Spurgeon In Your Pocket

Despite a slightly uninspiring name (Daily Readings), this is a delightful little app bringing you cherished daily wisdom on the Scriptures, as well as the chance to sing along to treasured hymns.

DAILY READINGS:
Apple/Android
Free

A joint project of Christian Hymns and the Evangelical Movement of Wales, Daily Readings provides the user with daily morning and evening Bible readings and reflections from two of British evangelicalism’s most respected pastors: Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle.

Spurgeon and Ryle

Both Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening reflections and J.C.Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels have edified countless Christians since their release in the 19th century. Pithy, perceptive and practical, now they’re readily and freely available through this app.

Simply open it up and you’ll be presented with the day’s devotional, with the option of switching between Ryle and Spurgeon (and for him, both morning and evening). Advocates of Morning and Evening will know Spurgeon tends to focus on a verse or part thereof, so there’s also an optional additional Bible reading for those who want more. The app has the ESV Bible text built-in and offers a helpful and applicatory ‘For Thought and Prayer’ section at the end of each reading too.

A Daily Hymn

But perhaps the unique aspect is the daily hymn for each reading. Click through and you’ll be presented with lyrics and the option of playing an instrumental accompaniment. This is clearly a labour of love.

The whole Daily Readings app interface has been well designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use, with a clean font and simple colour scheme. Spurgeon has been ‘lightly modernised’ and the app is actually a real gem.

I was more impressed than I expected from this app. It makes Spurgeon and Ryle highly accessible, and if you’re particularly familiar with hymnody, this is well worth downloading.

More info on Daily Readings here.

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A version of this article was first published here in the March 2021 Issue of Evangelicals Now and is shared here with permission. EN is a monthly newspaper published in print and online, offering a biblical perspective on current issues and insight on what’s happening with God’s people worldwide. Online subscription is just £10 p/a with print & online combined for just £18. Order a free sample or subscribe here.

‘Not another book on Christian marriage‘, you might cry!

I had the opportunity to write a foreword to my friend Steve Donald’s up-coming book on marriage, Marriages Are Made in Heaven, published by Evangelical Press.

Steve particularly considers how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility play out as we consider marriage, both for those approaching or weighing up marriage and those already married.

For me, it was a chance to reflect on how marriage is considered in our cultural moment and I re-print the foreword here with Steve’s blessing and commend the book for the reasons below…

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“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife …”

Austen on the Money?

Times have changed dramatically since Jane Austen penned those priceless words to begin what is often heralded as one of the best works of romantic fiction ever written, Pride & Prejudice. And yet despite its accolades, Austen’s subtle genius as a commentator for our times is perhaps not as acknowledged as it should be. She wryly observed the first impacts of social currents that we continue to swim in today: the rise of the individual, the place of personal choice, and the fragmenting of cultural norms.

Of course, those currents have totally re-shaped our social landscape in the two hundred years that have passed since Austen’s day—and we perhaps glimpse that nowhere more starkly than when it comes to marriage. Undoubtedly some of this change has been helpful, as we’ve disposed of cultural baggage that had been mistakenly taken as biblical principle. But it’s also meant, when it comes to marriage, that we now find ourselves torn as a culture. On one hand we idolise the Netflix image of the couple, who seem both fully loved and fully known. And yet on the other hand we also idolise our so-called freedoms—including ultimately the right to self-determine our identities. As such we baulk or get edgy about the lifelong commitment of marriage. This is our culture’s paradox, as we try to figure out if and how these two ideals can co-exist.

Optioned-Out?

And this brings us from Pride & Prejudice to the book in your hands, Marriages are Made in Heaven. Now, Steve Donald is not claiming to be Jane Austen, but it is his own cultural observations that have led to this particular choice of subject matter. Anyone who dares think they may have something to add to the already overcrowded canon of Christian marriage literature is a brave author. But actually, the significance of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in approaching marriage is a refreshing focus for our times.

It’s often said that those of us currently under-40 are ‘optioned-out’, distracted-to-death, and commitment-phobic. Some of us might point to the misguided priorities of our forebears and argue we find ourselves here as a result of others’ decisions. But regardless, it is still here that we find ourselves—and we need to acknowledge this place. What is this like as a lived-experience? Well, I find the words disorientating, overwhelming and flimsy crop up often enough in conversation. Throw into the mix the idea of committing ourselves to one person for life and you start to see it’s no wonder that people are uneasy about marriage.

‘Destined Perfection’

But it’s here that Steve shows us seeing our lives and marriages against the backdrop of God’s sovereign goodness brings real assurance and true freedom. In particular, Steve’s way of unpacking the Bible’s teaching on ‘destined perfection’ throws us a lifebuoy of hope amidst these unsettling currents. Whether we are married (happily/unhappily/bit of both) or single (happily/unhappily/bit of both), knowing this God brings Rest for our restlessness.

I think it’s worth saying that the subject of marriage is inevitably going to be intensely personal. Going back to Austen, her varied examples in Pride & Prejudice comically illustrate for us that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’. Sometimes we can take this too far and be resistant to any input into our own marriages. And yet in my experience, most of us still want to lean in to other people’s experiences and stories— especially when it’s one generation to another. Maybe in part that comes from a humble recognition that every marriage is a work in progress.

So, whatever your situation, full marks for picking this book up and seeking encouragement. I think you’ll find Steve a trusty guide, as he balances sharing honestly from his own story, without treating it as a roadmap for everyone else. And thank you to Steve, for lifting our eyes from off spouse (whether the spouse of our dreams, our expectations or reality) and instead fixing them on our everlasting God, helping us to rediscover that ‘those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength … they will walk and not be faint’ (Isaiah 40:31, NIV).

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Marriages Are Made in Heaven is published on 14th February 2021, but you can pre-order from the distributor here.

‘Wasting Time’ with God…

REDEEMING TIME:
Apple/Android
Free

What do you do with the little moments?

How often do you reach for your smartphone during the ‘little moments’ of the day. Making the tea? Stuck in a queue? In the bathroom?! I recently noticed how I’d even begun to instinctively look at my phone as I went up and down the stairs!

And more often than not, what are we doing during that time? Checking email? Glancing through Facebook? Browsing BBC News on the off chance there’s a new story added since we last checked. Of course, all this time adds up! 2019 figures suggested the average user spent 2 hours 22 minutes on social media each day. Just think what else you could do with that time!

Don’t waste your time

A few years ago Crossway published this Infographic showing how long it would take you to read each book of the Bible, based on average reading speeds. It’s a compelling image, because it inevitably highlights that the small amounts of time we whittle away on other things are an opportunity to get through a lot of the Bible. Twelve minutes a day and we’d read the whole Bible in a year!

And this is the premise behind Redeeming Time. James Doc, a Christian web developer, and Andy Geers, founder of PrayerMate, have created a delightfully simple app that really has one goal: to show you how you can ‘redeem’ small amounts of time to read the Bible, rather than squander it on other things.

How long have you got?

The app has a simple welcome screen that invites you to select how much time you have available. Whether it’s two minutes or an hour, the app will then present you with a list of which Bible books you could read during that time.

For example, enter five minutes and you’ll get invited to read Obadiah, Jude or Philemon. Twenty-five minutes and it’ll suggest you try the likes of Amos, Lamentations, or Galatians. After making your choice, the app opens up the chosen Scripture from Bible Gateway. As you begin to scroll and read, it logs where you’re up to so that you can return later part-way through. Everytime you complete a Bible book, it presents you with some helpful reflection questions. 

If you expect a full-blown Bible-reading app with bells and whistles, you’ll be disappointed. Redeeming Time doesn’t aim to take on responsibility for the extent of your personal Bible reading programme. But it does make a simple point, with a practical call to action: read the word and redeem that time!

More info on Redeeming Time here.

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A version of this article was first published here in the February 2021 Issue of Evangelicals Now and is shared here with permission. EN is a monthly newspaper published in print and online, offering a biblical perspective on current issues and insight on what’s happening with God’s people worldwide. Online subscription is just £10 p/a with print & online combined for just £18. Order a free sample or subscribe here.