With God Daily

Let me say that Skye Jethani is brilliant. His devotional series has been nothing short of transformative for me, a long-time Christian who is currently disillusioned with the church as an institution, but is thirsty for a biblically sound daily devotional that is honest, hard-hitting, and isn’t trying to spout that Christianity is all about getting into heaven. My reason for giving the app three stars has nothing to do with Skye and everything to do with the way the app functions. It will not allow me to log in, no matter how many times I reset my password. I have to go to the website and log in to read the daily devotionals. There’s nowhere (at least not that I’ve found) on the website or in app to ask for assistance or contact the administrators about this problem. This morning I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. When I opened it and clicked the “login” button, the screen went blank. Just white. Aside from this one glitch (and it’s a big one for a paid app), I’m recommending you run—don’t walk—to subscribe to this devotional, even if you can only access it online! (Hoping the powers that be will see this review and be able to offer some guidance about my issues!)

If you’ve ever listened to the Holy Post podcast, you know Phil & Skye joke around a lot. You know what Skye sounds like when he’s talking to people. His tone is normal, down to earth, and friendly (usually. Phil is ridiculous sometimes). His tone of voice when he reads these devos, and especially when he reads Scripture, is nothing like that. Every time he reads a passage, I feel like I’m at a funeral or a sentencing hearing. I wish he’d read everything with a more lighthearted tone, or at least friendlier. I very much feel like I’m being lectured by my father for doing something wrong...and frankly, it’s a total turnoff to listening to this for sure. I hate to sound that way because the content is suuuuuper awesome. It challenges me every single day. But whoa, does he sound like a somber, disappointed dude when he reads scripture.

This app is simple in a good way. The layout is concise and easy to use, and of course the devotionals are the best out there. I don't like a lot of popular devotionals--especially ones written for women (I'm a woman), but this one resonates with me. From the topics to what Skye says about God and life with Him, I am encouraged and challenged, and best of all, sometimes I finally *get* concepts that I struggled with previously. I also appreciate that Skye's beliefs fall into neither the conservative nor progressive camp exclusively. As someone who appreciates fine art and is not a visual learner, I even like the stick-figure illustrations! One seriously changed the way I view God: it was about prayer and the drawing was of a mother gazing into her infant's eyes. Seeing that stick-figure illustration helped me to see God as a loving Father who is approachable, instead of one who is annoyed by my struggles. Thank you to Skye and to those who help put this app together.