This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

www.JCSM.org

Over 1500 Links!

Hello!

Would you like to know the exact time of Jesus' return? I think we'd all like to know it. You won't find it in this message, but you will find tons of other great things. Keep reading and you'll see!

Have you made plans for New Year's Eve, yet? Knott's Berry Farm is having their annual celebration called Praise 2001! I'll be there with some friends and it should be awesome! From 7pm-1am, they'll have the following Christian bands: Rebecca St. James, All Together Separate, PAX217, Salvador, Mark Schultz and Staci Orrico! Knott's is located in the Los Angeles area and you can read more about this event here: http://www.knotts.com/events/winter/praise/praise.htm

Would you like to know your car or truck's gas mileage? Perhaps you are considering buying a new vehicle, but want to know it's gas mileage. My Dad sent me a great site that tells that information and more! The site is can be found at http://www.fueleconomy.gov

Please pray that my search for a quality vehicle ends soon. I'm praying, making phone calls, test driving vehicles, hearing lies from car dealers, etc. It's getting a little frustrating, but I know God will give me a huge blessing, soon.

My fasting journals and web documents are totaly finished, now. Yesterday, I uploaded the fasting Synopsis and 1 Week After pages. You can access them here http://www.jcsm.org/Fasting/40DayFast.htm

I want to give a shout to all my personal friends! This ministry list is growing quickly and sometimes I add my friends' names to it and don't have a way to email everyone, specifically. Please feel free to email me! I love to have communication with my friends and won't let the size of this ministry let me stop cultivating intimate relationships with the important friends I've met all over the world.

Have you been watching the election coverage? I can hardly tear myself away from it. It's really interesting to see this chess match unfold. Please continue to pray that the most godly man is elected. If you don't know what's happening, currently, Bush has been certified the winner of Florida (and consequently, the entire election), but Gore is contesting it in court.

Please visit my web page! There's over 1500 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 38,600 hits!

If this ministry has touched you in a special way, please pray and consider sending a gift to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries. On the web, we're encouraging the believers and sharing the gospel with unbelievers. I'm also doing counseling on a regular basis. As I do full-time ministry on the web, love and help others, I never charge them anything for my time or services.

Would you like to support God's work on the web? You can become a Super Supporter of JCSM by sending only $5 a month. You'll be joining us in our vision to reach people on the web with the good news! Of course, a gift of any size will be appreciated! My address and more information is at the bottom of this message.

Welcome to the new screen names or recipients of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection (with a special message from Pastor John Hilton) and the quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Forever Our King"

Psalm 10:16 "The LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land."

Psalm 11:4 "The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men."

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Deuteronomy 33:27a "The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms;"

1 Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

Prayer: "Thank you for being our King, forever! There is no other King that will always be and no other King that has always been. Praise You, God, for being so unique and awesome! Thank you that we serve, worship and love a worthy King. Let people see You how You truly are. Expose the ones who worship false gods. Remind the world that You are real and You are having patience on the ones who ignore and mock You. Thank you for letting us be your servants, Lord. Shows us Your ways! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Turn Up Your Volume"

Psalm 100:1 "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!"

Psalm 150:5, 6 "Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"

Psalm 138:1 "I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You."

Psalm 5:1 "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You."

Psalm 33:3 "Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy."

Prayer: "Thank you for the exhortation to worship loudly! Remind us to obey this command. Remove our shyness and fear. Let us know that You are with us and You will help us be the worshipers You desire. Forgive us for whispering praise songs or neglecting to sing them, altogether. Help the quiet ones sing louder. Let us all find a place where we can worship You in spirit and in truth, with our entire heart! Help us to find the point of totally sincere and obedient worship. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Don't Hurt the Holy Spirit"

Ephesians 4:29-32 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Prayer: "Thank you for reminding us that You have feelings, Lord. Let us be pure and holy. Forgive us for our sins. Thank you for having such great mercy, grace and patience with us! There is no other God like You. Thank you for loving us, Lord. Remind us how satisfying godliness is and how unsatisfying it is to sin. Thank you for putting our feet on a rock - the rock of You and your truth. Let us treat You like we love You. Help us to see You how You are and not simply how people tell us You are or how we want You to be. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Hidden Sins"

Psalm 69:5 "O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You."

Psalm 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah"

Psalm 90:8 "You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance."

Mark 4:22 "For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light."

Hebrews 4:13 "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

Prayer: "Thank you for teaching us about our hidden and secret sins. First, forgive us for our sins, Lord. Remind us to live a life of purity and to confess our sins when we commit them. Reveal to us the hidden sins that we cannot see. Help us to respect the opinions of godly people. Thank you for seeing everything, Lord. Let us not pretend like we are hiding things from You. Help us to live like You see all and one day everything done in secret will be known to others! Thank you for warning us, now. To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Any and Every Occupation"

Colossians 4:14 "Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you."

Mark 6:3 "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? So they were offended at Him."

2 Chronicles 7:6a "And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, 'For His mercy endures forever.'"

Matthew 4:18-20 "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him."

Acts 8:38, 39 "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing."

Exodus 3:1 "Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God."

Luke 21:3 "So He said, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

Prayer: "Thank you for all the occupations of people in the Bible. Thank you that You seek all people, not just the attractive or rich ones. Thank you for seeing people on a perfect scale. Help us to judge sin like You do, but not judge people by superficial means. Thank you for teaching us the importance of loving everyone and learning from people. Help us to respect people in every occupation. Remind us that they everyone has an important part in our society and in the body of Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Lusts of the Flesh"

2 Peter 2:18, 19 "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage."

1 Peter 2:11 "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul."

Galatians 5:16, 17 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

1 John 2:16, 17 "For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Romans 1:24, 25 "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Romans 6:12 "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts."

Prayer: "Thank you for warning us about the lusts of the flesh. Expose the teachers who are lying to people and causing them to follow lustful pleasures instead of godly truths. Give us great discernment as we consider different teachers, evangelists, ministers, etc. Let us see them how they really are and let us know Your Word very well, so we can use it as a litmus test for truth. Praise You for never sinning and giving us the strength to overcome or flee temptation! Remind us that we can be overcomers because You overcame the world. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "The Word"

John 1:1, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Isaiah 55:10, 11 "As the rain and snow fall from Heaven, they never return without watering the land; making it bud and bloom, yielding seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So is God's Word, when it leaves His mouth. It will not return to Him, but will accomplish what it should."

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

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

Psalm 42:1a "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Psalm 119:103, 104, 148 "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word."

Proverb 30:5 "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him."

Matthew 13:23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us your Word, Lord! Without your Word, we would be totally lost and helpless. We would be like a ship without a captain without the guidance from the Bible. Praise You for giving us such a complete, trut, congruent book! Thank you for being so incredible that You gave us all of nature, so we can admire it and You and give You praise. Thank you for the times You overwhelm me with your beauty and love. Give us all meekness and humility before You. Help us to see exactly what You want and do it.

Thank you for keeping us safe, Lord. Help us to memorize the Word! Teach us how to memorize and meditate on Your Word. Thank you for having mercy on us and loving us, even when we don't read the Bible. However, give us great self-control and discipline. Cause all believers to continually read Your Word and truly enjoy doing so! Thank you for changing us from within with your eternal, incredible, spiritual truths! To You be all the glory, forever and ever, In Jesus' name, Amen.

Challenge

Visualize persecution and trials. See yourself doing what Christ would do. Pray to stay godly throughout the trials. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

A Moment of Introspection

This week's moment is brought to us by Pastor John Hilton. He is an assistant pastor at The Rock Church, in San Diego, and one of my mentors. He's a great guy and I'm thankful to have his input.

1 Corinthians 2:1,2 "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified."

Dear Readers,

My training is as a scientist, I have a degree in Biochemistry. I try to imagine that I think logically. I want to add things up, I believe that two plus two equals four. In my opinion philosophy is a great hobby. I love questions and answers. Yet as I think about Paul and what he did in Corinth, I am reminded that all conclusions are the result of our basic assumptions. It is easy to assume that logic and reason are the most important aspects of truth. The Bible tells us the story of Paul's journeys and in Chapter 17 of the book of Acts he was in Athens and gave a brilliant defense of Christianity. Some people believed, but most rejected the message, mocking the resurrection from the dead. Then Paul went to Corinth and determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. God's power came and a strong church was built in that city.

There are great philosophical, logical, and scientific reasons for believing in Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the ultimate argument is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He was a victor over death. Yes it is important to study, yes it is important to have good arguments, but what we really need is not just better arguments and reasons. We need power! God give us power. The power of God is what changes man's heart. God give me power!

Sincerely,

Pastor John Hilton

The Rock Church

Quotations

Right now, I feel like I could never stop your love for me.

Not everyone who says they are a Christian are truly a Christian.

Jesus is not a man who became God. He is God who became man.

Is Jesus the source of your strength?

God will steer you clear of life's danger zones.

Truth always heals and helps.

We were not designed to live life solely on our power.

Nobody had a perfect earthly father, but we all need our perfect Heavenly Father.

God isn't requiring us to understand everything, but He is requiring that we believe Him.

Are you keeping people at an arm's distance? Why or why not?

God is plural and unified.

What kind of changes would you make if Jesus literally walked with you for three and a half years?

Are you letting God teach you?

The truth is not merely a set of beliefs, but a person.

To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Word.

Do you want more joy in you life? Put more of God's Word in your heart.

Those that love God are given the strength to obey Him.

For the believers, death will be like going to sleep and waking up in Heaven.

If you want more of Heaven on Earth, submit more to God.

Would Jesus feel comfortable in your house? In your life?

Do you want a glorious inheritance?

You are never so spiritual that you cannot learn.

Reading your Bible improves your life.

You can be as poor as a church mouse and have everything with God in your life.

God isn't simply asking you to be good, He's asking you to be honest and real.

You are saved by your faith, not by your feelings.

It must be terribly far from fulfilling to think I'm being fulfilled with earthly things and actually being partially fulfilled with empty things.

So many people are choking on impure spiritual food.

Use time spent in traffic to reflect, learn, think and grow.

Only God could make me wish I was in traffic longer.

Don't deny the answers that God gives you.

Do you know what makes you introspective?

Give without caring who notices.

Look in the mirror without lusting or hating what you see.

Worshipers get more of God's blessings.

Worship God until you are light-headed and out of breath.

Are you making informed decisions?

You must be convinced that the Bible is the best book for your life.

If God made the Heavens and the Earth, He can write a book and get it right.

The Bible is God's only book. If there are currently more books from God, the are contradicting and God is schizophrenic.

Sin comes subtly into a person's life.

Sin alienates us from God.

God talks to everyone; some listen, some don't.

Don't stop praying until you hear God's voice.

Read the entire Bible.

If you can only go to Heaven by reading the entire Bible, there would be very few people in Heaven.

What God says is always biblical.

Host a party and spend some time praying with your guests.

Since Jesus had an attitude to serve, we should too.

There are spiritual and eternal principles in the Bible.

Ask God to illuminate His truths to You when you read His Word.

Is your walk with the Lord obscured by day-to-day occurrences?

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, not the education of man.

When God's Word is in your heart, it will speak to you.

Put your faith in facts.

With God's Word in our heart, we can have informed faith.

God has deeper and higher plans than we realize.

When people won't listen to you, remember how people wouldn't listen to the prophets.

God shapes our lives like a potter shapes clay.

When you pray for someone, God can sick the "big dogs" on them.

During the week, call, write or stop by the church office and share what makes this ministry helpful to you.

God makes clear what is right and wrong.

Include verses in your prayers.

God backs up what He says.

When people choose to do wrong, God helps them see their sin.

God's discipline arises from His love for people.

God tries to make my life better. Satan tries to make my life worse.

When things are something, they're not something else.

It's hard to be meek when someone calls me weak.

During worship, are you thinking about worship?

Hatred can keep you out of harmony with the love of God.

The love of temporal things can keep you away from God.

Is it hard for you to weep with those who weep or rejoice with those who rejoice?

The Christian life should be one of constant growth.

My faith grows by praying and obeying God's Word.

If you believe Jesus could return at any moment, it will change your life.

Being afraid of Jesus' return may show a spiritual problem in your life.

God is never in a bad mood.

Don't combine other religions with Christianity.

Jesus walked the Earth like nobody ever could.

I deserved to be crucified, not Christ.

Man cannot become a God, but God did become man.

I'm a man who's found his way by having not a lot to say.

Every day we live, there's a chance to give.

Every time we speak, there's a chance for peace.

Be someone I can't forget.

Every blessing we have from Him is something we don't deserve.

When you are truly broken, truly ready to leave everything behind, Christ will open the right doors for you.

I'm not charismatic by theology. I just worship the Lord with charisma.

Only Jesus can have me enjoy a big traffic jam when I'm running late.

Don't use God or "God-talk" to get the earthly things you want.

If God is number one in your life, why isn't He in your profile?

Do you have your priorities right?

Is there any time you think you don't need God?

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), DC Talk, Miles McPhearson, Ray Bentley, Switchfoot and Greg Laurie.

These quotes can be used for sanctification and fun. Most of them are directly based on scripture and scriptural principles. Some of my quotes are humorous or rhetorical. Some are written from sermons and Bible studies. Others are lyrics from songs. If you'd like me to go into more detail on any of them, please email me.

Like most verses in the Bible, they can be debated. To use what I have written in the most beneficial way, try and trace them back to the scriptures they were derived from and apply the true principles to your life in a meaningful way! Please don't sell my quotes or publish them for profit. If English is not your first language, you may not understand some of the quotes. I'm sorry, but some of them are English metaphors and deal with multiple word meanings. God bless you all!

Please make a commitment to pray for this ministry. As every believer is tempted and tried, this ministry faces trials also. God has blessed me, JCSM and the people who have been reached! Unfortunately, the enemy knows this and spiritual warfare is the result. Please, at least pray that the devotions continue to be sent religiously, the web pages stay on the www and the subscribers are blessed, sanctified and protected from evil. Thank you very much in advance!

Do you want to help people receive the good news? I have sent over 500,000 emails, encouraging people with God's Word! Please join me in the great commission. I'm reaching new people every day with God's awesome Word! If God has blessed you and you wish to send a love offering to me and my ministry, please send it to the address below.

You can help this ministry! Your donations will keep my ministries running and they further my visions for evangelism. The internet, the telephone (volunteering time for the Youth Crisis hotline), the guitar, singing and gospel tracts are some ways that I encourage people and lead them to Christ. I'm certain there will be more ways to reach people in the future. Along with getting support, I also give support! I regularly give to my church and frequently give to needy people. Lastly, I do a lot of research on religious topics on the internet and at the library. You will definitely see the results of my work on my web page and in the weekly messages!

For more about me and my service history, go to http://resume.jcsm.org. For what I do, my ministries and giving, go to http://vision.jcsm.org

If you have received these devotions from someone other than I, please email me and I will send them to you, personally, each week. Don't worry. I don't send forwards or any other junk mail. I also refrain from giving your name to anyone.

The devotions are sent on Monday nights. The gospel is sent on the 11th of every month and the monthly newsletter is sent on the 20th. These are the only messages I send, however, please email me if you wish to be removed from this list. If you prefer to receive the devotions in Spanish, send me a request because the devotions have been reaching the Spanish speaking community for over a year!

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please email me! I would love to share the gospel with you. The Bible is very straightforward when it speaks about Heaven, Hell and eternal life. If there is any doubt that you are going to Heaven when you die, please let me know today!

Are you having trouble in life? Do you need someone to talk to? You can call the youth crisis hotline at 1-800-HIT-HOME, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm currently volunteering time for this hotline. Our motto is "help, not hassle". We will listen to you and encourage you. If you are hurting and need someone to talk to, please feel free to call. YDI pays for these calls and has helped over 1 million people! They are also looking for people to answer calls. Their web site is at www.1800hithome.com

Would you like to feed starving people by simply clicking a button and paying absolutely nothing? Sponsors pay to donate food to hungry people all over the world. I click these nearly every day. It takes about 10 seconds and it donates food to needy people! Go here: www.thehungersite.com and here www.stopthehunger.com

JCSM now does regular mailings! If you are getting rid of your email or know someone who wants the devotions, but doesn't have email, please give me their address and we'll send them the devotions. If you don't have internet access, but want to read a certain web page or Bible lesson, let me know. I could copy and paste something into an email message for you.

Since April of 1997, the weekly devotional message has been sent on the internet. This message currently reaches 6643 people in 98 countries. To read a list of these countries, go here: http://www.jcsm.org/misc/countries.htm. To read the archived devotions online, go here: http://devos.jcsm.org.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

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Jesus loves you!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should have everlasting life."