This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

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Hello!

I may be fighting a cold and working hard on different web, ministry projects, but I'll still write and send the devotions! Here's this week's, slightly late devos!

A big thanks goes to everyone who has visited the JCSM forum! It was a total success as over 500 messages were posted in the first 10 days! If you'd like to visit and participate in our conversations, please do! Link: http://forum.jcsm.org

Do you know what time it is? It's time for our live, monthly broadcast! On Thursday, June 6^th, at 6pm PST (Pacific Standard Time) / 9pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) we'll be streaming live audio over the web. This time, we'll stream in 3 bitrates, so every modem user will be able to hear clean audio. I'll be reviewing some books on prophecy, playing some new music, talking about our ministry and much more! Please join us and go here for the links and chat room: http://www.jcsm.org/JCSM/Broadcast.htm.

We've added a new section to each devotion. In addition to the scriptures and prayer, I'm writing a few sentences on each topic and calling it "Insight". While I was at church, I realized I needed to add a few, personal words for each devotion. I hope you enjoy the new feature!

Our trip to the Grand Canyon was a blast! We took a lot of pictures and uploaded them to the web. You can see over 80 pictures of Arizona, here: http://www.jcsm.org/Pictures/GC2002.htm.

Would you like to read about my Pentecost Covenant? I've posted everything from my prayer journals to the FAQs to my food journals! You can see what I learned and how you can do one, here: http://www.jcsm.org/PentecostCovenant.htm.

Where did the pigs run off the cliff? Remember, when Jesus cast the demons into some pigs? Well, this is a bit of a controversy, partly because different versions of the Bible say different things. I've uncovered the mystery and exposed the truth about this place, here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/Gadarenes.htm.

A show featuring a homosexual has been slated to make Nickelodeon's schedule. Please check this out and visit the following petition site. Link: http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petition.html?name=stop_nickelodeon.

Would you mind praying for someone I know? A certain atheist named Brian has a Christian mother who is very concerned about him and his lack of faith. She has posted a prayer request for him and you can read some prayers, pray silently and/or post a prayer request. I think he'll come and read these, so here is the link: http://www.ctestimony.com/asp/pweb_request_dtl.asp?pw_request_id=14059.

Is your computer safe from hackers? Are you sure? You can find out for free. Just go to the following site and click on the two links: https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2.

This Saturday, I'll be going to Colorado for job training. I've accepted a summer job as a soccer coach with a Christian ministry! I'll be in Colorado, Arizona and Los Angeles. However, I will be home in a few weeks and I will still be checking email, sending the devotions and doing other JCSM ministry tasks while I'm away! Please pray that everything goes well.

We're putting on soccer camps for many different churches. We're also sharing the gospel with the kids that are participating. Please pray for their salvation and sanctification.

Since I'll be away, we won't be sending any Bible lessons (our Saturday night messages) for the next three weeks. If you'd like to read one of our lessons, please visit the web site.

<edit> Ernie Murray. Ernie has <edit>. <edit> Ernie!  Due to fraud, Ernie Murry's endorsement has been revoked.

Please pray for a certain friend of mine and his wife. I won't mention their names, but they are going through some difficult times. Thanks in advance.

God bless you as you grow in our Lord and Savior! Let the richness of His loving character fill you and mold you. Only He will give you lasting success and satisfaction.

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 74,000 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.

Did you know that JCSM has it's very own forum? If you'd like to read some interesting posts and/or post some messages, please surf to http://forum.jcsm.org.

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: "Who Do I Love?"

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not love less his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."

Mark 12:30, 31 "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Insight: We need to love God before anything else. Only when He is in first place will we be able to see everything else like we should. Anything we put before God will ultimately lead to our pain and destruction.

Prayer: "Thank you for teaching us about love, Lord. You are an awesome God and full of love. Help us to love others like You do. Help us to refrain from loving the world and the things of the world. Thank you for giving us your Word, where you describe what is good and what is evil. Give us determination to consume your Word and know your will. Thank you for loving us more than we can understand! Let us be eternally grateful for your love. Help us to love the people that are difficult to love. Soften our hearts and let us remember how Jesus acted. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Jesus Christ Is Lord"

1 Corinthians 12:3 "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

Philippians 2:10, 11 "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Matthew 9:28-30 "And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith let it be to you. And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, See that no one knows it."

Jude 1:21 "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

Insight: The Bible is clear when it tells us that Jesus Christ is Lord. He's not applying for the job. Trust in the power of God, in Jesus' name, to do incredible things.

Prayer: "Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to Earth to die for our sins and rise from the dead! Thank you for being our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Help everyone to know your claims to be Lord and the claims of the New Testament witnesses and writers. Praise You for having an obvious and concise plan in the Bible. You are an awesome God. Thank you for redeeming us and making us pure. Help people to admit that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let us bow to Him now, because every knee will eventually bow. Thank you for the Holy Spirit within us and the way it teaches and convicts us. Let us understand how people that truly believe and accept the Jesus of the Bible, as Lord and Savior, are His disciples. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "One Chance"

Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

Insight: Some people think that if God is loving, He wouldn't send anyone to Hell. Well, I think that God is so loving that He has given everyone a free will to decide whether they want to accept Him or not. One thing is for certain: we only have the time on Earth to accept Jesus Christ. After we die, it will be too late.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us a lifetime on Earth to choose You. Help people to choose You at an early age, instead of waiting their whole life. Thank you for being patient and loving to people, even when they aren't accepting of You. Thank you for reaching out to us. Give us wisdom and knowledge, Lord. Thank you for rewarding the ones who seek for You diligently. Thank you for being a God who gives us ample time to discover You and accept You. Thank you for making such incredible things for us to see that we are without excuse if we don't see them and give You glory. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Joy and Laughter"

Isaiah 29:19 "The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel."

Psalm 43:4 "Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God."

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."

Luke 15:10 "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Romans 15:13 "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

Luke 6:21b "Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh."

Ecclesiastes 3:4b "(There is) a time to laugh."

Insight: God made joy and laughter. Do you think He wants you to have those things? Of course! Don't buy the lie that God is a cosmic killjoy. He loves you and wants you to experience His best.

Prayer: "Thank you for the joy that You give, Lord! Thank you for giving us joy that transcends the world. Praise You for giving us supernatural happiness. Let us cling to You and remember that You are the source of true joy and happiness. There is no other God like You! Thank you for wanting your saints to laugh. Help us not to take things too seriously. Praise You for taking our burdens. Help us to distinguish between laughing at appropriate things and laughing at inappropriate things. Thank you for giving us Christian comedians! Help us to support them and find healthy reasons to laugh. Praise You for loving us enough to want us to have joy in our heart. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Do You Need A Rest?"

Exodus 33:14 "And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass."

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Insight: Take some time to rest in the Lord. Christians are supposed to defend the faith, pray, work and do a variety of other things, but resting is also imperative. The people who work hard especially need to learn to rest. The last thing we need is Christians burning out and dropping out of the race.

Prayer: "Thank you for the rest You give, Lord. Thank you for helping us not to worry or fear. Bless us and lift us up. Praise You for being able to calm us and protect us like nobody else can. Give us your awesome peace. Remove our worries and our fears. Thank you for wanting us to stay close to You. Show us how wandering away from You ends up frightening and crippling us. Thank you for giving us awesome things when we cling to You and give You credit. Thank you for causing us to breathe deeply and consequently enjoy life to it's fullest! Thank you for telling us where we are going after we die. Give us more faith in You and let us trust your promises, fully. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Ways To Praise Him"

Psalm 7:17 "I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High."

Psalm 33:2,3 "Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy."
Psalm 150: 3-5 "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals!"
Hebrews 13:15 "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.

Psalm 95:6 "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."

Insight: Did you know that there are many ways to praise the Lord? You can shout, raise your hands, praise Him, sing praises, play an instrument, etc.!

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us many ways to praise You! Help us to use them all. Thank you for accepting our praise. You are so worthy! Let us be more like You, Lord. Thank you for taking our minds off our troubles when we give You praise. Help us to praise You, continually. Help us to have a daily time of worship. Thank you for the great release of worship. Thank you for changing our hearts and minds when we stop and praise You. Remind us how great it is to worship and how much the Devil will try and stop us. Let us overcome evil with good. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "God's Eternal Truth"

John 8:31, 32 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Romans 1:24, 25 "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Titus 1:2b "God cannot lie."

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

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

Insight: God's truth has been here since time began. He cannot lie or change it. Jesus Christ is the truth. Accepting the truth of Jesus will set you free from the chains of sin!

Prayer: "Thank you for the way the truth sets us free! Thank you for making us truly free, more free than we could ever be, without You. Let us see your truth and understand it. Praise You for giving us a supernatural truth that defies time and space. Thank you for being beyond our comprehension. Thank you for letting us understand some of your ways, Lord. Thank you for Jesus Christ! He is the way, the truth and the life. Thank you for giving us redemption through Him. Praise You for being unable to lie. Help us to tell the truth and value the truth very much. Thank you for telling us exactly what You expect from us and not changing it. Thank you for giving us the Bible which has stood the test of time! Let us take scriptures in context and understand it completely. Pour out your Spirit on us and give us great and deep knowledge of You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Help someone in another country!

There are many ways you can do this. You can talk to a local church about helping them minister to foreign people. You can support a local missionary.

One way that I really enjoy reaching the international community is this: Download ICQ (from http://www.icq.com ) and use this free chat program to find and talk to people in other countries! It's easy and I guarantee you that as soon as you download and install this program, you will find people in over 100 different countries!

Make sure to pray for them, be interested in their lives and tell them the gospel! God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

A Moment of Introspection

Are you the godliest person you know? If not, why not?

There is no good reason why you can't be the godliest person you know. I don't mean the most popular person and I don't mean the most influential person, either. I simply mean this: if you aren't the most godly person you know, then you obviously know why.

Take some steps to be the godly person that God wants you to be. Don't strive to be like someone else. Strive to be like God. He will give you as much of Him as you want.

The Greek Bible Word of the Week

pneuma: a current of air, breath, breeze, figuratively a spirit (this is the Greek word for "Spirit", as in "Holy Spirit")

The Quotations of the Week

Do you know how to love unbelievers?

In many churches, it's only a matter of time before the attendees realize the humanity of the workers there and deem it a business or organization like any other.

Let God's Holy Spirit burn inside of you.

Understand where songs take you.

Don't forget to give your brain a rest and daydream about nonsense once in awhile.

I wonder if I'll ever see how awful my life would have been if I had never devoted considerable amounts of time to worship God.

How far removed are you from the youth of the nation? Do you know what they're facing, today?

Who hurts the most when we sin (God, us or others)?

You'll become a "dangerous" Christian for the Devil when you add informed faith (knowledge of God's Word) to your blind faith.

Are you living life to it's fullest?

Joy was created by God.

God never intended this life to be a waiting room for the next life.

Abundance comes from your relationship with God.

Live with nothing to prove.

How much of your value is wrapped up in what people think about you?

You have a choice to either live for the will of God or settle for other people's dreams and demands for you.

Your value has been established by God.

Live with nothing to hide.

He who is enslaved to the compass is at the freedom of the seas.

Live with nothing to lose.

Don't hang on too tightly to things you can't keep forever.

When I die, I get promoted.

The apostle Paul recognized he had nothing to lose.

Everyone is dying, but some people have a better idea of when they're leaving.

Isn't it funny how atheists turn into scientists when you talk to them about God?

Atheists are just as guilty as Christians for giving patterned, regurgitated answers to timeless questions about their beliefs.

Nobody can take you as high as God can.

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado) and Ken Davis.

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.

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.

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: 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."