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The final edit has been made and The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained has been sealed and sent around the world!  It has already reached people in Finland, Australia and the United States.

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<edit> Ernie Murry and EAC.  <edit> Ernie!  Due to fraud, Ernie Murry's endorsement has been revoked.

Bill O'Reilly is an author and newscaster with FOX News.  He is one of the more even-handed reporters on television.  He has written a piece called, "The New Nazis" and it was quite interesting.  If you have a minute, you can read it here: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/billoreilly/bo20030308.shtml.

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Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the Devotions, JCSM's Challenge, the Hebrew Bible 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 J. Gastrich

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Put Away All Deceit"

Psalm 24:4, 5  "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

Psalm 32:2  "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit."

Proverbs 17:20  "He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil."

Jeremiah 17:9  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

Jeremiah 48:10a  "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully."

1 Peter 2:1-3  "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

Insight: God sees our hearts and motives.  Why would we want to deceive?  Be forthright and avoid deceit.  God values genuineness and honesty.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us a great, straightforward example.  Thank you for wanting us to be honest and true.  Forgive us for any deceit we may have had or currently have.  Help us to be people of our word.  Praise You for keeping promises that You made thousands of years ago.  Help us to be like You and be honest and trustworthy, too.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Humble Yourself"

Psalm 147:6  "The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground."

Psalm 149:4  "For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation."

Proverbs 3:34  "Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble."

Proverbs 11:2  "When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

Proverbs 29:23  "A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor."

Matthew 18:4  "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 23:12  "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

James 4:10  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Insight: Humility is an important quality.  How can we learn and respect God without having humility?  Take time to pray for meekness and humility.

Prayer: "Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to Earth.  Thank you for the ways He showed meekness and humility.  Remind us that loving others and thinking of their best interests isn't a sign of weakness or foolishness.  Help us to obey You and put your laws first.  Forgive us for obeying the principles of this world and forgetting about your timeless and perfect truths.  Give us meekness and humility, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Submit to God"

Psalm 66:3-4  "Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.  All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name.'  Selah"

Psalm 73:28  "But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works."

James 4:7-8a  "Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

Insight: When we submit to God, everything else goes well.  Amen?  There is something about submitting to our perfect Creator's will that helps us have success.  Seek God and don't fight His will.

Prayer: "Thank you for teaching us and showing us your ways, Lord.  Thank you for blessing us as we submit to You.  Help us to understand that You love us and want the best for us.  Forgive us for pressing You with our ways and thoughts.  Help us to be submissive to your perfect will; not only on the whole, but also in the small details of life.  Praise You for giving wise answers when we seek and ask You!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Fear God"

Psalm 96:9  "Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!  Fear before Him, all the earth."

Psalm 99:1  "The LORD reigns; let the peoples fear!  He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!"

Revelation 14:7  "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

Ecclesiastes 12:13  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all."

Insight: Fearing God involves loving Him, respecting Him, being mindful of the consequences for sin and even being afraid of His judgment.  However, Christians can be secure that they won't be judged like unbelievers.  We will enter Heaven and enjoy eternal life.  Nonetheless, we need to fear God as His Word commands.

Prayer: "Thank you for reminding us to fear You, Lord.  Thank you for giving us valid reasons to fear You.  Forgive our sins.  Purify us.  Bridge the gaps that are between us and You.  Thank you for loving us so much.  Bless us, increase our ministries, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil.  Praise You for being worthy.  Let us continually respect You and believe that You will do what You have said.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Read the Word"

Joshua 1:8  "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Psalm 119:10  "With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!"

Proverbs 7:1-3  "My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.  Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."

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."

Romans 10:17  "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

2 Timothy 2:15  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

2 Timothy 3:16-17  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Insight: How can we get to know God without reading His Word?  Take some time to read the Bible.  Increased knowledge means increased understanding and faith.  You can't trust someone you don't know.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us your Word, Lord.  Help us to have discipline and self-control, so we can make time to read it.  Thank you for showing us the way to eternal life.  Help us to repent and trust, believe and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Thank you for giving us the gospel message and making it relatively simple to understand.  Forgive us and put our feet on the Rock that is You.  Increase our faith and our love.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Forgiveness"

Luke 17:3, 4  "Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

Luke 6:37b  "Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Mark 11:25, 26  "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Insight: Forgiveness is essential for believers in Christ.  Since God has forgiven us so completely and supernaturally, we should extend the same love to others.  Christians should have no problem forgiving people because we have been forgiven by God; and our debt was huge.

Prayer: "Thank you for forgiving us, Lord.  You are an awesome God.  Remind us about the way You forgave us!  Thank you for giving us grace and mercy that we don't deserve.  Bless us and help us to forgive others.  Let use remember your forgiveness.  Help us to remember that forgiving someone isn't saying they were right for hurting us, but it's saying we love them, anyway.  Let us reflect your light and love.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Fear Not"

Psalm 23:4  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 27:1  "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 91:4-6  "He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.  You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."

Proverbs 1:33  "But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”

Proverbs 29:25  "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe."

Isaiah 41:13  "For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’"

John 14:27  "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Romans 8:15  "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'"

2 Timothy 1:7  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Insight: God wants us to fear Him and nobody else.  Use God's strength to become unafraid.  He will lift You up and remove your fears.  Take His hand and walk boldly.

Prayer: "Praise You for being our source of strength, Lord!  Thank you for being stronger than all.  There is no other God like You.  Praise You for being greater than we know or realize.  Thank you for creating all things and knowing all things.  Let us understand You more.  Thank you for loving us.  Make us strong.  Lift us up.  Let us be courageous.  Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit that dwells within us.  Remind us that we have access to an awesome power source that is You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Pray about the war that may begin this week.  Consider fasting, too.  The troops and all of the people involved and effected by this war need our prayers.

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

yahab: give - give, come, put, ascribe, go, set

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 1:20-21, 2:19 - From what were the fowls created?

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

* Fowls were created out of the ground.  This is stated in Genesis 2:19 and is not contradicted. 

* Genesis 1:20 doesn't indicate that God made the fowls from the water.  It indicates He made the water animals, then He made the fowls of the air.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.)

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