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Days 1-10

April 8, 2002 - Day 1

I typed prayers in the devotional messages.

April 9, 2002 - Day 2

Thank you for loving me so much, Lord!

Bless me, increase your ministry, lay your hand on me and keep me from evil.

Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for the gentle breeze that's blowing, the birds that are peacefully chirping and the flowers I can see through my window. Thank you for the giant trees that give us shade and give the birds a place to stay.

Thank you for this street by my house and the people who use it. Bless them and make them like You. Make yourself known to them.

Thank you for being such a great and mighty light to the world! Thank you for being brighter than me and brighter than the other lights that beckon people. Help people to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Thank you for the dreams that You give me. Let me understand what You are saying to me.

Thank you for creating this world in such a perfect way. Thank you for the things that depend on other things that You have made. Let us understand You and how You are a God of order and perfect. Let us chew on what we see, so we will revere You more and stand in awe of You more, too. Thank you for making this world in such a way that it hasn't ended, yet. If we were too close to the sun, if we were too far from the sun, if we had no water or if various other things were to happen we would cease to exist. Praise You for knowing more than humankind.

Thank you that I was able to debate an atheist, yesterday. Bless him and all the people who heard and who will hear the show. Thank you for the people who called in and asked questions. Let me be able to defend your Word like I should. Thank you for having such an awesome plan for us and for the world. Let people understand your plan and not fight it or be angry about it. Thank you for the way things are.

Thank you for the people who find it very hard to believe. Help them to believe in You, Lord. Show them your grace and your power. Thank you for showing Thomas and blessing him. Thank you for revealing yourself when people seek You! Praise You for being a God who doesn't hide from certain people.

Let us be like You, Lord. Let us understand your perfection. Thank you for wanting us to be perfect, thus having a very high standard for us. Forgive us for our sins. Purify and sanctify us, Lord! Lift us up and mold us into your image.

Thank you for being patient and merciful with us. Thank you for loving us even as we make the same mistakes over and over. Give us more wisdom. Let us see the error of our ways, Lord. Let us learn from You, your Word, your Spirit and other wise believers. Give us more Christian friends and help us to be good, Christian friends, too.

Thank you for our family. Thank you for the ones who love and support us. Let us love them like You would. Let us love our enemies, too. Thank you for giving us that seemingly odd command.

Thank you for the ones who hate us and seek to persecute us. Thank you for protecting us with a huge wall of protection! You truly are a strong tower and the ones who run into You are saved from their enemies.

Praise You for being bigger and stronger than any other enemies! Thank you for showing your power all throughout history. Thank you for doing things that we'll never know about until we see You face to face.

Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to fulfill prophecy, die on the cross for our sins and rise from the dead! Thank you for making a way of redemption that is better than sacrificing an animal. Praise You for the new covenant! Thank you for all of the awesome promises You have given to us in your Word. Help us to memorize what You have said and apply it to our lives.

Thank you for this covenant I have with you. Let me fulfill my promise in a strong, passionate, excited way. Thank you for giving me what I need to succeed. Thank you for giving me so much more, too. If you never did another thing for me, you've already done plenty.

Thank you for helping me give You control of my mind and my body. Thank you for reminding me that I need to have self-control and walk in your Spirit. Forgive me for doing things without consulting You. Let me take a minute to talk to You and seek You. Let me be godly even if it's not what I've seen, even if it's now what I've been taught. Thank you for being the great teacher and the great physician.

Bless the United States. Protect us from terrorism. Protect us from immorality. Let the foul language on the television and movie screens be eradicated. Let the sexual scenes and dirty humor be eradicated, too. Help people to seek pure forms of entertainment.

Thank you for the profanity filter that we have on our television. Let more and more people get these and filter bad language. Bless TV Guardian - the company that made this device. Thank you for helping us to walk in your Spirit without leaving your side.

Give us discernment, so we can put things into our eyes and ears that is glorifying to You and edifying to us. Let us take every word and ever thing captive and not just dump things in us before considering whether they are good or not.

Bless Israel. Keep them safe and strong and help them turn to You. Give them peace, Lord. Let them know Jesus Christ who died for their sins.

Thank you for the chance to visit Israel and see the places where Jesus and the apostles walked! Let those places stay intact and let them not be destroyed. Thank you that those places aren't that commercialized or changed. Let more and more people visit and see You, Lord.

Thank you for the rest of the world. Help there to be peace in places where there is war. Let people turn to You and put down their weapons and bombs. Forgive the ones with evil in the hearts. Bring the ones to justice who refuse to be peaceful and loving. Let each one know that they should be accountable not just to their government but to You for all they do.

Bless Iraq. Help Saddam Hussein to know You, Jesus. Thank you that he is in office and thank you for the way You will be glorified in this situation. Let us understand how him and the other ungodly leaders are fulfilling your purposes. Let us see how Babylon is being rebuilt. Let us see how Iraq will drag Russia into a battle against Israel.

Thank you for giving us the prophecies in the Bible. Help us to read and understand them, Lord. Thank you that the countries mentioned in the Bible are still there today and are basically aligned in a way that they could fulfill your prophecies, now. Thank you for the nearness of the end.

Let us live in a way that we know that the rapture is coming soon. Help us to make the most of our time, not wasting it, but giving it to You, Father. Thank you for giving us our time. Help everyone to know that their time is your time.

Thank you for my ministry on the web. Thank you that I have time to devote to this ministry, now. Let me do your will, Lord. Show me anything new that I need to be doing. Drive more and more visitors to the web sites and encourage them with the Word of God. Lead many to You for salvation and a better life, Lord.

April 10, 2002 - Day 3

Thank you for having Sarine's school call and tell us that we can get $431 credit to our account! Praise You for doing this awesome things for us. Thank you for the way you inspired us to be very persistent in writing letters and calling the school. Thank you for the school official that finally told us how we could get this erased.

Thank you that we have Bible study, tonight. Bless me, Sarine, the worship band, Troy the Pastor and everyone else who comes. Thank you for teaching us awesome things there. Let us enjoy the worship and the message.

Let lots of kids go to the Elements conference. Bless everyone who goes there and help them to return as changed kids that are on fire for Christ.

Thank you for the door I have to witness to atheists. Let them grow in the knowledge of You and accept You as Lord and Savior. Help me to not grow tired or weary, Lord. Lift me up as I serve and worship You.

Thank you for helping me stay true to my promises to You. Thank you for the boldness to make promises to You. Let me be a man of my word since You are a God of your Word. Thank you for all of the tons of promises that You consistently keep.

Thank you for the new program that edits my MP3 files. Thank you that I could remove the dead air from the beginning and ending of my recorded songs. Thank you that they sound much better and more professional, now!

Thank you that my Dad is helping me get my debate on audio cd. Bless Coleman College and the man who is helping me with the details.

Bless Sarine. I hope that she has a good time at work, today. Heal her back and her morning sickness. Help her to feel better.

Bless our baby that is on the way. Let him or her be totally healthy and grow normally. Let our baby become a person that knows and loves You, Lord. Help us to have a genuine relationship with You that overflows into our child's life. Let there be no complications with our pregnancy or birth.

Help us to find the perfect first name of the baby. Thank you for showing us that Jordan would be the perfect middle name, since the baby was conceived after being baptized in the Jordan River. Let us find a significant name that we can agree on.

Thank you that I'm definitely coaching the soccer camps this summer! Thank you that I could work for a Christian company that does Bible studies and shares the gospel with the campers! Let many come to Christ and come into a deeper relationship with Him. Let me meet some awesome Christians who want to serve You and know You better.

Let me have a great workout, today. Help me to grow bigger and stronger muscles and let the fat be burned up. Thank you for the self-control you've given me, so I don't eat everything I see or quit working out. Let me get stronger and stronger, so I can serve You longer. Lift up my eyes and my head to You, Lord.

Thank you for the friends I have online, at Bible study and around the country and world. Bless them all. Thank you that they have patience with me and love me despite my faults and errors. Help me to love them more.

Thank you for Anita in Finland. Bless her and help her to be a light in the darkness. Thank you for her kindness, love and support.

Bless all of the people who support Jesus Christ Saves Ministries. Thank you that I'm able to have an internet ministry that reaches people all over the world. Thank you that it is consistently growing! Help me to listen to You and know where to lead this ministry. Thank you for all of the ways we've advertized and told the world where to find the good news on the web. Show me more avenues to advertize, Lord.

April 11, 2002 - Day 4

Dear Lord, thank you for giving me a great day. Thank you for keeping me safe on the highways and roads. Thank you for having Sarine and I get along so well.

Thank you that I was able to sign up with a school district, so I have a job when I move! Bless them and let me get some exciting jobs. Thank you that they pay so well and pay for a full day if I work more than 3.5 hours!

Thank you for the other, potential teaching jobs. Let me get plenty of work. Let Sarine's dream of having a home daycare come true. Let her get licensed and find some babies to watch. Thank you for the chance to have her do this.

Thank you that my parents are well. Bless them and keep them strong and safe. Thank you that we could meet them for lunch and hang out and talk. Help them have joy and peace in their life.

Thank you that we're able to move near my parents. Let us have fun with them and the baby. Thank you that they want to help with the baby and they even got both of us cribs! Thank you for the other things they got the baby, too.

Thank you for Sarine's parents. Bless them and her other relatives. Thank you that they are sweet and have gotten the baby clothes, too. Let them be able to take of the baby if we need them. Let them keep the baby safe if we go on a vacation or trip.

Praise You for being so good and so big, God! There is no other God like You in all of the universe. Thank You for making the world work. Thank you for keeping us from unexpected disasters that could have ended life as we know it. Praise You for being so holy, yet being able to tolerate our unrighteousness! Help us to be more like You.

Thank you for our daily routine. Help it to be dynamic and exciting! Make even the boring parts interesting. Thank you for the things we have to do over and over. Let us do them to glorify You and help us not to grow weary.

Forgive me for the sins I've committed. Reveal my hidden sins to me and purify me. Thank you for wanting us to be perfect. Let us be perfect like You, Lord. Thank you for promising us a day when we will go to Heaven and have new bodies and live in a sinless environment! Thank you for the awesome and hopeful things You have told us about Heaven. Thank you for making it simply above and beyond our imagination.

Thank you for the money and assets that you've given me. Thank you for giving me so much! Let me see things like You do and not like a millionaire would see them. Let me see the beauty of not having too much. Thank you for giving us cabinets full of food, drawers full of clothes, vehicles that run, televisions that work, guitars that play nicely, stereos that work well and so much more! You are awesome and so worthy to be praised!

Remove my pride and give me godliness, contentment, wisdom and humility. Thank you for wanting us to have necessary qualities and also wanting us to overcome and avoid other qualities. Thank you for the ways that you've changed us. Thank you for promising to complete the work that You began in us! Praise You for not wanting to let us stay the way we are. Thank you for being able to change us and do awesome things through us.

Let us have your miracle-working power, Lord! Let us do things in your name that will make people turn and glorify You. Help us to do everything for your glory and for the edification of others. Forgive us for being self-centered, prideful, world-centered and egocentric. Let us see how we really are and decide to embrace You. Thank you for the purity in putting You and others first. Help us to have your Spirit flow freely through us, Lord. Keep us from quenching the Spirit by sinning or ignoring You.

Bless my internet ministry. Help more and more people to come to the web sites and accept You as Lord and Savior. Thank you for the wonderful messages that I've received. Thank you for the people who consistently grow and support JCSM! Let more people receive the benefits that You have in store for them.

Thank you for answering my prayers about sending the gospel to a million people! Thank you for helping me send the gospel to even more! Make a way for me to send the gospel to all of the other 32+ million people. Thank you for holding the enemy at bay and making a way for your work to be done. You are awesome.

Thank you for the ways that I am challenged. Let me meet these challenges and find ways to overcome them. Thank you for always making a way when I am persistent and it is your will! Help me to see when to persist and when to let go. Thank you for being so great, Lord. Give me great discernment.

Thank you for the things in my life that seem "undone" or "unfinished". Let me have peace about those things. Thank you that everyone has things that aren't totally done. Let me see them like You would. Let me pray about them and accept the outcome.

I hope we can get my wedding video finished. Show me how to get this done. Thank you for giving me several people who volunteered to shoot the film with several cameras. Let me see if I need to pay to have it finished and if I must, then show me where to go. Thank you for the funny interviews and the other things on the video.

Thank you for the opportunity to travel to Britain and Ireland this winter! Bless us and show us if we should go and when we should buy the tickets. Thank you for the chance to fly to another country for only $436 round trip, plus taxes and fees! Let us be safe and have fun. Sanctify us and let us be a light to our hosts and to everyone we meet. Keep us warm and let us celebrate Jesus' birth! Thank you for giving us boldness and curiosity.

Let us see lots of historical things and praise You. Let us find a Bible study and a church to attend. Help us to study and enjoy the culture. Thank you for the chance to see a country that has been around a lot longer than the United States.

Thank you for my potato that is cooking right now! Thank you that it grew in the ground and became nice a big. Thank you for the yummy things You provide for us. Thank you that one day we won't have to feed our bodies any more!

Let us have a great time of worship, tonight. Thank you that I've promised to play the guitar for one hour every day! Let me always make time to do this and never worry about it or neglect it. Thank you for giving me an awesome talent. Don't let me throw dirt on it and bury it. Increase my talents and help me to memorize more and more worship songs, Lord.

Thank you for the worship group I am in. Let us keep making beautiful music that glorifies You. Thank you for the talented drummer, guitarist and bassist. Bless all of them and sanctify us. Let us submit to each other and find songs that we all like and want to play.

Thank you that we are moving in a few months. Let us plug into another group that needs us and enjoys our company. Let me find people to put together a full band, too. Thank you for showing me that we'll be in El Cajon for a little while. Help me to find students, so I can teach the guitar lessons. Thank you for Ryan and how he wants to learn and glorify You with his axe.

Give us a great day, tomorrow. Thank you that I'll have new and interesting things to do! Let us get plenty of sleep and wake up refreshed.

Thank you that Sarine and I are likely getting free medical coverage through Medical! Thank you that the U.S. government has such awesome programs for us. Bless our country and it's officials. Help people to get paid well and not take advantage of the system. Thank you for the way You help us and give us what we need. Help us to not be too prideful to the point where we don't accept your blessings, but we rather take on a heavy burden, so we can give ourselves everything.

Thank you for the atheists that have been writing me. Bless them and help them to turn to You, Lord. Thank you for caring about everyone. Thank you for loving them as much as you love anyone else. Help them to keep asking questions. Cause them to search the scriptures and find You, Lord. Thank you for Jesus Christ and your way of redemption!

Thank you that the scriptures put together such an awesome story and plan. Thank you that they have been recognized as the Word of God for two thousand years. Thank you for talking to the Jews and helping them fulfill your will in the Old Testament. Thank you for the way you cleared out the pagans and made all of the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah come true.

Thank you for putting your Spirit in the Gentiles. Thank you for giving us a home in Heaven. Thank you for not being exclusively the Jews' God.

Thank you for the Christian writers that have inspired me. Thank you for the people who have written about their experiences with You. Help me to take plenty of time to read about You, the Christian life, prophecy, creation, other religions and other things. Thank you for giving me such a nice library and so many ways to get the books I need.

Thank you for the powerful Bible program that we use! Bless the makes of QuickVerse. Thank you that I can have a Strong's Hebrew and Greek Concordance and Dictionary at my fingertips. Thank you for this computer and the fact that I don't have to thumb through books in order to find the information that I need. Help me to do the research that I need to do. Help me to prioritize things, too.

In Jesus' name, Amen."

April 12, 2002 - Day 5

Thank you for being here, Lord.

Thank you for giving me a lot of energy, even though I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Bless me and lift me up.

Praise You for being such a good God. Thank you for molding me into your image. Thank you for loving me when I'm weak and wander off the path. Thank you for taking my hand and guiding me to where I need to be.

Bless my workout, today. Let me find the time to go to the gym and exercise. Thank you for the way I can read the Bible on the exercise bike! Thank you that it helps me stay in shape, physically and spiritually. Give me self-control and discipline, so I can keep doing those things.

Thank you that I was able to get a cable modem, yesterday! Thank you that it will save me money. I pray that it never breaks down and keeps working really well.

Thank you for my internet ministry. Thank you that I can serve You on the web. Thank you that people read the things that I write about You. Help me to see You very clearly and simply pass along what You tell me and show me. Praise You for being so beautiful and vocal to me!

Bless Sarine. Help her to feel well. Take away her pains and problems. Help her to have a pregnancy without any problems. Let her be safe as she drives and walks around.

Give us peace, joy, love, wisdom, health, enough money, self-control, patience, mercy, kindness and all of the things that You are. Thank you for being our perfect role model. Help us to understand why You said and did certain things that were recorded in the Bible.

Forgive us for letting our interpretations and opinions get in the way of You and your Spirit. Thank you for loving us so much and giving us a free will to the point where You will let us make mistakes because You want us to see that You love us. Help us to understand your kind of love, since it's not the kind of love that we see or experience in the world very often. Thank you for the Christians that know You and can emulate your love because of the Spirit that's within them.

(Later in the evening)

Thank you that I could stay home and worship songs on the guitar instead of going to the gym, today. Thank you for giving me the discipline to choose spiritual fitness over physical fitness. Help me to continue to make wise choices.

Thank you for increasing my talents on the guitar! Thank you for helping me to memorize more songs and play songs better. Thank you for the songs that I know. Help me to memorize more and play them with great skill.

Thank you that I could drive some kids to the youth "Elements" conference. Help the kids to really enjoy the worship and everything. Thank you that the place has so many cool things like games, food, music, etc. Let the message sink into them and change them.

Thank you for Troy and Julie. Bless them and help them to lead this group well. Thank you for putting them in charge. Let them not be anxious, but give them peace.

Thank you for letting me get a bunch of things done, today. Thank you for the messages that I sent to the new atheist guy. Help him to see You how You really are. Let me have patience with him. Thank you for speaking to me about what he is going through. Let him be a truth seeker and not just someone who is seeking revenge for pain he received in the past.

Thank you for the way that your Holy Spirit speaks to me! Thank you for living inside me and guiding me. You are an awesome God!

Thank you for giving me the idea to type these prayers outside of the conference. Thank you for this laptop computer. Thank you for the comfortable chair that I'm in. Thank you that I'm getting some very necessary prayer completed instead of putting it off until late tonight.

Thank you that I could do some work on my web sites! Thank you for helping me remember what to do. Thank you for giving me such a complicated way to bring encouraging, awesome, biblical things to the world. Help me to remember how to do everything and even find new ways of doing things better.

Thank you for the way that this ministry has "evolved". Thank you that this month marks 5 years of internet ministry! If someone would have told me that I was going to share the gospel with over 1 million people, be sending a weekly message to 39,000 people and having a web site that has over 2500 links and gets over 100 visits a day, I would have thought they were crazy! However, thank you for making this Christian ministry prosper. Let it always be Christ focused. Let my focus be loving God, then others. Thank you for making everything fall into place when I set my priorities straight.

Give Ryan and I a great guitar lesson, tomorrow. Thank you for letting me teach him. Give us joy as we learn new things and seek You. Thank you for the way that he has been practicing and getting better. Encourage him and lead him to other Christian songs and musicians. Let me have plenty of patience with him and be a fantastic teacher.

Thank you that we can go to Sarine's doctor, tomorrow. I hope they tell us everything is great. Bless us and remove our fears and worries.

Thank you that I could finish "Creation and the Second Coming" in the waiting room, today! Thank you for making that book so exciting (and only $5)! Let me find other great books. Thank you for the "Recommend A Book!" site on my Contents web page. Let me fill that forum with awesome books and let it help others to find the book that they are looking for. Help many people to contribute to the page and share the books that are encouraging them.

Bless me, increase my ministry, lay your hand on me and keep me from evil. Thank you for answering this prayer in the past. Thank you for wanting us to have great things, so we can bring You glory. Help us to become trustworthy enough to possess your riches and do what we should with them. Thank you for the things that have been offered to me that I did not take. Let me know what is best when I'm offered tantalizing things.

Thank you for helping me to be more disciplined in reading the Scriptures, Lord. Thank you for teaching me awesome truths. Let me see You clearer through the Scriptures. Praise You for giving us a source infallible, absolute truth! Thank you for not changing and helping us to change - all at the same time.

Bless my friends and family. Help them to have a great weekend. Thank you for the rest that You give us.

Give me the strength to fast all day Sunday! Thank you for revealing to me that I need to be serious about fasting one day a week. Give me great strength and stamina. I promise that I will fast on Sunday, Lord. Please keep the temptations away from me. Let me be very strong and feel your presence in a powerful way. Give me joy as I make my body submit to your will through fasting.

Thank you for the way that praying for 30 minutes (or more), playing the guitar for one hour, reading the Scriptures each day and eating less is helping me to become more Christ-like, more disciplined and more in your will. Let these actions form into solid habits.

Thank you for the way that eating less seems to be forming and changing my eating habits even more than a 40 day fast. Let me see how it's beneficial to eat less. Thank you for making the human body in such a way where it burns and uses the excess fat for fuel and energy. Thank you for making such an awesome machine called the human body.

Thank you for the trees and the wind that's blowing. Thank you for the crickets that are chirping. Thank you for all the sounds, smells and sights of your awesome Creation! Praise You for being visible when I stand in awe of the things You have made. Help me to continually ponder on You and your ways.

Thank you for having ways that are higher than my ways and thoughts higher than my thoughts. Thank you for taking control and being the most worthy person to be in control of me! Help me to give you the steering wheel, to give you the reins and rejoice! Praise You for being a better leader than I. Help me to submit to your plan and learn from You! In Jesus' name, Amen.

April 13, 2002 - Day 6

Dear Lord, thank you for giving me a great day, today. Help my eyes not to hurt as I type these prayers in my journal. Give me strength and lift me up. Help me to pray for a full 30 minutes and enjoy it.

Thank you that I could eat so much at Souplantation! Thank you that their food is so yummy and I could eat all I want. Thank you that I was able to count my calories and I still didn't overeat for the day. Thank you for curbing my appetite and helping me not to overeat on the day before a fast.

Let my fast go super well, tomorrow. Let me have some juices and feel great. Don't let me feel run down or lazy. Let me experience your presence as I obey You in fasting.

Thank you for giving me so many great things! Thank you for the birds that I heard, today. Thank you for the flowers that I saw. Praise You for being the Creator of awesome things.

Thank you for making the natural things in this world exciting and interesting. Help me to remember to enjoy the simple things. Thank you for giving me this moment. Let me be joyful and content in this moment, not thinking that I have to have something else or something more in order to be happy. Forgive me for being discontent or wanting more than You want for me.

Thank you for this nice computer. Thank you that it has many, powerful programs! Help me to stay on task as I pray. Let me keep collecting wise quotes and writing things in my "To Do" list. Let me have the discipline to do them.

Thank you that I could speak to my Mom on the phone, tonight. Bless her and my Dad. Thanks for the time we'll spend with each other in a week and a half.

I pray that everything keeps going well in Sarine's pregnancy. Thank you that the tests that we've taken have been positive. Praise the Lord. Let everything go very nicely and let the baby be completely healthy, Lord. Let the baby be strong and grow like it should. Let him or her be free from defects and be a quick learner.

Thank you for the workout I got at the gym, today. Thank you for the tan I got, too. Let me keep going there and disciplining my body. Thank you for giving me energy when I feel like I have none left. Thank you for answering my prayers when I cry out to You for strength and endurance.

Thank you for helping me ride the bike for 40 minutes. Thank you that I did a full 40 minutes and didn't stop early. Help me to keep doing extended bike rides and improving my health. Thank you for doing awesome things.

Thank you for giving me a great gym, where people are nice and the machines are just what I need. Let me keep going and doing my best.

Thank you that the Padres won, tonight! Thank you that the played a very exciting game. Bless them and help them to keep winning and go to the World Series! This would be a miracle, so be glorified in their success, Lord.

Thank you for the guitar lesson I gave, today. Help my student to keep growing and having fun with the guitar. Thank you for the ways that he has grown this far. Let him have joy as he glorifies You. Help him to deliberately praise You.

Thank you for the money that I will be getting, soon. Bless the government. Bless our local authorities. Thank you that they have planned to give me some money that I can use for rent, bills or anything else I choose! Thank you that I live in such an awesome country. Help our country to turn to You and embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Thank you for the chance to share the gospel with people. Let me be a bright and shining light in the darkness! Thank you that my ministry was relatively easy for me. Thank you that I've done and am doing things that most people could never do. Let me understand how this ministry is special, unique and worth doing. Lift me up and don't let me get discouraged. Remove the evil ones from my presence. Help me to have love for all people and abstain from evil.

Thank you that the open relay site was up and running. Thank you for the dynamics of this ministry. Help me to appreciate them and keep finding multiple and alternate ways of doing things. Thank you for the way some things stay the same, but some things "evolve" and improve. Let me roll with the punches and keep being innovative.

Thank you for the hour a day that I've devoted to playing the guitar. Help me to play it early in the day and not leave it until the last minute. Thank you for the way that You increase my talents and help me learn songs. Let me have great discipline and play with all my heart.

When I move to El Cajon, help me to find some great, Christian musicians that can jam, create songs, learn them and play for people. Let me fulfill the dream of playing in a band, again. Simply lead the way and show me who is reliable and the best people for the band.

Thank you that I was offered a spot on a soccer team. Thank you that I had to decline because it was too far to drive. Help me to find a great team, when the time is right. Thank you for having perfect timing and sometimes wanting me to wait for things. Open those doors one day. Lead me to another opportunity and let it be perfect for me and for them. Meanwhile, increase my skills and my athleticism.

Thank you that I get to watch a funny show on tv, soon. Thank you that I have the profanity filter, just in case there are some bad words. I pray that it filters everything bad. Thank you so much for that device! I pray that lots and lots of people will get them and turn to Christ for purity. Thank you for the way shows are so much more enjoyable without the bad and foul language.

Thank you that Sarine can visit her parents on Monday. Let her have fun and be safe. Thank you that she'll be able to do the laundry up there. Let her enjoy her visit and get home at an early hour.

Thank you that I work on the devotions, Mondays. Let me enjoy myself as I prepare the message. Help it to reach all the recipients and not just some of them. Do miracles, so the emailing system and the software and internet send the messages to everyone without any errors.

Give us some great, sunny days. Thank you that we live close to the beach, so it doesn't get too hot. Thank you for the cool temperatures and the clouds. Let there be some awesome sunsets, soon. Thank you for the extra hour of daylight!

Thank you for our youth group at FFC. Help them to grow spiritually and really take something away from the conference they attended. Spark revival in their hearts and let them embrace You with everything they have. Thank you for the curiosity in their hearts. Thank you for being ready and willing to fill every one of them.

Thank you for the new book I began reading, today! Thank you for all of the biblical prophecies that Jesus Christ fulfilled. Thank you for the incredible, mind-boggling truth of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Thank you for people who have charted all of the fulfilled prophecies. Let them be a bright beacon to the ones who are wondering about their origin, their purpose and how God should fit into their life. Thank you for proving Jesus is the Messiah by having Him fit an incredibly narrow criteria. Let Christians read the prophecies and have deeper faith.

Thank you for the Crusade that Miles is going to have, Friday. Thank you that we get to hear Switchfoot and The Kry! Bless those bands and sanctify everyone who comes. Save many people and let everyone see You more clearly, Lord. Let us have a fun time and see lots of our friends there. Praise You for being faithful to us.

Praise You for doing mighty miracles that we can't do. Thank you for holding everything in the palm of your hand. Thank you for being uncreated and eternal. Help us to understand your mind-blowing nature. Praise You for showing us a lot of You, but having so much more that we can't comprehend. Help us to be on-fire for You.

Help me to continue finding and reading books on You. Give me great discernment, so I can discover which books are worth my time and which books aren't. Thank you for giving me a lot of sound authors to choose from. Thank you for giving me the web, so I can find rare and out of print books; or simply cheaper and used books! Thank you for my incredible library that's growing and growing. Help nothing to happen to my books.

Thank you for all of the Christian authors and artists that have inspired me. Give them special blessings. Thank you for the ones who have been unafraid and unashamed of You! Give your chosen ones more boldness and courage! Don't let anything chase us from following You. Remind us of the rewards for following You and the punishments for walking off the path.

We love You and praise You, Lord. Thank you for being so worthy of our praise and devotion! In Jesus' name, Amen.

April 14, 2002 - Day 7

Thank you that today was a great day, Lord! Thank you for the awesome church service. Bless our friends from church. Thank you that they love You and want to know You badly. Help everyone to grow spiritually and stay on the right path.

Comfort the ones who don't have a church. Help them to find a great church. Thank you for providing audio tapes, video tapes, tv sermons, web sermons, web sites, books and so many more things that people can use to be spiritually fed! Help people to remember these things and stop making excuses.

Thank you that I could rest, today. Bless me, increase my ministry, lay your hand on me and keep me from evil.

Thank you for the emails I received. Let me write everyone with love and truth. Thank you for the avid atheist who assaults me and Kent Hovind. Bless him and help him to repent. Thank you for rewarding me when I'm persecuted on Earth! Praise You!

Thank you for prospering me. Thank you for the lines of credit You have given Sarine and I. Help us to use them wisely and pay them off, soon. Thank you that it is much more than we deserve or need. Give us great wisdom, so we can manage our finances well and not accrue lots of interest on our debts.

Thank you that we can live in a nice apartment. Thank you that it doesn't leak, it's in a safe neighborhood, the neighbors are cordial, it's near the things we like, etc. Help our next place to be nice and in a nice location, too.

Thank you that I could do a search on the internet and find all kinds of places for rent. Thank you for already preparing the right one for us. Help us not to worry or be anxious. Thank you for wanting everything to work out, wonderfully, in your timing.

Thank you for the stars that fill the sky! Thank you for the wonderful and beautiful things that You give us. Thank you for the way the stars appear to twinkle. Thank you for the awesome solar system and the other solar systems in our galaxy. Thank you for the galaxies that exist. Help us to understand how You are an infinite God. Thank you that nothing can contain You!

Thank you for making us in your image. Thank you for wanting us to know what You know, but protecting us from many things. Help us to see how we need You. Help us to see that we don't need many other things that we think we need.

Praise You for being the most satisfying person in the universe! Thank you for being the One that everyone needs!

Thank you for all the books that I've read. Bless those authors. Thank you for the way You have made people brilliant. Praise You for exalting the humble and making the ones that drop earthly wisdom very wise in your eyes.

Let people be prepared to unlearn what they have learned when they come to the knowledge of You. Thank you for being the author of truth and life. Let us see You how You really are and know that there are many liars in this world. Help the lies to be exposed. Help the false belief systems, like evolution, to be recognized as such and discarded. Forgive the ones that have ignored the truth in your Word and in the geological sciences and decided to wholeheartedly embrace a theory that says we are descendants of apes.

Thank you that we could have some great worship, earlier. Thank you for giving me great discipline, so I can play the guitar for an hour each day. Thank you for the old worship songs I played. Let Sarine and I keep having great times of worship. Help me to memorize old songs and new ones.

Thank you for the lesson I get to teach, Sunday. Let me be totally prepared. Help me to make some flyers, too. Thank you that I have awesome resources that have taught me about prayer. Let me be a diligent student and a loving teacher.

Increase my talents and skills. Let me be a godlier person. Let me use all of my gifts for your glory and for the edification of others.

Thank you for helping me to finally understand the meaning of life. Forgive me for being disillusioned as a child. Thank you for teaching me so much from your Word.

Thank you for the people I used to know. Bless and help them. Thank you for the way that I was impacted and the way I impacted them. Thank you for the lessons I've learned and taught.

Thank you that I live in the United States. Help this country to remain safe, even though many other parts of the world are in chaos. Thank you so much that I can walk down the street, drive my car, go to the store or to the beach and I don't have to worry or think about terror or war! Thank you for the peace that we experience here.

Help people to analyze their lives and realize that this nation may be considered a Christian nation, but it is far from one. Thank you for the ways You've shown me that I need to clean up my life. Thank you for the steps of faith that I've been able to take. Help me to take even more.

Thank you that I've set aside 30 minutes a day to pray. Thank you for helping me do things like this from time to time. Help me to have a lifestyle of prayer and continue doing this after my 50 days are finished.

Let me get my errands done, tomorrow. Help me to have great joy as I drive around and accomplish things. Thank you that my chores are relatively simple. Let me get all of them done.

Help me to have a great workout, tomorrow. Thank you that I can go to the gym and lift weights. Thank you for the exercise bikes. Help people to realize how much exercise benefits the body. However, help everyone to prioritize their spiritual fitness and not neglect either.

Thank you for the funny show that I get to watch in 10 minutes! Thank you for this devoted time of prayer. Thank you for the people who make me laugh. Bless them and help them to stay pure and clean.

Thank you that I get to go to Biola on Tuesday and hear J.P. Moreland speak! Give him some awesome words. Help him to share your truth, Lord. Thank you for letting me go there for free. Thank you that it isn't too far away. Help me to leave in plenty of time and get there early, so I can get a great seat and relax.

Help Sarine to feel well. Take away her sickness and let the pregnancy go well. Thank you that she is a godly girl and maintains a good attitude, generally. Give her hope and courage. Thank you that she has decided to be bold and live a life of faith with me! Thank you for the light that she is. Bless her and purify her. Thank you for the chance to be with her and lead her. Help me to be a better leader and a better husband for her.

Thank you for being bigger than my mind can grasp. Thank you for being so holy and perfect. Help me to dream about You and try and find more of You. Thank you for letting sanctification be a lifelong process. Thank you for letting it occupy my life.

Increase the love I have for You and the love I have for others. Give me a pure and genuine love for people, Lord. Thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit! Let me be filled with your Spirit, Lord. Thank you for wanting me to be saved and filled. Thank you for teaching me great things and doing it so gently and purposefully. Help me to see your ways and appreciate them.

Thank you for being such a graceful God. Thank you for being such a great teacher and friend. Help me to understand how You lead me and do the things You do. Thank you for being tangible and present.

Thank you for the ones who have invested in me. Bless them and lift them up. Thank you for the ones who have given to JCSM. Bless them greatly and rise up more givers, Lord. Let more and more people support your ministry on the web. Thank you for the patience you are teaching me, now. Thank you for the way You are making my faith grow (and the faith of several others) because of your timing. You are an awesome God. Your ways are past finding out.

To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever! In Jesus' name, Amen.

April 15, 2002 - Day 8

I prayed in the devotions.

April 16, 2002 - Day 9

Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this time of prayer and relaxation.

Bless me, increase my ministry, lay your hand on me and keep me from evil. Thank you for having patience with me. Thank you for teaching me how to have patience with others.

Praise You for being such a good and awesome God! There is no other God like You. You are perfect and praiseworthy.

Lift me up and give me lots of energy, Lord. Thank you for energizing your people and empowering them to do your will.

We love You, Lord. You are the almighty One. You are the first and the last. You are the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Thank you for giving us life.

Thank you for the gentle breeze that is blowing the trees, bushes and plants. Thank you for the gentle sounds outside. Thank you for the warm, Spring weather! Thank you for the times when it's still a little cold.

Thank you that I could go to Guitar Center, today! Increase my talents on the guitar. Help me to play to glorify You. Thank you for the melodies and songs that are in my head and heart. Help me to create new ones, so I can praise You in new and other ways.

Thank you for my friends that email me. Bless them. Give us all more godliness. Help me to be a good and loving friend.

Thank you for this internet ministry. Thank you for all the things that I do on the web. Help me to have plenty of time for all the work You have for me. Thank you that I can make this ministry my number one occupation, now. Let me do all of the usual work and think of new things to do, too.

Thank you for the ones who don't know or understand You. Let them read the Word and discover that Jesus Christ is God's Son and the redeemer of humankind. Praise You for giving us such an exciting story. Thank you for the ones who excitedly accept You as their personal Lord and Savior! Help us to remember the joy that we had when we first accepted You.

Give us more joy, Lord. Thank you for putting a smile on our face. Praise You for giving us pure and healthy things to enjoy. Help us to see things like You do. Help us to take every thought and every sight captive and compare them to your Word to see if they are worthy of our time or not. Let us keep unholy forms of entertainment away from us.

Purify society. Help Hollywood to produce movies without foul language. Help people to stop watching movies that don't glorify You! Let people see things like You would and deny evil movies. Thank you for the discernment to see what is right and what is wrong. Keep me from watching things that I shouldn't watch. Thank you for impressing upon me the importance of a pure mind and heart. Whatever I can control, I will be holy.

Thank you for Sarine. Thank you that she's a good helper and friend. Bless her and lift her up. Help her back not to hurt. Help her to enjoy her job. Thank you that she likes helping me do my internet ministry. Bless and reward her for being a faithful helper.

Thank you that we are having a baby in September! Bless this child. Help him or her to have a safe birth. Thank you that we have been blessed with this child. Help us to have great strength, so we can deal with the changes and the responsibilities. Thank you that Sarine has always liked children and babies a lot.

Thank you that we get to hear Dr. J.P. Moreland speak at Biola, tonight. I hope we get there in plenty of time and get a great seat. Thank you that I can bring my laptop computer. Let me learn some awesome things and even come home with a great, new book.

Thank you that we were allowed to go to the last two seminars at Biola for free! Thank you for making a way for us to do this. I pray that we don't hit any traffic, tonight.

I pray that the ministry mailings are sent without any more problems. Please make a way for this to happen. Thank you for the energy, the desire and the knowledge to make this work. Please help the messages to be sent, when they are supposed to be sent, and not have any unforseen problems. Hold back the Devil and his army. Be glorified, Lord.

Thank you for the new guitar strings and picks! Thank you that I was able to pick up some nice, new and necessary things. I pray that I can re-string my guitar quickly and be playing it again, soon. Thank you for the wisdom to begin playing the guitar, typing prayers and reading the Word before it gets really late. Help me to learn how to prioritize You in my life. Show me how sometimes I have forgotten to do these necessary things or I have put them off. Forgive me, Lord.

Thank you for prompting me to grow spiritually! Thank you for designing this time to be a time of supplication and devotion to You. I pray that everyone can seek You wholeheartedly and accept nothing less than all of You.

Thank you for my guitar equipment! Thank you that I have very nice gear. Thank you for the way You have provided it. Thank you for the awesome way You give me the things I need. Thank you for the contentment I have. Give me more godliness and contentment.

Thank you for the Christian musicians that inspire me! Thank you for the people who have recorded their voice singing and decided to let the world be encouraged with it. Thank you for the way lots of people have decided to praise You and love You. Thank you that I can get Christian music from all over the world via my Christian book store and computer. Praise You!

Let people know that in this day and age of churches on every corner, Bibles everywhere, free internet Bibles, enormous Bible research programs, tons of Christian music and much more, there is absolutely no excuse for ignoring You or deciding not to taste and see that You are good.

Thank you for my new bank account. Thank you that they were able to cash my checks without any problems or questions. Thank you that there were no holds or anything. Thank you for providing this bank for me.

Help the flowers that we have to continue to grow and look nice. Keep the bugs way from them. Thank you for the chance to have beautiful flowers in a planter that we can see through the window.

Teach me your ways, Lord! Help me to walk in your truth and obey your statutes. Thank you for not trying to trick us or have us guess what You want. Thank you for laying it out very clearly in your awesome Word. Praise You for being unambiguous. Help people to see your character and not fear because You have told us what You want.

Thank you for the chance to do Bible research and find great things. Thank you for the handful of things that inspire me each and every week to write devotions. Thank you that I'm not straining to find things that inspire me or make me stand in awe of You. Thank you for piquing my curiosity!

Thank you for the problem that we are having with the sink and the plumbing. Thank you that we live in an apartment, so they are trying to fix it. Thank you for the management and the way the are trying to get this task accomplished. Bless the maintenance guy. Thank you that he didn't use the Lord's name in vain, even though he could have. Bless him and his family.

Thank you for giving me fun and interesting work. Thank you for giving me hard, tedious work, but making it interesting and exciting. Thank you for the people who email me and need help. Bless them and help me to help them. Help me not to grow weary in giving people godly advice and praying for them. Thank you for putting me in this place.

Thank you for the people who keep saying kind things about my web pages. Help me to make the fonts a little bigger, so people who have trouble seeing can see them better. Thank you for letting me see that clip on the news about elderly people not being able to read web sites very well.

To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever! In Jesus' name, Amen.

April 17, 2002 - Day 10

Thank you for this day, Lord. Thank you for the things You taught me.

Thank you for the patience You are teaching me concerning the people who don't respond to my emails. Thank you for all of those people. Bless them and encourage me. Thank you for the relationships I have and the people that are reliable.

Thank you that I had an awesome workout at the gym! Thank you that I could ride the exercise bike for 40 minutes and burn 283 calories! Thank you for the way that body reacts to exercise. Let me understand my body more and more.

Thank you that I could do several leg exercises. Help my muscles to heal and grow quickly. Thank you for giving me the ability to improve and shape my body.

Thank you that I could write a new song, today! Thank you for the way You helped me make it rhyme and convey a message. Thank you for the melody and the strumming patterns, too. Thank you for giving me the ability to create music! Help me to understand how this works and how it's an awesome gift. Let me keep making more and more songs, Lord.

Thank you that Sarine liked my song. Bless her and encourage her. Thank you for her love for You and me.

Thank you that her and I could go to Bible study, together. Thank you for the great worship and the friends we saw. Bless them and keep them strong and safe. Thank you for the speaker. Bless him and help him to stay close to You and your Word. Let him be genuine and righteous.

Thank you for teaching us so much in your Word. You are an awesome God! Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit. Give us more faith, love and purity, Lord. Help us to grow in the knowledge of You.

Thank you for the new things in my life. Thank you for always bringing new and interesting things to me, Lord.

Thank you for the Chinese International Bible Society. Thank you that they want to use my pictures of Israel on their web site and publications. Bless them and prosper their ministry. Help their ministry to bring more people to Christ and to my web pages.

Thank you for the Lion Television Network. Thank you that they are interested in giving me a television show. Let them enjoy the audio cd I sent them. Thank you that they are Christians and are willing to give shows to people who love Jesus. Let us spread the good news across the world. If this is best for me, then open all of the necessary doors, Lord. I know You can do it. It's up to You.

Thank you that Sarine was able to type my entire journal from Israel! Thank you that I can post it on the web, now. Bless everyone who reads it. Thank you for the awesome things that happened when I was in Israel.

Thank you that I can put unique and personal things on my web page! Thank you for the inspiration that You give me. Help me to hear You when you shout and when You whisper. Thank you for wanting to instruct me and help me. Let me do things your way and not insist on my own way. Thank you for knowing how to reach people and helping me do this.

Thank you for all of the cool programs that I have on this computer. Thank you for the things that You've given me. Thank you for the interesting things that You continue to teach me and show me. Help me to do more and more.

Let me do a live webcast on the internet! Show me how to broadcast a live, audio show. Thank you for the contacts I have that can help me. Cause the right people to show me how to do this. Thank you for the cable modem connection.

(2 hours later)

Thank you for letting me broadcast live over the web! Praise You for answering that prayer request so quickly! Thank you for Aaron and how he helped me test it and get it started. Show me what capacity I'm to use this new medium. Thank you for the awesome way You work. You are my Lord.

Let me broadcast mp3s, gospel messages and more. Let me find a great time to broadcast, so people will be listening. Thank you for the possibilities involved with this new medium.

Thank you that it's late and I'm still awake. Thank you for the incredible energy that You give me. When I'm feeling low or weak, help me to pray to you, immediately. Thank you for lifting me up and giving me strength to carry on.

Thank you for the student I saw in the gym, yesterday. Thank you that her Mom and Grandma were so kind and kept telling me how much I meant to them and their daughter! Thank you that I was able to make a positive impact on those kids. Bless them and help them to walk in your ways, Lord. You are our awesome God.

Thank you for all of the things you've given to me. Thank you for the things in this apartment. Thank you that I have what I need. Help me to take care of these things and do what is best with them. Show me when I need to give things away and show me when I need to keep them.

Thank you that I've spent so much time away from the Play Station 2, lately. Thank you that I've been so busy with doing spiritual things that I haven't had time for much else!

Thank you that I got to read more of the book "Messiah In Both Testaments", today. Thank you for the awesome, mind-blowing prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. Thank you for the paradoxical prophecies that only He could have ever fulfilled. Thank you that they are difficult for my mind to understand. Give me more knowledge and understanding. Thank you for giving me your Spirit and trying to teach me the things I need to know. Help me to be a willing and open vessel.

Give me a great day, tomorrow. Help me to wake up and feel refreshed. Thank for the sleep that I'll get, soon.

Please help this society to stop gambling. Help the casinos to go out of business and pick a new profession. Help people to stop throwing their money away. Give people more wisdom. Thank you for helping me see the light about gambling. Thank you for teaching me my lesson.

Lord, I pray that I can sell my extra Creed tickets for at least face value. Show me how to sell them, when to sell them and who to sell them to. Thank you for providing me with the extra tickets. Thank you that they are great seats. Thank you that Sarine and I will get to see Creed in May! Remove my worry and help me to know that everything will work out for the best.

Thank you for all the things on my "to do" list! Help me to get them all done. Thank you that I get some things done each day, but don't worry about getting it all done, immediately. Help me to relax and realize I can't do everything, now. Thank you for the things I can do, though.

Thank you for your awesome Word, Lord! Thank you for a supernatural source of truth that lifts us from the mundane things in this world! Praise You for making the discovery of You something that will take a lifetime. Thank you for being so incredible that we can't fully know You until we go to Heaven. Thank you that we are promised such an awesome life after our death! Help us to look to You and remember that our citizenship is in Heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen.