Dear Subscribers,
I hope you had a great weekend.
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,
JCSM
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JCSM's Weekly Devotions
Colossians 3:23 "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."
Insight: As you do good deeds, be mindful of the fact that God is watching. He is the most important audience. Work hard even when nobody is looking and you'll be rewarded.
Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You. Help us to work hard and not worry about who gets the credit or who notices. Thank you for loving us so much. Praise You for your faithfulness! In Jesus' name, Amen."
One way to check your heart and motives is to ask yourself this question: "Would I be doing this good deed even if nobody else was watching?" If your answer is yes, then you probably have pure motives. If your answer is no, then you may want to change your heart.
Do something kind without telling anyone else. What you do is totally up to you, but know that you'll be blessed and rewarded for your good deeds.
God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!
apodeedome (Greek, see Matthew 16:27): to give away, deliver, give, pay, reward
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:
Matthew 3:17 - In Matthew's gospel, God addresses those witnessing Jesus' baptism saying, "This is my beloved son ...." But Mark (1:11) and Luke (3:22) have God speak to Jesus directly" "Thou art my beloved son ...." But whatever the exact wording, it seems strange that after witnessing this event, John the Baptist is still unsure about Jesus (see Mt.11:2-3).
"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:
Matthew and Mark record God saying, "This is my beloved Son, whom I am well pleased." Since Matthew and Mark have written in this tense, it indicates that God is endorsing Jesus Christ and His ministry; not for His self-esteem, but for the benefit of others.
Luke writes, "You are my beloved Son, whom I am well pleased." Since Luke has written in this tense, it indicates that God is directly endorsing Jesus Christ and His ministry. It is likely that both statements were made and an omission was made by each writer. In the Greek text, there is a very small difference between the two statements.
John the Baptist gets thrown in prison and begins to lose faith. Many of the Jews expected their Messiah to be an earthly king that would set up His kingdom on Earth and overthrow the Romans. This was not Jesus' mission, so some of them misunderstood and became dismayed. John the Baptist may fit into this category.
(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.)
Pretending you already know something when you really don't is a good way to avoid learning something.
If you'd like to read more 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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