Hello!

I pray you had a great weekend.

A few days ago, two Mormons came to my door.  I quickly invited them inside and I think they were a little taken back because I welcomed them.  I had them sit down and it felt like this meeting was predestined.

Please pray for these two Mormons.  We talked for about 45 minutes and I was very pleased to share with them Christian doctrines.  They were very attentive and respectful.  I even sent some literature home with them and gave them my business card, so they could contact me, again.

I've finished the 43rd book of "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained".  It was my pleasure to examine the criticisms from the book of Revelation and explain them.  Please pray that I keep working hard and finish this project, soon.

I've uploaded about 40 pictures from my trip to London.  I used a digital camera, so they came out nicely.  Here is the link for them and many other picture albums: http://pictures.jcsm.org.

Please check your "Sent Mail" folder every so often.  On January 1st, a hacker got my wife's password and sent some emails through her AOL account.  Fortunately, we caught this within a couple of hours, unsent most of the emails and changed her password.  Since we have a firewall and don't download strange files, it must be easier for hackers to get passwords than I had realized.  Be safe and check that folder and change your password often!

Who were the Magi?  Did Daniel have anything to do with the installment of the first Magi?  If you'd like to know, please go here: http://www.ldolphin.org/magi.html.

Would you like a free, pocket gospel of John?  "Ready Carry Share" is giving one away.  All you need to do is go to their site and click on "Become a Free Member"  Link: http://www.readcarryshare.org.

God bless you as you love Him and others more deeply.  Pray for Him to increase your love and He will.  I hope you experience Him and His wonderful blessings this week.

Do you need a little joy in your life?  Read our Bible lesson on joy!  We will be putting this lesson on audio MP3 format, soon!  Here is the link for the text lesson: http://www.jcsm.org/Biblelessons/Joy.htm.

Please pray for my football team.  I'm the coach of one of my church's teams.  We have a great bunch of guys.  Please pray that we don't have any injuries, that God increases our talents and we have solid, Christian fellowship.

Some atheists have been misbehaving on JCSM's Forum.  Please pray that seeking atheists will come and post and those who are bent on causing trouble do not return.

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 98,000 visits!

JCSM has encouraging sermons and debates online that you can freely stream and download!  Come and hear them on SermonAudio.com!  Here is our site: http://www.sermonaudio.com/jcsm.

Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection, the Greek 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: "Read and Follow the Instructions"

Deuteronomy 17:18-20  "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.  And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel."

Proverb 4:13  "Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life."

2 Timothy 2:15  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Insight: In ancient Israel, each Israelite king would write himself an exact copy of the Torah.  He would write it by hand and read it, so he wouldn't sin against God and so he would be a good ruler.  Therefore, we should be dedicated to the careful reading and studying of the scriptures.

Prayer: "Thanks for giving us your Word, Lord.  Thank you for giving us awesome truths that make us wise and keep us safe.  Forgive us for neglecting to study it.  Give us more discipline and self-control.  Help us understand how badly we need You and your Word.  Thank you for taking the time to teach us and help us.  Intervene in our lives, Lord.  Do a mighty work.  We need You and we want You.  We love You, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Alleluia!"

Revelation 19:1-6  After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Alleluia!  Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!  For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.'  Again they said, 'Alleluia!  Her smoke rises up forever and ever!  And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, Amen!  Alleluia!'  Then a voice came from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!  And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia!  For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!'"

Insight: This is the only place in the Bible where the word "Alleluia" is mentioned.  It is spoken in Heaven and it is their word for praise and admiration for the Lord God Omnipotent!

Prayer: "Thank you for being our God; perfect, holy and just.  Thank you for loving us more than we understand or realize.  All praise and glory and honor to You!  Thank you for giving us a picture of Heaven and how the angels, saints and creatures are praising You there.  Thank you for being so worthy of our praise and devotion, Lord.  Forgive us for putting ourselves in the centers of our lives.  Help us to put You first.  Thank you for giving us abundant lives!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Lift Your Eyes"

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, 2  "Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.  Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us."

Isaiah 40:24a  "Lift up your eyes on high and see (the Creator)."

Insight: More than bowing your head, the Bible mentions lifting your eyes and head to God.  The Word also mentions lifting hands to God.  Look up and praise the Lord!

Prayer: "Praise You, Lord!  Thank you for wanting us to look up - in expectation and in praise.  Thank you for wanting us to be strong and courageous and not just humble and penitent.  Remind us that You want us to have a complete character that loves You deeply.  Increase our love for You and others.  Increase our faith, Lord.  Teach us your ways, Lord.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit that lives within all saved believers in You.  Help us to be sensitive to your lead and what You want us to do.  Thank you for your Word, too.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "We're Justified By Faith"

Galatians 3:24  "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Romans 3:28  "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

Romans 5:1, 2  "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Galatians 2:16  "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."

James 2:23  "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God."

Insight: We are not justified (saved) by our works.  We are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ.  Appreciate God's only way of redemption, forgiveness and eternal life!

Prayer: "Thank you that we don't have to earn your love, Lord.  Thank you for loving us before we loved You.  Bless us, increase our ministry, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil.  Thank you for making us more like You through our desire to be sanctified and through the work of your Holy Spirit.  Help us to understand how much You love us and how our deeds please You, but our deeds don't get us in or out of Heaven.  Thank you for giving us peace that passes all understanding that frankly wouldn't exist if we had to worry about our salvation.  We love You, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "The Mercy Seat"

Exodus 25:17-22  "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."

Isaiah 16:5  "In mercy the throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness."

Isaiah 18:1-4  "Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, 'Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide. All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it. For so the LORD said to me, 'I will take My rest, And I will look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

Zephaniah 3:10  "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, The daughter of My dispersed ones, Shall bring My offering."

John 1:16, 17  "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Insight: The ark of the covenant and the mercy seat which lies on top of it were possessed by the ancient Israelites.  Now, this ark and seat may exist in Ethiopia.  The Ethiopians who claim they have this think Jesus will sit on this mercy seat during the 1,000 year reign on Earth.

Prayer: "Thank you for the rich tradition that our faith has.  Thank you for the prophets and the Old Testament believers, Lord.  Thank you for the prophesies that pointed to Jesus Christ.  Help us understand how the Old Testament and the New Testament forms an incredibly, cohesive, supernatural book.  Thank you for the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat.  Thank you for promising to return and make peace on Earth for 1,000 years.  Let us trust in You, Lord.  You are our God and You have kept your promises this far.  We believe and trust that You will keep the rest of the promises in your Word.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "My Words vs. His Words"

Isaiah 55:8-11  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Matthew 5:18  "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

John 7:45, 46  "Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why have you not brought Him?  The officers answered, No man ever spoke like this Man!”

Insight: Try and say what Jesus would say.  Let His words be a part of you.  You'll never be closer to the truth than when you speak the words of God (found in His Word).

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us words that are greater than any other.  Thank you for giving us a large source of inspiration and truth.  Forgive us for putting other books and philosophies before the Word of God.  Help us to hold the Word in high esteem.  Thank you for letting me have many Bibles.  Let the whole world have a copy of your Word, Lord.  Thank you that the Bible is the best selling book in the world!  Thank you for moving through people who fill themselves with your awesome Word.  Remind us of the power in your words!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "Jesus, Light of the World"

John 8:12  "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'"

John 12:35, 36  "Then Jesus said to them, 'A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.'"

John 12:46  "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."

1 John 1:5  "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."

Matthew 4:16  "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned."

Insight: There is no brighter light than Jesus Christ.  He is the light and we are the reflectors.  Shine His light into all of the world!

Prayer: "Thank you for being so bright, Lord!  Thank you for shining the light into the whole world.  Help us understand how your light is so much better than the darkness.  Thank you for making everything make sense in the light.  Forgive us for wandering in the darkness.  Let us be honest with ourselves and seek You with our whole heart.  Thank you for being patient with us.  Thank you for having all we need, but letting us choose whether or not we will accept it.  Forgive us for all of our sins and give us your righteousness, Lord.  Give us your light and let us reflect it to a needy world.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Purchase a book on creation!

There are countless, wonderful books on how God created all things.  Answers In Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org) and The Institute For Creation Research (http://www.icr.org) can lead you in the right direction.

If you haven't noticed, the unbiblical doctrine of the evolution of species is beginning to permeate our society and undermine Genesis and the entire message of the Bible.  This conspiracy starts in public elementary schools and lasts throughout college.  Do you really know how and why God created all things?  Did you know that there are numerous, scientific proofs of a Creator?

Here are a few books recommendations: Why Won't They Listen by Ken Ham (high school level), Creation and the Second Coming by Henry Morris (high school level), Scientific Creationism by Henry Morris (college level), Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study by John Woodmorappe (high school to college level), The Genesis Record by Henry Morris (high school level) and Darwin On Trial by Philip Johnson (high school to college level).

If you need one of these books, but cannot afford them, please let me know.  We may be able to help you.

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

Have you ever spotted a bad doctrine?  If not, perhaps you're following one.

The key is to know the scriptures very well.  When you know the Bible extremely well, you can use it like a litmus test.  The false doctrines do not compare and will be found.

alleluia: of Hebrew origin, praise ye Jah!, an adoring exclamation

Overcome biblical illiteracy.

Don't just revere the Bible.  Know it!

Have you ever spotted a bad doctrine?  If not, perhaps you're following one.

How important is God's Word to you?

There is no substitute for prayer.

If at first you don't succeed, try reading the instructions.

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.

In every marriage, no matter how well the two people know one another, great mysteries remain.

God plus one is always a majority!

Why have we bought the lie that we need to be doing many things besides praying?

Don't leave prayer until the end of the day.

If you simply dedicated 10 minutes a day to prayer and meditating on God and His Word, it would change your life forever.

These quotes came from God, me, God's Little Devotional Calendar (Tyndale) and Dan Stolebarger.

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 written religiously, the web pages stay on the www and the readers are blessed, sanctified and protected from evil. Thank you very much in advance!

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Do you need to find a solid, Christian church?  I've attended numerous Calvary Chapel churches and I've been very blessed by their Bible-based sermons, inspiring worship and kind members.  If you don't have a home church or need to find a new one, I recommend visiting the following site and locating a Calvary Chapel near you: http://www.calvarychapel.org.

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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."