Hello!
I hope you're having a great week.
JCSM needs 5500 sheets of blank white copier paper, so we can make 100 SABCE apologetics workbooks in our next print run. Someone has already donated the photocopying. If you have some paper or wish to donate some money so we can get this paper (approximately $30), please reply to this email or contact us with our online form.
On March 23, I appeared on atheist Reggie Finley's radio show. He leads a skeptic organization and he had Eddie Tabash and me on his show as a pre-debate interview. It went very well and you can click here to listen.
My debate with Eddie Tabash isn't available, yet. However, I have uploaded my opening statement to the web. It is six pages long and it articulates the three main points I used in my debate to prove God's existence. Please click here to read them.
Did you know that you can get the Bible and other Christian resources right on your cell phone! King James Mobile, the premier Christian content application offers anytime access to the King James Bible and much more! Subscribers have access to an extensive calendar of Christian events throughout the U.S., inspirational messages from leading pastors, and a topical review of major Christian themes. Users can search the Bible using keywords, read specific chapters, and save specific passages as their favorites. Only $4.99 per month puts the Word on your mobile phone, so click here get started today!
Do you need First Aid or CPR certification? If you want to save some money and get certified in the comfort of your own home, then click here! Each certification lasts 2 years and costs just $25. Plus, you can complete them online and print your certification card at home.
It's that time of year, again! Spring Training has begun and it's time to sign up for fantasy baseball. This season, JCSM has its very own, free league through Yahoo! Sports. Our draft is at 2:30am PST, on March 28, 2007.
Click here if you'd like to join the fun! There are a limited number of spots, so sign up, today. This is a private league, so after you register for a free account, you'll have to enter the password "jcsm700". Our league is called "JCSM's Baseball League".
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!)
"Jesus Was the Sacrifice For Our Sins"
Hebrews 9:26 "He then would have had to suffer often since the
foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for
men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear
the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a
second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given
Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
Hebrews 10:8-10 "Previously saying, 'Sacrifice and offering, burnt
offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them'
(which are offered according to the law), then He said, 'Behold, I have come to
do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may establish the
second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Hebrews 10:12-14 "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His
enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected
forever those who are being sanctified."
Insight: Jesus Christ gave His life, so we might live. He was the sacrifice for our sins, pleasing to God, so we could be redeemed and have salvation. Trust in Jesus Christ and repent from your sins. He is worthy and will forgive us and put us in right standing with God.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Thank you for giving everything for us. There is no other like You. Thank you for coming to Earth, suffering, and dying on the cross for our sins. Help us to understand your sacrifice, Lord. Help us to understand your character and your love for us. Forgive our sins and purify us. Increase our love for You and for others and increase our faith in You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), the 23rd President of the United
States of America, was the grandson of the 9th President, William Henry
Harrison, and the great-grandson of the signer of the Declaration of
Independence, Benjamin Harrison. He had fought in the Civil War with General
Sherman, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was also a
successful lawyer, a Republican party leader and a U.S. Senator. President
Benjamin Harrison prayed for:
"Favor and help from Almighty God."
President Benjamin Harrison once wrote to his son Russell:
"It is a great comfort to trust God – even if His providence is unfavorable.
Prayer steadies one, when he is walking in slippery places – even if things
asked for are not given."
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 find in historical documents that all but one of Jesus’ apostles and many of the early disciples died horrible deaths.
Matthew was martyred in Ethiopia. John was boiled in oil, yet lived. James was thrown to his death from the Temple because he wouldn’t deny Christ. Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel) was flayed to death with a whip for preaching the gospel. Andrew was tortured and crucified on an X-shaped cross for preaching the gospel. Thomas was stabbed with a spear on one of his missionary trips, as he was trying to set up a church. Matthias was stoned and beheaded for his faith. Paul was tortured and beheaded for his faith.
All of these men were witnesses of either the resurrection or a hoax. They were there! Unbelievers want us to believe that they witnessed a hoax, continued to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ (which would be absurd in itself), were tortured, and died a horrible death for their faith in something THEY KNEW was a lie.
On the other hand, it’s much more reasonable to conclude that these apostles and disciples witnessed a legitimate resurrection by the living Christ, causing them to stand firm in their faith, despite the consequences. How else could you account for all of them going to their grave because they refused to deny Christ?
Since many people who could verify whether the resurrection was true or false decided to die for their belief in the resurrection, this becomes strong evidence for the resurrection.
Pray for yourself. Yes, that's right. Take some time to pray for yourself.
The scriptures tell us that we do not have because we do not ask God. Too often, Christian feel guilty for praying for themselves and concentrate only on others. This week, continue to pray for others, but start praying for yourself, too. You need God's blessings just as much as everyone else.
May God richly bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
dzaylo-o (Greek, see 1 Corinthians 14:39): to have warmth of feeling for or against: affect, covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 20:17 - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, ... nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." In the Bible, women are the property of men; they are his possessions -- like an ox or an ass. But in other places the bible says that it is OK to covet.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
The Bible is clear that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it and wives are to submit to their husbands. See Ephesians 5:24 and 25. Remember, Christ died for His church.
1 Corinthians 12:31 uses the Greek word "dzaylo-o" and it means desire. In fact, only the KJV translates this word into covet. The following translations translate this Greek word into the English word desire (NKJV, YLT, NLT, and NIV) or strive for (NRSV).
This same Greek word is used in 1 Corinthians 14:39. Similarly, only the KJV translates this word into covet. The following translations translate this Greek word into the English word desire (NKJV and YLT) or be eager (NIV, NLT, and NRSV).
If there were references about "owning women," then I would address them, but there are none listed.
(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.)
There are no new quotes of the week, but we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.
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