This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

www.JCSM.org

Over 1500 Links!

Hello!

Did you hear that Christmas has been moved to December 10th? Just kidding.

I hope you're having a great week. I'm praying for you to keep walking with the Lord. Please read this devotional message and be encouraged.

This Friday, Wally High and I are playing music at the Berean Christian coffee house/book store in Clairemont! We've been practicing for months and we're excited about the chance to praise God in public. Our show is from 7-9pm on December 8th! You can call Berean at 858-292-8052 if you need directions.

We're playing eight originals and four worship songs. Wally has written some incredible riffs and solos. He's playing lead guitar as I play rhythm and sing. It will be a lot of fun, so I hope to see you there!

As you may know, I'm coaching middle school soccer at a local, Christian school. Yesterday, we won our first game, 7-0! It was awesome and exciting. Please pray that everyone stays healthy and we continue to meet our three objectives: 1) play to glorify God, 2) come off the field sweating, 3) never give up.

These kids are really talented and it's great to be their coach. I'm also thankful that I'm allowed to pray with them. If I were coaching in a secular school, I wouldn't be allowed to pray and talk about Jesus. These kids like praying and incorporating God into their lives (incorporating their lives into God's plan).

Is it ever all right to hate? Read here and find out: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/hatethese.htm

Please pray for the presidential election. We are still trying to conclude the election process. Right now, Bush is leading Gore. Yesterday, there were some positive judicial decisions for Bush's campaign. We should know what will happen by December 12. This is the date when the electoral college meets. Pray that the most godly man wins!

A huge thanks goes to a special person who bought me a van! Praise the Lord! You may remembering reading that my truck has a cracked cylinder head and is heading to the junk yard. I'm really thankful for this van and pray it lasts a long time. Thanks!!!

Last week, the devotional mailing list exceeded 7,000 subscribers! I'm thankful for this growing ministry. My prayer had been that it will reach 10,000 subscribers and I'm sure that will happen soon.

In order to expedite sending the devotions, I'm going to be sending them from two screen names: (email changed). Please allow either screen name to send you the devotions. This addition will not take place until January 1, 2001.

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 38,900 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 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: "Innumerable and Immeasurable"

Psalm 40:5 "Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered."

Psalm 139:17, 18 "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You."

Romans 11:33-38 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."

Prayer: "Thank you for being so awesome, Lord! There is no other God like You. Thank you for having thoughts and works that are innumerable and immeasurable. Thank you for being larger than our minds. Help us to respect and love You. Praise You for being so worthy and incredible. Thank you for loving us and having mercy on us! Thank you for being a perfect God. Forgive us for our sins and make us like You, Lord. Give us great wisdom and love. Show us where to walk. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Guess What?!"

Isaiah 40:28-31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Prayer: "Thank you for being our eternal God. Thank you for always being strong. Remind us to ask You for strength. Thank you for lifting us up in our times of need. Thank you for being faithful to us! There is no other God who will never leave us. Help us to see You how You really are. Let us run this race to win, Lord. Help us to live faithful, obedient lives. Remind us of the blessings, protection and awards that come from being obedient to You. Let us also be obedient because You deserve our devotion. Let us soar like eagles. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Life is . . . . Life isn't . . . ."

John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

Luke 12:15 "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.'"

Prayer: "Thank you for being life and the source of life. There is no other life like the life You give. Help us to see the world like You do. Remind us that material possessions aren't the beginning or the ending of happiness. Praise You for having a perfect system and world view. Let us see what You see. Forgive us for being materialistic or insecure. Heal us and let us repent, Lord. Let us be satisfied with You. Thanks for being so satisfying as we sit in your presence. Remind us of the great things that You give; things the world cannot give. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "The Daily Walk"

Acts 17:11 "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

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."

Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

Luke 9:23-26 "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.'"

Prayer: "Thank you for being with us every day. Help us to understand what that means. Thank you for wanting us to be devoted to you, daily. Forgive us for wandering off the path and pursuing other things. Remind us how You have the highest hopes for us. Help us to pray and read your Word every day! Remove the demons that are distracting us and lying to us. Teach us how important it is to grow spiritually. Let us prioritize getting to know You and doing what You say. As we hurt ourselves with complacency, thank you for having so much grace and mercy on us. Please motivate us to be serious in our pursuit of godliness. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Are You A Slave to Sin?"

John 8:34, 35 "Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.'"

Romans 6:16-23 "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Prayer: "Reveal to us the chains that bind us. Show us that You can break them. Remind us how we were slaves to sin. Praise You for giving us power over sin! You are the most powerful God in the universe. Help us pray for ourselves and others that are slaves to sin. Thank you for the many sins You have helped us break. Thank you for making us free! Thank you for giving us strength to quit continually sinning in the same areas. Remind us that the same power that helped us quit some sins can help us quit more sins. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "I Am Free"

John 8:32, 36 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Psalm 146:7 "Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners."

Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Prayer: "You have made us so free, Lord! Help us to stay free. Thank you for setting our feet on a rock and lifting us up. Thank you from freeing us from the wages of sin. Thank you for saving us and giving our lives a purpose! Remind us that we have been set free and we should not return to our sinful ways. Let us hate sin and evil, Lord. Let us see evil like You do. Give us great joy as we realize we are free! Let us share this freedom with others. Help us to spread the gospel and the reality of being free; truly and forever, free. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "In the Beginning"

Genesis 1:1-5 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

Psalm 102:25, 26 "In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment."

John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us great things in your Word. Remind us that You created all things because You were here in the beginning. Thank you for telling us what happened in the beginning of creation. Praise You for being such an awesome Creator! Help us to see what You have made and give You glory. You are an incredible Creator. Thank you for caring about us, even though we are small, in comparison to the rest of the universe. Thank you for putting eternity in our hearts. To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Do you serve God? Are you involved with a church or ministry? Do you thinking serving God is important?

1 Corinthians 7:35 tells us to "serve the Lord without distraction." God wants our undivided attention. Although we may have regular jobs and responsibilities, serving God should be one of our priorities.

Some people know the wonders of serving God. There are many people who don't serve God, though. Would you pray and consider serving God? There are many ways you can do it. Find one of your strengths and interests and see how and where you can serve God. He will reveal to you a place and a way when you pray and desire one.

Don't worry about making an enormous change that you will hate. You could try donating one or two hours a month to God. If that is too easy for you, try donating one or two hours a week. There are tons of ministries that could use your help; or you could start your own ministry.

Here are some simple ideas for serving the Lord. Your service position may not be listed here, but this will give some people an idea of what they can do.

Give aid to the homeless, be a greeter at your church, help a child learn to read, mentor a young person, sing in a rest home, buy someone some groceries, make a web page to share the gospel, give gospel tracts to people, answer a crisis hotline, offer to work in your neighbor's yard, ask your pastor where he needs help, etc.

Remember, if we're not serving God, we're sinning. God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

A Moment of Introspection

If you're not obeying God's Word, you don't believe it. This quote was given to me by Miles McPhearson. It is a powerful phrase and it may have been derived from this scripture: John 14:15 "If you love me, keep My commandments."

A common thread of many scriptures is the importance of obeying God if you love God. Miles took this a step further to say if you don't obey God, you don't really believe Him. I can see what he meant.

We have two choices - obedience or sin. If we realize that obedience leads to life and safety and sin leads to death and destruction, why wouldn't we obey God? The only reason we wouldn't obey Him is because we don't truly believe Him.

Is there a doctrine you don't understand? Are there some scriptures that you simply don't like and don't obey?

Please ask questions and find answers. Nobody understands the entire Bible by themselves. We all need to do research and ask wise, godly people for counsel.

Have faith and remember that obeying the scriptures that you do understand has made you successful. It has made you full of life! God has blessed your obedience and wants to bless you more. Remember, obedience equals blessings.

Quotations

Jesus has the option to exercise His judgement or grace.

God will reveal spiritual things to you when you are around godly people.

Be loving when you handle the two-edged truth.

Jesus always had the right answers because He has always been the right answer.

Are you excited about Christ and your faith in Him?

Part of the reason it helps people to talk about their problems is because others will pray for them.

Thank you for my tribulations. They bring me closer to You.

If I'm not serving God, I'm sinning.

Are problems overcoming you or are you overcoming problems?

Sometimes we realize how much someone cares several hours or even days after their nice deed or words.

You'll be amazed at what you can learn if you listen very carefully.

Reasonable people can disagree.

Pray for people when you discern their true needs.

The unbelievers' purpose in life is to gratify themselves.

Has your purpose in life changed since you've accepted Christ?

What is your purpose in life?

We all have the need for justification and only God can truly justify us.

Hell could be like having an impure, burning lust that you cannot quench.

Believers shouldn't worry about the basic necessities of life. If we keep God first in our lives, He will sustain us.

What really matters to you?

Let God carry your burdens.

What worries consume your thoughts? Give them to God.

You'll breathe a sigh of relief when you trust God to help you.

Plan to spend time with your family.

Would you spend more time with your family, even if it would cost you money?

Has anyone ever said, right when they were dying, "I wish I would have spent more time in the office"?

When a believer's purpose on Earth is finished, they will die and go to Heaven.

Be thankful for the times when you can serve the Lord.

Serve God where you're needed.

Have you ever made a difference in someone's eternity?

Give your life to God and you'll find purpose in your life.

Christ willed to be born poor and chose disciples that were, for the most part, poor.

Christ made Himself a servant of poor people.

Develop an eye to see God's blessings, even in your darkest hour.

For all you do, this tithe is for You.

Why do I feel like I'm wearing some kind of crown?

Let yourself be equipped.

As soon as you leave the protection of God's Word, you're going to get hurt.

You aren't required to tell people your opinion, but you are required to tell them the gospel.

Will you let God take your world and turn it upside down?

Have you ever given someone a fair chance to tell you the gospel?

If you don't come to church to hear from God, why do you go?

Faith in Jesus has done unfathomable things to me.

God's Word interacts with you.

Be ready to receive God's Word without being hard-hearted.

God knows how to make us thirsty for His Word.

If you have a question or a problem, God knows the answer.

The devil wants you to use earthly means to try and cure spiritual problems.

You're free to dream.

Write a question while you read God's Word. Now, find the answer.

Search God's Word, so your faith can grow and God can show you where to go.

If you're not obeying God's Word, you don't believe it.

The Christians who fail to grow are the ones who haven't been faithful to God.

The devil has an elaborate plan to deter your spiritual walk.

In Christ, I have new priorities and new desires.

The more time you run from God, the more time it will take to simply return to the point you where at when you left.

Simply praying, while you're disobeying God won't help you very much.

God is great at taking away the things we put before Him.

My body is wanting about 400 extra calories a day and I'm wanting to fast one day a week. Is this a coincidence?

God wants you to have informed and blind faith and sometimes it takes less faith to believe in God than you place in your friends and family.

A good test of a man's godliness is how he responds when under pressure.

Think about different ways you can answer a question.

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), Kent Hildenbrand and Miles McPhearson.

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? We have sent over 500,000 emails, encouraging people with God's Word! Please join us in the great commission. We're 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 join our vision and help this ministry! Your donations will keep these ministries running and further our visions for evangelism. Hundreds of web pages have been created to lead people to the Lord. Frequently, we make new ones and they are used to bring more and more people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. We're certain there will be more ways to reach people in the future. Along with getting support, we 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 library. You will definitely see the results of our work and your support, in the web pages, and in the weekly devotional 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 7028 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

http://www.jcsm.org

Over 1500 Links!

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."