"Excel At Your Work" - #371

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Hello!

I pray that you had a great weekend.

I'm debating Dr. Eddie Tabash on 9-11 at the Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference in San Diego (http://macsd.org).  Please pray that it goes well.  He is an atheist and there will be many atheists representing their side at the Bible conference.

During the debate, Eddie and I will be asking each other a few questions.  We will also be taking questions from the audience.  If you cannot make it, please email me your questions.  We may be able to use it in the debate!

Right now, my wife is looking for some work as a baby sitter/child care worker.  I'm looking for a few more guitar students.  Please pray that God will bring these people to us.  We want to use our gifts for His glory and bless others while we work through JCSM to reach people for Christ.

I've been diagnosed with ulnar tunnel syndrome.  It's caused by hard chair arms and putting continual pressure on your forearm.  I think I've caught it early, so I'm going to pray it goes away while stretching a lot and doing some hand exercises.  Please pray with me that I don't need surgery because I would have to avoid playing the guitar and typing with my right hand for awhile.  This would be a very bad thing for a person like me who teaches guitar lessons and has an internet ministry!

In addition to the UTS, I also have some discomfort in my abdomen.  I generally don't mention aches and pains unless they persist after seeing a doctor.  In this case, I saw two doctors last week and they ran some tests.  I'll be getting the results on Tuesday, but it has been a bit uncomfortable over the past week and the unnerving thing is that I don't know what the problem is.  I'm turning 30 this week and I feel like I'm falling apart!  *smile*  Your prayers and encouragement are appreciated, though.

Would you like a daily dose of godly wisdom?  Click http://jcsm.org/Wisdom.htm for JCSM's Quote of the Day!

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Welcome to the new readers of this message!  Here is your Devotion, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the Word of the Week, a faith-builder from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained," and the Quotes of the Week.  Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason Gastrich

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

JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"Excel At Your Work"

Proverb 22:29  "Do you see a man who excels in his work?  He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men."

Ephesians 4:11-13  "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"

Colossians 3:23  "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men."

Insight: After you discover your spiritual gifts, you need to hone and strengthen them, so you excel at your work.  Have you discovered your gifts?  If not, see the link to the spiritual gifts test in our Challenge.  If you know your gifts, are you enhancing them by exercising them for God's glory?  Do your best to excel at your work and improve and strengthen your gifts.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us spiritual gifts, Lord.  Thank you for giving those that have your Holy Spirit gifts that we can use for your kingdom and for the edification of others.  Thank you for the ways that you bless us as we bless You and others!  You are an awesome God.  Help us see and understand your ways and your purposes.  Help those that don't realize their gifts to take the spiritual gifts test and discover them.  We love You, Lord.  To You be the glory, honor, and praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

A Moment of Introspection

Many people are living like basketball players when they should be living like football players.  Basketball players whine to the official when they get pushed and ask them to stop the game because of a foul.  Football players keep playing and roughing it through the game without stopping.

Take a spiritual gifts test!  If you don't know your spiritual gifts, you need to discover them.  By taking a quick test, you'll see where God has gifted you.

Please download the free, spiritual gifts test here: http://jcsm.org/misc/spiritualgiftstest.pdf.  God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

ex-psookay (Greek, see Colossians 3:23) - from, by, or with the spirit

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 13:15 - God promises Abram and his descendants all of the land of Canaan. But according to Acts 7:5 and Heb.11:13, God's promise to Abram was not fulfilled.

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

God gave all of this land to Abram and his descendants.  It was their spiritual inheritance and gift.  Simply because they haven't always occupied every inch of it doesn't mean it isn't theirs.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

If you don't know your skill, how can your dream come true?

Your strength is something you consistently do very well.

Make your strengths stronger.  Your strengths have the biggest potential for growth.

Don't worry about making your weaknesses as strong as your strengths.

Ask God what you need to do.

Are you working on your skills?

God refines you through trials and through godly friends.

Get a friend who loves you to ask the difficult questions and pray for you.

No man except you can thwart God's purpose for you.

If I'm on track, God's plan will be fulfilled through me.

If you are really good at what you do, people will seek you.

No matter what you go through, you don't have the right to be bitter toward God.

We complain about ridiculous things.

Good things happen to those that pray and work while they wait.

Remain faithful through your trials.

God will put you in a place to use your skills, so be prepared.

These quotes came from God, me, Miles McPhearson.

Do you need more quotes?  We have thousands in our archives!  They are located here: http://quotes.jcsm.org.

These quotes can be used for sanctification and fun.  Most of them are directly based on scripture and scriptural principles.  Some of the quotes are humorous or rhetorical, others are written from sermons and Bible studies, and some 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 written religiously, the web pages stay on the www and the readers are blessed, sanctified and protected from evil.  Thank you very much in advance!

Do you want to help people receive the good news?  We’re reaching new people every day with God’s awesome Word!  If God has blessed you and you wish to send a love offering to JCSM, please send your gift to the address below.

You can join our vision and help this ministry!  Your donations will keep these ministries running and further our visions for evangelism.  We host tens of thousands of web pages to lead people to the Lord.  Frequently, we make new ones and they are used to bring more and more people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

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!  Either email me for more information or simply go here: http://vision.jcsm.org.

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization.  If you wish to send support, please make checks payable to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries.  If you are sending support or simply want to contact us through the regular mail, here is our mailing address:

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

3219 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. #212

San Diego, CA 92117

Along with getting support, we also give support!  JCSM regularly gives to churches, Christian ministries, and needy people.  Another function of this ministry is to do counseling.  We are always answering questions about life, the Lord and everything in between.  Lastly, we do a lot of research on religious topics on the internet and library.  You will definitely see the results of our hard work and your loving support, in the web pages, and in the weekly devotions!

For more about me and my service history, go to http://jcsm.org/misc/JasonGastrich.htm.

If you have never repented from your sins and believed, trusted, and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please email me!  I would love to share the gospel with you.  The Bible is very straightforward when it speaks about Heaven, Hell and eternal life.  If there is any doubt that you are going to Heaven when you die, please let me know today!  If you’d like to discover the biblical doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ, please go here: Audio Gospel Message - http://www.jcsm.org/godsplan/TheGospel.mp3. or the Textual Gospel Message - http://gospel.jcsm.org.

Fishes and Loaves (FALO) is a great, missions organization.  They have helped many people embark on missions trips to the uttermost parts of the world.  If you are interested in missions, please visit http://www.gofalo.net.

Do you need to find a solid, Christian church?  I've attended numerous, Calvary Chapel churches and I've been very blessed by their Bible-based sermons, inspiring worship, and kind members.  If you don't have a home church, if you're traveling, or if you need to find a new church, I recommend visiting the following site and locating a Calvary Chapel near you: http://www.calvarychapel.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 not perish, but have everlasting life."