JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"Verses With Multiple Meanings"

Exodus 20:7  "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

or

Exodus 20:7  "You shall not receive/wear/accept the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who receives/wears/accepts His name in vain."

Ecclesiastes 1:4  "One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever."

or

Ecclesiastes 1:4  "One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth's vanishing point is concealed."

Isaiah 59:19b  "When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him."

or

Isaiah 59:19b  "When the enemy comes, in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him."

Luke 14:26  "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."

or

Luke 14:26  "If anyone comes to Me and does not love less his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."

Matthew 14:27  "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'"

or

Matthew 14:27  "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! I AM! Do not be afraid.'"

Insight: Some verses in the Bible may have a different meaning than what we think.  It's wise to get multiple viewpoints and teachings because they could enhance our studies and our relationship with Christ.  Studying the original languages, different translations, and reading books in apologetics will help.  Be open to the Holy Spirit's teachings and remember that He'll never contradict the Word of God.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for making the Greek and Hebrew languages so rich and deep.  Thank you for loving us more than we know.  Help us to study and understand your Word.  Increase our love for You and our faith in You.  Bless us and lift us up, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Continental Congress (September 10, 1782), in response to the need for Bibles which again arose, granted approval to print “a neat edition of the holy scriptures for the use of schools.” The printing was contracted to Robert Aitken of Philadelphia, a bookseller and the publisher of The Pennsylvania Magazine, who had previously petitioned Congress on January 21, 1781. This edition has come to be known as the Bible of the Revolution. The following Endorsement of congress was printed on its front page.

"Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled…recommend this edition of the bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize [Robert Aitken] to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper."

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/.

(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.)

Disciple your children and teach them the Word of God.

Discipline your children.

Let God's Word govern you.

When your culture contradicts the Bible, choose God's way.

God establishes the authority in the household.

Resisting God's order brings about God's divine judgment.

The Dad is like the President and the Mom is like the Vice-President of the family.

From creation forward, this order has been established: God, Man, Woman, and Children.

Husbands need to understand the power God has given to them over their family.

Wives can't lead in the area of disciplining children.

Over 75% of blended families divorce because of disciplinary issues.

The husband leads the household; even if he isn't saved.

God won't bless disobedience.

A wife is to submit to her husband's leadership unless his leadership is in conflict with specific Scriptural commands.

A father is one who serves, manages, and teaches.

A father should train his children and manage them with rules.

Today in most homes, the mothers are setting the rules and issuing the discipline.

When Moms are the main disciplinarians, they miss opportunities to nurture.

The person who defines the language often wins the argument.

When the father doesn't lead, there is confusion.

The biblical model is controversial to the world.

Did Jesus claim He was the Son of God?

Did Jesus prove He was the Son of God by rising from the dead?

While Jesus was walking on the water, He actually said, "Fear not, I AM."

Jesus' references to Himself as the Son of Man were references to Daniel 7.

The Passion of the Christ movie revealed only a small portion of the violence Jesus endured.

Claiming Jesus survived the cross goes against medical facts.

If Jesus would have survived the resurrection, the condition of His body would have horrified, not inspired, the disciples.

Many of Paul's writings pre-date the gospels.

The creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3 was recited by the disciples just a couple of years after the resurrection.

If the New Testament authors would have been trying to fabricate a story and deceive first century people, they wouldn't have recorded how women were the first people to find the empty tomb.  Women's testimonies were invalid.

The Romans or the religious Jews could have ended Christianity by producing Jesus' body.

If everyone who witnessed the resurrected Christ testified for just 15 minutes, they would have given 129 hours of testimony.

Peter and the apostles preached in Jerusalem right after the resurrection and used the empty tomb as evidence.  If the resurrection were untrue, they would have started their preaching from a different city, much further away from the empty tomb in Jerusalem.

The apostles died for something they knew for a fact was true.

Sir Lionel Luckhoo was an atheist defense lawyer who won 145 murder trials in a row and got saved after investigating the evidence for Christ and the resurrection.

These quotes came from the Holy Spirit, me, and Lee Strobel.

If you'd like to read more quotes, you'll want a copy of Dr. Gastrich's book called, "10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings"!  It's the largest collection of Bible-based quotations in the world.