Hello!

I hope you had a great Christmas.  Mine was good.  I spent it with part of my wife's family in London.  We had some relatives over, ate lunch and played some games.  I even won a 4 hour game of London Monopoly!

While I was in London, I recorded 11 songs on my acoustic guitar.  They are all worship songs and some of them will be familiar to you.  I'll be uploading some of them to MP3.com and I'll let you know when they're available.  You can hear the first single, "More Love, More Power", here: http://jcsm.org/MP3.htm.  If you are interested in this cd, please let me know!

I'll be uploading some pictures from my trip, soon.  There will be about 40 from London and 25 from Ireland.  The links should be in next week's devotions.

Since I'm home from London and Ireland, please pray that I can begin working hard on "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", again.  There are many hours left before this project is finished.

Could you tell someone which scriptures, in the Bible, talk about the rapture and which ones refer to the Christ's second coming?  Even prophecy students get these two, future events confused.  If you'd like to see the explanation in a simple graph with these verses in two columns, please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/BibleLessons/RaptureSecondComing.htm.

Please pray for my upcoming debate with atheist Doug Krueger!  We will be discussing a variety of issues regarding God, the Bible, creation/evolution, etc.  I've read some of his book and am looking forward to our exchange!  Next Tuesday evening, it will be available for download/streaming from http://www.sermonaudio.com/jcsm.

God bless you as you grow in the Lord!  Keep loving Jesus and others.  Your life will become supernatural!

Do you ever watch "The Price Is Right"?  Well, if you do, you should see it this Thursday.  My friends went to Los Angeles and attended the live taping of TPIR.  One of them actually got on the show and won a bunch of things!  They wore matching "The Rock Church" shirts, so you shouldn't be able to miss them.

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 5000 links (pictures, forums, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 97,000 visits!

JCSM has encouraging sermons and debates online that you can freely stream and download!  Come and hear them on SermonAudio.com!  Here is our site: http://www.sermonaudio.com/jcsm.

Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection, the Bible word of the week and the quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "The Bread of Life"

Exodus 16:14-16  "And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'It is manna:' For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 'This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”

John 6:31-58  "Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to Him, 'Lord, give us this bread always.' 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. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.' The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread which came down from heaven.' And they said, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’? Jesus therefore answered and said to them, 'Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 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. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, 'How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?' Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Insight: Just as the manna was the supernatural food that fed and sustained the Israelites, Jesus Christ is the supernatural power that energizes, sustains and saves us.

Prayer: "Thank you for loving your people, Lord.  Thank you for providing for them.  Help us to see You and understand your provision.  Forgive us for closing our eyes and chasing after other sources of nourishment that can't fill us up like You do.  Thank you for giving us an Old Testament type and a New Testament type that correlate and fulfill.  Thank you for Jesus Christ.  Help us to understand how awesome He is and how He can fill us like no other.  Thank you for giving us spiritual life!  Bless us and lift us up.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Like A Thief In the Night"

John 14:1-3  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

1 Corinthians 15:52  "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 5:2  "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

Revelation 3:3  "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you."

Insight: Jesus promises to take His saints home.  This won't be something small or slow.  This will be the rapture.  Get prepared and do all you can to love God, love others and further God's kingdom.  In the twinkling of an eye, you won't have any more chances to do His will.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us promises about the future, Lord.  Thank you for reminding us of your return.  Thank you for being faithful to us.  Give us more faith in You and more love for You and others.  Thank you for having love and patience with us.  Praise You for being our good God.  Bless us, increase our ministry, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil.  Thank you for giving the entire world a warning about the rapture and judgment.  Let us be inspired to share the good news of salvation with a lost and dying world.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Changing"

2 Corinthians 5:17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Matthew 3:2, 8  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!  Bear fruits worthy of repentance."

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 Thessalonians 4:3a  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification:"

Revelation 21:5a  "Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”

Insight: Are you changing?  Becoming like Christ is a process.  We become like Jesus when we identify sin in our life and repent (turn from it).  Learn to be constantly changing to be more Christ-like.  This is important for the "big" issues and the little ones.

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting to change us.  Bless us and help us to change.  Thank you for giving us a better, newer and more exciting life than we used to have.  Thank you for your love and diligence.  Help us to be diligently repenting from our sins.  Sanctify us.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit that works within us.  Let us be sensitive to your prompting and to the Word of God.  Let us consume the truth and have it manifest itself in us.  Thank you for being a good God and worthy of our praise and devotion.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "The Second Coming"

2 Peter 3:10  "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.  Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you."

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8   "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."

Jude 14-15  "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.'"

Revelation 1:7  "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.  Even so, Amen."

Revelation 19:11  "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.  And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war."

Insight: After the rapture and the tribulation, Christ will return, again.  Know the prophesies of God and trust Him.  Since He has been faithful in the little things, He will be faithful in the big things.

Prayer: "Thank you for promising to return and reward the righteous and punish the wicked.  Thank you for being a just God.  Let us trust in You, deeply.  Thank you for being a God of love, but also a God of wrath.  Let us understand the enormous evil that sin is and how You are the opposite of it.  Forgive us for our sins.  Help us to see them like You do and embrace You.  Lift us up and show us the right ways, Lord.  Help us to share the truth with our friends and family.  Convict us to righteousness and let us pray for others - for their salvation.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Beyond Our Imagination"

1 Corinthians 2:9  "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'"

John 14:1-4  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Matthew 5:11, 12  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Insight: God has purposely kept some things from us.  Only God knows everything.  Thank Him for His knowledge and what He has told us.  We know that our eternal life in Heaven will be awesome and more incredible than we can imagine.

Prayer: "Thanks for preparing awesome things for us that defy our imagination.  Help us to trust You and believe in what is written in your Word.  Thank you for giving us an incredible source of truth - the Bible.  Thank you for giving us finite brains and understanding.  Let us trust in the one who has greater understanding and more knowledge than us.  Thank you for loving us, Lord.  Thank you for rewarding us for being like You.  Help us to have more of You and less of us.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Just Like You"

John 3:30, 31  "He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all."

1 Corinthians 11:1  "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

Romans 13:14  "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

Insight: Jesus was a perfect reflection of God.  He has been called, "God in a bod".  We need to be becoming like Christ.  If you think that Jesus is God's Son, your personal Lord and Savior and worth your time, won't you become like Him?

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to become just like You, Lord.  Thank you for being so worthy of our time and devotion.  Help us to understand You and the fact that You are above us.  Thank you for giving us something extraordinary to do while we walk this Earth.  Thank you for giving us a high calling and a literal, spiritual life!  Let us understand that we are spiritual beings that require spiritual food.  Thank you for satisfying us with intangible things that we cannot find anywhere else.  Thank you for being the perfect and holy one we need.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "God Gives Joy"

Philippians 4:4  "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

Proverb 12:20  "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy."

Proverb 21:15  "It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity."

Ecclesiastes 2:26  "For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God.  This also is vanity and grasping for the wind."

Galatians 5:22  "But the fruit of the Spirit is....joy...."

1 John 1:4  "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."

3 John 1:4  "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

Psalm 149:5  "Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds."

Proverb 23:25  "Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice."

Romans 12:15  "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

2 Corinthians 7:4  "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf.  I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation."

For a great, Bible lesson on "The Joy of the Lord", please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/Joy.htm.

Insight: God wants to give us joy!  There are times of sadness and calamity, however, God desires to put joy in our hearts.  Ask God for joy and experience His love through His abundant joy in your life.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us joy, Lord.  Thank you for removing our worries and fears and replacing them with your peace and joy that transcend understanding.  Lift us up and fill us with joy.  Put a smile on our faces, Lord.  Thank you for giving Christians a deep joy that isn't easily removed.  Thank you for giving us many scriptures about joy.  Bless all of the people who study it and give it to others.  Let us be blessings to others, Lord.  Remind us that we need to do your will and be catalysts for good deeds.  Thank you for working through and around us.  We love You, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Investigate your life and find something to give to the Lord!

Since this is the time for "New Year's Resolutions", why not analyze yourself and elect to become more like Christ?  There must be some area that you haven't been too pleased about.  Perhaps you simply need to do something different for a matter of time.  Make a pact with God and make the necessary changes.

I grew a lot, spiritually, when I did a Pentecost Covenant.  I simply outlined some things that I would do and did them for 50 days.  When I was finished, I had grown a lot and completed numerous things that I had wanted to do.  You can read about it here: http://www.jcsm.org/PentecostCovenant.htm.

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!  And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Did you know that atheists call Christians "X-ians"?  They also enjoying using a lower case "b" for Bible and "g" for God.  If you see these things, recognize them as atheistic lingo!

manna: whatness, what (so called from the question about it), what?

There were no quotations this week.  Please see our archive for thousands of wise quotes!  Link: http://quotes.jcsm.org.

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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."