’ve set for my family now. I have a personal conviction about this guardrail, so if I were to have a drink of wine with my dinner, for me it would be sin.
Here’s the catch: It is my guardrail, my conviction, so while it would be sin for me, it is not sin for every believer. I can’t hold others to the guardrails I have set for myself.
The guardrails we establish in our lives are good. In most cases, the guardrails are prudent, so it is easy to expect every Christian to implement them. But we can’t hold other Christians to our personal convictions, the ones not given in Scripture. Where there is room for interpretation, we must allow for Christian liberty.
In fact, this is what the Pharisees did. For example, the commandment given by God was to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Through the years, rules (guardrails) were put in place to keep the Israelites from breaking that commandment. The rules against working on the Sabbath got so detailed that you could only travel a certain distance, and you could go no further. This would be the equivalent to limiting the number of steps you could take on that day. Over time, these guardrails became the standard instead of the spirit of the Sabbath law. This went so far that the Pharisees attacked Jesus for healing the sick on the Sabbath.
Holding others to a standard we set is legalism. Legalism isn’t speaking the truth of Scripture; it isn’t holding to the “rules” given by Jesus and the apostles; it isn’t dressing modestly, waiting until marriage to have sex, or going to church every week. All of these are clearly stipulated in the Word. Legalism is adding to Scripture and expecting others to abide by our guardrails.
Because our guardrails are based on our personal experiences, we feel very strongly about them. It can feel like a personal affront if someone else doesn’t honor our guardrail. But holding others to our standards instead of God’s standards is sin.
I encourage you to examine your convictions and determine which ones are biblical and which ones are guardrails you have set to protect yourself. You might find you’ve been more legalistic than you thought!
Let me begin by saying the topic of civil disobedience is not a simple topic. On this topic the same arguments can be made for both sides. Our goal in these conversations is not to be right but to be righteous: not to find Scripture that supports our position, but to allow Scripture to inform our position, to see the issue at hand through the lens of God’s Word and take the position that aligns with His will. This is the very reason freedom should be the point upon which we agree.
This post is not an attack on anyone’s personal choice, but it is a commentary on what the government is doing in the current culture and how Christians should respond. Also, I have heard pastors preach sermons like the one I mention in this post across denominational and religious lines, so this is not an attack of a specific pastor, church, or denomination.
I recently listened to yet another sermon on the Christian and civil disobedience which implied we have no reason to rebel at this particular time in history. This sermon left the impression that true Christians will obey the government mandates because they don’t force us to break God’s law. I say it left the impression because in reality, the sermon was vague, as are many. These sermons tend to get muddy because they draw on biblical examples of civil disobedience while at the same time stating that civil disobedience is wrong.
Principles for Civil Disobedience
The following principles are generally listed as the rule of thumb for the believer when it comes to civil disobedience. We can rebel if:
The government commands what God forbids, or
The government forbids what God commands.
This seems pretty simple until you realize that much of what we are facing is not explicitly addressed in Scripture. The Bible doesn’t tell us if wearing a mask is a sin or not. The Bible doesn’t mention vaccines. The word “abortion” does not appear in Scripture. And there is certainly no reference to #freedomconvoy2022. But just because something isn’t explicitly mentioned doesn’t mean we can’t apply lessons we learn from biblical accounts.
The Conscience and Civil Disobedience
A popular argument in favor of civil disobedience is the idea of conscience. We will say things like, “that goes against my conscience, so I can’t do it.” It is important to remember that our consciences must be molded and guided by the Word of God. Many will say that there is no room for conscience in this conversation. If your conscience is telling you not to obey the government, then your conscience is wrong because we are told over and over in Scripture that God has placed those in authority, and we are to submit to them (Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13, etc.). But the truth is that if your conscience has been molded by the Word, if you are spending time with God regularly and are studying the Scriptures, your conscience can play a valuable role in your decision making.
Biblical Examples of Civil Disobedience
Several examples from Scripture are used to show when civil disobedience is appropriate. Usually, these examples are used to show the extreme cases presented. In Exodus 1, Pharaoh orders the killing of all of the male, Jewish babies. The midwives did not comply. In Daniel 3, we read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were told to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. They did not comply. In Daniel 6, we read the account of Daniel’s decision to pray even though it was against the law. These are all examples of when the government commanded something God had forbidden, or forbade something God had commanded.
Let’s pull these examples into modern day.
The midwives didn’t kill the Jewish baby boys because they understood that life is sacred. Our government wants to use the tax money we are required to pay to fund abortions, thus negating the sanctity of life. This is grounds for civil disobedience.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down to the idol because God forbids idol worship. We are to worship only God (Exodus 20). But idol worship is not limited to carved, golden statues surrounded by a shrine and lit candles. An idol is anything that takes the place of God, anything we trust more than we trust God, anything we fear more than we fear God. Our society has turned Covid and the vaccines into idols. The authorities have destroyed jobs, livelihoods, childhoods, and futures in order to force everyone to bow down. Let me remind you, this is not a statement about your choice but about what the government is doing. The government is pushing us to worship at the altar of Covid to the god of Fauci. This is grounds for civil disobedience.
Daniel broke the law when he prayed to God as he had always done. And he would’ve paid with his life had God not intervened. There is such a thing as an unjust law. It is unjust for parents to lose custody of their children because they choose not to get vaccinated. It is unjust to refuse a life-saving medical procedure because the patient is not vaccinated. It is unjust to force children to spend eight hours a day behind a mask because adults are scared of illness. It is unjust to discharge military personnel who have pledged their lives to protect our freedom because they made the “wrong” medical decision. When we allow unjust laws to go unchallenged, we quickly decline into tyranny and genocide. This is grounds for civil disobedience.
Truth and Fear
Think back to what you know about our own American revolution. It could be argued that England, the authority over America at the time, was not commanding something God forbids or forbidding something God commands. On paper at least, it came down to taxes. Yet no one argues that America should not have fought for her independence because we all know it was about something much deeper than taxes. Much like today, when our conflict is about something much deeper than a mask or a vaccine.
The Bible is clear that Christians are to speak truth and live in truth no matter the consequences. Our current authorities want us to refrain from speaking truth in many areas of life. They want us to lie about the efficacy of masks, about the potential side-effects of vaccines, about the moment life begins, about biology, about “race,” and the list goes on and on. This is grounds for civil disobedience.
Scripture commands us over and over again that we are not to live in fear. The King James Version uses the phrase “fear not” 365 times, but the idea is present in the Word much more often. Our governing authorities want us living in fear. We are to fear Covid, fear our neighbors, fear killing our relatives, fear the loss of our livelihoods, fear not going back to “normal,” fear shortages, etc. This is grounds for civil disobedience.
In the most recent sermon I heard, the preacher made the statement that “the difference between the revolution in England and the revolution in France came down to the presence of Christians.” Yet he implied that Christians should stand down. He claimed that Christians in England kept the revolution from devolving into a bloody massacre, yet he urged Christians now to stay out of the fight.
Our churches should be leading the charge to stand up for truth. When governments are requiring things that fly in the face of truth, it is grounds for civil disobedience.
Do you choose a word for your year? I began choosing a word for my year about 5 or 6 years ago. Before that, I never really understood the point. And, honestly, I don’t think it is the most important thing I can do as I prepare for a new year even now. But for the last several years, I have chosen a word, not as a goal for my life like “success” or “wealth,” but as a focus for my year to make sure I’m pursuing things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8).
For 2021, my word was “bold humility.” I wanted to make sure that, as I shared ideas on social media and in my blog, I was doing it for the right reasons and in the right way. In 2020, my word was “cultivate.” I had just finished reading a book by that title written by Lara Casey and had a strong desire to cultivate relationships and a peaceful atmosphere for my family in our home. Other words I’ve claimed in the past include “undeserving,” “savor,” and “thrive” (this one was chosen our first full year of homeschooling, and I wanted it to be more than surviving).
A couple of important things to point out are 1) I am not trying to “manifest” anything into existence. I’m using the word to make sure I focus on the things I’ve made a priority—my spiritual walk, my family, my relationships. And 2) at any point in the year, my word can change. It is there as a reminder to me, not as a strict, unbending yard stick but as a flexible guideline.
If you come from a New Age background, and manifestation and the law of attraction are stumbling blocks, this may not be the best practice for you. And if you love this idea, but you can’t decide on one word, feel free to choose as many as you want! Maybe you want a different word for different areas of your life. That’s ok. There are no rules.
My word for 2022 is “dwell.” As I read through the Bible in 2021, the word “dwell” jumped off the page for me time and time again. Even my pastor has focused in on it during his sermons. I want to dwell in Scripture this year. I want to dwell in my prayer time. I want to dwell with my family and not be distracted. I want to dwell with the ladies at my church as we grow in Christ together. I want to dwell with my friends from all different circles in my life. To be present—that’s my desire.
If you decide to pick a word for 2022, I’d love to know what it is.
I was not catechized as a kid. I don’t know if it is because catechism was a foreign concept to my parents, or if it was because I grew up in a Roman Catholic country, where catholicism is engrained in the culture, and there is a lot of repetition with very little belief. For whatever reason, this is something I wasn’t exposed to as a kid. Now that my own kids are teenagers, I have only recently discovered catechisms.
According to Meriam-Webster, a catechism is “a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers.” Different religions have their own catechisms. Two catechisms I’ve encountered are the Heidelberg catechism and the Westminster catechism. They are a series of questions about the different aspects of theology, along with the answers supported by Scripture.
The idea is the teacher asks a question, and the students respond in unison with a memorized answer. For example, question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer is “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” The Scriptures that supports this answer include 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Psalm 73:25-26.
For those who grew up in a strict or legalistic environment that required catechism, it can be difficult to separate catechism from negative memories, but most adults I’ve asked who were catechized as children are grateful. They have had the memorized answers bouncing around in their memories as the world seems to have spun out of control.
But let me encourage you. God’s timing is perfect. So you are not too old to be catechized. And, truth be told, you may understand and appreciate it more as an adult. It is never too late to learn the catechism questions and answers and to dive into the Scripture that teaches the principles.
Are you ready to learn about things like justification, the commandments, and prayer? If so, join me in learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism. I have linked a couple of resources, and I will be creating posts of the different questions each week on my Instagram account.
Right at a year ago, I published a blog post about the enneagram. In it, I explained why I deleted a post from my social media, and I detailed some of my experience with the enneagram up to that point. I have spent the last year wrestling with the usefulness of the enneagram in the life of a believer.
Lest you think I have come to my conclusions lightly, let me fill you in on my background with the enneagram.
My Enneagram Story
I first heard of the enneagram while listening to a business podcast. I remember the moment because, since I was walking my neighborhood, I had to rewind the episode to hear the name again. I still couldn’t spell it until I looked it up on Google. After that, it seemed to come up every time I turned around. It was discussed in my network marketing team, my business memberships, all over my social media, and even in Christian circles.
I started doing research to see if the enneagram was biblical, and I found that many well-respected Christian leaders and teachers were including it in their personal lives and ministries. And as I started digging deeper, I became more and more interested. I started reading all of the books, and I took the tests several times.
I struggled to nail down my number until I was introduced to my enneagram mentor. She is a wonderful Christian lady who teaches the enneagram from a biblical perspective. She approaches the enneagram by listing an attribute of God for each of the numbers, and as His image bearers, we get to show off his attributes in our numbers. She also teaches it through the lens of the harmony triad—where your number creates a triangle with two other numbers, and your goal is to find a balance between those three numbers to live as God created you.
If you are familiar with the enneagram, you know this is not the traditional way of approaching it. This was something that drew me to her teaching. I wanted to see it through the lens of Scripture, and her method seemed to align with that goal. I went on to take courses, read more books, receive a certificate, and finally become an enneagram coach.
That’s right, a client could set up an appointment with me after taking the test, and I would walk her through her results so she could understand what her numbers said about her. I was invested! I saw the enneagram as a tool to help us conform to the image of Christ.
From my training, I created multiple graphics and put together a PowerPoint presentation to help others understand what I had come to know. I had months’, if not years’, worth of social media and blog content. I had plans to talk about different people in the Bible with their respective numbers, and use them as examples for us to follow.
The day finally came about a year into my journey to post my first graphic. It was a simple image of the wheel with the numbers listed along with their corresponding attributes of God. Shortly after posting the graphic, I had multiple comments and likes as well as invitations to speak on podcasts for Christian women. It was a hit!
Normally, I would have taken this as confirmation that I was on the right track… until I started reading the comments. All of them were positive, but they weren’t what I expected. Many of the comments cheered for a specific number or expressed amazement that they had never looked at the enneagram that way until reading my post. It was then that the conviction hit, and within hours of publishing it, I deleted the post and began rethinking all of the plans I had made. It was a very humbling experience, and I am embarrassed that it took me so long to submit to the conviction.
I realized that the enneagram would never lead my readers to Jesus. It didn’t matter how much my reader understood about herself because the answer is not found in her. I didn’t want to point her to a man-made tool; I wanted to point her to Scripture.
The Origins of the Enneagram
I remember when I was young asking my dad, “what if a bunch of men got together and made up Christianity and wrote the Bible just to see how many people would follow them?” I now firmly believe the Bible is God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word, but this question is a reflection of how the enneagram came to be.
A couple of men—very intelligent men—pulled from information they had learned throughout their lives and put it together to create the enneagram. They claimed it was an ancient tool (they later revealed that this was false), and they began sharing it with others in their field.
To make matters worse, they practiced automatic writing in the creation of the enneagram. Automatic writing is a method that employs a psychic experience to unconsciously produce written word. When the writer comes to, he is surprised by what he wrote because it didn’t come from him. This is a demonic practice, and this is how the enneagram came to be. The authors channeled a spirit that wrote the information that formed the enneagram we know today.
The origins of the enneagram should give us pause.
At this point, it is normal to hear the argument that God can use worldly things to accomplish His purposes. I agree with that statement because God can redeem whatever He wants to redeem. We, however, cannot redeem anything. And why would God want to redeem the enneagram since He has given us everything we need for life and godliness in His Word? (2 Peter 1:3)
One of the reasons I enjoyed the enneagram so much was because I believed it helped me understand people better. If I knew their number, I was able to communicate with them in a way to which they would respond. I would be able to serve them in a way they would appreciate. I would be able to relate to them better as a friend. But the truth is the enneagram limits our scope rather than expanding it.
The Bible teaches us how to communicate, how to serve, and how to relate to others, but it doesn’t limit us to our number in order to do so. In Christ we have the freedom to serve how God wants us to serve, not merely how our number allows.
The Purpose of the Enneagram
I touched on this in my previous post, but I want to expound on it here. The enneagram is a tool for self-discovery. It is intended to help you understand yourself and why you do what you do. It is not intended to judge you if you do something wrong but simply to inform on why you do it. It encourages what is known as “navel gazing.”
Scripture tells us we are fallen, we have a sin nature, we are the problem. If we are busy looking at ourselves, we will not be looking at Jesus or at others. As Allie Beth Stuckey says in her book, You’re Not Enough and That’s Okay, “You can’t be both the problem and the solution.” Therefore, no amount of “navel gazing” will lead you to the solution.
This also leads to pride and a reluctance to repent of sin. More often than not, as I learned about a specific sinful behavior or personality trait, rather than repent, I would simply chalk it up to my number, “That’s just my one showing” (I actually said things like “pull back on your one and lean in to your seven” to my daughter! [she said while blushing]).
Another expression of pride I have often heard goes something like this, “The eight in me wants me to ….” In other words, our number becomes an excuse to do something we think we shouldn’t do. But can we really expect a tool that is intended for self-discovery to do anything other than create pride in our hearts?
The Answer to the Question
So the answer to the title of this post is “no.” Christians do not need to use the enneagram in their personal lives, in their ministries, or in their businesses.
While it is not my intention to judge you if you have found value in the enneagram—I’m obviously in no position to do that considering I led so many people down this path—it is my intention to give you food for thought. The Lord used that social media post to convict me, and He brought podcasts after blog posts after conversations to my attention in order to draw me closer to Him and help me realize I was wandering away from Him. Maybe He will use this blog post in your life in a similar way.
