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

"The Savior Has Risen!"

Luke 23:33-47  "And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.'  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.'  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, 'If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.'  And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.'  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.'  Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.'  And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'  Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.'  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, 'Certainly this was a righteous Man!'"

Luke 24:1-9   "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."

Insight: Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave.  He is the only person to ever predict His death and resurrection and be accurate.  Consider what He has done for you because He has given everything so that you could be redeemed.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for Jesus' amazing sacrifice.  Thank you how He died on the cross to save me from my sins.  Help me understand exactly what He did and how I am unworthy of this awesome gift.  Thank you for your amazing grace.  There is no other like You.  Help me to see You as You are, Lord.  Let us all continually give thanks and praise to You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On February 4th, 1974, headlines claimed that a chimpanzee had learned to talk. Named Nim Chimsky, the animal was taught to sign simple words with motions at two months of age. There have been extensive research efforts to communicate in this way with animals, but the results have been limited.

Animals indeed can be taught to respond to simple commands, but many experts refuse to define these motions as actual language. Complex language is one of many abilities that clearly sets mankind apart from the animal world. We have been created in God's image, with charge over the animal world.

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.