Hello!
I hope you had a super weekend.
A special thanks goes to Dennis in Carlsbad. On Saturday, He donated two, great computers to JCSM; one desktop and one laptop. We now have five work computers in our office and are well equipped to host the numerous volunteers who want to help us minister to others.
Please continue to pray for Kent Hovind. He is still in prison (see his blog for recent news), but has been moved to Edgefield, South Carolina. Kent can receive visitors, so please visit him if you live or visit nearby. In the meantime, his son Eric is lecturing while the Dinosaur Adventureland is still operating in Florida.
Have you heard of Risen Magazine? It's a new, quarterly magazine that talks about the spiritual lives of popular actors and musicians. I received a free copy and it was good, so I'm recommending a free copy for you. Click here if you want it.
On Sunday, Ed Hindson will be speaking at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon. He will speak at the 6pm service and you won't want to miss it. He's a very dynamic and passionate speaker and my wife and I will be there. He is also a great author and teacher, so come if you can!
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, 12 "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. O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!"
1 Corinthians 15:9, 10 "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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."
2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
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."
Insight: God's amazing grace has been given to us through Jesus Christ. We are blessed more than we deserve. His grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense. He has certainly given us more than we deserve.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and lift us up. Thank you for giving us your amazing grace! There is no other like You. Praise You for your power and your faithfulness. Help us to understand what You have done for us. Thank you for Jesus Christ and how He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. Thank you for blessing us far more than we deserve. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Congress of the United States of America (October 3, 1863), as
proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln, passed an Act of Congress designating
annual National Day of Thanksgiving:
I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United Sates…to
set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of
Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficial Father who dwelleth in the heavens…[it
is] announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those
nations are blessed whose God is the Lord…It has seems to me fit and proper that
God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart
and one voice, by the whole American people.
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/.
Being too busy leads to a deteriorating relationship with God, which leads to conforming to the world.
Thank God for His grace! Think of the things that you have, things you know you don't deserve, and give God thanks for them.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
khane (Hebrew, see Psalm 84:11): graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor), pleasant, precious, favored
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 23:13 - Don't even mention the names of the other gods.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This is what the scriptures say. How can a person begin worshiping an idol or god if they never talk about him/her/it? Answer: they can't.
(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.)
Many Christians are too busy for God.
The pastors who are supposed to be helping the church concentrate on Christ are often too busy to develop their own relationship with Him.
Some have trouble laying down any aspect of their background, resume, personality, etc.
Don't compete with the world.
Do you use your gifts to show off or glorify God?
We are prone to thinking we are better than others.
It's not in our nature to yield to God.
When we yield to God, others will notice and want what we have.
God speaks to us with His live and grace through the people in our life.
We don't deserve to have all of the blessings we have.
Are you conforming to the world or yielding to His Spirit?
Grace says, "God's in charge. Don't try to be, just be, in the Lord."
4 in 10 Christians around the world often or always rush from task to task.
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.
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
Executive Director
______________________________________________________
JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.