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

"Take Care of Your Body"

Proverb 26:16  "The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly."

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20  "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

Philippians 4:6-8  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

1 Timothy 4:8  "Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next."

Insight: God has given you your body, so you need to take care of it.  You will live a better, happier, and more productive life if you exercise and stay fit.  Get stronger so you can serve God longer.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You.  Increase our fitness level.  Forgive us for being lazy and for avoiding exercise.  Remove our distractions and worries and help us to see things as they really are.  Help us to be honest with ourselves and properly assess our health and make wise decisions.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Provincial Congress of Massachusetts 1774, reorganized the Massachusetts militia, providing that over one third of all new regiments be made up of “Minutemen.” The minutemen, known as such because they would be ready to fight at a minutes notice, would drill as citizen soldiers on the parade-ground, then go to church , or even the pastor would lead the drill. They proclaimed, “Our cause is just” and believed it was their Christian duty to defend it.67 The Provincial Congress pf Massachusetts charged the minutemen:

You... are placed by Providence in the post of honor, because it is the post of danger.... The eyes not only of North America and the would British Empire, but all of Europe, are upon you. Let us be, therefore, altogether solicitous that no disorderly behavior, nothing unbecoming ore characters as Americans, as citizens and Christians, be justly chargeable to us.

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.)

There are no new quotes this week, but if you like wise quotations 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.