Focus Mode

One great reason to set my phone aside is all the possible distractions it can bring. Sometimes I think, “let me just handle this urgent request, then I’ll focus”. Messages, bank transfers, even games and puzzles could be just a tap away. Sometimes as a director (or even as a father) my role can feel a bit like a doctor—like I should always be on call. But the reality is I can “switch off” and be unreachable so I can focus and pray. I even have a quarterly practice of slipping away for a whole work day to pray, switching off from the world to focus on God. Thank God for an organization that values time spent in prayer! But how do I do that if I am using a Bible app on my phone?

I’m grateful that most phones now include a feature called “focus mode”. Both iPhones and Android have them. Older phones had two separate features “Do not disturb” and “Focus mode” and I had to put them both on as needed. My newest phone combines them in a feature called “Modes and routines”.

Focus mode in an Android phone

“Do not disturb” completely silences the phone. It won’t even vibrate or show pop up notifications. Later I can look through missed calls and messages to catch up on anything that was urgent. Since I often forget to put my phone’s ringer back on, I use an Android app called Simple Silent timer that puts it back on after a given time frame, or I use the timer of the “Do not disturb” feature.

“Focus mode” switches off any apps I don’t need to study the Word of God. It doesn’t switch off the phone and messaging app, unless it turns on the “Do not disturb” feature. Every other app appears gray and won’t open until focus mode is switched off. The concept is simple but profoundly helpful. It's like not having the rest of my phone, just the Bible library.

My new phone allows me to make “Focus mode” come on at specific times or when I open certain apps. At first I thought it would be useful to have this mode come on whenever I open my Bible app, but that turned out to be really inconvenient rather than helpful. I sometimes use my Bible app at work, and it surprised me when it shut down useful apps I was using to do my work. Now, I just use the timer to automatically put on “Focus mode” at the time when I usually have a quiet time. At other times, I can put on the focus mode for a set period of time, perhaps thirty minutes or an hour. Thank God for the peace when all the other apps turn grey and I’m alone with God and his Word.

If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us; we don’t get overwhelmed with people reaching out to us. This is often tucked away in settings but can be set up as a quick access setting with just a single swipe and a and tap or two to turn it on. You may find directions online on how to put on Focus mode in iPhone—note the section on “Choose a customized…Home Screen page to switch to while the Focus is on to help limit distractions”—and a few versions of Android: Samsung, Redmi/Xiaomi, Oppo, and others, you may also consider Google’s instructions. Frankly, searching an AI engine with your model may give you the easiest directions, but if the AI hallucinates and gives directions that don’t work, ask for links to directions in places where you are stuck.

No app

Over the coming months I will share some of my favorite Bible apps. But first I want to share a non-app. This year my wife and my colleague John Sacson have inspired me to read through the Bible the “old fashioned” way. I have a physical study Bible that she bought for me about ten years ago. I decided to read through it in a year. I’m not going to quite make it through in a year, but I’m enjoying the overview. I just read the text, not the footnotes. I’ve chosen different colors for different themes related to the heart and I’m highlighting them: joy, mourning, wisdom, prayer, and the heart itself. I’ve had to let go of some of my desire for order so that I can just focus on the text and let God speak through his Word. So if I misplace my highlighters, I don’t force myself to go back to the chapters gone by.

 

My study Bible

I really enjoy having a physical book in my hands, or laid out on the rug in front of me. I can easily look forwards and backwards as I read. After learning many ways to study the Bible, I’m not actually studying it this year. I just read it out loud. I’ve never done that before and I find that I like it. The emotion comes out and I find I slow down and listen better. There are some parts that are a bit shocking and I find I am reading in a whisper because the Bible sometimes tells stories that are violent or even shameful to say out loud.

Printed Bibles in many Nigerian languages are fairly accessible, though some still can not afford Bibles, especially in languages that fewer people speak, as these tend to be a little more expensive to print. Please join me for thanking God for availability to so many of the sweet printed Word, and pray that printed Bibles will be available in all the languages that his people want them here.

How do you like to read your Bible? I’d love to hear from you. The more I hear from you all, I can make this less about me and more about God and how we meet him in his Word together!

I’ve heard some people completely switch off their phone or keep it in another room when they are praying. Before I read the Bible, I use my phone for Scripture memory flashcards, so I use a different approach. I have an automatic feature that puts my phone into a focus mode during my prayer time. I’ll share about that in my next post.

Dancing the Word

I gripped my chair on the front row of the event hall while Adam and Eve reveled in the glory of God and then hid from his thunderous steps.  When the Red Sea parted, I wanted to gather myself up and join them in their victory.  The experience of dancing the Word with the 35 dancers and actors that choreographed the 40 minute drama/musical and acted the life-changing story of the Gospel from Genesis to Jesus awakened a fervor to go and share and be part of the continuing story of Jesus calling humanity to back to Eden.  We are invited back to sweet fellowship and walking with our Creator! 

 

 This group of young people are not only gifted dancers, they invited me into there community and welcomed discipleship with humility and joy. "I have always wanted to follow Jesus," one of them shared, "but I have not known how until now."  Nigeria has a history of rich faith and spirituality.  Yet many artists are wondering what following Jesus looks like for them and not are not finding  a platform to minister in the gifting that pulsate with the rhythms around them.  This unique opportunity to savor the sweetness of Jesus together, get away from the city, sit with Him, and embody the Word was transformative for us all. 

 Please pray for these treasured souls as they discover what it looks like to follow Jesus in his Way while still making their way as artists.  

My favorite Bible apps

I love Bible apps! I have heard a lot of compelling sermons and read convincing reasons to set my phone aside each morning and go back to the technology of pen and paper. However, there are also good reasons to use a smart phone as I encounter God. I have been using a smart phone as my primary tool for engaging with God’s Word for the past few years, and along the way I’ve developed some favorite apps. Although they each have unique features, there are some common themes that make Bible apps helpful.

Bible apps are as portable as a pocket new Testament, but as powerful as a whole library. I find that I want to reference a specific Bible verse from time to time, and I can just pull out my Bible. In our office we read a chapter of the Bible every Wednesday and Thursday. With our growing organization there are not enough printed Bibles in the center table any more, but everyone has a Bible in their pocket. Sometimes I can’t quite remember a reference, but I can easily search for a reference on my phone.

A whole library in my pocket over the years

Many Bible apps synchronize to online storage. When I was growing up, I journaled a lot, with about eight full journals filled with my thoughts and ideas (and very few feelings or dreams if any recorded). As I transitioned to college I started journaling my prayers. When I moved to Nigeria, I continued prayer journaling intermittently for about six years, but slowly discovered that going back and forth “across the pond” with a growing set of journals could become quite cumbersome. I wanted to be able to go back through my journals, reviewing answered prayers and remembering Scriptures God had brought to my heart in previous seasons. But putting journals in carry on-luggage poses a risk of loss, not to mention the increasing cost of the weight. Online Bible apps provide a secure place to keep not only my journals, but my Bible memory flash cards, my notes and highlights, and my creative doodling. 

Bible apps’ audio and video features can also give them an edge over printed Bibles. A printed Bible can’t read to you, and a friend isn’t always available to do that. Whether it is listening to a chapter of the Bible or memorizing Scripture, I find the speaker on my phone opens up new possibilities for Bible apps. I’ll share about some of my favorite apps and their features one-by-one over the coming weeks. All the Bible Apps I use are free, sponsored by people who want to share the sweetness of God’s Word with others. However, one of the most important features for studying God’s word on the phone is not an app and it is not just for the Bible. It is a common feature that helps turn off the distractions. And there is an even lower tech way to focus on the Bible.

I’ll share about those in my next two posts. Can you join me in praying that many people in Nigeria and around the world will learn how to use their phone (and when not to use it) to study the Word? Also, as I share these features, can you prayerfully consider who might need to know about these? Perhaps even immigrant neighbors who you are not yet close to? Although my blogs focus on my own experience and Nigerian languages, these same apps are used around the world and are loaded with thousands of languages worldwide!