Hello!
I hope you had a great week and weekend.
The winner of our 500th weekly devotional naming contest is Fresno Joe. He gave us the idea of using God's grace as a topic. Special thanks goes to Joe for his suggestion and to him and his wife for their loving support!
Reggie Finley (aka The Infidel Guy) will feature me on his radio show on Friday, February 23 at 8pm EST. It was an appearance on his show, on April 9, 2002, that gave me the first glimpse into the atheist culture and set me on a path to defend the scriptures. He'll be speaking to me about my upcoming debate with Dr. Eddie Tabash and more details (e.g. a link, so you can come and listen) will be forthcoming.
Recently, I've been watching Dr. David Jeremiah's sermons on television. He broadcasts them through Turning Point. I highly recommend hearing him, so please check your local listings to see when he is on. Click here to freely listen to his sermons online.
Please pray that I get a part-time job coaching a club soccer team, if the Lord wills it. Last week, I interviewed for a head coaching job at a local, competitive soccer club. I should know this week whether or not I got the job.
This Saturday and Sunday, I'll be taking some all-day coaching courses to upgrade my soccer coaching license from State "D" to National "D". Please pray that they go well and I pass. There will be written, verbal, and physical test sections.
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!)
Psalm 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Proverbs 3:34, 35 "Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools."
1 Corinthians 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."
Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
1 Peter 4:10, 11 "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
1 Corinthians 1:3-5 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge."
Insight: Have you considered God's amazing grace? Remember that God has blessed you beyond measure, despite what you have said or done. Thank God for the awesome gift of salvation and everything else His amazing grace has given to you.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us as we consider your amazing grace. Thank you for giving us so much when we don't deserve it. Help us to recognize You as the author of grace. Thank you for being a good God. Thank you for being worthy of our worship, devotion, and praise. There is no other like You! Forgive our sins and lift us up. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the 16th President of the United
States.
"That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never
denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional
disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in
particular . . . I do not think I could, myself, be brought to support a man for
office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at religion." - "The
Illinois Gazette," August 15, 1846.
"I sincerely hope father may recover his health; but at all events tell him to
remember to call upon and confide in our great and good and merciful maker, who
will not turn away from him in any extremity. He notes the fall of a sparrow and
numbers the hairs of our head, and He will not forget the dying man who puts his
trust in Him." - from a letter to his step-brother, in 1851, concerning the
illness of their father.
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in
accordance with the will of God . . . one must be wrong. God can not be for and
against the same thing at the same time." - "Meditation on the Divine Will,"
1862.
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/.
We were built with a place in our heart for God. If we put something else there, we will experience futility.
Thank God for his grace. Recognize that you do not deserve all He has given. Give Him praise for His awesome character.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
charis (Greek, see 1 Corinthians 1:3): graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative), acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace, pleasure, thanks
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 20:13 - "Thou shalt not kill." Really? Then why does God command others to kill in many other Bible verses?
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This Hebrew word for "kill" is better translated "murder."
God had specific reasons for the things He commanded people to do in the Bible. There are capital punishments laws and there are reasons to go to war. These deaths are not considered murders, though.
(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.)
75% of college students polled said they were searching for meaning in life; even more than money.
Carl Jung said about 1/3 of his cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness in their lives.
The absence of meaning and purpose is a reason for depression, drug use, and suicide.
The book of Ecclesiastes is the record of a man's search for meaning in life.
Ecclesiastes is the book of regrets. Solomon takes a look back at his life.
The word vanity is used 38 times. In this context, it means emptiness.
The phrase "under the sun" is found 29 times. It refers to life apart from God's lead.
Solomon says that life without God is futile.
If you want to know meaning in your life, you have to cooperate with the One who made you and put God in the center of your heart and life.
Life doesn't work as God intends it to work unless He is in the pictures.
There is no meaning under the sun, but there is meaning in the Son.
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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