This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Devotions for May 3^rd through 7^th

Monday "Where Are My Sins?"

Micah 7:19 "He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea."

Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Isaiah 38:17 "Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back."

Prayer: "Thank you for forgiving me Lord! Thank you for giving me such awesome illustrations about how my sin is long gone and out of sight! Help me to forgive myself, Jesus. Lift my head and remove my shame. Thank you for being a good and loving God! There is none other like You in all of the universe! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Tuesday "Cry, Move On, Rejoice!"Luke 6:21 "Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh."

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

James 4:8-10 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us to cry, Lord. Help us to be truly repentant and sincere in our lives. Remove fear and superficiality, Father. Give us great love for You and for others. Forgive us for being cold or insensitive. Praise You for being a perfect God and having the best plan for us! Help us to follow your instructions (the Bible) closely and willingly! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Wednesday "What's This Life For?"

Romans 10:9-10 "Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?"

Mark 12:30-31 "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

1 Corinthians 6:10 "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Psalm 149:1 "Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints."

Prayer: "Thank you for showing us what this life is for. Don't let us forget, Father. Give us discipline to read the scriptures and do your will. Please give us wisdom to find our calling in this life, also. Praise You for being a worthy God! Thank you for accepting our worship and blessing us when we sing your praises! I love You, Lord. Thank you for being forever faithful! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Thursday "Meditate on the Word!"

Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous,

and then you will have good success."

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

Luke 4:4 "But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us your Word Lord! Bless us and remind us of what a privilege it is to know You by reading the Bible! Let the whole world have the Bible in their own language. Help us to encourage one another with the truth in your Word. Give us humility when we are corrected by someone from You. Thank you for the chances to grow spiritually through steps of obedience and repentance! Let us have joy as we change and conform to your image, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Friday "Identify False Prophets"

Matthew 7:15-16 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

Galatians 1:8-9 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

Matthew 24:11 "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many."

Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

2 Peter 2:1 "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction."

1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Prayer: "Thank you for the warnings against false prophets, Lord. Help us to read and know the Bible very well, so we won't be deceived. Make us spiritually mature, Father. Give us great discernment so we can identify truth and lies. Make us very wise and give us great knowledge, Lord. Let us hate evil and the father of lies! Help us to have patience with people who are being deceived, but give us the courage to tell them. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Hang some scripture on your wall! I printed the verse Ephesians 5:20 on my color printer and hung it on the wall yesterday! I did it in big bold letters and also printed a couple of pictures of Jesus and attached them to the bottom of the verse. It's very encouraging to see it. There's nothing like scripture and we're supposed to meditate on it day and night! Try writing your favorite verse in calligraphy or cutting out different letters from a magazine and pasting them onto some construction paper. Be creative, be ordinary, just be encouraged with God's Word in front of your face!

Quotes

If anyone says they have found contradictions in the Bible, say "show me".

People tend to be less godly than I imagine.

If you're being obedient to God, you have nothing to worry about.

To forgive is to release a prisoner and that prisoner is you.

Our food should be the Word of God.

How can we obey quicker and better and more accurately today?

The longer you obey the bigger the steps of faith will be required.

The longer you obey, bigger and bigger steps of faith will be required.

Your circumstances may be messed up, but you don't have to be messed up inside.

When you take steps of faith, you'll see God like you've never seen Him before.

To be a servant of God, you have to realize you are one (and not simply a servant of mankind).

Our love should be tangible in nature.

We can experience joy by giving to and loving others.

A true servant of God has a need for purity.

There are people searching for God and power without the Holy Spirit. They are not finding Jesus or God, however.

Don't try and figure out all of God's reasons and ways.

It's sad when people always become more excited about temporary things and not spiritual things.

Physical health should not be elevated above physical health.

If we think we can get away with whatever we want when we are alone, we are wrong - God sees.

God never wastes a tragedy.

Don't abuse God's grace and mercy.

Drawing closer to Christ will make you more and more effective.

Ask yourself, "Is what I'm putting into my mind going to make me effective in the long run?"

The way we interact with one another is a reflection of the depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Gold is found very unrefined. But it can become almost perfect with time and process.

People can argue with God's Word, but they can't argue with the changes it has made in your life.

"Follow me" - our responsibility, "and I'll make you fishers of men" - God's responsibility.

We are not called to make converts - just to spread the gospel and make disciples.

God gave His best when we were at our worst.

We are ambassadors of Christ, going from one kingdom to another.

If you stop growing spiritually, not only will you suffer, but those around you will suffer also.

We should feel compelled to share the gospel because of God's love.

You can get paralysis by over-analysis.

If you put your foot in your mouth, take it out and keep walking.

I don't own a car, but I know where Dad keeps the keys.

Put into action the things that God tells you to do on a whim!

If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.