Dear Subscribers,
I hope you had a great week.
Dennis Agajanian played guitar at church this week. He's an amazing guitarist and I was happy to chat with him afterwards. Click here to check out his music.
San Diego's Surfrider Foundation is hosting the 17th annual Paddle For Clean Water on September 14 at the Ocean Beach pier. There will be free massages, music, speakers, arts and crafts for kids, and lots of other things to do. Come support clean water and click here to see what you can do to keep our beaches clean!
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,
JCSM
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JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)
Matthew 11:4, 5 "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.'"
1 Corinthians 13:3 "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."
James 2:1-5 "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 'You sit here in a good place,' and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at my footstool,' have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"
Insight: The Bible tells us to remember the poor and help them. Plan now to give to the poor, so they can be blessed and so you can please your Heavenly Father.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Thank you for the poor people. Please help us bless them. Help us find ways to give to them and encourage them. Remove our worries and fears. Give us courage and boldness to do your will. In Jesus' name, Amen."
On March 17, 492, Saint Patrick died and was buried in Ireland, his homeland. Patrick had been captured by pirates at age 16 and sold into slavery. He later became a Christian and returned to Ireland as a missionary, assisting in founding over 300 churches. On one occasion, Patrick is said to have picked a shamrock and used it to illustrate the mystery of the Trinity. The three leaves represented the three persons of the Trinity - Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - and the stem was the three-in-one unity of the godhead. The Creator has indeed given us many object lessons to help our understanding of Him. Each year on Saint's Patrick's birthday, there are parades and the "wearing of the green" to commemorate the patron saint of Ireland.
This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."
What is the difference between a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a Jew? (Email us if you don't know the answer.)
Help the poor. Create a bag of goodies you can give to homeless or poor people you see throughout the week. Put food and clothing in it and a Bible or two. Try to use your opportunity to help them as a chance to pray, share the gospel, and encourage them.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
ptokhos (Greek, see Matthew 11:5): pauper, beggar, poor
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 2:5-6 - Matthew claims that Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfils the prophecy in Micah 5:2. But this is unlikely for two reasons. "Bethlehem Ephratah" in Micah 5:2 refers not to a town, but to a clan: the clan of Bethlehem, who was the son of Caleb's second wife, Ephrathah (1 Chr.2:18, 2:50-52, 4:4). The prophecy (if that is what it is) does not refer to the Messiah, but rather to a military leader, as can be seen from Micah 5:6. This leader is supposed to defeat the Assyrians, which, of course, Jesus never did.
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Many place names in the Bible were that of a clan and a place. It is where the clan settled.
Micah 5:6 is a different prophecy and it refers to different people and events.
(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained". 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.)
Some people dislike church because they feel the message isn't relevant.
The poor need hope.
Seek power from Jesus
Some Christians think they're the same as they were, but they're actually new.
Do you know the first day your spiritual life began?
Pray for those around you.
These quotes came from the Holy Spirit and Tim Mahairas. If you'd like to read wise quotes, you can either visit our Quotations Archive or get a copy of "10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings"! It's the largest collection of Bible-based quotations in the world.
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