Hello!

Are you ready for a uniquely encouraging message?  If so, please continue!

I just returned from the Steeling the Mind Bible conference.  This was an incredible conference because I heard lessons from Tim LaHaye, Frank Peretti, Kent Hovind, Chuck Missler and many other great Christians.  I took 36 pages of notes and you can view them here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/Steeling2002.htm.

My wife and I had the privilege of working at Tim LaHaye's book booth.  We met him and he's a very generous and kind man.  Please pray for him and his ministry.

Do you believe in a post-tribulation rapture?  If so, I'd like to have a friendly debate with you in JCSM's internet forum.  I adhere to the pre-tribulation rapture belief.  Please email me for details.

Please pray that my friend gets a job.  He's looking for some work and is barely able to pay his rent and bills.  He is a believer, though, so he knows that God will provide for him.

I pray that God blesses you and your spiritual growth!  Don't forget that there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.  Enjoy His presence and get to know how He can meet your personal needs.

Great news: I've just been accepted to a prestigious seminary to finish my Masters degree!  I'm very excited because they transferred 27 credits toward this degree and I only have a 75 page thesis and one course to complete before I receive my Master of Arts in Bible and Theology!  Please pray that I do well.  I'm going to write my thesis on internet ministry. 

Chuck Missler and Grant Jeffrey both received Doctorate degrees from this seminary!  Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary has informed me that they want me to earn my Ph. D through their school, also!  I'll be taking these extension courses from my home.

Riley Armstrong just released a new album.  If you like friendly, Christian pop/rock, you'll likely enjoy his album.  Riley is from a town of 7 people in Canada!  His first album was encouraging and unique.  Look for his album at Christian book stores, everywhere.

The Rock N Roll Worship Circus band is playing at Harvest Christian Fellowship on Sunday!  They just released a super album.  If you're near Riverside, California, I highly recommend hearing them.  Come early because there is likely to be a long line at this free show.

Do you need a great site for Creation evangelism and insight?  Answers In Genesis is a ministry that rivals ICR.  They produce great books and have many, gifted Christian scientists in their ministry.  Here is their link: http://www.answersingenesis.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 5000 links (pictures, forums, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 80,000 visits!

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

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Are There Secrets In the Bible?"

Proverb 25:2   "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Daniel 12:4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."

Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."

Insight: The Word of God is an integrated message system from being our space and time dimension.  God wrote this book and He inserted things for us to discover.  Study the Word diligently and ask God to reveal hidden things to you.

Prayer: "Thank you for the secrets in your awesome Word.  Thank you for only revealing things to the people who honestly and diligently seek You!  You are an awesome God, Lord.  Thank you for giving us a book that transcends our time and space.  Help us to understand what an incredible, prophetic, integrated message system we possess.  Thank you for the people who are uncovering the mysteries of the Bible.  Let us learn from them and discern truth from error.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "This Day"

Luke 19:37-44   "Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. But He answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Daniel 9:24-25   "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times."

Zechariah 9:9   "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey."

Insight: Since the Jewish people didn't recognize the day that Jesus came into Jerusalem and proclaimed Himself to be King, they earned punishment.  Don't make the same mistake.  Recognize the Messiah that entered Jerusalem and fulfilled numerous prophecies like nobody else ever could!

Prayer: "Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to fulfill prophecies and save us, Lord.  Thank you for giving us such an incredible story that fits together perfectly.  Help us to understand You and your Word.  Thank you for giving us the mathematical prophecy in Daniel that tells us the exact day that Jesus would proclaim Himself Messiah the King!  Thank you for the people that recognized Him and this day.  Help people to see, today.  Open their eyes.  Show them that You are real and the Bible is true.  You are our awesome God.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "The First Sin Brought Death"

Romans 5:12-14 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come."

1 Corinthians 15:21, 22 "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

Insight: Sin, death, suffering and disease came through Adam and Eve.  God had created this world as a beautiful place, but sin has changed it.  Look forward to the day when there will be no more sin or death!

Prayer: "Thank you for teaching us about sin, death and the effects of the Fall.  Help us to understand the need for redemption.  Praise You for being our awesome Redeemer!  There's no other God like You.  Thank you for giving us the cure for sin.  Thank you for not abandoning us here or wanting us to struggle without You.  Give us more faith in You.  Help us to trust You and lean on You more.  Without You, we are lost in our sins.  Thank you for dying for us and setting us free from the power of sin!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "I Look Up"

Psalm 5:3   "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

Psalm 121:1, 2 "I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."

Psalm 123:1 "Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens."

Insight: Look up!  There is a time for being penitent and a time for looking up.

Prayer: "Thank you for lifting our heads!  Thank you for wanting us to look up and have peace.  Remove our worries and fears.  Fill us with your love and understanding.  Thank you for wanting us to be strong and courageous.  Let us not fear.  Thank you for being our great Friend and Provider.  Help us to lift our hands and open them to You.  Give us what You will, Lord, and take from us what You will.  We are your vessels and we only want what You want for us.  To You be all the glory, honor and praise!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Intimacy With God"

Psalm 63:1 "O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water."

Psalm 143:6   "I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah."

John 14:7   "If you had known Me, you would have known my Father, also; and from now on, you have seen Him and know Him."

Psalm 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah"

Insight: We're all called to know God.  He wants us to seek Him and find Him.  Don't forget to cultivate your relationship with your Lord and Savior.

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting to have a personal and intimate relationship with us, Lord!  Thank you for sending Jesus to Earth to show us how this can be done.  Thank you for having fellowship with the ones who love You.  Remind us that You are always near.  Thank you for giving us your Word and all of the promises in it.  Thank you for knowing us intimately.  Praise You for being our Creator and the one who is worthy of our praise and devotion!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Eyewitness Accounts of Christ"

2 Peter 1:16 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

1 John 1:1-4   "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."

Luke 1:1-4   "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed."

Acts 1:1-3   "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

Acts 2:32   "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses."

Acts 4:19, 20   "But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

Acts 10:39-41 "And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead."

Insight: The New Testament was written by people who walked and talked with Jesus Christ.  This lends huge amounts of authenticity to the Bible.  We aren't reading second or third hand accounts.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us a book about You that contains eyewitness accounts of what You did.  Praise You for choosing disciples that walked with You and told people about You.  Let us read your awesome Word and know it is unlike any other book.  Thank you for it's coherency.  Thank you for the fact it's the best-selling and most translated book ever.  Let us memorize the Bible and keep it close to our heart.  Thank you for revealing yourself to the ones that seek You by reading and following your Word.  There is no God like You in all of the universe.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "The Heavenly Entrance Standard"

Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Hebrews 7:11 "Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?"

Mark 10:18 "So Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God."

Matthew 19:23-26 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

Romans 4:20-25 "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification."

Insight: Perfection is the standard for entering Heaven.  However, since we could not be perfect, Jesus came and died for our sins.  Trust in Him and His perfection will cover you.

Prayer: "Thank you for making the standard for Heaven unobtainable without You.  Thank you for freely giving us salvation through Jesus Christ!  Help us to understand this incredible offer.  Help us to present it to others, too.  Forgive the ones that don't get it.  Help them to see that You are a God of love and the only hope they have for eternal life.  Praise You for caring enough to come to Earth.  Thank you for doing miracles and healing people.  Let us see You like You really are.  Forgive us for our preconceived notions and baggage that we bring into a relationship with You.  Help us to shed the old self and live like new, saved people!  You are our God of hope.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Is there something you need to either stop or starting doing to improve your relationship with God?  Take inventory of your life and make the necessary change.

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

Would you like your spouse to know you only because they read a book about you?

This is what it's like to only know facts about Jesus, but not know the person of Jesus Christ.  Pray to God through Jesus.  Read the Bible and discover who He really is.  Ask Him to meet your specific needs.  See what He thinks about world issues by asking Him in prayer.

God is a person that loves you.  Don't forget that you can have a real relationship with Him.

LORD: Jehovah - self-existent and eternal, Jewish national name of God

This week's quotes can be found on the Steeling the Mind Bible Conference web site that I made.  There are many pages of awesome quotes.  If you'd like to read them, please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/Steeling2002.htm.

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!

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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!

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.

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