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

"The Debt We Cannot Repay"

Matthew 20:27, 28  "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20  "Or 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."

Romans 5:6-19  "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the offense.  For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned.  For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)  Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous."

Insight: Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross.  He gave His life so we might live.  Thank Him and be mindful of His amazing sacrifice because we can never repay the debt we owe to Him.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for paying the price for our sin.  Thank you for dying in our place.  There is no other like You, Lord.  Help us to understand what You did and how much You love us.  Bless us and make us like You.  Help us to share the gospel with others, so they might know about your amazing grace.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On February 3rd, 1832, Samuel Smith told the story, in the song titled “America” or “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” which was written “one dismal day in February.” At age 24, Samuel picked up a scrap of waste paper and wrote out the verses within half an hour. The melody was carried over from the English tune “God save the King”. “The patriotic words of “America” describe how creation itself clearly proclaims the joy of freedom:

I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods with templed hills.

Long may our land be bright
with the freedom’s holy light.

Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King.

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.)

Even some of the religions who have a lot wrong with them may have some good qualities as well.

Everyone in Heaven and everyone in Hell will always owe everything to Jesus Christ.

Be careful about making demands in the name of Jesus.

Jesus died for everyone; even the people who have harmed you.

If you want to be protected from the schemes of the Devil, then speak and obey the truth.

The Devil wants you to doubt our salvation because doubting your salvation produces impotence.

The Word of God is our weapon against the powers of darkness.

Jesus is asking us to become better friends with Him.

Christ says we can never pay Him back, but we can imitate Him more.

Friends of Jesus don't need to fear men.

Most people don't want to know God's plan because His plan is a subpoena and not a suggestion.

The last thing Jesus did on Earth was send people to minister to others.

These quotes came from the Holy Spirit, Howard Everett, and Jason Gastrich.  If you'd like to read more 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.