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

"Losing Your Life For Christ"

Matthew 16:24-28  "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.'"

Luke 9:57-62  "Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.'  And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'  Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.'  But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.'  Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.'  And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.'  But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'

Philippians 1:21-24  "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.  For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.  Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."

Insight: We need to lose our life for Christ because He is worthy.  Some people are hanging onto their worldly possessions and desires too tightly.  Be prepared to let go and let God.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You.  Thank you for your love for us and your patience with us.  There is no other God like You.  Forgive our sins and purify us.  Help us to lay our worldly desires aside to pursue You and your ways.  Let us obey You and live a life wholeheartedly devoted to You.  Thank you for being worthy of honor and praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On January 8, 1851, early this morning a landmark discovery was made in science. French scientist Jean Foucault (1819-1868) had constructed a pendulum in his cellar. Watching closely, he noticed that the swinging pendulum slowly changed its direction of swing. Foucault correctly concluded that he was observing the entire earth rotate beneath the pendulum.

Foucault’s pendulum, duplicated today in may science museums, remains the simplist demonstration that the earth rotates once each 24 hours. Foucault went on to invent the gyroscope, used today in aircraft and space probes. A nonbeliever most of his life, Foucault finally gave honor to his Creator during an illness that took his life at age 48.

This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."

(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.)

What are you doing to make Jesus famous?

Ask God to reveal great and awesome, hidden truths to you.

Worship is similar to preaching.

God calls us to minister to friends and strangers.

The Devil loves to divide us, but God calls us to be one.

We have interpersonal problems because we have lost or ignored the instruction manual.

If you're obedient to God, you'll get what you truly need.

Is what you have in the way of what you want?

In the Middle east, parents often don't teach right from wrong, but honor from dishonor.

In Heaven, we'll see people lavishly rewarded who we thought were unsaved.

There are some people who have said the sinner's prayer, but are on their way to Hell.

If you are not fishing for men, then you're not following Jesus.

Don't desire to please another person more than God.

Jesus is looking for students who become rescue workers.

God wants an army and not just an audience.

God is an army doctor near the battlefield, not a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills.

Most spiritual warfare is against our own flesh.

To some, their television is like an addictive drug.

When you make yourself useless to God, you make yourself quite useful to the Devil.

I'd rather have 5 disciples than 300 people who simply occupy seats at church.

If you don't proclaim the gospel, then you're not sharing the good news.

These quotes came from the Holy Spirit, Howard Everett, and me.  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.