Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the Devotions, A Moment of Introspection, the Hebrew 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 Gastrich, B.A., M.A.B.T.

Psalm 4:4  "Be angry, and do not sin.  Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still."

Proverbs 14:17  "A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated."

Proverbs 15:1  "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Proverb 16:32  "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."

Proverb 29:11  "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back."

Ecclesiastes 7:9  "Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools."

Matthew 5:22  "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."

Ephesians 4:26, 31, 32  "Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath....  Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Insight: We need to be able to control our anger.  If we don't, we can get into all kinds of trouble.  Pray for self-control and be sure to keep your anger under control.

Prayer: "Thank you for controlling your anger, Lord.  Thank you for having great mercy and patience; much more than we deserve.  Help us to be the same way.  Thank you for giving us emotions and feelings.  Let us submit them to You and your will.  Forgive us for getting angry for the wrong reasons.  Forgive us for taking our anger out on people that don't deserve it.  Lift us up and let use live godly lives.  Thank you for cleansing and purifying us.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

You can read more on this subject here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/anger.htm

Day 2: "God's Plan For Marriage"

Proverbs 5:18, 19  "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.  As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love."

1 Corinthians 7:2-5, 10, 11  "Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control....  Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord:  A wife is not to depart from her husband.  But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband.  And a husband is not to divorce his wife."

Ephesians 5:22-28, 33  "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.... Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Colossians 3:18  "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."

Hebrews 13:4  "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge."

1 Peter 3:7  "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered."

Insight: God has ordained marriage.  It is not only a promise between two spouses, but a covenant to God.  Recognize this covenant before and after you are married.

Prayer: "Thank you for creating marriage.  Thank you for giving us something awesome in this world that confuses issues.  Remind us that You designed marriage because You knew what was best for us.  Thank you for my wife and the blessing that she is.  Bless her and lift her up.  Thank you for married couples that honor You with their lives.  Help people to understand how they can love and glorify You.  Thank you for your Word.  Thank you for our friends that love You.  Bless us and help us to see You more clearly.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "What Leads to Moral Decay?"

Exodus 20:13-17a  "You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife."

Leviticus 18:22, 23  "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.  It is an abomination.  Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it.  Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it.  It is perversion."

Leviticus 19:31  "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them:  I am the Lord your God."

Matthew 5:27, 28  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Romans 13:1, 2  "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves."

1 Corinthians 6:18-20  "Flee sexual immorality.  Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

Colossians 3:8-10  "But now you yourselves are to put off all these:  anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him."

Insight: Many things are corrupting humankind.  This is a list of some of them.  Imagine a world without evil.  Pray against evil and try and eradicate it from your life.

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us what is right and wrong.  Thank you for giving us the truth about sin.  Bless us and keep us from evil, Lord.  Give us more godliness.  Sanctify us.  Help us to repent from our sins and call them what You call them.  Give us great discernment and power.  Praise You for being within us as the Holy Spirit.  Let us be sensitive to your prompting.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

You can read more on this subject here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/moraldecay.htm

Day 4: "Eternal Rewards"

Psalm 37:18  "The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever."

Proverbs 19:17  "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given."

Matthew 6:3, 4, 6  "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly....  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

Matthew 10:41, 42  "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Matthew 16:27  "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."

Luke 6:35  "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil."

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."

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."

Insight: Believers in Christ aren't living for this world.  They keep in mind eternity.  Remember that God cares about the things you do so much that He will give you eternal rewards for the good things done on Earth.

Prayer: "Thank you for watching us.  Thank you for being faithful to us.  Remind us that You see everything and we cannot escape You.  Help us to be righteous and to do good things.  Forgive us for wanting our own ways and being selfish.  Let us have the good of others in mind.  Praise You for being such a great and awesome God.  Thank you for being worthy of our praise and devotion.  We love You, Lord.  We want to glorify You with our lives.  Help us to invest in others.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

You can read more on this subject here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/eternalrewards.htm

Day 5: "Fast to God"

Matthew 6:16-18  "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

Matthew 17:20b, 21  "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Insight: When was the last time you fasted?  Christians need to integrity fasting into their routine and regularly fast to God.  Drawing closer to God during fasting is an awesome experience.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us a way to draw closer to You.  Thank you for loving us, Lord.  Bless us and make us like You.  Thank you for giving us a way to understand the deeper things of You.  Bless our times of fasting.  Relieve our suffering.  Take away the headaches and pains.  Thank you for wanting us to do this to obey You and reap the benefits.  Let us understand how all of your commands have numerous purposes.  We love You and praise You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

You can read more on this subject here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/fasting.htm

Day 6: "Pray and Ask"

John 15:7  "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

Philippians 4:6, 7  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

James 1:5  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

James 4:2  "Yet you do not have because you do not ask."

1 John 5:14, 15  "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

Insight: Have you asked God for anything, lately?  He is ready to bless you according to His will.  Discover what the Bible says about prayer, pray the scriptures and see answered prayers in your life!

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to pray.  Thank you for answering our prayers, Lord.  Give us understanding, so we can see what prayers sometimes don't get answered.  Thank you for listening to us.  Thank you for changing us through the discipline of prayer.  Help us to pray continually.  Lift us up and give us discipline, so we can make times of prayer and not forget about them.  Remind us of the great times of intimacy and discovery spent with You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

You can read more on this subject here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/prayer.htm

Day 7: "The Devil's Origin"

Isaiah 14:12-17  "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!  For you have said in your heart:  'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?'"

Ezekiel 28:12b-19  "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering:  The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.  The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.  You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.  You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.  By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.  Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.  You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.  All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever."

Insight: The scriptures tell us about the origin of the evil one - Satan.  They describe him as a fallen angel that used to be in Heaven with God.  He sinned and was cast to earth.  Know your enemy - his past, his present tactics and his future.