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The Weekly Devotion (click here to listen!)

"God's Messiah"

Luke 4:41  "And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God!'  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ."

John 6:68  "But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"

Luke 24:5-7  "Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

Insight: As we saw last week, Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies.  He was God's chosen Messiah.  The demons knew it.  His disciples knew it.  His resurrection also proved that He was the Christ.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us.  Remind us of your birth, life, death, and resurrection.  Thank you for coming to Earth to show us the way.  Thank you for being perfect.  Help us to follow You and do what You did.  Increase our faith.  Forgive us for being foolish.  Forgive all of our sins.  Let us be more like You.  Thank you for giving us the scriptures.  Thank you for the awesome verses that you fulfilled.  Help us to understand how You are the Messiah and the Savior of all who seek You, believe in You, and repent.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), was an American poet and lawyer from Maryalnd who went on a diplomatic mission to free a popular American doctor held captive aboard the British flagship in Chesapeake Bay.  Francis Scott Key's ship was commandeered by the British and he was forced to watch as the British unmercifully bombarded the American Fort McHenry.  On that fateful night of September 14, 1814, he wrote:

O!  Thus be it ever when free men shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation;

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n-rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;

And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!"

And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

- Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1987), p. 95.

As a poet, Francis Scott Key also expressed an unusual depth:

Praise for Pardoning Grace

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee

For the bliss Thy love bestows;

For the pardoning grace that saves me,

And the peace that from it flows.

Help, O God, my weak endeavor,

This dull soul to rapture raise;

Thou must light the flame, or never

Can my love be warmed to praise.

- Praise for Pardoning Grace.  Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987), p. 267.

In an oration delivered before the Washington Society of Alexandria of February 22, 1812, Francis Scott Key declared:

"The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, 'a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths'.... He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation...." - February 22, 1812, in An Oration before the Washington Society of Alexandria, p. 9.  Library of Congress Rare Book Collection.  Catherine Millard, A Children's Companion Guide to America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1993), p. 1.

A Moment of Introspection

How often do you give God up for something else?

Write to, pray for, and give to a prisoner.

Hebrews 13:3  "Remember the prisoners . . ."

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

Bethlehem (Hebrew): house of bread

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 6:14-15 - Noah is told to make an ark that is 450 feet long. The largest wooden ships ever built were just over 300 feet, and they required diagonal iron strapping for support. Even so, they leaked so badly that they had to be pumped constantly. Are we to believe that Noah, with no shipbuilding knowledge and no shipbuilding tradition to rely upon, was able to construct a wooden ship that was longer than any that has been built since?
But not only was the ark too big to be seaworthy, it was far too small to be able to contain the earth's millions of plant and animals species.

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

* Noah did not need to build a typical ship that would sail in the sea.  He needed to build an ark that would simply float and house his family and the animals.  John Woodmorappe's "Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study" goes into great detail describing how Noah could have made this ark and how it could have housed all of the animals.

* The millions of plants and animals that we see today are descendants of much more pure plant and animal species (that existed in fewer varieties).  Small offspring were taken into the ark - not large parents.  Lastly, Noah had a very long time to collect all of these animals and get them onto the ark.

* A common fallacy among atheists is to insert the word "species" into Genesis.  In this context, the correct word is "kind" and not "species."  Species is never used in the scriptures.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.)

Jesus' identity is the number one issue in the Bible.

When you talk to people about the gospel, talk about the person of Jesus.

Study and know the Word.  Simply going to church isn't doing God any favors.

God has books on us.

Can you recall any steps of faith that you've avoided?

God created light as an expression of His glory.

These quotes came from God, me, and Miles McPhearson.

Do you need more quotes?  We have thousands in our archives!  They are located here: http://quotes.jcsm.org.

These quotes can be used for sanctification and fun. Most of them are directly based on scripture and scriptural principles. Some of the quotes are humorous or rhetorical, others are written from sermons and Bible studies, and some are lyrics from songs. If you’d like me to go into more detail on any of them, please email me.

Like most verses in the Bible, they can be debated. To use what I’ve written in the most beneficial way, try and trace them back to the scriptures and apply the true principles to your life in a meaningful way! Please don’t sell my quotes or publish them for profit. If English is not your first language, you may not understand some of the quotes. I'm sorry, but some of them are English metaphors and deal with multiple word meanings. God bless you all!

Please make a commitment to pray for this ministry. As every believer is tempted and tried, this ministry faces trials also. God has blessed me, JCSM and the people who have been reached! Unfortunately, the enemy knows this and spiritual warfare is the result. Please at least pray that the devotions continue to be written religiously, the web pages stay on the www and the readers are blessed, sanctified and protected from evil. Thank you very much in advance!

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JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization.  If you wish to contact us in the mail or send support, please make checks payable to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries.  Here is our mailing address:

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

3219 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. #212

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Along with getting support, we also give support! JCSM regularly gives to churches, Christian ministries and needy people. Another function of this ministry is to do counseling. We are always answering questions about life, the Lord and everything in between. Lastly, we do a lot of research on religious topics on the internet and library. You will definitely see the results of our hard work and your loving support, in the web pages, and in the weekly devotions!

Fishes and Loaves (FALO) is a great, missions organization.  They have helped many people embark on missions trips to the uttermost parts of the world.  If you are interested in missions, please visit http://www.gofalo.net.

Do you need to find a solid, Christian church?  I've attended numerous, Calvary Chapel churches and I've been very blessed by their Bible-based sermons, inspiring worship, and kind members.  If you don't have a home church, if you're traveling, or if you need to find a new church, I recommend visiting the following site and locating a Calvary Chapel near you: http://www.calvarychapel.org.

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Over 50,000 web pages!

Jesus loves you!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."