Hello!
I hope you had an excellent weekend.
Thanks very much to the couple who donated some money for us to buy paper. We were able to buy a case of paper and print 50 new Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained workbooks! God bless you guys.
The American Atheists have found my next debate opponent. Dr. Inegmar Hulthage (who has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Stockholm University in Sweden) will be debating me on the Bible being an antiquated book. He will be arguing that it has no importance in modern life and I will be arguing that it does. We are currently discussing the fine details like the date and venue, so I'll let you know more when we finalize things.
On April 1, we will have our 7th Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference. Since 2003, we have been blessing people with awesome Christian evangelists, missionaries, scientists, and apologists. This time, J.P. Moreland will lecture on Mormonism, Ken Ham will speak on Genesis, and Craig Blomberg will speak on the historical Jesus. This MAC Conference will be broadcasted from the web on and after April. Please put it on your calendar and click here for more details.
We need a volunteer to do some typing for us. For instance, each week we type a quote from one of America's founders and we add it to the weekly devotional message. If you're interested in typing some things like this for us, please reply to this message.
On Wednesday, JCSM had a record number of page views. 7,322 total pages were viewed by our visitors! Please continue that our visitor count continues to rise. Our goal was 10,000 page views per day by January 1, 2007 and we didn't quite make it, but I'm happy with the direction that we're headed.
Do you need something from Office Depot? If you use the following code - 44141777 - you can get $10 off a purchase of $25 or more! The offer ends on March 24, 2007.
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!)
"Where Do You Find Meaning in Life?"
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 10:38-42 "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.' And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'"
Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Galatians 6:14a "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Insight: Don't let your biggest treasure on Earth be asphalt in Heaven. Number your priorities as God would and endeavor to worship Him and learn from Him. Find meaning in God's ways and you will prosper, you will have peace, and you will be blessed.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and help us to understand exactly what You expect from us. Thank you for your Word and giving us so many instructions in it. Thank you for making your message relevant and important to us, even 2000 years after your resurrection. Help us to take time to pray to You and worship You. Help us to meditate on your promises and listen to You and your Holy Spirit's voice. In Jesus' name, Amen."
The Constitution of the State of Delaware (until 1792), stated:
"Article XXII Every person who shall be
chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of
trust... shall... make and subscribe
the following declaration, to wit: "I ______ do profess faith in God the
Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one
God, blessed for evermore; I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration."
Delaware's Constitution also stated:
"[It is] the duty of all men frequently to assemble together for the public worship of the Author of the Universe.... [although] no man ought to be compelled to attend any religious worship.
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/.
Are you living as someone set apart for Christ?
Be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to change you. Be proactive and analyze your life. Ask yourself three questions. Is there anything you need to do? Is there anything you need to change? Is there anything you need to avoid doing?
Someone said that only a baby in bad diapers likes change, but you'll find that change can be great when you change to become more like Jesus Christ. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
dzaho (Greek, see Philippians 1:21): to live (literally or figuratively): life (-time), (a-) live (-ly), quick.
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 21:2-6 - God sets down the rules regarding Hebrew slaves. You can buy one, but you must set him free on the seventh year. But if you have "given" him a wife and she bears children, then you get to keep the wife and kids. If he refuses to leave his family when his seven years are up, then bore a hole though his ear and keep him forever. (That sounds fair!)
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
The word "slave" is not used in this passage (or in any translation of this passage). The word here is "servant." Therefore, this passage is clearly referring to paid help (like a live-in servant).
Verse 4 refers to a law regarding a female Canaanite having a child with a male, Hebrew servant. When an Israelite's servant has children and the servant decides to leave, then the master should keep the Canaanite wife and children.
(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.)
The name Jude means praise.
We have enough churches in America. We need to have revival in our churches.
Those who teach false doctrines usually don't want to be held accountable for their beliefs and doctrines.
Everyone needs some degree of accountability and authority.
God is our ultimate authority.
Jude and James were half brothers of Jesus, but didn't mention it in their epistles. They referred to themselves as servants of Jesus.
At one time, Jude and James didn't believe in Jesus.
Can the world see that you are set apart?
The Holy Spirit isn't erratic or working haphazardly.
Submitting to God's will is refreshing and brings peace.
The Devil knows you and he's waiting for you to fall.
God and the heavenly hosts are fighting our spiritual battles 24/7.
The word "affair" is a misnomer. It's adultery and sin.
Without God, your money cannot bring meaning to your life.
Solomon asked God for a hearing heart.
The gift of God is being able to enjoy what you've been given.
In the Old Testament, a Jewish Family was seen as blessed from God if they had longevity and lots of children.
The futility of life without God is worse than never being born.
We won't find ultimate join in a career without God in the center.
We're feeding our appetites while our souls go hungry.
When you stand before God one day, He's not going to ask to see your diploma.
Don't let your mind replace your heart.
Don't let your dreams replace reality.
It's by the ordination of God that life is the way it is.
Arguing with God is futile.
If you want meaning in life, then find God through Jesus Christ.
A wise person learns from his and other's mistakes.
These quotes came from me, the Holy Spirit, Phillip Macintosh, and David Jeremiah. 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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