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.
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JCSM's Weekly Devotions
Isaiah 9:6, 7 "For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us! He’ll take overthe running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this."
Insight: Christmas is about Jesus Christ's birth, which was prophesied from the beginning of time, and many times throughout history until it happened. Consider some of Christ's names and qualities and discover how He can bless you.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for Christmas! Help us to remember the reason for the season. Thank you for coming to Earth to show us how to live and to die for our sins. Forgive us and let us see You as You are. Conform us to your image. Help us to know you more because when we do, we can trust in You more. In Jesus' name, Amen."
You cannot trust someone you do not know.
Have you made any New Year's Resolutions yet? Take this opportunity to make some positive changes in your life. Spend some time in prayer and meditation and write some things you need to do in 2009, then put it somewhere you'll see it and be determined to do what you need to do. If you have no idea what changes you should make, ask some friends or family members.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
pehleh (Greek, see Isaiah 9:6): a miracle, marvelous thing, wonder
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 5:18 - In this verse, Jesus says that the Old Testament laws are binding on everyone forever. But in Luke (16:16) he says they were binding only until the time of John the Baptist. And Paul (Rom.7:4, 6; Eph.2:15) insists that Christians are free to completely disregard the Old Testament laws. Notice also that Jesus says here that the earth will not last forever, but elsewhere the bible says it will.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Jesus never says that all of the Old Testament, Mosaic laws were binding on everyone.
Jesus says that the law will be completely fulfilled before the Earth passes away. Incidentally, Jesus Christ fulfilled the entire law.
Paul didn't say that Christians can completely disregard all of the Old Testament laws. Paul indicated that all of the Mosaic laws did not need to be kept by Christians. He also indicated that only keeping the laws (or trying to keep the laws), without faith in Jesus Christ, could not make a person righteous.
Luke simply indicated that the law and the prophets were the sole teachers until John came.
In the Old Testament passages that appear to indicate the Earth will last forever, this Hebrew word for "forever" is better translated "concealed the vanishing point." The Earth won't last forever.
(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.)
“I’m mad at mundane.” - Me
“To some, New Year’s Resolutions are a joke, but to me, they mean
revival.” - Me
“Just like adults try to shape and mold their kids’ behaviors by their
degrees of unhappiness toward them, kids do the same thing when they
recognize poor behavior from one of their parents.” - Me
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a
while, you could miss it." - Ferris
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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