Dear Subscribers,
I hope you had an excellent week and weekend.
On Sunday, I had the privilege of filling in for my church's bassist. Puck was sick and notified the band at the last minute. Most of the songs were familiar to me, so it went well and I had a good time. During the service, we received news that Puck went to the hospital, but is doing fine and will be released soon.
Do you or someone you know need small school desks and chairs? My church has 112 of them they are selling at a very low price. Please reply to this email if you're interested.
On Saturday, February 16, my wife and I will be attending the Steeling the Mind Bible Conference in San Juan Capistrano, California. We are volunteering and will be helping at the book tables and doing anything else they need. Some excellent speakers like Mike Gendron, Ed Hindson, Mike Riddle, Ray Comfort, and Chuck Missler will be speaking, so make sure to come if you can! Click here to read my notes from the past seven years of conferences.
Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here is your Devotion, some Cool Facts, 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!)
"God's Model For Successful Communication"
Psalm 63:5 "When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."
Proverb 19:20 "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days."
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7 "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak."
Ecclesiastes 10:12-14 "The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him?"
1 Corinthians 13:1 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal."
Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."
James 1:19, 20 "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
James 3:6-10 "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so."
Insight: In order to truly listen, you must listen without thinking your own thoughts. Think, listen, and speak effectively. Be wise and don't talk just to be heard, but work on actively listening and having meaningful conversations.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, help us to communicate better. Help us to avoid interrupting others. Thank you for teaching us how to communicate with you and with others. Forgive us for being foolish and lazy. Praise You for speaking to us and wanting us to grow in this area. Thank you for your patience, mercy, and grace with us. Help us to be great listeners and speakers, with deep understanding and love. In Jesus' name, Amen."
On January 29, 1929, the first seeing-eye dog organization began in America. These guide dogs are great help in leading and protecting their blind masters. Dogs were first used in Germany during World War I to aid blind veterans. German shepherds are most widely used as guide dogs because of their loyalty and their ability to learn quickly. The animal world is a blessing to mankind in many ways, including guidance for those in need.
This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."
How can you really be listening if you're thinking your own thoughts?
Work on your listening skills. The next time someone speaks to you, consider whether or not you're truly listening. You may catch yourself doing something else, walking out of the room, or not even looking at the person who is speaking.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
akoo-o (Greek, see James 1:19): to hear (in various senses), give (in the) audience, come, hear, be reported, understand
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Exodus 33:23 - Although God is too shy to let Moses see his face, he does permit a peek at his "back parts." (The divine mooning)
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This is partially correct. God didn't let Moses see His face. However, it has nothing to do with shyness.
God let Moses see the back of His glory (see verse 22). This doesn't necessarily mean He mooned Moses.
(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.
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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