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

"God's Cure For Worry, Doubt, and Fear"

Psalm 23  "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever."

Matthew 6:25-34  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

John 20:24-29  "Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples therefore said to him, 'We have seen the Lord.'  So he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.'  And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.  Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!'  Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'  And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'  Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'”

1 John 4:18, 19  "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because He first loved us."

Insight: We have no reason to worry, doubt, or fear because God is faithful.  His love casts out fear.  Trust in Jesus Christ and your worries, doubts, and fears will be relieved.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and remove our worries and fears.  Help us to see You as You really are.  Forgive our sins.  Forgive us for worrying, doubting, and fearing.  We need your touch and your strength.  Increase our faith in You and our love for You and for others.  Remind us that You are near and always faithful to us.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On January 19, 1920, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) began today, led by labor activist Roger Baldwin. The original intent was to defend personal liberties, including freedom of speech. The ACLU first became widely known at the Scopes trial in 1925. There the ACLU lawyers helped defend the teaching of evolution in public schools. Over the years the ACLU has supported some good causes, but also some questionable ones. The group has not supported the freedom to teach creation in the public school classroom, a glaring inconsistency in the original ACLU goal of freedom of speech for everyone.

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.)

There are no new quotes this week.  However, if you like to read wise quotes, you can either visit our Quotations Archive or get 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.