The devil in gadgets: the real bible (A Post-Lenten Reflection)

By Reni M. Valenzuela

Have we ever wondered why fake news, trolls, distortions, deceptions, falsehoods, shams, scams, abuses, crookedness, murders, suicides, criminalities, immoralities, lawlessness, boorishness, ungodliness etc., abound and thrive in the internet and social media (through computers) like they never have in civilized, physical societies?

God moved mightily in our 5-day “Galatians 2:20” discipleship group Lenten Retreat in Baguio, with the theme “Follow Jesus” (Matthew 16:24). There were many fresh testimonies of answered prayers and miracles upon (literally) everyone’s lives as everyone testified in the retreat.

Example is our guest, the unbelieving mother who spoke on the second day saying she hated her son abroad and wished him dead for squandering their family’s wealth in vices and wanton, sinful living. In tears, she sobbed uncontrollably, testifying, “I felt a warm sensation all over my body and had a great relief inside of me. I love my son.” She repented and invited Jesus Christ into her heart that day.

However, the devil moved too in our midst as we sensed he hated all of us for bringing our Bibles and using them in the entire duration of the retreat, in teaching and break out sessions. Satan prevented us from using our projector for 3 days as the gadget failed to function. But, oh, not until we prayed hard and rebuked him upon seeing him captured in one of our event photos, his image reflected on the wide screen – at the time when the projector was still broken for a mysterious reason. (See attached photos).

But God Almighty prevailed and so the absence of the gadgets during the whole retreat program was never felt and missed. Things even got better, greater and more wondrous for the glory of God and for all of us to experience awakening and be endued with power from on high.

Then the following day (Sunday), after we attended the evangelical church that invited our group to become a part of their Easter/Sunrise Service, back in our hotel venue, God has spoken through the fiery, thundering, hot sermon (delivered by yours truly) that brought earth-shaking revival among us and in the hotel. The message: “Godget Idolatry: Exposing the Wiles and Modern Schemes of Satan to Deceive churches and Christians.”

Any so-called “Bible” that bears materials or ungodly contents other than the Word of God is not a Bible because the Bible contains only the pure, unadulterated Word of God. But why do we treat and call our phone/gadget as Bible or our Bible? Technology is good and beneficial, but it may metamorphose to evil anytime by the way we treat it and make use of it.

The ancient Bible made on papyrus, developing from scroll to printed pages until its latest version in its most modern form today may be called Bible evolution. But claiming the Bible as having evolved into a gadget or gadgets (notwithstanding Bible app) is devil deception.

Writing the Bible on paper and reading that paper to a congregation is alright. But reading Scriptures in pulpit (without a Bible), just using “godgets” inside a supposedly sacred temple is detestable, diabolic. No, you don’t look cute to God and to real Christians, using just your gadgets behind the pulpit, preaching the Bible without a Bible. Why let Christian cults appear more Christian than you in this regard? Are you discipling the world for Jesus or for Satan?

There is more than meets the eye to all of these. The devil is extremely busy these days as the people the world over are addicted to social media – to have his mark (666) on everyone’s forehead or forearm, using “chips” or highly advanced, never before seen tools and equipments, courtesy of “technology.” I cannot believe pastors, ministers and priests going bananas, telling their people , “We are eternally thankful for technology.  Now we got the “Bible” at the tip of our fingers.” God, have mercy! “Who can understand his error? Cleanse me, Lord, from hidden sins.” – Psalm 19:12

OUR PHONE / GADGET has a Bible app, but it is not a Bible and can never be a replacement for the Bible. The Bible is holy. Our phone/gadget is not. The Bible is God-breathed and Holy Spirit-inspired. Our phone/gadget is not. God’s Word is God (John 1:1, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Matthew 4:4), while gadgets can become devils overtime by the way we treat and use them, disguised as cutting-edge, modern “technology.”