Hello!
I hope you had a great weekend.
Have you visited JCSM, lately? If so, have you noticed anything different? On Wednesday, our server received a very nice upgrade! We added 1GB of RAM and improved a few technical features and it has caused all of our sites to speed up a lot. JCSM thanks Bonnie for this great blessing.
After years of writing and editing, we are offering a large archive of articles on the doctrine of eternal security. We have about 60 of them online and we're currently formatting about 25 more. Please click here to read these great articles from respected theologians around the world!
The Gospel of Judas has recently resurfaced, as some have tried to say it undermines the Bible. I've read it and it contradicts the Bible in many places. Click here to read this ancient text and my rebuttal to it.
Some of you have been anxiously waiting to hear my rematch debate with Eddie Tabash. I've been waiting for CFI West to get it to me. They recorded it with a video camera and they were supposed to give me the debate on DVD and MP3 format. They have some reasons for the delay and say the debate is intact and unaltered, so let's pray they hurry up and send it to me. I'm looking forward to watching it and freely offering it to believers and unbelievers, primarily over the internet.
Speaking of debates, did you see Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron debate two atheists on ABC? It was an awesome debate where they provided that God exists without using faith or the Bible! Click here if you'd like to see it.
Continuing on the topic of debates, there will be a debate in Moreno Valley, California on Saturday, June 2. It will cover the topic of Hell vs. Annihilationism. There is a free Bible conference beforehand and the whole event sounds interesting. It'll begin at 10am at Oasis Community Church, but email me if you'd like more details.
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!)
"Rebuke Others With Christ's Love"
Luke 17:3 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."
John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
2 Timothy 4:1-5 "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
Titus 1:13 "This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith."
Revelation 3:19-22 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
Insight: The scriptures tell us to rebuke other believers who are sinning, so they can repent and be forgiven. We should love them so much that we want to help them live a holy life. Seek God and His words, as you endeavor to love your brothers and sisters in Christ in this way.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Give us the courage and boldness to rebuke those who need to be rebuked. Help us to live a holy life. Convict us with your Holy Spirit and draw us to You. Forgive our sins. Purify us and make us holy. Thank you for loving us and rebuking us. Help us to repent and keep repenting, so we can have times of refreshment and one with You. Protect us from evil. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Samuel Adams (1722-1803), was known as the “Father of the American Revolution.” Along with his cousin John Adams, Samuel Adams labored over 20 years as a patriot and leader. He instigated the Boston Tea Party, Signed the Declaration of Independence, called for the first Continental Congress and served as a member of Congress until 1781.
He helped draft the Massachusetts Constitution, and served as Lieutenant Governor, under Governor John Hancock. He later became the Governor of Massachusetts.
Samuel Adams formed the Committees of Correspondence, which were largely responsible for the unity and cohesion of the Colonist preceding the Revolution. The original Committee, formed in Boston had three goals: (1) To delineate the rights of Colonists men. (2) To detail how these rights had been violated. (3) To publicize these rights and the violations thereof throughout the Colonies. His reports were spread like fire through the towns and parishes, many times by an early pony express system. His work, The Rights of the Colonists, were circulated in 1772:
The right to freedom being the gift of the Almighty...
The rights of the colonists as Christians...may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of The Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.
As the Declaration of Independence was being signed, 1776, Samuel Adams declared:
We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let his kingdom come.
On October 4, 1790, Samuel Adams wrote to his cousin, John Adams, who was then the Vice-President:
Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy, and, insubordination to these great principles, the love of their country; of instructing them in the are of self-government without which they never can act as a wise part in the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.
Samuel Adams, 1794, while serving as Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, addressed the state legislature upon the death of Governor John Hancock:
In the supposed state of nature, all men are equally bound by the laws of nature, or to speak more properly, the laws of the Creator: -They are imprinted by the finger of God on the heart of man. Thou shall do no injury to thy neighbor, is the voice of nature and reason, and it is confirmed by written revelation.
Samuel Adams declared:
I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world...
that the confusions that are have been among the nations may be overruled by the promoting and speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is the Prince of Peace.
In addressing the young man whom his daughter intended to marry, Samuel Adams remarked:
I could say a thousand things to you, if I had leisure. I could dwell on the importance of piety and religion, of industry and frugality, of prudence, economy, regularity and even Government, all of which are essential to the well being of a family. But I have no time. I cannot however help repeating piety, because I think it indispensable. Religion in a family is at once its brightest ornament and its best security.
Samuel Adams wrote in his Will:
Principally and first of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins.
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 will all outgrow the need to obey our parents, but we'll never outgrow our need to honor them.
Examine your relationship with your parents. If it isn't what it should be, then endeavor to make it better. Your parents sacrificed a lot to rear you, so you should honor them and do all you can to love them.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
epeeplaceso (Greek, see 1 Timothy 5:1): to chastise, that is, (with words) to upbraid: rebuke
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 21:28-29 - If an ox gores someone, then both the ox and its owner must die.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Exodus 21:28 requires that an Israelite's ox be killed if it kills a person.
Exodus 21:29 states that when a man knows that his ox has killed people, does nothing about it and it kills again, then he will be responsible and suffer the death penalty (with his ox).
(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.)
Are you compassionately befriending people, so you can lead them to Christ?
God's people are disciplined.
Obedience is the prerequisite for honoring.
The Bible understands and God underscores how the family, with parental authority, is the building block of society.
God will honor you for honoring your parents.
Disobedience to parents breeds anarchy.
You may never get over the past until you do the right thing.
If you honor your parents, you will live well and long.
Respecting your parents teaches you to respect authority.
If you think life is about getting everything you want, when you want it, you'll be miserable and make others miserable.
The dissolution of the home makes for the decimation of the state.
Kids could accidentally die without discipline.
Disobedience can cause harmful patterns that follow children.
Is there anything more painful than loving someone dearly and not receiving that love in return?
Solomon said some unforgettable things.
The wise can see things that fools cannot.
Many mothers are the spiritual backbones of their families.
Young mothers are very important and powerful influences on their children.
Honor your mother for her good ways and works.
Be thankful for a godly mother and father.
Dwelling on the negative things in the past usually doesn't help the present or the future.
Consider that some of your good qualities were taught to you by your parents.
These quotes came from the Holy Spirit, David Jeremiah, and myself. If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive! Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.
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