For the past few weeks, I’ve been going to church using a bible app I have on my phone. The church I attend is technology friendly so that isn’t an issue. Rather, the problem was with me. I was surprised by just how hard I would resist a digital form of the Word.

At heart I’m a KJV (King James Version) man. I have an old black KJV with an inscription that reads, “Either this book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” It was given to me as a gift by an old friend of mine who happened to be a deacon at a church I attended several years ago. It isn’t as worn in as it should be but that’s my fault, I didn’t use it nearly as much as I should have. Truth be told, even though I like the KJV, it can be very hard to read. Old English is a beautiful language at times–but it can also be very confusing. It wasn’t until recently that I made the switch to an NIV bible.

Enter YouVersion. It’s a free bible app that is available for iOS and Android and it’s great. At first I was worried that the light emitting from my phone would be a distraction to my Brothers and Sisters in the congregation. I know when I’m in a movie theater, I can see the light from someone’s phone why would it be different here? For starters, it’s not that dark in the sanctuary. Second, other church members are using tablets and smart phones as their bible as well. I haven’t tried any other bible apps (there are a lot of them) but for the price of free and the available options, YouVersion is the way to go. It has bible reading plans that are well thought out and it even has a video section. You can get any translation you want and it’s easy to find the chapter and verse you’re looking for.

The first couple of times were hard because I really felt awkward not having a physical bible with me. It reminded me of the first time I wore shorts to church (that didn’t go over so well). I started off old school Presbyterian, a place where you don’t buck norms, so it wasn’t looked upon highly. This situation is different as I said, namely because other people were already doing it. It didn’t take long before I came around and stopped worrying about what other people may or may not be thinking and instead focused on what would best help me serve and listen to the Lord.

If you’re looking for a bible that you can take anywhere with you, I would suggest downloading the free YouVersion bible app for your smart phones and tablets. It’s a great way to take the word with you, it’s easy to use and it offers a lot of value. Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.