“Forgiveness is not man’s responsibility”

Forgiveness is not something that is impossible for man. Jesus spoke many times about the necessity of forgiving others. With respect to this, you may remember the parable of the unmerciful servant. The servant was in great debt (10,000 bags of gold) to his master and sought forgiveness and mercy from the debt. The master obliged out of kindness and sent the servant away, after which the servant came across another whom was indebted to him to the amount of 100 gold pieces. The servant was asked for mercy and forgiveness, but showed none. After the master found out, the first servant was thrown into prison until the original debt could be paid.

Jesus was making a couple of stellar points:

-First, we have a specific responsibility to forgive just as we were forgiven; perhaps this is solely by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it is a action we are responsible for performing.

-Second, by contrast, our debt was so much more than anything anyone could ever do to us. For this, we have a great responsibility to be merciful and forgiving, for great is the forgiveness which was given to us.

As hard as it can be sometimes, we have an important command to forgive as we have been forgiven.

SDG

Phillip Nicewaner

YouVersion Bible App – A Review

Our lives are often extremely busy and finding the time to dive deep into God’s Word can be difficult, but it is necessary for all in Christ’s flock.  The options, though, are numerous from complex study bibles and dramatized audio versions to the standard written texts and general readings. Despite the multitude of options, however, having access to a CD player to play audio versions or carrying around a Bible is not always practical. With the advent of personal media devices and e-readers, however, the possibility of carrying the full Scripture along throughout the day became a practical reality, yet the choices have been limited. Enter the YouVersion Bible App for mobile devices.

Lifechurch.tv explains that their purpose with the application is “to help people connect the Bible to their daily lives” and it certainly seems to achieve that quite well. This modest application in appearance contains access to over 100 different translations, spanning multiple languages, Bible reading plans, audio readings of the Scripture to compliment the text, and a search for live events around the country, which are hosted by local groups and churches; this is, by no means, an exhaustive list of what is contained within the application.

For the Bible portion of the application, the audio is immediately accessible and the reader is pleasant to listen hear. Pertaining to the text, though, there are a variety of options regarding how to interact with it. To start, while reading, if there is a particular passage that stands out, merely pressing and holding on the particular verse will allow you to highlight in any number of colors for future reference, share with your friends on Facebook or Twitter, post to your notes, or copy to the device’s clipboard for other purposes.

Among the other features is the daily planned reading which covers areas such as Youth and Topical readings to Devotional, which includes Morning and Evening by C.H. Spurgeon and more. The planned readings, after starting one, will show both the length of time remaining and the percentage of completion. Also, if a particular day is missed, there is an option to catch up on the reading by just the press of a button.

Overall, the YouVersion Bible App links two great ways to keep God’s Word accessible in every moment of the day and, on top of this, offers ways to stay connected with brothers and sisters in your particular area. With the countless translations, spanning multiple languages, the devotional study option, and event searches, plus the available textual interactions with the text, it difficult to find a reason not to give the application a full recommendation. Matter of fact, for the price, it is easy to recommend and it has, personally, become an essential part of my studies. If you are in the flock and you own an iOS or Android device, consider picking this up immediately.

YouVersion Bible App – FREE

iOS and Android (other platforms available)

I was not compensated for this review in the least.