This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Over 2500 Links!

Hello!

Welcome to a special edition of the JCSM devotions! 1, 2, 3, wooosh!

We've discovered the "probable" sex for our unborn child! We're probably having a girl and her name is Jordan Hope Gastrich! Please pray that we have a healthy child that walks with God. If you'd like to see an ultrasound picture, please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/Pictures/2PicturesZoom.jpg.

We sent over 66,000 gospel messages last week! Please pray that many people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He's our only hope. If He has changed your life, then you know what I'm saying. We're excited to continue reaching the multitudes with God's Word.

Would you like to help us donate Bibles to a church in India? A friend of mine has emailed me and told me about their need. If you'd like to help, JCSM will use every penny for either purchasing the Bibles, shipping charges or both. We'll be purchasing them from Christianbook.com. They can give us whole Bibles (Old and New Testaments) for only $1.60 per Bible! Plus, they'll send them to India for a very low price (I compared several other organizations and this one was best).

Please email me if you'd like to put the Word of God in a need, poor person's hand in India. After shipping charges, it will cost nearly $70 to send them 36 Bibles. I also have friends who work in a prison ministry in Texas. They need Bibles, too, so please pray about which ministry God wants you to help.

On Saturday, I discovered that someone had stolen my van! It was an eerie feeling because I walked to where it was parked and it wasn't there. I called the Police and reported it stolen. Then, I prayed to God and asked Him to bless me.

Several minutes after my call, the Police called me and told me the van had been recovered! I was very thankful, although I had to pay $234 for a towing and storage fee. Plus, I had a bunch of Christian cds stolen. Let's pray they lead the thieves to Christ.

Incidentally, I know sending the gospel to over 66,000 people and subsequently having my van stolen was no coincidence. As always, the evil one hates what I'm doing and is trying to depress and destroy me. Please pray for JCSM and the safety of my family.

We've added an audio welcome and an audio gospel message to our main web page! These are small .mp3 files, so they load very quickly. If you want to listen, just click the big blue bottons on JCSM's main page. Tell a friend!

I've been emailing a girl that is struggling with suicidal urges. Please pray for her. She wrote me a suicide letter, but decided not to take her life. Along with my emails, she said the 1-800-HIT-HOME hotline helped her.

If you need to buy a book, some software, a game or a variety of other things, Amazon.com will have it! If you go to Amazon.com through the following link and buy one of those things, JCSM will receive between 5-15% of the total price! Plus, you get the same discounts and great prices Amazon.com offers all of their customers! If you're interested, here's the link: http://amazon.jcsm.org.

Thanks to those who listened to my songs on MP3.com! 3 in 1 was well received and Psalm 23 was also a highly ranked song. Please take a minute and hear the music with the classic, timeless lyrics of Psalm 23! You can hear it for free, here: http://Psalm23.jcsm.org.

My debate with Reggie Finley (a vehement atheist with a radio show) is now on MP3.com. You can freely listen to the streaming audio. The following site breaks down the topics into chunks, so you can listen to the part of the 103 minute broadcast that interests you. Link: http://www.jcsm.org/1on1/Atheist1Debate.htm. If you wish to have the debate on cd, please email me. It cannot be downloaded from MP3.com.

Did you know that the Rapture is very different than the Second Coming of Christ? The Bible talks a lot about each, future event. However, sometimes it's not easy to understand which event is being penned. We've simplified these prophecies on our web site. You can see them here: http://www.jcsm.org/BibleLessons/RaptureSecondComing.htm.

Do you feel called to be a missionary? Do you have plans to fly to Tanzania? Well, there is a ministry in Tanzania who needs a missionary. They want me (or someone else who loves God and wants to serve Him) to visit. They will provide an interpreter because they speak Swahili. They want to set up some crusades. Please email me for details.

As I begin writing my book on internet ministry, I'm wondering if anyone has any input for me. I have a solid outline and I'm not lacking ideas, however, I'd love to see what you'd like to know about internet ministry. If you have any suggestions or questions, please email me!

I've been doing great on my Pentecost Covenant! Having the extended times of prayer and playing the guitar have been a great blessing. When I'm finished, I'll post my prayer journal and some information about my experience.

A few interesting things are happening within the atheistic community. First, the atheist I debated has adopted my idea of using SHOUTcast to broadcast audio messages. Now, he's broadcasting 24 hours a day! Let's pray he plays the MP3's that contain Christian perspectives (like mine, Matt Slick's, etc.). These audio messages could lead people to Christ.

In addition to Reggie, there are several atheists that have been talking to me. One of them has emailed me a lot and even posted our conversations on his web site! He's a very bitter and insulting atheist, so please pray that I persevere in our dialogue. It has already brought two people to me for answers about God and His Word!

I pray that God is blessing you! Everyone goes through trials, but the people who have Christ in their heart have the means to overcome. Remember "whose" you are!

On Thursday, Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones is being released! I've already bought tickets, too. If you're a Star Wars fan (like I've been since I was 7 years old), you won't wanna miss this!

Do you live in the Southern California area? You may want to hear my friend's hardcore band on Friday night. Edify is playing in Escondido at Jolt N Joe's at 11:30pm. You can see their web site at http://www.edifymusic.com.

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! Devotional archive: http://www.jcsm.org/devos.htm. Plus, if http://www.jcsm.org isn't working, please try http://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 2500 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 72,000 visits!

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://donations.jcsm.org.

If you need to email me, please see the address below. Hitting "reply" to this message won't send an email to me. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience to you, however, rest assured that I will answer all of the emails I receive.

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

http://jcsm.org/contact.php

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "The Divine Contrasts"

John 1:5 "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Matthew 25:33-46 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Proverb 11:27 "He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil."

Prayer: "Thank you for the awesome contrasts in your Word. Help me to read them and understand You better. Thank you for making us children of the light. Let us walk in the light because You are in the light. Thank you for shining into the darkness. Thank you for the sheep. Help the goats to know they are goats and repent. Help the sheep to be loving and devoted followers of You. Show us what is good and what is evil. Help them to really stand out, so people are not deceived. Let people care and try and discern good from evil. Thank you for giving us your Word, so we can have light in this dark world. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "From Spiritual Death to Life"

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Colossians 2:13 "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses."

1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death."

Prayer: "Thank you for bringing us from death into life! Thank you for loving us, even though we were dead in our sins. Thank you for reaching for us when we couldn't save ourselves. Thank you for actually being the life! There is no other God like You in all of the universe. Remind us that You hold life. When things bring us down and give us no life, remind us of the one, true and awesome source of life. Help us to continually stand under your life-giving fountain! We need You, Lord. Other things won't do. We just need You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Wasting Time Is Vanity"

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 "But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away."

Ecclesiastes 1:4 "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind."

Revelation 3:11a "Behold, I come quickly."

Matthew 24:44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Prayer: "Thank you for teaching us to be wise with our time. Help us to be serious about devoting time to You. Forgive us for wasting time. Forgive us for filling our lives with things that don't mean as much as You do. Help us to rid ourselves of those chains and put You in first place, again. Thank you for being patient with us. You are an awesome God. Help the distracted ones to give their lives to You. Let the devoted ones continue their wholehearted devotion to You. Thank you for meeting all of us where we are and taking us where You want us to be! Let us not waste time. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Try and Get These"

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

2 Timothy 2:22 "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

2 Corinthians 8:7 "But as you abound in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us--see that you abound in this grace also."

Luke 17:5 "And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith."

2 Peter 1:5-9 "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins."

Prayer: "Thank you for showing us what we need to have in our lives. Thank you for removing the mystery. Thank you for simplifying things. Help people to embrace You and your Word and stop trying to guess what they need in their life. Help people to stop saying they are 'proud to be this' or 'proud of this' and be humble. Thank you for changing us with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for living inside of us and supernaturally making us like Jesus Christ. Thank you for the fun and excitement You give us in this otherwise, often mundane life on Earth. To You be all the glory, honor and praise! In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Is Smoking Okay?"

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Psalm 97:10 "Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

Proverb 8:12 "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech."

Mark 9:42, 43 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 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."

Prayer: "Thank you that many people in the United States have launched an aggressive advertising campaign against smoking! Help more and more people to get educated about the deadly act of smoking and how it hurts others, too. Thank you that it's illegal to smoke inside restaurants in California. Help it to become illegal all over the world. Let people in other countries have wisdom and knowledge, so they can quit. Plus, give people to power to overcome their addictions. Thank you that I overcame the temptation to smoke many years ago. Thank you for helping us and causing us to prosper. Thank you for giving us a better life after we obey You. Remind people of the blessings that come after and only after obedience to You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Success Begins With Worship"

Matthew 4:8-10 "Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."

Psalm 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."

Philippians 3:3 "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

Revelation 4:10, 11 "The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

Prayer: "Thanks for the power and excitement of worship! Help people to remember what it's like to worship You with all of their heart and do it again. Help the people who have never wholeheartedly worshiped You to start, now. Thank you for being so worthy of our worship! Let us understand that if we are putting other things in front of You, in essence, we are worshiping those things instead of You. Help us to get our priorities straight. Let the people who have never worshiped You know they can start now without having to fix everything in their life, first. Thank you for filling us with your Holy Spirit when we praise You. Thank you for taking our eyes off our troubles. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Be Joyful!"

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

Proverb 12:20 "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy."

Proverb 21:15 "It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity."

Ecclesiastes 2:26 "For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind."

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is....joy...."

1 John 1:4 "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."

Psalm 149:5 "Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds."

Romans 12:15a "Rejoice with those who rejoice."

1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to have joy! Help us to remember this. Thank you for smiling at us. Thank you for wanting us to rejoice! Remind us that You are the kind of God that wants His people to have the best, most awesome life. Forgive us for thinking You are anything less. Forgive the world who, in large, has no clue of what You are about and what You give. Let us have light hearts. Thank you for wanting to take our burdens. Help us to give them to You. Thank you for lifting us up and letting us fly over the problems that cripple many people. Thank you for giving us a very resilient Spirit that defies logic and philosophy. You are a mighty God and we love You. Make us like You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Write the names of three people that need to get saved. Have one be a family member. Look for an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

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

A Moment of Introspection

The word of the week is "pharmakeia". It is where we get the English word "pharmacy". It is a word that can mean sorcery in Greek.

It's interesting to note that "pharmakeia" is referring to drugs (pharmacists give drugs). However, sorcery and witchcraft is using evil spirits to do some kind of evil. Putting the two things together, many biblical scholars have ascertained that using drugs is calling evil spirits.

There's no doubt that there are evil spirits involved with the consumption and abuse of illegal drugs.......

The Greek Word of the Week

witchcraft: "pharmakeia" - drugs, druggist, magic, sorcery

The Quotations of the Week

Write the names of three people that you want to see saved.

No matter what people have done in the name of religion, it doesn't change who God is.

Be able to share your testimony in one minute.

You should be able to tell people about when you met Jesus Christ and what He has done for you.

The solution to sin is surrender and self-denial.

God doesn't negotiate your sins. He wants perfection.

Explain to others that Jesus is the reason for your change.

When witnessing to someone, tell a story that describes your experience with your pre-saved sin, how God answered you and His solution for you.

Do you remember the way you used to be?

How many times have you tried to deal with your sin on your own and been able to do so?

Do you realize how much God loves you?

The more you surrender to God, the more free you will be.

Can you explain how you answered God in faith and obeyed Him?

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado) 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'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://www.jcsm.org/misc/Resume.htm. For what I do, my ministries and giving, go to http://www.jcsm.org/Give2.htm.

Have you signed our guest book? If not, please go here: http://guestbook.jcsm.org. Did you know that we have some great, original, Christian music on MP3.com? Click here to freely listen to some encouraging tunes: http://jcsm.org/MP3.htm.

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 Mondays, our Bible lesson is sent on Fridays, the gospel is sent in the middle of every month and the monthly newsletter is sent on the 1^st. 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! 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://www.jcsm.org/GodsPlan/TheGospel.htm.

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: http://www.stopthehunger.com and here http://www.thehungersite.com.

Go here to donate free Bibles to people: http://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: http://www.worldvision.com. Compassion International is another, great Christian organization that rivals World Vision. You can visit them here: http://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: http://bible.jcsm.org. 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://www.jcsm.org/devos.htm.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

http://www.jcsm.org

Over 2500 links!

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."