Hello!

Have you seen JCSM, lately?  Did you know we have a site search engine that will search the 1000+ sites that are on our server?  The search engine link is on the main page, so surf to JCSM and enjoy!

Several months ago, JCSM began it's own internet forum.  This has been a very busy place for me and many evolutionists.  However, there haven't been a large amount of Christians having fellowship.  Please pray and consider "taking back the forum".  Our forum can be a great place for Christians to talk and not just for me to debate evolutionists.  Here is the link: http://forum.jcsm.org.

Promise Keepers 2002 was excellent.  Last weekend, I went to Los Angeles and got encouraged from numerous godly guys.  Here are my notes from the conference: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/PK2002.htm.

Are you a Christian outside the United States?  If so, we'd love to know about Christianity in your country!  Right now, we have about 15 countries represented on our International Christians web site.  Please visit and fill out our questionnaire, so we can read about Christianity all over the world.  Link: http://www.jcsm.org/InternationalChristians.htm.

I'm currently taking a seminary course called "Exposition of Genesis".  We are using an online text called "Gleanings in Genesis".  This text is free to read and download and since it's an excellent commentary on Genesis, I want to encourage you with this link: http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Genesis/genesis.htm.

Did you know that the U.S. is building up troops around Iraq?  The news has made it seem like we are still trying to decide if we should fight them or not.  Please pray for this situation and visit the following link to see how our military is beginning to mobilize: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,64405,00.html. 

On October 3rd, Talbot Seminary (Biola) is kicking off their Fall conference series.  The first conference is free and from 7:30-9:30pm, at the First Evangelical Free Church (2801 N. Brea Blvd) in Fullerton.  Dr. J.P. Moreland will be speaking, so please email me if you'd like more information.

Are you or someone you know suffering from a pornography addiction?  The internet is full of sick, twisted, free porn, so many people are falling into this terrible trap.  If you'd like prayer and someone to talk to, confidentially, please email me.

Please pray for my family's reconciliation.  Directly after my grandfather passed away there was some conflict among my aunts, uncles and parents.  They are somewhat trying to resolve these things and I hope they can do it soon.

Do you need a fantastic web host?  I've received excellent customer service from Ken (kenleavell@b2phat.com) at 2bphat.com.  I highly recommend them and if you email them, tell Ken that Jason from JCSM sent you.

I pray that you experiencing God's love and grace this week.  Lift your hands and eyes to Him.  He will help you and be there for you, always.

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 82,000 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: "Everything . . . . Everything?"

1 Corinthians 10:23, 32  "Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is helpful; everything is lawful for me, but not everything edifies. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being."

Mark 9:42 "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."

1 Corinthians 8:9 "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak."

Insight: God has saved us and given us great liberty and freedom.  However, we can't accidentally use this freedom to make others stumble.  Think about your actions and how they may be effecting others in a negative way.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us so much freedom and liberty, Lord.  Thank you for showing us why this world was designed.  Help us to understand You and your will better.  Thank you for the light that we reflect in this world.  Let us be mindful of others.  Keep us from evil and help us to walk in the light.  Forgive us if we've made others stumble by our careless actions.  Help us to be godly and remember that people are watching us.  Thank you for your forgiveness and help.  To You be the glory.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Great and Mighty Things"

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

Matthew 7:7, 8 "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."

Insight: God is waiting for us to seek Him, so He can show us great and mighty things.  Don't neglect this relationship.  Accept God's promises and seek Him because in Him you will find fulfillment, purpose and so much more.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for showing us great and mighty things!  Remind us of how ignorant we used to be.  Remind us of how futile and weak-minded we were before we let your wisdom permeate our souls.  Lift us up, Lord.  Show us awesome things in your Word.  Give us your love and power.  Help us to do miracles in your name.  Reveal you character to us in a powerful way and let us emulate You.  Thank you for being such an awesome and worthy God.  We need more of You, Lord.  You hold the keys to the future and the answers we need.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "No Excuse/Willfully Ignorant"

Romans 1:18-32 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
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. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

Psalm 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good."

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Insight: Atheism does not honor God.  Even the unchurched person should be able to see that there is a God by the things in nature.  People will have no excuse for denying the notion of common sense that God exists.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us such compelling evidence of your existence that we are simply without excuse.  Thank you for making yourself known to all people that open their hearts and minds and seek You wholeheartedly.  Thank you for being the Creator God.  Help the people who have become willfully ignorant to realize what they have become.  Reveal the heart and intentions to the ones that are corrupt and hiding from You.  Praise You for wanting to redeem all humans!  Praise You for having the highest hopes for us.  Let us lift our hands and hearts to You and accept your healing and love.  You are our everything.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Pressin' On"

Philippians 3:12-14   "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

2 Thessalonians 3:13 "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good."

Luke 9:61, 62 "And another also said, Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house. But Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Insight: Be encouraged that life on Earth is very short compared to eternal life with God and the saints in Heaven.  Seek God's endurance and He will keep you pressin' on.

Prayer: "Thank you for reminding us of the important things in life.  Help us to press on, Lord.  Thank you for showing us what is not important.  Give us more discernment.  Don't let us get caught up in futile tasks and traps of earthly gain and heavenly depravity.  Thank you for giving us great riches through Jesus Christ!  Thank you for giving us an incredible task - pursuing You, your kingdom and your will.  Remind us that life is short.  Remind us that we need deep, spiritual discernment.  Forgive us for wasting time.  Forgive us for walking down wrong paths.  Put us and keep us on the path to You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Know Him"

Philippians 3:7-11   "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Insight: Our highest calling is to know God.  All else pales in comparison.  When God is in first place, in our lives, everything else can fall into it's correct place.  Lead by example and seek to know God.

Prayer: "Thank you for Paul's awesome statement and analogy.  Remind us that knowing other gods is simply rubbish or trash.  Thank you for being the true God of all the universe.  Show us when we are spending too much time with relaxing or pleasure.  Reveal to us if we have idols in our lives that are keeping us from You.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit that convicts us to righteousness.  Don't ever go, Lord.  We need You.  Thank you for giving us your eternal love, patience, mercy and grace.  Thank you for being a good God.  Help us to understand You more.  Let us see You for how You really are.  Praise You for your faithfulness.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Exalt the Lord!"

Psalm 99:9   "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy."

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

Psalm 135:3   "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant."

Psalm 134:2   "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord."

Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."

Insight: Do you believe that God is worthy of your exaltation, worship, praise and blessings?  If you do, then your life will surely show it.  Exalt the Lord your God!

Prayer: "You are good and holy, Lord!  You are the Rock of Ages, the Holy One.  Praise You for being Almighty!  Thank you for blessing us when we lift You up.  Remind us that there is nobody else that we should continually lift so highly except for You.  Forgive us if we ever praise anything or anybody more than You.  All good and perfect gifts come from above.  You are the Father of Lights!  Prompt us to bless You and worship You.  Let us set aside time for these things.  Thank you for changing our hearts, putting a smile on our faces and sanctifying us through our exaltation to You!  Remind us of the therapeutic value of not only worship, but obeying You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "God's Great Mercy"

Psalm 116:5   "Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful."

Genesis 39:21-23   "Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.  And he was there in the prison.  But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.  The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper."

Matthew 5:7   "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

Luke 6:36   "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

Luke 18:9-14  "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner!  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Psalm 145:8,9   "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.  The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."

Insight: Is there a better example of mercy than God?  People sin with no remorse and God has mercy on them by giving them time to repent.  Don't take advantage of God's mercy, but try and be merciful like Him.

Prayer: "Thank you for your mercy, Lord.  Thank you for being merciful to all generations.  Remind people that mercy is one of your qualities, but so is justice.  Thank you for being a whole and complete God.  Thank you for being patience, yet eventually being the righteous judge.  Show us your ways and your will, Lord.  Let us be merciful like You.  Forgive us for being like the unappreciative debtor when You have forgiven our debts so deeply, sincerely and eternally.  You are the one we need.  We need less or ourselves and more of You, Lord!  Fall on us.  Well up inside of us.  Fill us with your Holy Spirit and bless us, increase our ministries, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil.  To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Write the name of one person who needs your grace.  Pray about extending this grace to them.  Think of ways you have hurt them by neglecting to show them grace.  Ask God and them for forgiveness and work to show them the grace God shows them.

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

Being a Christian must be something more.  It must be a radical, inward change that leads to action.  Let your faith and desire to be like Jesus permeate your entire life.  Everyone has areas that can be given to God for sanctification.  Don't hold anything back.

The world doesn't need to see people who are just like them calling themselves Christians.  What good is that for them?  For our own good and for the good of all humankind, let Christ make a profound difference in all the areas of your life. 

faith: emunah - firmness, security, moral fidelity, stability, steady, truth, truly, verily

These quotes came from God, me, God's Little Devotional Calendar (Tyndale), Justin Anderson 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!

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 Tuesdays, our Bible lesson is sent on Thursdays, 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.

OCCM (Online Christ-Centered Ministries) has certified JCSM as a ministry that preaches the true, biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.  OCCM is an accrediting agency for ministries and people that reside on and off the internet.  Are you OCCM certified?  For more information, go here: http://www.occm.org.

Over 5000 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."