Dear Subscribers,
I hope you're well today.
Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here is your Devotion, 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
"Seeking Forgiveness and Reconciliation"
Ephesians 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
Mark 12:29-31 "Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Insight: When you engage in relationships, you'll always need a healthy dose of forgiveness and reconciliation. When I recently found about 175 of my friends on Facebook, I felt compelled to apologize to some of them before talking about anything else. When the Holy Spirit convicts you or prompts you to seek forgiveness and reconciliation, be ready because you could win back a friend or two.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Thank you for our friendships. Help us to maintain them as we should. Forgive us for the times when we were a bad friend. Give us patience and joy. In Jesus' name, Amen."
“Anyone who says prayer doesn’t work either hasn’t prayed or hasn’t prayed right.” - Me
The next time you feel like you should repair a relationship and seek forgiveness, do it! Pray for the ability to do so sincerely. May God richly bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
kharidzomahee (Greek, see Ephesians 4:32): to grant as a favor, in kindness, pardon or rescue: deliver or forgive
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 4:6, 10 - The devil correctly quotes scripture (Ps.91:11-12), while Jesus misquotes Deuteronomy by adding "only" to Dt.6:13.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Jesus correctly quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 and 14. There is no provision, in the Old Testament or New, for worshiping other gods. Furthermore, Deuteronomy 6:14 explicitly states this.
(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
______________________________________________________
JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.