Hello!
I hope you had a great weekend.
You have one more week to get your suggestion in for our 500th devotional message! Which topic do you want to learn about? Let us know and yours could be chosen!
Are you in the Los Angeles area? If so, mark February 25, 2007 on your calendar. I'll be debating Dr. Eddie Tabash on the existence of God in Hollywood, California. Click here for more information and to buy tickets. The unbelievers have called this debate "The Clash of the Titans II" and I'm looking forward to it.
I've created a web site for my school's soccer program. Please take a minute to check it out. On the You Can Help! page, there are several needs listed. Please prayerfully consider helping our soccer team with some much-needed equipment. Our players come from low income families and do not have a lot.
Please pray that my coaching interview goes well, tomorrow. I'll be coaching a premiere boys club team in San Diego. It will be my final interview before they (potentially) offer me a coaching position. Fortunately, this job will only take about 6 hours a week, so I'll be able to continue all of my other duties.
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!)
Matthew 28:19, 20 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 10:9, 10 "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Insight: We need to share the good news with others. Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven and we should tell people about Him and why we believe. Don't be ashamed or afraid and obey God's command to evangelize, today.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us with boldness. Help us to unashamedly speak your words of truth. There is no other like You. Thank you for giving us salvation! Thank you for giving us eternal life with You in Heaven. Help us to share your awesome news of eternal life, so others may be saved, too. Convict us with your Holy Spirit and convict those who need to get saved. Prepare their hearts to respond to the gospel. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was a cosigner and "ratifier" of
the U.S. Constitution and the first Secretary of the Treasury.
"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of
God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of
interests." - "One Nation Under God," by Christine F. Hart, 1787.
"In my opinion, the present constitution is the standard to which we are to
cling. Under its banner bona fide must we combat our political foes, rejecting
all changes but through the channel itself provided for amendments. By these
general views of the subject have my reflections been guided.
I now offer you the outline of the plan they have suggested. Let an association
be formed to be denominated "The Christian Constitutional Society," its object
to be first: The support of the Christian religion. second: The support of the
United States." - In a letter to James Bayard, written from April 16-21, 1802,
and contained in the book, "The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton," by Allan
M. Hamilton.
"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was
sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict
in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted
to the mind of man." - "Famous American Statesmen," by Sarah K. Boulton.
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/.
Some say that we should consider first the words that Christ said last.
Share the good news! Prayerfully consider who you should share it with, but don't pray for too long! Ask God for boldness and put feet on your prayers. Remember, you can share the gospel by speaking or emailing!
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
soteria (Greek, see Romans 10:10): rescue or safety (physically or morally): deliver, health, salvation, save, saving
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 20:12 - "Honor thy father and thy mother." But Jesus said we must hate our parents (Lk.14:26), refuse to call anyone father (Mt.23:9), and not bother to bury our parents when they die (Lk.9:59-60).
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This Greek word in Luke 14:26 for "hate" is better translated "love less."
In Matthew 23:9, it reads "And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father which is in heaven." This verse is telling us to recognize God as our Heavenly Father and not to exalt our earthly father to this level.
Luke 9:59-60 was never a command to abstain from burying your parents. The telling part of this passage reads "let the dead bury their own dead." These words were spoken by Jesus and to a person who was double-minded about following Jesus. Jesus told him that he should let the (spiritually) dead bury their own (literal) dead and he should preach the Kingdom of God.
(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.)
Jesus Christ was the first missionary. He came out of His world and into our world to bring us the truth.
We are to follow Jesus' heart.
We see Jesus' heart in the messages He spoke.
When you speak, you reveal who you are.
His last command is our first concern.
We see His heart in the men He selected.
We see His heart in the ministry He started.
This country doesn't respond to confrontational evangelism.
Friendship evangelism works, but don't wait five years before you mention the name of Jesus or many will leave the Earth without getting saved.
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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