This is the Weekly Devotional Message from

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

JCSM.org

Over 1500 Links!

Hello!

I pray you had an awesome week and weekend!

Yesterday, I began my 40 day fast. Please pray for me during this time. It will be a challenging time, but I feel that God is leading me to do this and I know He'll be with me every step of the way! I'm going to enjoy the intimacy with God and spend lots of time in prayer, meditation, worship and Bible studying. Feel free to email or IM me if you wish to encourage. In the future, I'll be posting the things I learned and some of my journal.

This weekend, I'll be attending the Promise Keepers convention! It should be an awesome time for all the guys in attendance. Please pray for us to be more devoted to loving God and others.

Do you know any clever ways of web site promotion? Would you be interested in submitting my site to guest books and search engines? If so, please email me. I'd love your help in spreading the gospel on my site.

Would you like to see what you can do in the war against porn? Miles McPhearson gave us a petition and some information about an anti-pornography organization. Please visit and considering emailing one of the CEOs who are planning on implementing pornography on their station. http://www.ccvsd.org/

Have you heard of Napster? Have you ever wondered about the online trading of music? The following link shows the controversy, in detail. It is an interview with Napster's lawyer. It outlines the current laws and possibilities for trading music in the future - http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.10/boies.html

Can you think of any interesting .com addresses for this ministry? I'd like to get some extra .com addresses and have them forwarded to my main page. Make sure that they are available, first, at http://www.nic.com/cgi-bin/whois.cgi

Tuesday, Caedmon's Call (A Long Line of Leavers) and Delirious (GLO) have albums coming! You won't want to miss them. I've heard both and I really like the Delirious one! It's very worshipful and inspiring! Martin Smith is the lead singer and writer for Delirious. You may have heard "Lord, You Have My Heart", "Better is One Day" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever." They are all his songs.

Please visit my web page! There's over 1500 links (pictures, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 36,000 hits!

If this ministry has touched you in a special way, please pray and consider sending a gift to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries. On the web, we're encouraging the believers and sharing the gospel with unbelievers. I'm also doing counseling on a regular basis. As I do full-time ministry on the web, love and help others, I never charge them anything for my time or services.

Would you like to support God's work on the web? You can become a Super Supporter of JCSM by sending only $5 a month. You'll be joining us in our vision to reach people on the web with the good news! Of course, a gift of any size will be appreciated! My address and more information is at the bottom of this message.

Welcome to the new screen names or recipients of this message! Here are the devotions, moment of introspection, challenge and quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Equal With God"

Philippians 2:5, 6 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God."

Mark 2:5-7 "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'"

John 10:30-33 "'I and My Father are one.' Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, 'Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?' The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.'"

Prayer: "Thank you for being equal with God, Jesus. Let us understand your divinity and ability to forgive sins. Thank you for being very obvious about your character and purpose on the Earth. Praise You for being our salvation! Thank you for the mystery of the trinity. Thank you for all the great mysteries that we can't comprehend, yet. Let us know You and love You more. Thank you for revealing yourself to us, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Take Serious Measures to Be Pure"

Matthew 5:29, 30 "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

Genesis 39:11, 12 "But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, 'Lie with me.' But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside."

1 Corinthians 6:18 "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body."

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to be pure. Thank you for making a way for us to avoid sin and cling to You. Forgive us for our sins, Lord. Help us to want what You want for us. Thank you for having the best way! Remind us that You know best and your plan is perfect. Remove our pride and foolishness. Let us be humble servants. Praise You for wanting to keep us close to You. Lift our heads and help us to be godly, no matter what the rest of the world is doing or how hard they are trying to get us to sin. You are our God, our Deliverer and our Redeemer. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Refreshing Times"

Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

John 4:13, 14 "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'"

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."

Prayer: "Thank you for the refreshment you promise and give! There is no other God like You, Lord. Let the world understand the awesome peace You give. Give us your peace, Lord. Refresh us and prepare us to do your will. Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit and citizenship in Heaven! Thank you for the supernatural things You do on a regular basis. Remind us that You are doing awesome works. Help us to see your hand in everything. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Faith is Righteousness"

Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Romans 9:30-32 "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone."

Romans 4:9 "Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness."

Prayer: "Thank you for making us righteous in your sight by faith in Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord! Thank you that You have saved us and washed us clean. Thank you for changing us. Give us more faith in You, Lord. Remind us how important it is to have deep faith. Thank you for making our lives so much better than they were before we had faith. Thank you for never giving up on us. There is no other God like You! Help us understand your ways and why we are finally righteous in your eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Where Do I Walk?"

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Psalm 1:1, 2 "Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night."

Proverb 2:20 "So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness."

Proverb 6:12 "A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;"

Proverb 10:9 "He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known."

Proverb 13:20 "He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed."

Prayer: "Thank you for showing us where to walk! Let us walk in the light, in newness of life, with integrity and with the wise. Thank you for your awesome Word! It is a light to our feet and our path. Let us trust in You, completely. Let us walk in goodness and with a clean mouth. Forgive us for our sins, Father. Purify us and help us to be godly. Let us be cognitive of where we walk. Give us great wisdom and self-control. Reveal to us the dangerous places and the safe places. Help us cling to what is good and right. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "The Spirit"

John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

1 Thessalonians 5:19 "Do not quench the Spirit."

Galatians 5:25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Ephesians 5:18-21 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God."

2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

Prayer: "Thank you for your awesome Spirit! Let us seek You and be sensitive to your Spirit. Thank you for the liberty we have in your Spirit. Help us to understand that you don't work like a boring Math problem, but You work like a dynamic sunset with colors that are always beautiful, but sometimes arranged differently. Thank you for never leaving us and falling fresh on us! Let us be ready to be filled with your Spirit, Lord. Help us to lift You up and never put You in a box. You are an awesome God and your ways are higher than our ways. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "We, Us, Our, Am"

John 3:11 "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness."

Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"

John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'"

Prayer: "Thank you for being bigger than our brains, Lord! If you were small enough for our brains, You wouldn't be big enough to handle our problems. Praise You for being here before time began! Thank you for giving us words that indicate God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Thank you for making things simple, yet complicated. Help us to trust You with the things we don't understand. Thank you for being faithful and true in all the things we understand. Forgive us for our lack of understanding or faith. Heal us and give us more understanding and faith, Lord. We want to be like You and live more dynamic lives! Let us see You more clearly, love You more dearly and follow You more nearly. Praise You for being our best friend and always having your arms wide open. You are so worthy of our praise and love! To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Challenge

Read the scriptures every day! This may seem like a huge task to you, or it may seem very easy. At any rate, we should be growing spiritually. Spiritual growth requires spiritual food. The Bible is our spiritual food.

Since I've been reading God's Word each day, I've been enjoying life more and learning about God more. It's one thing to learn from a pastor or Bible study leader. However, it's another thing to have your own, personal Bible study time. God's Spirit will teach you awesome things! They will be pertinent and sweet. They will be interesting, too.

I read two chapters a day, unless I've been reading earlier in the day (at church, Bible study, etc.). I recommend reading two chapters a day. You can do it in a few minutes and you'll NEVER regret it! God bless you as you meet this challenge!

A Moment of Introspection

Read Romans 1:28-32. "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."

Paul is telling the readers what they need to stop doing. Did you ever think that we should be doing the opposite of these things?

Here is how we should be. Righteous, sexually moral, godly, content, loving, peaceful, full of life, peace seekers, honest, good, controlling our tongue, forgiving, lovers of God, meek, humble, encouragers, inventors of good things, obedient to parents and merciful.

God bless you!

Quotations

God will always see everything.

God doesn't expect us to understand everything.

Don't try and stop the wind.

There is ministry in suffering.

There is value in suffering.

Church leaders who have many sins in their life will have little spiritual power or influence.

Lukewarmness and procrastination are like playing Russian roulette.

The scriptures are pregnant.

It's impossible to understand the scriptures with a human mind and no godly influence.

A sign of an awesome Bible study is when people encourage questions and search for answers.

When you have doubts about the Bible, do research.

You may not like the answers that God's Word provides, but know that there are answers.

Your faith in Jesus is counted as righteousness before God.

Aren't you glad that Paul was an educated man?

Nothing will better than to come back into your house with strength from God.

Is God honored by your sexual life?

Don't condemn others, but respond in love.

It is possible to have relationships with the opposite sex without lusting.

Satan's lies only seem true in the darkness.

You have to believe that what God wants for your sexual life is great.

Things aren't wrong "just because," things are wrong when God says they are.

Premarital sex is wrong 100% of the time.

Do you consider the opposite sex when you dress?

Why would you think dressing sexy would glorify God?

The devil never throws you a strike, but he throws pitches that look like strikes.

Unless you give your life to God, you will remain in bondage.

There is no such things as safe sex before marriage.

Honor and appreciate the girls who dress modestly.

Your sexual life and habits say a lot about your relationship with God.

The devil puts destructive dynamite in a pretty package.

There's nothing like sanctified sex.

There is no such thing as a gay gene.

Three things can help determine how your spiritual life is doing: your sexual life, your tithing and your prayer life.

Repent from your sins and live. Continue in your sins and die.

You never wanna get accustomed to the darkness.

Identify the pornography in your life - thoughts, tv, dress, speech, magazines, web sites, etc. and remove it.

If you want big time blessings, do big time things.

Change the channel when the tv is promoting your lust.

God will empower you in your struggles.

Your friends stick up for you when you don't know how to stick up for yourself.

Since God has been so awesome, faithful and true in our lives, we can believe and trust in Him when we don't understand or see what He is doing.

Anticipate spiritual warfare around great acts of righteousness.

God never tells us we'll understand everything on Earth.

These problems are too much for another human to handle. They're God-sized.

We're not supposed to overcome these things in our own strength, in fact, we can't.

You really cannot lose by believing in Jesus.

If you don't accept Christ, your life will get worse and you will go to Hell.

Killing oneself is never what God wants.

Don't you think that the God who made the universe has a better plan than we could make?

God's love isn't dependent on whether we are nice or not.

The incarnation of Christ is the hypostatic union of undiminished deity and perfect humanity united in the one person of Jesus Christ, forever.

Jesus was God and had no need to hold onto His position with any fear of losing it.

Only a real man could die. Jesus was a real man and the real God.

Jesus never stopped being God, but He took on humanity while He was on Earth.

Bigger faith should result in bigger temptation.

Just because things are being mentioned and referenced in the Bible, it doesn't necessarily mean they are commands that we should follow.

Networking is not the purpose of church.

Are you ready for the thousand year party?

People want you to see and appreciate them for something besides their looks.

One believer is not with another for very long until they realize that they have something in common.

Luke was a doctor and if Jesus' virgin birth was questionable, he could have easily questioned it because he undoubtedly delivered babies and studied those things. Luke wrote about it and questioned nothing.

If someone saw you reading your Bible, would they say "Wow, he/she is bored" or "Wow, he/she is interested"?

If you heard Jesus wasn't in His tomb, how fast would you run to see it?

Every person has taken the wrong way and needs help.

The wrong solutions are pleasure and pride. The correct solution is Jesus Christ.

For those who admit they are on the wrong plane, God's Word provides the correct itinerary.

The flight home is one you don't want to miss.

Your perception can determine your response. Your response can determine your fruit.

The facts speak for themselves. All we can do is admit them.

Being number two isn't so bad when number one is more incredible than words.

He has the power that will set you free.

These quotes came from God, me, the Inspirational Study Bible (with Max Lucado), Miles McPhearson, Paul Breithaupt, Delirious, Tyrone Moore and some friends at New Venture Christian Fellowship.

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. Like most verses in the Bible, they can be debated. To use what I have written in the most beneficial way, try and trace them back to the scriptures they were derived from 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? I have sent nearly 500,000 emails, encouraging people with God's Word! Please join me in the great commission. I'm 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 send it to the address below.

3431 Seabreeze Walk

Oceanside, Ca 92056

You can help this ministry! Your donations will keep my ministries running and they further my visions for evangelism. The internet, the telephone (volunteering time for the Youth Crisis hotline), the guitar, singing and gospel tracts are some ways that I encourage people and lead them to Christ. I'm certain there will be more ways to reach people in the future. Along with getting support, I also give support! I regularly give to my church and frequently give to needy people. Lastly, I do a lot of research on religious topics on the internet and at the library. You will definitely see the results of my work on my web page and in the weekly messages!

For more about me and my service history, go to http://resume.jcsm.org. For what I do, my ministries and giving, go to http://vision.jcsm.org

If you have received these devotions from someone other than I, please email me and I will send them to you, personally, each week. Don't worry, I don't send forwards or any other junk mail. I also refrain from giving your name to anyone. Also, email me if you wish to be removed from this list. If you prefer to receive the devotions in Spanish or French, please email me and I'll send you them each week in either Spanish or French!

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!

Are you having trouble in life? Do you need someone to talk to? You can call the youth crisis hotline at 1-800-HIT-HOME, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm currently volunteering time for this hotline. Our motto is "help, not hassle". We will listen to you and encourage you. If you are hurting and need someone to talk to, please feel free to call. YDI pays for these calls and has helped over 1 million people! They are also looking for people to answer calls. Their web site is at www.1800hithome.com

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 this nearly every day. It takes about 10 seconds and it donates food to needy people! Go here: www.thehungersite.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 me 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 me know. I could copy and paste something into an email message for you.

Since April of 1997, the weekly devotional message has been sent on the internet. This message currently reaches 4179 people in 98 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://devos.jcsm.org.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

http://www.jcsm.org

Over 1500 Links!