Hello!

I pray you had a great weekend.

Did you know that our SermonAudio.com membership is reaching the masses?  We were excited to see our usage report for May.  People in over 46 states, Washington, D.C., an undisclosed military location and 21 countries heard files from our audio ministry over 1600 times!  This is more than double the listens from April and four times our first full month (which was December, 2002)!

Please pray that JCSM keeps reaching more and more people through our audio ministry at http://sa.jcsm.org.  It's $30/month well spent and if you'd like to help support this expense, please email me because we'd be happy to receive your help and allow you to share in the blessing.

My wife and I have found a Bible study for couples and we are reading the book called, "The Five Love Languages," by Dr. Gary Chapman.  The book is awesome and I highly recommend it.  Please pray that we grow spiritually and grow as a married couple.

I'm excited about releasing the 2nd edition of my book.  It felt really official when I received my new ISBN number!  If you'd like to see the awesome resources that accompany this new CD, please go here: http://skepticsannotatedbible.org.

A few days ago, JCSM launched the "Inerrancy Discussion Board."  This new forum is a great place to discuss the authenticity of the scriptures.  It is quite unique and we are only allowing honest people to become members (everyone must verify their identity before they can post messages).  We look forward to many, awesome conversations about God's Word and we ask that you join us!  Link: http://www.inerrancy.com.

I pray that God blesses you and encourages you.  Hope in Him and He will be there for you.

Would you prayerfully consider supporting JCSM with $5 per month?  If God leads you to take this step of faith and bless this ministry, PayPal will process a donation subscription for you.  It will only take a minute and you can join us in this dynamic ministry that constantly reaches people all over the world.  Here is the link for $5 donations: Click here!

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 128,000 visits!

JCSM has encouraging sermons, exciting debates and the Bible on MP3 online and you can freely stream and download them!  Come and listen at http://sa.jcsm.org.

If you consider yourself either a theological scholar, a seeker or a student of the Word, then you'll enjoy the Inerrancy Discussion Board.  It's the #1 place for discussing the inerrancy of God's Word!  Come and see: http://www.inerrancy.com (the Inerrancy Discussion Board is sponsored by JCSM).

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://vision.jcsm.org.

Visit The JCSM Study Center!  We have over 400mb of resources like English and foreign Bibles, maps, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and concordances and much more!  Plus, it's all free.  Link: http://study.jcsm.org.

Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the Devotions, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the Greek Bible Word of the Week, a faith-builder from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" and the Quotes of the Week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "Judgment Day"

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

2 Corinthians 5:10  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Matthew 12:36  "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment."

Revelation 20:11-15  "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

Insight: Judgment day is coming.  It is inevitable.  Have you repented and trusted Christ for salvation?  Have you told others about Him?  Take a minute and do one or the other (or both).

Prayer: "Thank you for the gift of salvation!  Thank you for giving us eternal life.  Bless us and help us to value our salvation and our relationship with You above all else.  Thank you for forgiving and redeeming us.  Help us to share the gospel with other people.  Give us courage and boldness and remove our fears and worries.  Remind us that Hell is real and judgment day is coming.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "The Lord Created"

Genesis 1:1  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:27  "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Colossians 1:16  "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him."

Insight: The Bible gives an excellent explanation for the creation of matter and life.  No other source of information gives us a better explanation.  In the beginning, God created.  Be thankful that we know about our origins because many people are still seeking or still confused.

Prayer: "Thank you for creating awesome things!  Thank you for being a God that is beyond our comprehension.  Thanks for telling us about our origins in your perfect Word.  Praise You for being mighty and good.  Bless us and make us like You, Lord.  Help us to understand your will and purpose for us.  Lift us up and give us more faith and more love for You and others.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "Desire the Blessings of a Pure Heart"

Genesis 35:2b  "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves."

Psalm 24:4, 5  "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

Psalm 51:10  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Matthew 5:8  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Hebrews 10:22. 23  "'Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

Insight: God is pure and holy, so we should be, too.  Many benefits and blessings accompany purity and only Christ-like, godly people will discover the deeper things of God.  Desire purity and seek after Christ's characteristics.

Prayer: "Thank you for demanding purity from us, Lord.  Thank you for wanting our whole hearts and not a half-hearted commitment.  Praise You for being a good God!  You are awesome.  Bless us and sanctify us.  Purify our hearts.  We love You, Lord.  Thank you for giving us your Word, so we can know what You are like and how we can become pure.  Forgive our sins and help us to repent.  Let us embrace You and your ways.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 4: "Crowns For the Faithful"

1 Corinthians 9:25  "And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown."

2 Timothy 4:8  "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."

James 1:12  "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

1 Peter 5:2-4  "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

Revelation 2:10  "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

Revelation 3:11  "Behold, I am coming quickly!  Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown."

Insight: Many passages of scripture promise eternal rewards for the believers who invest their time in eternal things.  Are you investing in eternity?  Don't let your biggest treasure on Earth be asphalt (the ground) in Heaven (Hint: there will be streets of gold in Heaven).

Prayer: "Thank you for promising rewards to those that dedicate their lives to You.  Help us to evaluate our lives and see where we are spending them.  Thank you for giving us a high calling.  Let us step up to the plate and accomplish your will.  Thank you for the people that You put in our path each day.  Let us show them great love and kindness.  Help us to let your Holy Spirit work through us and touch the lives of others.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "Sincere Service"

John 13:3-17  "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, 'Lord, are You washing my feet?'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.'  Peter said to Him, 'You shall never wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.'  Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!'  Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.'

For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, 'You are not all clean.'  So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?  You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.  Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.'"

Insight: Jesus set a great example for Christian service.  He lived a humble life and served others continuously.  Try and follow Jesus' model of service.

Prayer: "Thanks for giving us an awesome model to follow.  Thank you for being the best servant ever!  Help us to understand You and your ways.  Help us to find ways to serve others.  Thank you for blessing us when we serve people.  Let us think of others more highly than ourselves.  Thank you for giving us awesome opportunities to simply help people in need and glorify You in the process.  Let us take advantage of our opportunities.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "Dance Before the Lord"

Exodus 15:20, 21  "Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.  And Miriam answered them:  'Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously!  The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!'"

2 Samuel 6:14  "Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod."

Psalm 149:3, 4  "Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.  For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation."

Insight: Many cultures enjoy praising the Lord with dancing.  It may not be prevalent in American culture, but it should be!  Try praising God with a dance and experience what countless Old Testament and New Testament saints felt as they took this step of faith (no pun intended).

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to worship You with our bodies.  Thank you for creating us and knowing what is best for us.  Help us to continuously worship You.  Thank you for being so worthy of our praise.  Thank you for giving us a command that will please You and help us!  Remind us about the blessings of worship and obedience to You.  Give us boldness to dance before You in praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "The Day of Salvation"

Luke 19:40-44  "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.'"

2 Corinthians 6:2  "For He says:  'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.'  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Insight: I've heard some people say that it wasn't time for them to quit a bad habit.  I've even heard people say that it wasn't God's time for them to quit doing something that was hurting them!  We can be certain of one thing: Today is the day we should repent and trust Christ.

Prayer: "Thank you for all of my brothers and sisters who have repented from their sins (called their sins what You call them) and trusted You for salvation, healing and redemption.  Praise You for being the great and awesome God that we all need.  Help us to see You as You are and worship You.  Thank you for making today the day for salvation!  Thank you for showing us that we don't just need You today, but we need You every minute of every day.  We love You, Lord.  Bless us and lift us up.  Give us joy and peace.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Email someone a thank you card!

Last week, I bought two boxes of thank you cards and told a bunch of people how much they meant to me.  It was an inexpensive and sincere way to encourage and thank some important people.

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

sea: thalassa - the sea (generally or specifically)

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 2:18-22 - God makes the animals and parades them before Adam to see if any would strike his fancy. But none seem to have what it takes to please him. (Although he was tempted to go for the sheep.) Note that in these verses, God makes the animals after making Adam, whereas in the first creation story (1:25-27) the order is reversed. After making the animals, God has Adam name them all. The naming of several million species must have kept Adam busy for a while.

But we know that the animals were not created instantaneously from the ground, but rather that they evolved over millions of years. And we still don't have names for all of them. Ten thousand new species of insects are discovered and named each year.

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

* God did not show Adam the animals for him to choose a bride.

* Adam named the animals that were before him.  We surely didn't have all of the "species" of animals that we have, today.  Incidentally, scientists cannot agree on where the species line is drawn.  At any rate, Adam named the animals that were before him; which surely didn't include any of the genetically challenged offspring that we see, today.

* We surely do not know that animals evolved.  There are more gaps in this theory than there are in Swiss cheese.  This is precisely why the theory of punctuated equilibrium was suggested (large jumps from one kind to another).  The fossils and other evidence simply don't support the evolution of species.

* The scriptures say that Adam named the "beasts of the field and the birds of the air".  He did not necessarily name the insects and the beasts of the sea.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.)

There aren't any new quotes this week, but if you need some quotes, we have thousands in our archives!  They are located here: http://quotes.jcsm.org.

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!

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 JCSM, please send your gift to the address below.

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.

If you wish to contact us in the mail or send support, please make checks payable to Jesus Christ Saves Ministries.  Here is our mailing address:

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

3219 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. #212

San Diego, CA 92117

Along with getting support, we also give support! JCSM regularly gives to churches, Christian ministries 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!

Fishes and Loaves (FALO) is a great, missions organization.  They have helped many people embark on missions trips to the uttermost parts of the world.  If you are interested in missions, please visit http://www.gofalo.net.

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.

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

JCSM has it's own, site search engine!  If you'd like to search over 1000 web sites, please go here: http://search.jcsm.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."