"Jesus' Disciples Knew He Was the Christ" - #408

The JCSM Study Center

America's Christian Foundation

Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

NKJV Web Hosting and Services

JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3

The Online Christ-Centered Ministries

The JCSM Chat Room

Seminary Notes and Papers

The Picturesque Photo Albums

Hello!

I pray that you had a great weekend.

We have two, new OCCM members!  If you aren't familiar with The Online Christ-Centered Ministries, then please see http://occm.org.  The following two paragraphs will tell you about our two, new members.

Kingdomnet is a network of businesses that seek to build the kingdom of God.  Their main emphasis is putting Christian media back in the mainstream.  Please see http://kingdomnet.org for their ministry!

MPN Bible Study, Commentary and Prayer is another, fine Christian ministry.  They have a number of encouraging things on their site such as Bible studies, commentary, and prayer.  You can see their ministry at http://mpnhome.net.

I have a praise report.  Since I underwent physical therapy on the tendonitis in my shoulder just one month ago, I was hoping I wouldn't have any problems with it this softball season.  Well, we had a game yesterday and it feels just fine, today!  Praise the Lord for the miracle of His quick and complete healing.

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

Do you need a free email account?  JCSM offers free and inexpensive accounts through our BelieveandRepent.com domain name.  We give more space than Yahoo and Hotmail, plus you can use our service and evangelize without saying a word!  See http://believeandrepent.com for details.

This is your ministry, so please feel free to link to JCSM and forward these devotions to your friends and family.  On JCSM, there are over 90,000 web pages of pictures, forums, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals, and much more!

JCSM has encouraging sermons, exciting debates, and the Bible on MP3 online and you can freely stream and download them!  Come and listen at http://sa.jcsm.org.

Visit the JCSM Study Center!  We have over 1GB of resources like English and foreign Bibles, thousands of sermons, maps, ancient literature, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and concordances and much more!  Plus, it's all free.  Link: http://study.jcsm.org.

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!)

"Jesus' Disciples Knew He Was the Christ"

Mark 8:29  "He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Peter answered and said to Him, 'You are the Christ.'"

John 1:47-49  "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!'  Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'  Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!'"

John 20:27, 28  "Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'  And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'"

James 1:1  "James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ . . ."

John 20:30, 31  "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

Insight: The people who knew Jesus the most knew that He was the Christ.  They publicly proclaimed this as well.  Plus, almost all of His apostles died martyr's deaths for their faith in Him.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for revealing yourself to us through your Word.  Thank you for walking the Earth and showing us how to live.  You are an awesome God.  Thank you for letting your disciples know and understand You and your deity.  Help us to understand it as well.  Let us be a light in the darkness, as we tell others about your love, power, and mercy.  Give us more faith and more love, Lord.  We want to be like You.  Thank you for loving us more than we deserve and thank you for saving us from Hell.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), was an illustrious Union General during the Civil War and the Superintendent of West Point Academy. He was appointed by President Lincoln to lead the Freedmen’s Bureau to assist former slaves after the war, and then went on to found Howard University for freed slaves in 1867. General Oliver Otis Howard, whose strong belief in the Gospel created controversy when he integrated a church, also served as the Chairman of the American Tract Society.

He was known by his soldiers as the “Old Prayer Book” because he never drank, smoke or swore. In 1869, as Superintendent of West Point, he personally presented each incoming cadet with a Bible, a practice which continues today.

In 1863, Major-General Oliver Otis Howard addressed the officers and troops of the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteers:

“I am glad to see so many of you to hear preaching this Sabbath morning, and I would to God, that all the men of my command were true followers of Christ Jesus, the Lord. Soldiers, allow me to express, with your chaplain, the sincere desire of my heart, that we may meet at the right hand of the Great Judge in that day, which he has described to us.” - 1863, in an address to the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Greg, Life, p. 87. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg’s Heart’N Home, Inc., 1991), 2.19.

Major-General Oliver Otis Howard declared:

“I go to the Scriptures daily for spiritual food, and have done so for thirty-five years. God, as revealed to me in the crucified, the risen, and the ascended Christ, meets all my personal wants.” - Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987), p. 239. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg’s Heart’N Home, Inc., 1991), 11.8

At a Union camp chapel service, a missionary in the Christian Commission recorded General Howard’s message:

“The General spoke of the Saviour, his love for Him and his peace in His service, as freely and simply as he could have spoken in his own family circle.” - Jeffery Warren Scott, Fighters of Faith (Carol Streams, IL: Christian History), Vol. XI, No. 1, Issue 33, pp. 36-37.

A Moment of Introspection

You can tell what someone believes by what they do; not simply by what they say.

Read some of The Foxe's Book of Martyrs and see how the first century apostles and believers died for their faith.  Consider whether they would have given their lives if Christianity were a lie.  They had the ability to know, without a doubt, whether the resurrection was true or false, yet eleven of the twelve apostles died terrible deaths because they would not renounce their faith in Jesus Christ.

Here is a link to the first century section of The Foxe's Book of Martyrs: http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/foxe/fox101.htm

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

martoos (Greek, see Acts 22:20): a witness (literally/judicially or figuratively/generally), by analogy a martyr, record

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 24:35 - God blessed Abraham by giving him lots of slaves.

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

This verse doesn't mention anything about slaves. The words menservants and maidservants are used. Nonetheless, the Bible never condones owning slaves. It only gives laws to curtail it and eventually end it. See 1 Corinthians 13 for God's will regarding the ethical treatment of other humans.

(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.)

Matthew used a great number of Old Testament verses to show that Christ is the Messiah.

You can tell what someone believes by what they do; not simply by what they say.

When you repented and trusted Christ for salvation, did you leave your old life?

If you are truly following Christ, you will forgive them differently.

God doesn't want your life to become what you expect it to become.  He wants it to be what He wants it to be.

Do your prayers work?

Give your issues to God and look for Him to do something.

To a child, everything that happens is about them.  Some adults still think this way, too.

Don't swim against God's current.  Let it lead and guide you.

Most people serve Christ as long as it's in comfort.

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!

Do you want to help people receive the good news?  We’re reaching new people every day with God’s awesome Word!  If God has blessed you and you wish to send a love offering to JCSM, please send your gift to the address below.

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

3219 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. #212

San Diego, CA 92117

Along with getting support, we also give support!  JCSM regularly gives to churches, Christian ministries, and needy people.  We also support three kids in Kenya through Compassion International.

We have a great number of ministry tasks.  If you'd like to see how we are reaching people, then please go here: http://jcsm.org/JCSM/Details.htm.

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, organizations, business, schools, and people that reside on and off the internet.  Are you OCCM certified?  For more information, go here: http://www.occm.org.

Over 90,000 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."