A Time to Rest, Relax and Recover - #595

Dear Subscribers,

I hope you had an excellent day today.

On Tuesday, December 9, 2008, Kevin Max will release a new EP called Crashing Gates on iTunes. His powerful vibrato, eclectic style, and amazing vocal range my his Rock/Alternative albums very listenable.

On Thursday, December 11, 2008 through Sunday, December 14, we'll have big, negative low tides. They'll be between -1.50 and -1.75 feet in the afternoon before sunset. This means the tide pools in Ocean Beach and La Jolla will be accessible. Plus, we always find a lot of whole sand dollars in Pacific Beach!

Next month, our web site and weekly devotional message will go through some changes! I couldn't wait for one of them though. Starting this week, we will now be using The Message Bible Translation! Whenever I read it, I feel like I did when I read The Living Bible (which was given to me by my Mom, thanks Mom!) for the first time. We hope you enjoy the change and experience the scriptures coming alive again for you as they do for me.

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

JCSM's Weekly Devotions

"A Time to Rest, Relax and Recover"

Matthew 11:28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Insight: These questions are posed to us all. Jesus has a solution for us and it has worked well for me. In 2009, we'll learn 12 qualities we need to recover our life and take a real rest! For now, meditate on this verse and ask God for your next step.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thanks for your faithfulness. Thank you for asking and listening. Help us to see You as You are. Thank you for the exciting work and amazing rest that You give to us. Thank you for our grace and your love. Help us to read your Word and follow your lead. Give us rest and relaxation, so we can recover our life and continue our work. In Jesus' name, Amen."

A Moment of Introspection

This may sound religious, but I’ve found that when people become more like Jesus Christ (e.g. more loving, patient, merciful, wise, etc.), they make the world a better, happier place to live in.

JCSM's Challenge

Rest! Relax! Recover! I know it's difficult to take time for yourself in a normal month, but around the holidays it's even more difficult. Even so, take some time to rest and treat yourself right, so you can be your best for the moments to come.

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

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Matthew 4:10 - If Jesus is correct when he says "him only shalt thou serve," then it is wrong for slaves to serve their masters as they are told to do elsewhere in the Bible.

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

This Greek word for "serve" includes the following meanings: "render religious homage," "worship," and "minister to God." This isn't the same kind of service that humans render to other humans.

(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.)

Quotes of the Week

“Many of us don’t listen to our bodies. Some of us don’t even know how.”

“When you’re here, I’m thinking of you.”

"Some letters are better left unsent."

“Whichever belief is the strongest, that one will be the foundation for all other beliefs.”

“Before you go somewhere, always ask yourself what’s one more thing I could do before I leave and what’s one more thing I could bring with me.”

“Dance every day.”

These quotes came from the Holy Spirit. 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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