Hello!

Last night, I returned from Spirit West Coast.  My family had a great time in Monterey, California for the 7th annual, Christian music festival.  We heard many, great speakers like Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort and we also heard some awesome bands like Cadet, Rebecca St. James, Newsboys, Toby Mac, etc.  In a few days, I'll upload a fantastic sermon (on MP3) from Kirk and let you know when it's available.

Starting this week, I'm going to be doing something very interesting.  I'm beginning my Pentecost Covenant and learning 50 worship songs in 50 days!  I'll be recording them and providing links, so you can hear the songs, download them, and read the lyrics and chords.  Please pray for me.  This will be an awesome experience and it will become a fantastic resource for musicians and worshipers.

In addition to making this covenant, I'll also be creating a discussion board for Pentecost Covenants and encouraging JCSM's subscribers to make one!  In short, a PC is dedicating something to God or making a godly change for 50 days.  This will be a great time for you to be sanctified and intimate with God.  I'll be including more details in the midweek message, so please be looking for that email!

I've been placed on a popular web site for California's gubernatorial candidates.  Link: http://www.politics1.com/ca.htm.  Please continue to pray for this campaign.  I need to get enough support to make this run for Governor (see http://jasongastrich.com for more details).  It would be awesome to see some Christians come forward and help with advertising and getting me on the ballot.  I'd be happy to serve the Lord and the state!  Please consider these things, pray for my campaign, and forward this need to some of your Christian friends and family members.

I pray that you have joy as you receive God's blessings for obeying Him and His Word.  Walk the narrow path and be determined to follow Christ at any cost.

If you are in Southern California, come and hear a free concert!  This Sunday, Audio Adrenaline is playing at The Rock Church.  They'll be playing at San Diego State's Open Air Theater.

JCSM has been blessed with a toll-free number!  If you need to speak to me or want to support our ministry, please call us at 1-877-850-DUST.

This is your ministry, so please feel free to link to JCSM and forward these devotions to your friends and family. On JCSM, there are over 50,000 web pages of pictures, forums, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals, and much more!

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 and administrated 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, ancient literature, 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 is your Devotion, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the 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.

ICQ#: 20731140

The Weekly Devotion

"The Comforter"

Lamentations 1:9, 16  "Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter.  O LORD, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!  For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me.  My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.”

Ecclesiastes 4:1  "Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look!  The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter - On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter."

John 14:16, 26  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

John 15:26  "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."

John 16:7, 8  "Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

John 3:5-8  "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.  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.'”

Romans 8:26, 27  "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Insight: The Comforter is another name for the Holy Spirit.  He has been here as long as God and Jesus Christ have existed; for all eternity past.  Since the Day of Pentecost, the Comforter has come to stay with believers.  Be thankful for God's source of comfort and be sensitive to the Spirit's voice.  Unbelievers are not blessed from within by this source of comfort, peace, and hope.

Prayer: "Thank you for giving us the Comforter!  Thank you for wanting us to have some important qualities.  Help us to understand this awesome person that You have given to us.  Thank you for being a personal God with a personable Spirit.  Let us be thankful for what You have so graciously given to us.  We love You, Lord.  Thank you for removing our worries and fears.  Bless us and remind us that You live inside of us.  Help us to be sensitive to the Comforter and avoid overwhelming ourselves with our own worries and problems.  Let us accept your source of comfort.  You are our God.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world.  It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen."

(Source: John Adams.  This was written in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on December 25, 1813.  This can be found in the "Adams-Jefferson Letters.")

"The Christian religion is, above all the Religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity, and Humanity.  Let the Blackguard Paine say what he will; it is Resignation to God, it is Goodness itself to Man."

(Source: John Adams.  This was a response to Thomas Paine's assertions and stated in Adams' diary on July 26, 1796.)

John Adams was George Washington's Vice President, he was the 2nd President of the United States, and he signed the Declaration of Independence.  He also influenced the American states to ratify the Constitution.

A Moment of Introspection

Have you ever looked at yourself through the mirror of the Ten Commandments?

This weekend, Kirk Cameron gave a great sermon called, "Hell's Best Kept Secret."  He emphasized how we need to look to God's law (and lead others to it) and see if we are righteous or not.  If we take an honest look at ourselves through the mirror of the Ten Commandments, we will quickly see that we are guilty.

What do guilty sinners do?  Repent and ask God for forgiveness!  Trust Him and He will bless you.  Tell Him that you are sorry and desire to be godly.

As we look at God's commands, it is easy to see how we fall short.  We have all lied.  We have all taken something (stolen).  Most of us have lusted after another and coveted someone else's belongings.  The Ten Commandments should drive us toward God in an attitude of contrition.  We need His forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

Pray and discover what you need to do for 50 days.  You can decide in the middle of this week and you can ever get some prayer support on our discussion board.  We'll email you some details on Wednesday night.

Do you need to spend more time in prayer?  Would you benefit from reading the Bible more?  Have you been putting off something important?  Pray and ask God where you are lacking and make a Pentecost Covenant with Him, so you can make a positive change for 50 days.  You will be blessed and rewarded for your faithfulness.

God bless you as you prepare for this challenge and take this step of faith!

(Greek) parakletos: Comforter (Helper) - an intercessor, counselor, advocate, comforter

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 3:21 - God kills some animals and makes some skin coats for Adam and Eve.

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

This is true.  This is an example of the animal sacrifice that was required for the forgiveness of sins.  The fig leaf garments that they had made were inappropriate (this is typical of the person who tries to be good on their own).  This is also a precursor for the "covering" or atoning that Jesus Christ would perform on the cross.  "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins."

(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 are no quotes this week, but 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 the quotes are humorous or rhetorical, others are written from sermons and Bible studies, and some 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’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, if you're traveling, or if you need to find a new church, 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 its own, site search engine!  If you'd like to search over 1000 web pages, please go here: http://search.jcsm.org.

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!

Over 50,000 web pages!

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 not perish, but have everlasting life."