|
|
 |
Hello! I hope you had a great weekend. Our missions trip to Mexico went very well. JCSM gave a donation toward building materials and helped build one of three new houses for homeless, Mexican families. The houses were 12' x 12' and here are some pictures. Thanks to those who prayed for this project, those who donated to JCSM, and those who helped in other ways to make this happen. You are a blessing to us and many others! As a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, the government doesn't want us to support any candidates for office. However, we hope you will join us in prayer for the next Supreme Court justice. We want God's will to be done, as pro-life, Roman Catholic candidate Samuel Alito's nomination goes to a final vote this week. We have removed the pop-up and pop-under ads from all of JCSM's web pages. We haven't received many complaints, but we feel that they might be annoying to some. We're going to see if this works better for everyone. One way to prevent us from having to offer these sorts of ads is by donating to JCSM. There are many ways you can do this, so please click here if you're interested. My soccer season ends this week. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us. We endured some minor injuries, but nothing too serious. The boys learned a lot, improved a great deal, and had fun. This week, I'll begin teaching weekly music lessons, again. Please pray that they go well. I'm looking forward to returning to one of my passions and teaching some new students. 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!) 1 Samuel 3:8-11 "And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, 'Here I am, for you did call me.' Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel answered, 'Speak, for Your servant hears.' Then the LORD said to Samuel: 'Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.'" 1 Kings 3:5, 9, 12, 13 "At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, 'Ask! What shall I give you?' . . . 'Give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?' (God answered) . . 'I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.'" Acts 2:16, 17 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams." Insight: God uses a variety of ways to get our attention. We sleep for 33% of our life. Wouldn't it make sense for Him to speak to us during that time as well as our awake time? Consider what God tells you while you're asleep, compare it to God's revealed will in the scriptures, and meditate on it. He could be trying to tell you something important. Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for wanting to speak to us. Thank you for speaking to us in dreams and visions. Help us to understand what You are saying. Praise You for your power and abilities. There is no other like You! Let us respect You because You are a mighty God. Bless us, increase our ministry, lay your hand on us, and keep us from evil. Help us to memorize the scriptures and use them as a litmus test for all teachings and theories, as we pursue You and your truth. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Henry Clay (1777-1852), was a powerful U.S. Senator who also served as a Congressman. He was elected Speaker of the House six times, and for nearly forty years was a leading American statesman. Clay was part of the "Great Triumvirate" with Daniel Webster and John Calhoun which dominated Congress during the early to mid 1800's. Known as The Great Compromiser, Clay was able to keep the Union between the North and the South together for many years. He was a Presidential Candidate several times but never elected. In 1839, when he was about to give a speech in which he
would declare himself against slavery, one of his friends warned him
that this would ruin his chances to become President. To this, Henry
Clay gave his famous reply: From a speech to the Kentucky Colonization Society, at Frankfort, 1829, Henry Clay proclaimed: "Eighteen hundred years have rolled away since the Son of God, our blessed Redeemer, offered Himself on Mount Calvary for the salvation of our species; and more than half of mankind still continue to deny His Divine mission and the truth of His sacred Word .... "When we shall, as soon as we must, be translated from this into another form of existence, is the hope presumptuous that we shall behold the common Father of the whites and blacks, the great Ruler of the Universe, cast his all-seeing eye upon civilized and regenerated Africa, its cultivated fields, its coasts studded with numerous cities, adorned with towering temples dedicated to the pure religion of his redeeming son?" In a conversation with Congressman John C. Breckinridge, Henry Clay declared: "The vanity of the world, and its insufficiency to satisfy the soul of man, has been long a settled conviction of my mind. Man's inability to secure by his own merits the approbation of God, I feel to be true. I trust in the atonement of the Saviour of mercy, as the ground of my acceptance and of my hope of salvation." Henry Clay had confided with Congressman Venable: "I am not afraid to die, sir; I have hope, faith, and some confidence; I have an abiding trust in the merits and mediation of our Saviour." If you'd like to see more quotes from those that framed and founded America, please click here: http://jcsm.org/AmericasFounders/.
The next time God speaks to you in a dream, write it down and prayerfully consider it. God has spoken to His people through dreams all throughout time. Also, next time God wakes you up early, instead of rolling over and sleeping more, consider that He woke you for a reason.
Where do your affections lie? Are your priorities aligned with God's? Here is a way you can check. Open your check book. See what you have bought in the past 90 days. See if you've bought things for others or not. See if you've given to your church, Christian ministries, and the poor. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
enoopneeon (Greek, see Acts 2:17): something seen in sleep, vision in a dream, dream
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims: Genesis 46:27 - Jacob's family is here said to include 70 people; but Acts 7:14 says there were 75. "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds: Genesis 46:26 stated there were sixty-six of Jacob's relatives coming to Egypt. Genesis 46:27 included Jacob, Joseph, and his two sons. Acts 7:14 includes five unnamed "kindred" of Joseph. (This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich. This book is on CD and gives over 4,000 answers to alleged Bible errors, regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org. There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)
If you're a Christian, your life belongs to God. America's poorest people are richer than 94% of the world's population. If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org. Plus, if you'd like to read a new quote every day, please go to http://jcsm.org/Wisdom.htm and bookmark it!
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
|