This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

www.JCSM.org

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Hello!

1, 2, 3 - woooooosh! Enjoy this week's message.

I pray you're having a great week!

The World Religions, Cults, Sects and Movements site has been updated! Visit and you can learn about many different religious groups, which now include the Heaven's Gate, Branch Davidians and the International Church of Christ. Here is the address: http://www.jcsm.org/Contents/WorldReligions.htm.

Would you like a free phone card? Tel3 is offering a free, 50 minute phone card! You can either call 1-800-482-4459 or visit their web site (www.Tel3.com).

My 40 day fast is going very well! Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. Today is the 8th day. This week I'll be posting the first 10 days of my fasting journal.

Sunday morning, Sarine and I visited the Mormon church. It was really different. I'm so glad that we attend a solid, Christian church. It was incredible how they mixed the truth with so many subtle lies. I'll be posting my experience on the web, soon, along with an analysis of their hymn book.

In case you don't know, Sarine and I are visiting many heretical "Christian" churches and "cults," so we can minister to them better. Please pray for us as we discover how their services are conducted and what is being taught. Next week we'll be attending a 7th Day Adventist service.

My soccer camp went very well! It was great to teach 19 kids soccer. I was thankful for the coaches and friends who were able to help me. I'm already looking forward to the camp in July!

There's a new site at JCSM! Do you like reading books? Would you like to share your favorite book or books with the world? We're craving your response, so please visit our site when you have a minute. Recommend A Book! - http://pub.alxnet.com/forum?id=1006059

I pray that your spiritual growth is going well! I hope you are able to view your trials and life in light of your eternal life in Heaven. Keep a good perspective and keep plugging away!

On July 2nd, I'll be hearing the judge's sentence for the criminal that broke into my van and stole things. Please pray that we receive restitution very soon. I'm hoping the judge gives him an adequate punishment and he turns to Christ.

Would you like to have AOL version 7.0? If you're a beta tester, you can! Apply to be a beta tester at keyword: beta.

The Worship Xcellence conference is having their 2nd annual shindig! It should be even better than the last one. There will be two days of worship and speakers. If you're near San Diego and like All Together Separate, Jeremy Camp, Skip Heitzig, Joe Sabolick and many more speakers and musicians, check out http://www.worshipxcellence.com. Let me know if you're going and perhaps we can utilize the group rate (5 or more people)!

Spirit West Coast is quickly approaching! There are only a few relatively inexpensive, hotel rooms left. If you still need a room, here are a couple sites you can visit: http://www.goodniteinn.com/salinas.html, in Salinas, for $69 a night (after taxes), http://www.the.travelodge.com/seaside10893?sid=AAACEgAAWAAAiczAAK and the Rodeo Inn, in Salinas, for $53 (plus tax) - 831-424-8661.

Would you like to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium? They have all kinds of interesting sea life. I'll be visiting this summer and you can see their site here: http://www.mbayaq.org.

* Are you receiving about twelve pages with this message? If this message is truncated, and perhaps you're only receiving half of it, you can always find these devotions on our web site! Simply go here: http://devos.jcsm.org.

This is your ministry, so please feel free to link to JCSM and forward these devotions to your friends and family. On the JCSM website, there are over 1500 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 48,000 hits!

Would you like to support God's work on the web? If this ministry has touched you in a special way, please pray and consider sending a gift to JCSM. You can join us in our vision to reach people on the web with the good news! Please email me or see our address below.

Welcome to the recipients of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection, the Bible word of the week, the Bible trivia question, last week's trivia answer, an excerpt from "The Revised and Expanded Answers Book" and the quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

Contact Us: http://jcsm.org/contact.php

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Pray Fervently"

Colossians 4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;"

James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to pray fervently, Lord. Help us to know what that means. Help us to pray all the time. Thank you for being faithful to us and answering our prayers! There's no God like You. Thank you for giving us your Word and showing us how to pray. Help us to pray exactly like Jesus would. Help us to ask for things that we truly need, so we can use them for your glory. Help us to abstain from asking for things that we don't need. Remove our selfishness. Give us greater love for You and others. Thank you for your great grace, mercy and kindness, Lord! Thank you for giving us far more than we deserve. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Our Awesome Rock"

Psalm 18:31 "For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?"

Psalm 62:1, 2 "Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Matthew 7:24, 25 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."

1 Peter 2:6-8 "Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone, and A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."

Ephesians 2:20, 21 "Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord."

Matthew 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is the Rock of ages."

Prayer: "Thank you for being our Rock, Lord! Thank you for being the cornerstone of Christianity and all life! Thank you for giving us your awesome Word. Praise You for being strong enough to support the truth. Thank you for actually being the truth! Thank you for building the church on You and not on a sinful human that vehemently denied you. Praise You for being the Rock that nobody can move. Thank you for helping us to stand tall when we stand on the Rock of your unfailing truth. Let us trust in You, Lord. Give us more faith. Help us to pray big and see You how You truly are! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Abominations"

Luke 16:15 "And He said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

Matthew 24:15, 16 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

Proverb 3:32 "For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, But His secret counsel is with the upright."

Proverb 6:16-20 "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother."

Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination."

Proverb 11:1 "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight."

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us what is abominable to You, Lord. Help us to be righteous. Thank you for purifying us. Thank you for taking the contrite heart and changing it. Let us give more of ourselves to You! Thank you for being so worthy of our devotion, praise and love. Thank you for forgiving us. Help us to confess sins quickly and consistently. Let us not be happy with a rift in our relationship with You. Thank you for giving us your Word and showing us where to walk. Help us to walk in the light of your truth. Praise You for being such an awesome source of love, truth, light and direction! There's no God like You! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "We Have Victory!"

Hebrews 12:2 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Romans 8:37 "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

1 Samuel 17:47b "The battle is the Lord's."

Psalm 98:1 "Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory."

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 John 5:4 "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith."

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us victory! Thank you for winning the battle! Thank you for coming to Earth and showing us how a righteous person lives. Let us be like You, Lord. Thank you for strengthening us. Make us very strong. Remind us that You conquered the world and we have your strength within us. Thank you for being more powerful than we could ever imagine. Thank you for creating the entire universe and everything in it. Thank you for being a righteous God. Help us to be righteous warriors who win their spiritual battles. Let us arm ourselves with the truth of your Word. Take away our pride and remind us that we need You to win our battles. Give us strength in our time of need and help us to give You praise. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Good Ole Gray Hairs"

Isaiah 46:4 "Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you."

Proverb 16:31 "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."

Proverb 20:20 "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old."

Prayer: "Thank you for our mentors, father, mother, pastors, grandfathers, grandmothers and elders who love You and us. Thank you for all the gray-haired people. Bless the ones with gray hairs. Thank you for the benefits of being older. Thank you for the understanding that comes with experience. Help the younger ones not to hate the older ones. Help the older ones not to hate the younger ones. Thank you for the way that You work. Let the gray haired saints love You more and more each day. Thank you for protecting all of us. Thank you for knowing how many hairs we have on our heads! Remove the aches and pains from the older saints. Help them to continue loving and serving You with all their hearts. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Sweet Restoration"

Psalm 51:10-12, 17 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise."

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Psalm 80:19 "Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!"

Prayer: "Thank you for restoring us. Thank you for forgiving us when we ask. Thank you for cleaning our lives and our hearts. Thank you for saving us! There is no other God like You. Thank you for cleansing us from the inside out. Thank you for removing old desires that were impure. Give us good desires and remind us how satisfying they are. Praise You for giving us great things; just like a great father. Remind us to continually praise and thank You! You are our overwhelming God. Thank you for appreciating a contrite heart. Let us all be transparent and sincere with You, Lord. Forgive us for being plastic or fake. Remind us that You see all and know all. Help our desires to be your desires. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Eat and Drink Life!"

John 6:35, 51 "And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

John 4:10-14 "Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. The woman said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

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."

Prayer: "Thank you for being the bread of life, Lord! Thank you for feeding us and giving us living water to drink. Thank you for never letting us go hungry. Thank you for feeding us the most nutritious food we could ever want. Help us to wean ourselves from our previous, unhealthy diet. Show us what is good to eat and let us feast on You! Praise You for being the eternal food. Thank you for filling everyone who wants You. Show us which spiritual foods are good and which are not. Help us to abstain from the false teachers and crave the pure truth of your Word. Thank you for being the only food that the whole world can eat, love and live eternally. You are an awesome God! To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

30/30/30

Pray for 30 minutes, worship God for 30 minutes and read God's Word for 30 minutes! Try doing this every day this week! I've been doing it and it's awesome.

Pick your favorite book in the Bible. Or choose a book that your curious about. You could also read a chapter in Proverbs that correlates to the current day (there are 31 chapters).

Pray for everything and everyone you can think of. If you need help on things to pray about, let me know.

Find 30 minutes to sing praises to God. You can do this anywhere. Consider doing it on your way to work. It's fun to sing and drive!

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

A Moment of Introspection

On what ways are you placing too much emphasis on your own victories? When something goes well, do you take all the credit?

God is the one who gives us victories. Every good thing that happens is from above. Therefore, we need to give God the credit.

God is the one who gives us raises, sends us encouraging words, protects us from evil, lets us hit the winning run, give us a wonderful spouse, etc. He desires the praise. Make sure you credit God when it looks like You did something or got something great.

The Bible Word of the Week

apocalypse: the book of Revelation, the end times judgments of God

The Bible Trivia Question

What does Selah mean?

(Email me your answer!)

Last Week's Bible Trivia Answer

Jericho fell on the Sabbath. See Joshua 6:15.

An Excerpt from "The Revised and Expanded Answers Book" by Ken Ham, Jonathan Sarfati and Carl Wieland

Dinosaurs first existed around 6,000 years ago. God made the dinosaurs, along with the other land animals, on day six of the creation week (Gen. 1:12-25, 31). Adam and Eve were also made on day six -- so dinosaurs lived at the same time as people, not separated by eons of time. Dinosaurs could not have died out before people appeared, because dinosaurs had not previously existed, and death, bloodshed, disease and suffering are a result of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12, 14, 1 Cor. 15:21-22).

Representatives of all the kinds of air-breathing land animals, including the dinosaur kinds, went on board Noah's ark. All those left outside the ark died in the cataclysmic circumstances of the flood -- many of their remains became fossils.

After the flood (around 4,500 years ago), the remnant of the land animals, including dinosaurs, came off the ark and lived in the present world, along with people. Because of sin, the judgments of the Curse and the flood have greatly changed the earth. Post-flood climatic change, lack of food, disease, and man's activities caused many types of animals to become extinct. The dinosaurs, like many other creatures, died out.

The Quotations of the Week

When you hear God speaking to you, get out a pen and paper and write it down.

You lift me up.

Do you realize who or what you submit to?

Praying for patience is a bold move.

Be a Berean.

What changes your countenance?

Don't let the things you don't know or understand get in the way of your faith.

Once we're in Heaven, we'll probably look at some things from our earthly life like a bad dream.

There's over 6 billion people on this planet and God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

A song without words may express what words cannot.

All Christians are successors of the apostles.

Asking something in Jesus' name isn't a magic formula that always renders "yes' answers.

Don't look to a Pope or priest for what is the heritage of every Christian.

Mandatory celibacy is not taught in the Bible, nor was it adhered to by the apostles.

Without Christ, you're fighting the strong current of sin without any hope or power.

Rome has been the only city run by bastards.

The rule of celibacy literally created prostitutes, making Rome the "Mother of Harlots," just as John foresaw.

If Catholic priests and Popes had been allowed to marry, when they died, they would have willed their belongings to their families and impoverished the Catholic church.

The government and the world are going to be going against Christians more and more.

Sin is always sin; no matter what it may look like.

We are headed toward the days when it will be illegal to share our faith at work.

You're either innocent or guilty. There is no in between.

Sin is not simply making a mistake. Sin is violating one or more of God's laws.

Sometimes people don't confess their sins to God because they think they'll only get punished if they admit their sin to God.

Repenting from sin restores your relationship with God.

It would take an eternity for a person to pay for their own sins.

If you believe God loves you, you should believe He has forgiven you.

Try having one day without television.

Do you want God to do something in your life where you say, "Wow, that must have been God"?

Pray the Bible.

Only God can change your heart and He only changes it when you want Him to.

If you met your biggest earthly hero, you would tell everyone. Why can't you tell people about the Savior you met?

Identify one sin in your life and confess it to God.

Pray for someone in your neighborhood to get saved.

There are a lot of misconceptions concerning the definition of sin; primarily among non-Christians.

When Christ is first in your life, your spiritual eyes open.

Revelation is not a seeker-sensitive message.

We will be accountable for what we believe.

Everywhere we go is a stage where God can be glorified.

Knowing biblical prophecies is a great way to strengthen your faith.

Jesus desires unity among Christians.

Pray that God will do something far beyond what we could do.

Let God work through various sources to teach and use you.

Thinking about food while fasting is like thinking about sex before you're married.

My God made everything.

Pray God's Word back to Him.

Demons do things for an evil purpose, but God uses them to complete His greater plan.

The triumph of Christ is not temporary.

To be triumphant in Christ is a life-style and a state of being.

To triumph in Christ is not something we do; it's something we are.

The big difference between victory in Christ and victory in the world is this: a victor in the world rejoices over something he did, but the believer rejoices over who he is in Christ.

Nothing can separate us from our triumph in Christ.

Our triumph is not based on our feelings, but upon God's gift.

Nothing can alter the loyalty of God.

Jesus was victorious first, so we could be victorious.

On what ways are you placing too much emphasis on your own victories?

Knowing that Christ has already won the battle against sin is extremely important knowledge.

I'm alive eternally!

Something invisible has become beautiful.

My heart is where my treasure lies.

My every breath belongs to You.

Take the world out of me.

I give everything to be what You want me to be.

Through your Son, I've overcome the father of all lies.

Jesus my Lord, look what You've done for me!

Since that day I called your name, I haven't been the same.

I want You to know my heart is yours.

It's not a question of what You can do for me. What can I do for you, my Lord?

I live and die for You. My soul clings to You.

My desire is to go deeper into You.

Your throne is the only one I'll ever get down on my knees before.

Somewhere inside of me is the promise of eternity.

God has build on the time when I've accepted godly correction and rebuke.

Do you get more excited about someone accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior or about getting a raise?

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), Dave Hunt, Tree63 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've written in the most beneficial way, try and trace them back to the scriptures 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!

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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."