"The Importance of Jesus' Death and Resurrection" - #404

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Hello!

I pray that you had a great week and weekend.

My debate with Doug Krueger is underway!  I posted my first round and it is over 4,000 words and 9 pages.  If you'd like to see it, please visit http://iidebate5.jcsm.org.  Remember, this is an atheist discussion board, so be in prayer for them!

I'm sure you heard about the Terri Schiavo situation.  You can prevent something like this happening to you if you articulate what you want done in that situation, now.  In California, we have some paperwork that can be filled out and it probably resembles the same sort of paperwork in your state or country.  You can see ours here: http://jcsm.org/MISC/CaliforniaAHCD.htm.

Axum, Ethiopia may be the location of the biblical Ark of the Covenant.  Each year, they celebrate this (possible) fact at a festival called Timkat.  If you'd like to see pictures, some notes from one of my pastor's sermons, and even a slideshow from Axum, please go here: http://jcsm.org/Axum/.

We have added some resources to the JCSM Study Center.  These include Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary and much more.  Please see http://study.jcsm.org.

I pray that God blesses you richly as you seek Him and His will for you.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting 60 pastors about giving lectures on apologetics.  I've been lecturing on biblical inerrancy and sharing the principles from my book (http://skepticsannotatedbible.org).  Please pray that this meeting goes well and that I'm able to give lectures at all of their churches.

My 4th wedding anniversary is this week.  It commemorates the day God blessed me with a beautiful and wonderful wife.  I was blessed then and I'm still blessed, today.

Would you like a daily dose of godly wisdom?  Click http://jcsm.org/Wisdom.htm for JCSM's Quote of the Day!

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Welcome to the new readers of this message!  Here is your Devotion, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the Word of the Week, a faith-builder from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained," and the Quotes of the Week.  Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason Gastrich

Contact Us: http://jcsm.org/contact.php

JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"The Importance of Jesus' Death and Resurrection"

Ezekiel 18:4b  "The soul that sins shall die."

Romans 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2 Corinthians 5:21  "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

1 Timothy 1:15  "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

Hebrews 2:17, 18  "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."

1 Peter 2:24  "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed."

1 Corinthians 15:14, 17  "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!"

Insight: It was very important for Jesus to come to Earth as a man, die on the cross for our sins, and rise from the dead.  It was the most important event in human history.  Without Christ, we would be left in our sins and only the Jews would have a way of temporary forgiveness.  Since Christ died and rose for the entire world, we now have the chance to be saved if we only repent and believe in Him.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us.  Let us understand what your sacrifice and resurrection means.  Praise You for doing what no other human could ever do!  Thank you for revealing your awesome power.  Thank you for all of the proof of your life, death, resurrection, and influence today in the lives of people.  There is no other like You!  Give us more faith in You and more love for You and others.  To You be all the glory, honor, and praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873), scientist and pioneer hydrographer, was known as the “Pathfinder of the Seas” for having charted the sea and wind currents while serving in the U.S. Navy. Considered the founder of modern hydrography and oceanography, he was Professor of Meteorology at Virginia Military Institute. In his book, Physical Geography of the Sea, 1855, Matthew Maury wrote:

“I have always found in my scientific studies, that, when I could get the Bible to say anything on the subject it afforded me a firm platform to stand upon, and a round in the ladder by which I could safely ascend.
“As our knowledge of nature and her laws has increased, so has our knowledge of many passages of the Bible improved.
“The Bible called the earth ‘the round world,’ yet for ages it was the most damnable heresy for Christian men to say that the world is round; and, finally, sailors circumnavigated the globe, and proved the Bible to be right, and saved Christian men of science from the stake.
“And as for the general system of circulation which I have been so long endeavoring to describe, the Bible tells it all in a single sentence: ‘The wind goeth toward the South and returneth again to his circuits.” - Physical Geography of the Sea. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987), p. 310.

Engraved on his tombstone at the U.S. Naval Academy, is the verse from Psalm 8 which had inspired him all his life:

“Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” - Henry M. Morris, Men of Science - Men of God (El Cajon, CA: Master Books, Creation Life Publishers, Inc., 1990), p. 49.

A Moment of Introspection

Have you thanked and praised God today for Jesus' death and resurrection?

Fill out an advanced health care directive.  I've linked the one for California (see http://jcsm.org/MISC/CaliforniaAHCD.htm).  Just to prevent the Terri Schiavo situation from happening to you, it would be wise to write and even notarize an advanced health care directive.

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

hil-as-kom-ahee (Greek, see Hebrews 2:17) to conciliate, to atone for (sin), be propitious, be merciful, make reconciliation for

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 22:12 - If God knows the mind and heart of all humans, then why did he have to test Abraham to find out what was in his heart?

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

During Abraham's test, he was refined and prepared for ministry.  God, of course, knew what was in Abraham's heart, but He wanted this to be revealed to him and to others.

(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.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

There aren't any new quotes this week, but 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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You can join our vision and help this ministry!  Your donations will keep these ministries running and further our visions for evangelism.  We host tens of thousands of web pages to lead people to the Lord.  Frequently, we make new ones and they are used to bring more and more people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

Would you like to support God’s work on the web?  If this ministry has touched you in a special way, please pray and consider sending a gift to JCSM.  You can join us in our vision to reach people on the web with the good news!  Either email me for more information or simply go here: http://vision.jcsm.org.

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

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

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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!

For more about me and my service history, go to http://jcsm.org/misc/JasonGastrich.htm.

If you have never repented from your sins and believed, trusted, and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please email me!  I would love to share the gospel with you.  The Bible is very straightforward when it speaks about Heaven, Hell and eternal life.  If there is any doubt that you are going to Heaven when you die, please let me know today!  If you’d like to discover the biblical doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ, please go here: Audio Gospel Message - http://www.jcsm.org/godsplan/TheGospel.mp3. or the Textual Gospel Message - http://gospel.jcsm.org.

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.

OCCM (Online Christ-Centered Ministries) has certified JCSM as a ministry that preaches the true, biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.  OCCM is a professional membership association for Christian ministries and people that reside on and off the internet.  Are you OCCM certified?  For more information, go here: http://www.occm.org.

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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."