Dear Subscribers,
I hope you had a great weekend.
Next year, the weekly devotional messages will cover 12 different character qualities we all need. These qualities include things such as love, patience, and peace. If you'd like to know more about a certain virtue, please email me and I'll consider using it.
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
"Dealing with Undesirable Situations"
Acts 16:22-26 "By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood. The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black and blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them. Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose."
Insight: Paul and Silas sang songs to God and there was a mighty act of God, freeing them. If you need a mighty act of God and if you are in your own prison, then try singing to Him.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless those who are trapped in prison, whether it's a literal or a figurative prison. Help them to sing to You and praise You. Thank you for always being worthy of our praise, no matter what situation we are in. Help us to see our circumstances like You do and help us to behave like You do."
The only thing you always have after a difficult circumstance is the ramifications of how you behaved in it. - Me
The next time you find yourself in a prison - whether it's literal or figurative - that causes you to despair, sing a praise song to God.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
hoomneho (Greek, see Acts 16:25): to sing a religious ode, by implication to celebrate God
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 5:16 - Should we let others see our good works?
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Yes, people can see our good works.
Matthew 6:1 uses the word "alms" and not simply "works." This verse is referring to a specific kind of gift to the poor. It was also directed to people who were only giving their alms to be noticed and exalted.
(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.
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Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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