Hello!
I hope you had a fun and safe New Year's celebration.
Congratulations to Nucamelot! Yesterday, he beat me in the championship fantasy football game. Thanks to everyone who participated in JCSM's Christian League! We hope lots of people join us for our 2nd annual fantasy baseball league in April.
On Thursday night, Switchfoot will perform on The David Letterman Show. They'll play a song from their latest album. You'll want to stay up late or set your VCR or DVR to record CBS from 12:25 until 12:36am!
Thanks to everyone who prayed for my soccer team. In the tournament, we won one game and lost one game. Nobody was seriously injured.
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, Ph.D.
Contact Us: http://jcsm.org/contact.php
JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."
2 Corinthians 5:7-9 "For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him."
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."
Revelation 20:11-15 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."
Insight: What happens one minute after death? The Bible tells us! The scriptures tell us that our faith will be judged. Believers in Christ will go to Heaven and those who reject Him will go to Hell. Next, believers who have done good on Earth will be rewarded for their good deeds. Make sure you repent and believe in Christ, so you don't have to worry about where you'll be one minute after death.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the scriptures and telling us what happens after death. Increase our faith in You. Let us read your Word and understand it. Thank you for loving us so much. Praise You for being worthy of our devotion and praise. Forgive us for our sins. Convict us with your Holy Spirit and help us to be sensitive to His prompting. We love You, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen."
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die . . . I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete." - "A Cloud of Witnesses," by Steven Abbott Northrop, p.227.
"This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries and gave independence to ours. Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings, which a gracious God hath bestowed on us.
If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.
Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others." - written on the back of the Stamp Act resolves, May, 1765.
"That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other." - Article 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights, June 12, 1776.
"The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed." - "The Life and Character of Patrick Henry," by William Wirt, 1818, pg. 402.
"This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed." - "Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman," by Norene Dickson Campbell, pg. 428.
If you'd like to have the citations for the footnotes above, please email us. If you'd like to see more quotes from those who framed and founded America, please click here: http://jcsm.org/AmericasFounders/.
Do you know what happens one minute after death? Get right with God and you won't have to worry about it.
Repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, today! Click here and see our gospel message.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
apothnaceko (Greek, see Hebrews 9:27): to die off (literally or figuratively): be dead, death, die, dying, be slain
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 19:15 - Moses, like a coach giving instructions to the team before the big game, tells the men to "come not at your wives" before he goes up to Mt. Sinai.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This is written in the Word. The New Testament confirms that times of chastity can be purifying and good.
(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Dr. 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.)
Christians are called to be internally different.
What would an on-fire church look like?
What would you look like if you were on-fire for Christ?
If our community is sick with sin, it makes it more difficult to stay pure.
Jesus doesn't say, "The more you have, the happier you'll be."
Jesus tells us that the simpler we make our lives and the less we have, the better our lives will be.
Our church should be a separate culture from the world.
We are challenged to be in the world, but not of the world.
What consumes your life?
Our first priorities should be God and our spouse.
How can you change your priorities to reflect more of God?
Don't forget the amazing things God has done in your life.
Which "promised land" of blessings are you too fearful to enter?
Baby faith is shown where everything is lined up perfectly for you and it takes very little faith to make something happen.
If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.
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San Diego, CA 92111
Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
JCSM's Director
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