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Hello! I hope you had a great weekend. In the upcoming days, I'll be adding a lot of Christian videos to JCSM's web site. Make sure you read our future messages, so you can get the link and watch them for free! Today is Major League Baseball's opening day! Let's pray that "America's favorite past-time" is able to rid itself of steroids and return to the fun, family-oriented sport that it once was. I'm looking forward to an exciting season and since I'm a Padres fan, I hope they win the National League West, again! April 7th marks the 5th anniversary of my wedding! Please pray that my wife and I continue to have a fruitful and exciting marriage. Although I'm still learning and growing, if you would ask me how to have a successful marriage, I'd say it requires lots of love, patience, understanding, and plenty of God's grace. This Saturday, my daughter runs in a race in Carlsbad, California. Please pray that she has fun and does well. She'll be up against other 3 year olds in a 50 yard dash! 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!) "God's Requirements for Giving" 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." Ephesians 4:28 "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." Malachi 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed
Me! But you say, Romans 12:19-21 "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Luke 12:33, 34 "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Acts 20:34, 35 "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Insight: God requires us to give to Him and to others. Our possessions are gifts from Him and we must be good stewards with them. Are you investing in eternity by obeying God with your giving? Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and help us to give as You would have us give. Forgive us for being disobedient and forgive us for grudgingly giving. Remind us that we are only stewards of your gifts and we need to use them wisely. Thank you for blessing us on Earth and rewarding us in Heaven when we obey You and give. Thank you for being so good to us. Help us to be honest about the amount of things we have and give as You have given to us, without holding back. In Jesus' name, Amen." Constitution of the New England Confederation May 19, 1643, as covenanted together by the colonists of New Plymouth, New Haven, Massachusetts & Connecticut, stated: "The Articles of Confederation between the plantations under the government of Massachusetts, the plantations under the government of New Plymouth, the plantations under the government of Connecticut, and the government of New Haven with the plantations in combination therewith:
"Whereas we all came to
these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to advance
the Kindgome of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to injoy the liberties of
the Gospell thereof with purities and peace, and for preserving and
propagating the truth and liberties of the gospell." ¹
¹ May 19, 1643. B.F. Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the
Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia: George W.
Childs, 1864), p. 56. Gary DeMar, God and Government (Atlanta, GA:
American Vision Press, 1984), p. 112. Henry S. Commager, ed.,
Documents of American History (NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.,
1948), p. 26. William McDonald, ed., Documentary Source Book of
American History, 1606-1889 (NY: The Macmillan Company, 1909), p. 46.
David Barton, The Myth of Separation (Aledo, TX: WallBuilder Press,
1991), p. 88. Also "Our Christian Heritage," Letter from Plymouth
Rock (Marlborough, NH: The Plymouth Rock Foundation), p. 2. Gary
DeMar, The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision, Inc., 1993),
pp. 37-38.
If you'd like to see more quotes from those that framed and founded America, please click here: http://jcsm.org/AmericasFounders/.
Did you know that in the New Testament, we see people praying, but they never use only the words "Dear Jesus"? They almost always use the words "Master" and "Lord".
Give away three things. Give one thing to God, one thing to a friend, and one thing to an enemy. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
theysowros (Greek, see Luke 12:33): a deposit, that is, wealth (literally or figuratively): treasure
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims: Exodus 1:18-20 - God rewarded the Hebrew midwives for lying to the Pharaoh, contrary to the verses in the Bible that forbid lying. "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds: God "dealt well" with the midwives because they refused to kill the Jewish, male children. He didn't reward their lying. (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.)
Are you mindful of the two greatest commandments? Do you remember them? Everywhere I go I see you. Everywhere I go You are. The praise of the Saints is a beautiful sound. What have you given to your friends, lately? How about your enemies? 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
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