This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

www.JCSM.org

Over 1500 Links!

Hello!

I pray you're having a great week!

Thanks for sending me the great witnessing stories! It was encouraging to read your stories of faith. Please keep being courageous for God!

Many of my web pages have been updated. There are more links and some of the pages have a fresher look. Check them out at www.jcsm.org!

This is Sarine's first week at the Christian daycare. Please pray that she has a great time. She's excited about working with the infants.

A few days ago, Sarine and I visited the Institute for Creation Research Museum (ICR). It was awesome! Over the past several years, they have improved the place. Among the cool things were a model of the Tower of Babel, realistic ice that revealed the Ice Age, real-life sound effects all throughout the museum, ancient artifacts, lots of great books and much more! If you are in San Diego or plan on visiting, you'll have to see ICR! Check out www.icr.org.

Are you in the San Diego area? Do you like great Chinese food? If so, you have to visit the Shanghai Express! The Tangs are a Christian family and they own the restaurant. They've been friends of mine for about twenty years. Here is their address and phone number: 4675 Market Street, #A2, 619-263-3016. They have everything from fried rice, sweet and sour pork and chicken to fried chicken and vegetables!

Know your enemy! Satan is on the loose and looking to destroy us. Discover the truth about him, here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/satan.htm.

Are you near Santa Clara, California? This weekend, Great America is having several Christian musicians perform. On the 18th and 19th, Third Day, Point of Grace, P.O.D., Jennifer Knapp, FFH and more artists will be performing. Call 408-998-8497 for tickets!

God bless you as you seek and find the Lord! Like it takes work for a seed to sprout, it takes work for us to grow spiritually. Be determined to know and love God more. He will bless and reward you.

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

This is your ministry, so please feel free to link to JCSM and forward these devotions to your friends and family. On the JCSM website, there are over 1500 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 46,000 hits!

If this ministry has touched you in a special way, please pray and consider sending a gift to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries. On the web, we're encouraging the believers and sharing the gospel with unbelievers. We're also doing counseling on a regular basis. As we do full-time ministry on the web, love and help others, there is never a charge for our time and services.

Would you like to support God's work on the web? You can join us in our vision to reach people on the web with the good news! Please email me or see our address below.

Welcome to the new screen names or recipients of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection, the Bible trivia question, last week's trivia answer and the quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Hell Exists"

2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment."

James 3:6 "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."

Luke 12:5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"

Mark 9:43-49 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched - where 'Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.' And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched - where 'Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.' And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire - where 'Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.'"

Matthew 23:15, 33 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"

Matthew 5:22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."

Prayer: "Thank you for warning us about Hell, Lord. Thank you for describing it to us. Help us to value our salvation. Help us to tell others about You! Thank you for giving us eternal life! Thank you for giving us life with You! Remind us that many people are going to Hell. Help us to pray for them. Give us courage, so we can share the good news with them. Remove our worries and insecurities. Help us realize that we can help them change their eternal destiny. Reveal to us the gravity and seriousness of Hell. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Get Filled With His Spirit!"

Ephesians 5:18-21 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God."

Ephesians 3:16-19 "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

Acts 13:52 "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."

Luke 1:15, 67, 68 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 'Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people.'"

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to be filled with your Spirit. In addition to the intial filling, fill us up, now! Thank you for giving us your complete Spirit. Thank you for giving us more of your qualities when we ask for them. Make us like You, Lord. Let us feel your Spirit within us. Bless us. Help us to always seek You and the filling of your Spirit. Let us be discontent with ungodliness and lukewarmness. Help us to seek all of the fruits of your Spirit! Forgive us for complacency. Forgive us for having little faith. Increase our faith and love! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "God is Never Wrong"

Daniel 9:14b "For the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice."

Hebrews 6:18b "It is impossible for God to lie."

John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Psalm 18:30a "As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven;"

Romans 3:4a "Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar."

Prayer: "Thank you for being right, Lord. Thank you for being so perfect and true! There is no other God like You! Thank you that no man can prove You have lied. Thank you for always being faithful to your promises. Help us to be truthful and help us to keep our promises. Thank you for actually being the truth! Let us see You how You truly are. Forgive us for seeing you in a wrong light. Purify us. Shine through us, Lord. Reveal to us the truth of your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Satan"

2 Corinthians 11:14b "For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light."

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

Isaiah 14:12-15 " "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit."

Revelation 20:1-3, 10 "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

Prayer: "Thank you for revealing Satan, his origin, his ways and his end to us. Thank you for giving us so much awesome information in the Bible. Help us to understand what You are saying to us. Protect us from Satan, Lord. Bless us and lift us up. Reveal his evil ways. Give us peace and help us to win our spiritual battles. Keep us from evil. Thank you for being so much more powerful than Satan. Thank you for giving us strength to overcome temptation. Thank you for giving us wisdom to flee from evil. Help us to stay away from bad situations. Give us more wisdom and strength. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Demon Possession is Real"

Mark 5:9-13 "Then He asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.' Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, 'Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.' And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea."

Mark 9:33 "And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, 'It was never seen like this in Israel!'"

Matthew 17:18 "And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour."

Mark 7:26-30 "The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, 'Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.' And she answered and said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs.' Then He said to her, 'For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.' And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed."

Prayer: "Thank you for showing us the reality of demons and demon possession. Protect us from demons, Lord. Thank you for making it impossible for a believer to be possessed by a demon! Show us where the demons are and who has them. Give us the spiritual strength to cast them out with your power. Praise You for doing mighty things and wanting to do incredible things through us! Give us the courage to do them. Help us to pray and do your will. Speak to us, Lord. Direct us. Let us be sensitive to your Spirit. Remove our fear and help us be godly. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Christ Died to Save Everyone"

1 Corinthians 7:19-21 "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called."

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."

Luke 19:10 "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Matthew 18:14 "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

Prayer: "Thank you for dying for us, Lord. Thank you for wanting us to see You and go to Heaven. Thank you for choosing us for salvation. Bless us, Lord. Lift us up. Save more people. Cause the believers to pursue a deeper relationship with You. Remind us that there isn't much time left before the rapture and tribulation. Help us to live like there isn't much time left. Don't let us be lazy. Give us love for the lost. Let us see them how You do. Let us speak your words of truth and watch what they do. Praise You for putting such great power in the truth of You and your Word! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Christ's Unique Death"

John 10:18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

Luke 23:46 "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last."

Hebrews 9:26 "He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."

1 Peter 2:24 "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed."

Hebrews 2:14 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."

Prayer: "Thanks for your unique and awesome death, Lord! Thank you for dying for me and everyone else. Thank you for being perfect and not deserving death. Praise You because your death was voluntary, volitional, sacrificial, substitionary and victorious! There was no other life like yours and there was no other death like yours! Thank you for loving us more than we realize and more than we even love ourselves. Thank you for having the highest hopes for us. Let us trust You more. Help us to obey You closer. Thank you for having such great mercy and grace on us! There's no other God like You. To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Read a book of the Bible! Choose any book you wish. Read it from beginning to end! God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

The Moment of Introspection

"Don't put yourself in a bad position, sin, then blame God that the temptation was too much for you." This quote was summarized from a statement made by Greg Laurie.

Most Christians would never use the phrase, "The devil made me do it." We realize that Satan tempts us and we fall into temptation or we stand firm. Satan can't literally make us sin.

However, sometimes we do put ourselves in terrible situations and wonder why God didn't protect or deliver us. Why do we do this? Don't we realize that we should listen to God's voice before we put ourselves in compromising positions?

If we can pray, seek God and His wisdom before we put ourselves in situations where we will have a very hard time staying godly, we will have a better chance of staying pure and abstaining from sin.

Next time you hear God telling you to avoid a certain person, place of thing, consider it. Stop and pray. Listen to what God is telling you. You are in control of where you go. Don't put yourself in compromising positions.

The Bible Trivia Question

What did God create on the 5th day?

Last Week's Bible Trivia Answer

FALSE. "God helps those that help themselves" is not in the Bible.

Quotations

God allows people to be tested and endure hardships, but His love for them never diminishes.

In the end of our trials, God is glorified and godly people are more mature.

Don't get angry at God.

Believe that the devil is involved in the "bad things" in life.

God has helped me through the worst parts of my life and the problems that were once enormous are now absent from my memory.

Satan has access to every part of my life.

The devil will try and get you to worry about things that will never happen.

Bad things happen to you because the devil wants to ruin your relationship with God.

Every time Satan spoke in the Bible He was trying to destroy someone's relationship with God.

Without God, we are helpless to fight the devil.

Use problems to strengthen your character and bring glory to God.

No matter how powerfully troubles crush, God's hold is more powerful.

Do you define "bad things" as things you don't expect? Things that change your schedule? Things that require you to have faith?

Read the Bible and pray because you want God's presence and will.

What does the devil have to do to get you to curse God?

Do you watch and support tv shows with homosexual or witch characters?

God allows things to happen in our lives for a perfect reason.

Worship God because He's always right.

Are there conditions on your love for God?

Place your hope in God's eternal home, not Heaven-on-Earth.

Be careful in your assumptions.

Don't judge too quickly because only God knows all the details of every situation.

Refuse to be proud.

Use your knowledge as a gift from God for the good of others.

What problem in your life is the devil using to try and make you curse God?

The day you were saved was the day your eternal destiny was changed.

It's amazing that God sees me more righteous than I see myself.

Be determined to worship God when you hear worship music.

A spiritual pacifist is a spiritual casualty.

You may be resisting the gross and "serious" sins, but don't let Satan (the angel that can appear like an angel of light) in the back door.

Satan is nowhere near the equal of God.

Satan is not omniscient, omnipotent or omnipresent.

The devil can do nothing in the life of a Christian without God's consent.

Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself.

Don't put yourself in a bad position, sin, then blame God that the temptation was too much for you.

When the devil tempts you and knocks on your door, have God answer.

Satan has an effective, ranked, spiritual army at his disposal.

Jesus won't allow your life to be a time share program.

You're playing with fire if you're consulting witches, mediums, fortune tellers or doing drugs.

Drugs usher in demonic possession or oppression.

The devil doesn't want you to know that he is accusing you before God.

Know the difference between Satan's accusations and the Holy Spirit's convicting.

When the Holy Spirit convicts you, He uses the Word of God, in love, to restore your relationship with Christ.

Satan will accuse you and make you feel worthless and distant from God.

The Holy Spirit will lead you to the cross. Satan will lead you away from it.

Satan is the prosecuting attorney and Jesus is our defense.

On judgment day, our good works won't outweigh our sins.

Anything besides Christ is a cheap substitute.

Have you ever responded to God's offer of forgiveness?

God wants you to change your eternal address from Hell to Heaven.

What we love, we shall grow to resemble.

The hand of God is available to every believer that asks.

Like any loving Dad at the playground, God is watching and waiting for you to ask for the supernatural power He offers.

For the Christian, dependence is another word for power.

You and I are always only one plea away from inexplicable, spirit-enabled exploits.

Notice that our God is not simply scanning the horizon for spiritual giants or seminary standouts. God eagerly seeks those who are sincerely loyal to Him.

By far our most important strategy for defeating the roaring lion is to stay out of the arena.

As your life transcends the ordinary and starts to encroach on new territory for God, you're invading Satan's turf.

Success brings greater opportunities for failure.

If you're not experiencing any spiritual warfare, perhaps Satan doesn't see you as a threat.

God longs to hear you plead for safekeeping from evil.

The most effective war against sin is to pray that we will not have to fight.

Do we really understand how far the American Dream is from God's dream for us?

Satan opposes those who are becoming the greatest threat to him and his kingdom.

In God's kingdom, the safest investment also shows the most remarkable growth.

Equal access to God's favor does not add up to equal reward.

God favors those who ask and He holds nothing back from those who want and earnestly long for what He wants.

In Heaven, will God show you everything He wanted to accomplish through you, but couldn't because you didn't ask?

Winning honor from God nearly always means leaving mediocre expectations and comfortable assumptions behind.

Have you ever seen the Holy Spirit break through emotional and spiritual barriers right before your eyes?

How would your day unfold if you believed that God wants your borders expanded at all times with every person?

Let God accomplish, in the supernatural realm, what we cannot.

Your Father knows your gifts, your hindrances and the condition you're in at every moment.

God knows every person who is desperately in need of receiving His touch through you.

Sin breaks the flow of God's power.

The only thing that can break the cycle of abundant living is sin.

Will you let God work in your life, regardless of what He chooses?

Do you value your relationships enough?

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), Bruce Wilkinson, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Greg Laurie, ICR and Miles McPhearson.

These quotes can be used for sanctification and fun. Most of them are directly based on scripture and scriptural principles. Some of my quotes are humorous or rhetorical. Some are written from sermons and Bible studies. Others are lyrics from songs. If you'd like me to go into more detail on any of them, please email me.

Like most verses in the Bible, they can be debated. To use what I have written in the most beneficial way, try and trace them back to the scriptures they were derived from and apply the true principles to your life in a meaningful way! Please don't sell my quotes or publish them for profit. If English is not your first language, you may not understand some of the quotes. I'm sorry, but some of them are English metaphors and deal with multiple word meanings. God bless you all!

Please make a commitment to pray for this ministry. As every believer is tempted and tried, this ministry faces trials also. God has blessed me, JCSM and the people who have been reached! Unfortunately, the enemy knows this and spiritual warfare is the result. Please, at least pray that the devotions continue to be sent religiously, the web pages stay on the www and the subscribers are blessed, sanctified and protected from evil. Thank you very much in advance!

Do you want to help people receive the good news? We have sent over 500,000 emails, encouraging people with God's Word! Please join us in the great commission. 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 me and my ministry, please send it 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. Hundreds of web pages have been created 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. We're certain there will be more ways to reach people in the future. Along with getting support, we also give support! I regularly give to my church and frequently give to needy people. Lastly, I do a lot of research on religious topics on the internet and library. You will definitely see the results of our work and your support, in the web pages, and in the weekly devotional messages!

For more about me and my service history, go to http://resume.jcsm.org. For what I do, my ministries and giving, go to http://vision.jcsm.org.

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Go here to donate free Bibles to people: http://www.TheBibleSite.org. If you want to join an organization that helps feed and clothe poor people, check into World Vision. You can see their site here: www.worldvision.com.

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Since April of 1997, the weekly devotional message has been sent on the internet. This message currently reaches over 13,000 people in 98 countries. To read a list of these countries, go here: http://www.jcsm.org/misc/countries.htm. To read the archived devotions online, go here: http://devos.jcsm.org.

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