Dear Subscribers,
I hope you had a great weekend.
Spirit West Coast is in Del Mar, California this weekend! It should be another awesome, Christian music festival. Some friends, my wife and I will see a bunch of the shows, so let us know if you're going and we'll meetup with you!
JCSM will be sponsoring a free soccer camp in August. I'll direct the camp while several, excellent coaches train kids for a few hours each day. We're going to give away a silkscreened, camp t-shirt, shin guards, and a soccer ball to each kid who comes. Please pray about donating toward this project because many kids and their families will be blessed.
I've added some new songs to JCSM's web site. These songs are mainly instrumental pieces, except for a demo version of 3 in 1. When you have time, take a listen and give us some feedback. I'm in the process of rehearsing 6-7 different songs (e.g. Shining, We Fall Down, You Alone, etc.) with my band.
I've accepted a (currently volunteer) position as the Worship Pastor at a new church called The Church at the Beach. Beginning on July 6, our services will be on Sunday nights at 5pm in the grassy area across from the roller coaster in Belmont Park (Mission Beach). I'm happy to serve the Lord this way and I look forward to blessing those who come. If you want to help us with this church plant, please let me know. We need people with all sorts of talents, so we can get the word out and have a successful service each week.
We need six effects pedals (e.g. distortion, reverb, delay, etc.) for our music ministry. These instruments will help us create an excellent sound for our songs. Please pray about donating toward this need because the total cost is about $750.
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!)
Matthew 28:19, 20 "'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 9:35-38 "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'”
Insight: Let God move your heart for the lost. Consider your mission field and how you can reach the people around you and beyond. Every believer should be testifying about their Savior and their relationship with Him.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and help us to do what You want. Let us see the world around us as people who need to know the good news. Thank you for loving us so much and saving us from our sins and from Hell. Thank you for giving us a dynamic life here on Earth. Forgive our sins and forgive our apathy and fear. We'll go where You send us. In Jesus' name, Amen."
On February 21st, 1902, the first modern brain surgery in the United States was performed successfully on a patient by Dr. Harvey Cushing. The human brain remains poorly understood because it is complex far beyond any computer ever designed. It is found that our minds store material at parallel sites. This means that part of the brain can be damaged or removed, yet overall, detailed memory still remains. Our brains may well be the ultimate example of created design in the entire physical universe.
This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."
If I stopped every time you didn't have faith, I wouldn't go anywhere.
Pray about your mission field. Where is it located? Are you being obedient to God? Whether your mission field is your workplace, your local community, or the international community, God has a plan for you that includes sharing the gospel with others. Pray to Him and listen to Him to discover where you should go.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
poryooomahee (Greek, see Matthew 28:19): to traverse, to travel, depart, go, journey, walk
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 1:3 - Judah "went in unto" his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who was disguised as a prostitute. She conceived and bore Pharez, an ancestor of Jesus. (Gen.38:2-29)
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
This is correct. However, Judah did this unknowingly.
(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.)
Unless you can remember everything you hear, you should take some notes.
Half-hearted commitments don't please God.
Judging others by their appearance can be hurtful to them.
God doesn't just save people from spending eternity in Hell, but He saves people from experiencing Hell on Earth.
Some people don't please God and give up, deciding they aren't worthy of God's blessings.
God blazes the trail you should follow.
It's easy to be a nominal Christian, but it takes work to be a dedicated one.
When you let go of your will, you can follow God's more easily.
Are you putting your prayers and God's vision into action?
The world expects Christians to judge them without loving them.
Pour your life into others.
God isn't your employer. He's your father.
These quotes came from the Holy Spirit, Brett Patterson, 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.
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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