Hello!
I hope you had a great week and weekend.
For several years, JCSM has had a discipleship program. We put together mentors and proteges all over the world. If you're interested in either being a mentor or a protege and participating in online discipleship, please click here! I've been a mentor and a protege and I have been blessed both ways.
This Sunday (1/21), Tree63 will be playing at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, California. They'll be playing a free concert at 6pm. If you're nearby, you won't want to miss this awesome, inspiring Christian rock band!
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!)
"Imitate the Lord Jesus Christ"
Matthew 4:18-20 "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him."
1 Corinthians 11:1 "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."
Hebrews 6:10-12 "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
3 John 1:11 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God."
Insight: We must imitate Christ each day. We can follow others as long as they follow Christ, but we must emulate the fruits of the Holy Spirit. When we imitate Christ, we will be blessed, rewarded, and protected from evil. Know the person of Christ and you'll be able to imitate Him.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to Earth to teach us how to live, to help us, to die for us, and to rise from the dead. Help us to emulate Christ. Help us to imitate Him and the fruits of the Spirit that we find in Him. You are an awesome God and we always need more of You. There is no other like You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
John Adams was George Washington's Vice President, he was the
2nd President of the United States, and he signed the Declaration of
Independence. He also influenced the American states to ratify the Constitution.
"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened
means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the
best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I
have seen."
(Source: John Adams. This was written in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on
December 25, 1813. This can be found in the "Adams-Jefferson Letters.")
"The Christian religion is, above all the Religions that ever prevailed or
existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity, and
Humanity. Let the Blackguard Paine say what he will; it is Resignation to God,
it is Goodness itself to Man."
(Source: John Adams. This was a response to Thomas Paine's assertions and stated
in Adams' diary on July 26, 1796.)
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/.
Follow others inasmuch as they follow Christ.
Mentor a younger Christian and get mentored! We all need to be growing spiritually and helping others to grow. Mentor/protege relationships will help facilitate this growth!
May God richly bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
mimaytace (Greek, see 1 Corinthians 11:1): an imitator: follower
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 20:5 - "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." Any god that would make such a statement is worse than jealous, although that would be bad enough. He is cruel and unjust as well. This statement is repeated and contradicted in other parts of the Bible.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This is an incomplete account of Exodus 20:5. It omits the words "of them that hate me." Those that hate God are punished.
God's desire to have us worship and love Him before any other is a legitimate desire. Interestingly, loving God and putting Him first helps our lives a lot. There is a huge, therapeutic value in praising and worshiping God. Therefore, His desire for us is best for us.
Generational "curses" and diseases have been scientifically proven. These things include alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
(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.)
Follow the Christ-like examples of godly Christians.
We should imitate Christ like a child imitates his parents.
When persecution hits, we find who is truly devoted.
The boldness of some rubs off on others.
Avoid imitating bad examples.
If someone isn't being sanctified, then they may not be justified.
God is calling us to repent from everything, immediately; but it's easier said than done.
Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and through you.
Confronting a believer in sin shows love.
Being a citizen of Heaven is all-encompassing.
How do I justify my sin?
If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
JCSM's Director
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