The following is an article I wrote for my newsletter The Christian Perspective. It is a type of what goes in in the world. Your coments are appreciated.

The Cell Phone Grasp

     It does not take much to see how much the cell phone has changed this nation. It seems that everybody and his brother has one. Even more elementary school children are seen walking the streets with these devises stuck to the sides of their heads.  Grandma and Grandpa are seen in the grocery stores with these phones as though they have had these things their entire lives. There are people on television declaring that because of their “free” cell phones they can now call their bosses, doctors and grandchildren. Yet one question has to come to mind. What did they do before these cell phones?

     But this is the best of the situation. Take for instance the early twenty-something female. On one arm swings the ever important purse or bag. Tightly clenched in her free hand is a cell phone. The young lady is not merely holding the phone but she is holding onto it as though her life is dependent on the firm grasp of the phone. Yet she is not the only one. If you are driving simply look out the car window to the middle-aged gentleman. It is obvious that the well-groomed individual is a businessman. Still he has one hand firmly on the steering wheel of the sedan while the free hand refuses to relent the phone that does everything except scratch his back. O, but wait! Look at the car on the other side and there is a middle-aged lady following suite as the gentleman.

     The point is that people treat their cell phones as though their lives depend upon their grasps. One would think that if that phone were dropped or lost that somehow the earth would stop on its axis or that the world would surly come to an end. But other questions do come to mind when the cell phone grasp is considered. For instance, what would happen if these that grasp the phone would take hold to Jesus with such vigor? How much would Christians impact the world if they grasped strongly the filling of the Holy Spirit? How much would the saints grow if indeed they hide the Word of God in their hearts? And the list of questions can go on and on.

     The words in Hebrews 10:23 are “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering…” The interesting term in the verse is “hold fast”. In the Greek this term means in part, “to hold downright, hold in firm grasp, to have in full and secure possession.”[1] With this it is encumbered upon those that call themselves Christians to remove the mantel of appeasement and replace it with the garment of holiness. Holiness means that there is taking possession the truths of God and not relenting to the whims of idiosyncratic notions posed by those that choose to live a double standard. Holding fast the profession of our faith means that the Christian must hold securely what the faith is about without allowing the dictates of secularists to present false ideologies of Christendom.

     There is no doubt that cell phones have impacted this present society in a number of ways. But the impact of the faith of Christianity has impacted millions from the birth of the Church. This is the reason the Christian might do well to let loose the cell phone and take full possession of God’s Word. Once this is accomplished the Christian will be able to positively impact those around him while at the same time growing all the more relevant for a dying world. No, there is no need to throw out the cell phone but there is a reason to hide the Word of God in the heart of the Church.