Hello!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

My Pentecost Covenant is going very well.  I've already written, recorded, and uploaded 6 songs!  If you'd like to hear them or read the lyrics, please visit http://jcsm.net/50PC/50Songs.htm.  These songs include "God of Wonders," "Give Us Clean Hands," "Draw Me Close," and "Open the Eyes of My Heart."

Last week, I was on "The John and Ken Show" in Los Angeles.  They often speak about politics and wanted to know what I'd do if I was California's next Governor.  I was thankful for the radio spot and the chance to share.  You can visit my web site for my viewpoints: http://jasongastrich.com.  Please pray for this endeavor.

I was please to see my campaign get noticed by Congress.org and Yahoo Elections.  I hope more and more people learn about it and support my run for Governor.  Here are two links where you can see the candidates I'm against.  Links: http://congress.org/congressorg/election/all_races/?state=ca and http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/California/Government/Politics/Elections/2003/.

My debate with Farrell Till is going quite well.  I've been able to support my argument about the Old Testament land promise being both conditional and fulfilled.  If you'd like to see it, you can go here: http://iidebate1.jcsm.org.  If you're not into reading lengthy debates, then you may be interested in the future web site I'll create with a summary of my arguments.

July was a record month for our audio ministry (no pun intended).  1,751 listens and downloads were recorded (again, no pun intended).  This number is 600 more than last month!  If you'd like to experience our audio ministry, then please go here: http://sa.jcsm.org.  You can go to this page and see a detailed report about our listeners in July: http://www.jcsm.org/JCSM/SAReports.htm.

Recently, President Bush made a statement about gay marriages.  He clearly does not approve of them and he is actually looking for ways to have a law that codifies marriage as a union between one husband and one wife.  Webster's Dictionary seems to have it down nicely, so let's pray the gay community can repent and get on the right track.

Do you need a toll free number?  Kall8 has fantastic rates and service.  I'm giving them this free ad because I recently started service with them and I like it a lot (this isn't a paid ad).  If you need a toll free number, go visit http://www.kall8.com and you can see what they offer.

Lately, our email service has had some problems sending messages to AOL users.  It is an intermittent problem, though.  Please pray that this problem ceases.  We want to stay with this email service, but we also want everyone to get our letters.  If you ever miss a devotional message, you can always read and download them from our web page: http://devos.jcsm.org.

I've known a guy named Mike Gendron for several years.  He is a well educated man of God with a ministry to Catholics.  He is an ex-Catholic and has written an awesome book called, "Preparing Catholics For Eternity."  When you have a minute, please visit his site and learn about his book and ministry.  Link: http://www.pro-gospel.org.

I pray that God blesses you richly as you walk in His steps.

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 Most Wonderful Gift"

John 4:10  "Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'"

Ephesians 2:8, 9  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Romans 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Insight: There is no greater gift than the gift that God gives us; eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Thank Him for this gift, daily.  Live a victorious life that glorifies God.  Share this gift!

Prayer: "Thank you for the most wonderful gift of salvation.  Thank you for giving us eternal life through your Son.  Help us understand what You have done.  Forgive us for being sinful.  Forgive us for doing evil.  Help us to be like You, Lord.  Thank you for being a good God.  Thank you for your patience, mercy, and grace.  Help us to share this gift with others.  Remind us that Hell is real and eternal.  Motivate us to share the good news with people who need it.  Thank you for being a personal and loving God.  To You be all the glory, honor, and praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) was the son of John Adams (our 2nd President) and our 6th President.  He was a devout Christian.  Here is a quote from him as he was in London and negotiating the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814.

"I find in the New Testament, Jesus Christ accosted  in His own presence by one of His disciples as God, without disclaiming the appellation.  I see Him explicitly declared by at least two other of the Apostles to be God, expressly and repeatedly announced, not only as having existed before the worlds, but as the Creator of the worlds without beginning of days or end of years.  I see Him named in the great prophecy of Isaiah concerning him to be the mighty God! . . .

The texts are too numerous, they are from parts of the Scriptures too diversified, they are sometimes connected by too strong a chain of argument, and the inferences from them are, to my mind, too direct and irresistible, to admit of the explanations which the Unitarians sometimes attempt to give them, or the evasions by which, at others, they endeavor to escape from them."

A Moment of Introspection

Do you have the Holy Spirit's seal?  Have you been sealed?

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 reads, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

The Bible tells us that saved believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit's seal.  It is our "proof of purchase" and guarantee of eternal life.

Go on a 3 day fast!

Have you ever fasted?  If not, then you may want to try a shorter fast.  Perhaps you could fast for three days, but only skip one meal each day.  This would be a more reasonable step of faith for an inexperienced faster.

If you have fasted in the past, then fast for three days.  Only drink water and juices and don't have too much juice!

I'll be fasting this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Please pray for me.  I'm going to draw nearer to God by obeying His command to fast.

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

If you'd like to read a Bible lesson on fasting, please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/fasting.htm.

theos (Greek) - deity, Supreme Deity, God

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 3:22 - God expels Adam and Eve from the garden before they get a chance to eat from that other tree -- the tree of life. God knows that if they do that, they well become "like one of us" and live forever. A spooky thought indeed for an insecure god. Notice that God refers to himself (themselves?) in the first person plural, suggesting, contrary to many other Bible verses, that there are several gods.

Notice that although God told Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (2:16-17), he never told him not to eat from the Tree of Life. God said that Adam would die the day that he ate from the forbidden tree (2:17). Well, Adam ate from that tree (3:6), so why was God worried that Adam might eat from that other tree (the Tree of Life) and live forever.

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

God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden because they had chosen to disobey Him.  Their intimacy was compromised because of their poor decisions.

Since there is a trinity, then God can refer to Himself in either the plural or the singular.

God certainly wasn't worried about Adam doing something like eating from the Tree of Life.  This was a real situation, but there is a symbolism here that shouldn't be missed.  Adam and Eve's sin cost them their intimacy with God.  Their sin required a punishment and God chose this punishment for them.

(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.)

With Christ in us, we can have sincere love for others.

God enables you to love people deeply and unselfishly.

After you get saved, Christ purifies the junk in your heart.

God has given you the opportunity to partake of His divine nature.

Live above your circumstances; not under them.

My passport says "Heaven" on it.

Getting saved gives you a bond with God.

These quotes came from God, me, and Miles McPhearson.

Do you need more 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 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."