| August 29, 2005 - (Best viewed in 800 X 600 resolution) |
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Hello! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. We've added 15 classic games to JCSM! They include Asteroids, Frogger, Pacman, and many of the others you enjoyed in the 1980's! They're all free and available at http://jcsm.org/Games/. Are you trying to get healthy? Why not visit The Top Nutrition Sites? This is a new top sites program that I created and it offers some great links. See http://topnutritionsites.com. Our newest OCCM members are missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ. Their names are Susan and George Mamboleo. If you'd like to see their ministry, please visit their web site at http://mamboleog.ministryhome.org/. Many people are starting school this week. My wife and I are two of them! Please pray that we do well and enjoy our classes. We'll be praying for the rest of the students as well. Are you a Switchfoot fan? This San Diego band has made it big and crossed over into the mainstream. Their second major album (they also have several, great, earlier albums that you can get from Christian book stores) is going to be released on September 13 and their concert tickets for the ensuing tour will go on sale on September 17. This God-centered band would be happy to have your support and you'll be blessed when you hear their music. 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!) Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;" John 13:34, 35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Romans 12:14-16 "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion." Revelation 2:7a "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says . . ." Insight: People around you are rejoicing and suffering. Are you able to do the same with them? This is what God tells us to do. Don't worry about your own issues and be sensitive to others. More specifically, be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit is leading you to treat others. Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us. Help us to be sensitive to others and to the Spirit's prompting. Let us be listeners and doers. Forgive us for always talking and for being self-centered. Let us be still and know You are God. Thank you for never being silent or ignoring us. You are a great God. Lift us up and give us joy. Give us more of You. Increase our love for You and for others. Increase our faith in You, too. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), was the 7th President of the United States of America. He was also a lawyer, a Congressman, a U.S. Senator and a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court. Andrew Jackson also has the credit for proposing the state's name, "Tennessee," while being a member of the state's first convention which adopted its constitution. Known as "Old Hickory," he was a victorious Major General in the army, winning the Battle of New Orleans as well as capturing Florida. On January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson wrote to his friend Robert Hays regarding the victorious Battle of New Orleans, during the War of 1812: "It appears that the unerring hand of Providence shielded my men from the shower of balls, bombs, and rockets, when every ball and bomb from our guns carried with them a mission of death." ¹ Concerning that same battle, Jackson wrote to Secretary of War James Monroe: "Heaven, to be sure, has interposed most wonderfully in our behalf, and I am filled with gratitude, when I look back to what we have escaped." ² Andrew Jackson wrote to Mary and Andrew Jackson Hutchings on the death of their firstborn in 1834: "My dear Hutchings... I am truly happy to find that you both have met this severe bereavement with that Christian meekness and submission as was your duty. This charming babe was only given you from your Creator and benefactor.... He has a right to take away, and we ought humbly to submit to His will and be always ready to say, blessed be His name. We have one consolation under this severe bereavement, that this babe is now in the bosom of its Saviour." ³ On September 11, 1834, Andrew Jackson wrote a letter to his son, Andrew, Jr.: "I nightly offer up my prayers to the throne of grace for the health and safety of you all, and that we ought all to rely with confidence on the promises of our dear Redeemer, and give Him our hearts. This is all he requires and all that we can do, and if we sincerely do this, we are sure of salvation through his atonement." 4Andrew Jackson wrote a letter to comfort the family of General Coffee who had recently died: "Rely on our dear Saviour. He will be father to the fatherless and husband to the widow. Trust in the mercy and goodness of Christ, and always be ready to say with heartfelt resignation, 'may the Lord's will be done.'" 5On March 25, 1835, Andrew Jackson wrote in a letter: "I was brought up a rigid Presbyterian, to which I have always adhered. Our excellent Constitution guarantees to every one freedom of religion, and charity tells us (and you know Charity is the real basis of all true religion)... judge the tree by its fruit. "All who profess Christianity believe in a Saviour, and that by and through Him we must be saved. We ought, therefore, to consider all good Christians whose walks correspond with their professions, be they Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist or Roman Catholic." - 6 (9)¹ January 8, 1815, in a letter to his friend Robert Hays at the occasion of the battle of New Orleans, during the War of 1812. Burke Davis, Old Hickory: A Life of Andrew Jackson (NY: Dial Press, 1977), p. 150. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 1.8. See also: Peter Marshall and David Manuel, From Sea to Shining Sea (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1986), p. 169. ² 1815, in a letter to Secretary of War James Monroe at the occasion of the Battle of New Orleans, during the War of 1812. Burke Davis, Old Hickory: A Life of Andrew Jackson (NY: Dial Press, 1977), p. 150. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, From Sea to Shining Sea (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1986), p. 169.³ Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), Vol. 2, p. 226. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 1.25. 4 Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), p. 184. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 9.11.5 Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), p. 91. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 11.6.6 March 25, 1835. Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), Vol. 2, p. 251. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 3.25. If you'd like to see more quotes from those that framed and founded America, please click here: http://jcsm.org/AmericasFounders/.
Avoiding a decision is making a decision.
Ask God how you can serve Him. If you're not involved with any sort of ministry, ask God where you can plug in. Every believer is part of the body of Christ and we all need to be doing something, with our spiritual gift(s), for His glory. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
yoologeho (Greek, see Romans 12:14): to speak well of, (religiously) to bless (thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper): bless, praise
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims: Genesis 30:37-39 - Jacob displays his (and God's) knowledge of biology by having goats copulate while looking at streaked rods. The result is streaked baby goats. "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds: This is a miracle from God that science may or may not be able to explain. (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.)
God's track record is perfect. If there ever was a person who was unjustly accused and convicted, it was Jesus Christ. Our nation tries to be non-specific when referencing God, so nobody will be offended. God is specific and we need to be, too. No one cares about you more than God does. No one loves you more than God. You don't have to be separated from God. These quotes came from me, God, and Xavier Ries. If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
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