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Hello!

We hope you enjoy this week's dose of God's titillating Word!

We've improved our Contents and Bible Lessons pages. There are categories, now, so they are much more navigable. From the main site, just click either Contents or Bible Lessons and you'll see how much easier it is to find what you need.

Five new Bible lessons have been added to JCSM! These are the subjects: "Origen Refutes Celsus' Logic and Validity, 10 Reasons to Believe in Christianity, Is History Objective?, Where Did Cain Get His Wife? and Three Days and Three Nights?". Please come and visit. You'll be encouraged!

One of the most awesome things that we've added is 25 more Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled! Now, we have a list of 60 Old Testament, Messianic prophecies and the scriptures that show how Jesus fulfilled them in the New Testament! I highly encouraged you to see this site and even show it to a friend. It will really increase your faith! Link: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/FMP.htm.

Do you have a picture of a well? We're looking for a picture of an old-fashioned, water well, so please email us if you can help.

Please pray for Matt Slick (Christian Apologetics Research Ministry) and Bill McKeever (Mormon Research Ministry). Both of these evangelists are leading witnessing groups in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since the Olympics are there, they wanted to give people the good news and minister to the enormous Mormon population.

Have you lost contact with some of your high school or college friends? Recently, I found a lot of my old friends on Classmates.com. They have lists of alumni and email addresses from schools all across the country. If you have friends from school that you haven't contacted or seen in a long time, this site is worth visiting.

World Vision's yearly, 30 Hour Famine is this Friday and Saturday. Please pray and consider fasting with them. They are also trying to raise money to give to starving families. Their web site is here: http://www.worldvision.org.

Last week, there was an odd quirk with our web site. For some reason, AOL stopped allowing our site address to work without the file name. After I added the file name to the web redirection, it worked fine. I'm sorry if you tried to access the site and were given an error message.

Recently, I found a couple online Bibles in different languages. If you'd like to see or forward a Hindi or Malayalam Bible, here they are! Links: http://www.Hindibible.org and http://www.Malayalambible.org.

I just finished an awesome book by Hal Lindsey. Nearly twenty years ago, "The Promise of Bible Prophecy" was penned. This book is incredible because it shows numerous prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. It also explains the circumstances around each fulfillment and has some prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. Check http://www.allbookstores.com if you want to find it.

Do you need your own .com address? Do you need it to be hosted? Do you need some web pages to be made? I can do it! Just let me know if you'd like my help.

Please pray for Mark Darr's family, his friends and the San Diego Padres baseball team. Mike was recently killed in an auto accident. We'll miss one of the Padres' hardest working players.

God bless you as you seek His face! He is always here and will always reveal Himself to those who seek Him with their whole heart. Take refuge in Him. He is our strong tower.

If you like Big Tent Revival and live near Riverside, you'll like this next tidbit of news. BTR is playing their very last show, Sunday, at Harvest Christian Fellowship (Greg Laurie's church). I may be there, but even if I can't make it, it should be an awesome show!

Friday, Switchfoot is playing at North Coast Calvary Chapel in Carlsbad, California! The tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster locations for $10. These guys really know how to make music that glorifies God and arouses the senses. Their last album, "Learning To Breathe" was nominated for a grammy. Plus, their concerts are always electrifying and encouraging!

Do you want to encourage the U.S. troops who are working abroad? Well, you can! The following site allows you to email some encouragement to various deployments. Link: http://www.nbcsandiego.com (Click "Email the Troops").

Are you getting this message every week? Are you receiving about twelve pages with this message? If this message isn't reaching you consistently or if it's shortened, you can always find these weekly devotions on our web site! Simply go here: http://devos.jcsm.org. Plus, if www.jcsm.org isn't working, please try www.jcsm.net.

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 2000 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 64,000 hits!

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! Please email me for more information.

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

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

JCSM@aggies.org

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "The Different Names For Sin"

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

Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

2 Corinthians 12:21 "I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged."

1 Corinthians 6:18 "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body."

2 Peter 2:19 "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage."

Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

Psalm 5:4 "For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You."

3 John 1:11 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God."

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us what sin is. Thank you for giving us eyes to see the problems that happen when people sin. Forgive us for our sins. Lift us up, Lord, and make us like You. Help us to call sin what You call sin. Help us to hate evil. Thank you for the supernatural and eternal good we can do by being righteous. Help us understand the depths of destruction that can come from being sinful. Give us courage to repent. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "The Crucifixion Prophecies"

Psalm 69:21 "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

Psalm 22:14-18 "I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots."

Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

John 12:32-34 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us such an awesome prophetic book! Help us to understand the prophecies in your Word, Lord. Thank you for foretelling us about your death; with your words, David's words and Zechariah's words. Help us understand that a God that created time could easily tell us about crucifixion, even before it was known to the Israelites! Thank you for making things impossible for us, but very easy for You. Give us more faith in You, Lord. Let fulfilled prophecies encourage and build our faith. To You be all the glory! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "The One, Unpardonable Sin: Unbelief"

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Matthew 12:31, 32 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

Prayer: "Thank you for being a loving God. Help us understand how we must accept You as Lord and Savior in order to go to Heaven when we die. Let more and more people come to a saving knowledge of You. Let us understand the scriptures better, Lord. Thank you for forgiving all of our sins. Thank you for being a mighty, just God. Thank you for showing us what You want and require. Thank you for the incredible feeling of being forgiven! Let us share the good news because You have set us free and given us eternal life. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "The Predicted Resurrection"

Luke 2:19-22 "Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days? But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said."

Matthew 12:39, 40 "But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Matthew 20:18, 29 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."

Luke 24:4-8 "And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words."

Prayer: "Thank you for predicting your resurrection! Thank you for proving that You are Christ and God the Son by telling us how You would die and details that no human could even know. Thank you for wanting us to believe and trying to make it easy on us. Help the people who are inclined to doubt and fear. Bless us all and lift us up, Lord. Thank you for giving us such a supernatural book that causes such strong feelings among people. Let people seriously investigate You, the Bible and even other religions, so they can see that You are true and right and other religions are lacking. Praise You for being the God of Heaven and Earth, the Beginning and the End. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Our Mission"

Matthew 28:19, 20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen."

Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus said to him, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men."

Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Colossians 3:23, 24 "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."

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

Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us a mission of love; love toward You and others. Purify us, Lord. Let the world know that we are on a mission of love. Thank you for being a loving God who saved me and wants me to know Him, personally. Thank you for being a God that understands us because You not only made us, but You sent Jesus the Christ to Earth. Thank you for giving us awesome scriptures that tell us of your desires for us. Let us do your will, Lord. Thank you for your incredible, revealed will in the Bible. Help us to seek and know your individual will for us, now. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "The Patient People"

1 Timothy 6:6 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain."

Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

Luke 21:19 "By your patience possess your souls."

2 Corinthians 6:4 "But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses."

Ecclesiastes 7:8 "The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

James 5:7 "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain."

Prayer: "Thank you for the people who have been patient with us. Thank you for having deep patience for all humankind. Give us more patience and let us have joy while we wait and grow, Lord. Thank you for being the role model of patience. Thank you for not zapping us as soon as we sin. Thank you for loving us through our trials, mistakes and foolishness. Let us love others this way, too. Help us to stand tall and strong as we wait. Remove our fear and worry. Remind us that You are the Rock that we are standing on. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Somebody Is Watching Us"

Psalm 53:2 "God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God."

1 Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Matthew 6:3, 4 "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."

Mark 4:22, 23 "For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

Prayer: "Thank you for watching us, Lord! Thank you for looking from Heaven and seeing anything and everything. Help people to understand that we cannot hide from You. Thank you for rewarding us for the secret things we do. Help us to be good witnesses of You, even in private. Cleanse us and help us to be obedient to You, even when nobody is watching. Thank you for being omniscient. There is no other God like You! Help us to worship You and love You more and more. Praise You for being so worthy! Thank you for protecting us and being a good God. Bless us, increase our ministry, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil. Help us to not grow weary doing good because You will reward us one day. Thank you for seeing everything and understanding us and loving us, even when others do not. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Disciple a younger person or a person who has been saved a shorter time than you! Many people need or want someone to help them, love them and give them godly advice. Have you made yourself available to someone?

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

A Moment of Introspection

Why do you think God told us about the future?

The Bible Word of the Week

testimony: first hand authentication of fact

The Quotations of the Week

Be brave and repent.

Ironically (?), the priests paid for Jesus' death from the temple treasury; the same place where money was taken and spent on the temple sacrifices.

The Potter's Field that was bought with Jesus' betrayal money was likely the same field where Jeremiah prophesied against the sinfulness of Jerusalem and all of Israel.

How would you explain the phrase "born again" to someone who has never heard it?

Oppressed people are unified in their misery.

When you're innocent, you don't need to "form" a defense.

There's no point in arguing with crazy people.

God's loving gaze is on you all the time.

He loves each one of us as if there were only one of us.

The "Last Supper" was Jesus' last Passover meal.

Jesus indicated that Judas would betray Him by giving him the best piece of the Passover lamb and a piece of unleavened bread wit herbs (called a sop).

In a sense, Judas was the most honored guest at the Last Supper because he received the sop.

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for a slave (Exodus 21:32) and the priests who paid Judas this amount surely knew this.

Gossip is repeating information to someone who is not part of the problem or part of the solution.

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), John Hilton and Hal Linsey.

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'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 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 share the gospel over 2.5 million times each year! 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 email me and I'll give you our mailing address.

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! JCSM regularly gives to churches 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://resume.jcsm.org. For what I do, my ministries and giving, go to http://vision.jcsm.org.

If you have received these devotions from someone other than JCSM, please email us and we will send them to you, personally, each week. Don't worry. We don't send forwards or any other junk mail. Plus, we refrain from giving your name to anyone.

The devotions are sent on Sunday nights. The gospel is sent on the 11^th of every month and the monthly newsletter is sent on the 20^th. These are the only messages we send, however, please email me us you wish to be removed from this list.

If you have never 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!

Are you having trouble in life and need someone to talk to? You can call the youth crisis hotline at 1-800-HIT-HOME, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their motto is "help, not hassle". YDI pays for these calls and has helped over 1 million people! They are also looking for people to answer calls. Their web site is at www.1800hithome.com.

Would you like to feed starving people by simply clicking a button and paying absolutely nothing? Sponsors pay to donate food to hungry people all over the world. I click these nearly every day. It takes about 10 seconds and it donates food to needy people! Go here: www.stopthehunger.com and here www.thehungersite.com.

Go here to donate free Bibles to people: www.TheBibleSite.org. If you want to join a Christian organization that helps feed and clothe poor people, check into World Vision. You can see their site here: www.worldvision.com. Compassion International is another, great Christian organization that rivals World Vision. You can visit them here: www.ci.org.

Do you believe in evolution? If you can prove that the evolution of species has happened, Dr. Dino will give you $250,000. I know Kent Hovind and this is a legitimate offer. For more information, please see his web site: http://www.drdino.com.

JCSM now does regular mailings! If you are getting rid of your email or know someone who wants the devotions, but doesn't have email, please give us their address and we'll send them the devotions. If you don't have internet access, but want to read a certain web page or Bible lesson, let us know. We can copy and paste something into an email message for you. If you have internet access and need a great, online, study Bible, go here: www.biblestudytools.net. I recommend using either the King James Version or the New King James Version Bible.

JCSM operates in Oceanside, California, United States. This ministry has been certified by the Evangelical Ministries to New Religions. EMNR is an accrediting body for sound, Christian ministries that preach the true gospel of God to people in other religions and cults. Their web site is located here: http://www.emnr.org.

Since April of 1997, the weekly devotional message has been sent on the internet. This message currently reaches over 39,000 people in 99 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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Jesus loves you!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should have everlasting life."