Hello!

I hope you had a great weekend.

Would you like to hear 50 worship songs?  Well, my archive is nearly complete.  My pledge to play, sing, and record 50 songs has come to fruition and can be heard online at http://50songs.jcsm.org.  You can also read the lyrics and chords.  I just recorded some original music that I wrote to Isaiah 55:10-11 and you can only hear it on that page. 

Since I left town twice and caught a brief cold, I was unable to do 50 songs in 50 days.  Nonetheless, I have pressed onward and kept my pledge.  Glory to God.

Next Saturday, I will debate an atheist from the North Texas Skeptics.  Please pray that it goes well.  This debate will be on the telephone, but he will be taking the call during from of their monthly meetings.  His group has been advertising the debate, so they are expecting a nice crowd.  Let's pray that the listeners understand the truth of God, repent from their sins, and trust Christ for salvation.

The Free.Christians newsgroup is going very well!  There are numerous subscribers and over 1,500 messages.  Google Groups will be carrying the newsgroup, soon, and I've contacted AOL and asked them to carry it, too.  You can read and post messages at news:free.christians.  If your browser isn't set up for newsgroups, then you can read the messages at http://read.freechristians.org.

This Tuesday is election day in California!  Please pray that morality is restored to our state.  We have two propositions on the ballot, plus over 150 candidates for Governor.  It has been an exciting campaign and I'm looking forward to the results of the election. 

Right now, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the front-runner.  If he were pro-life, if he took a biblical stand on homosexuality, and if he would sign "The No New Taxes Pledge," then I would consider supporting him.  Nonetheless, if he wins, he will surely do a better job than our current, far-left, inadequate Governor who should be recalled by the voters on Tuesday.

I hope that God blesses you richly as you seek His face.  Trust in Him and He will direct you.

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 450mb 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 (click here to listen!)

"Love Your Enemies"

Matthew 5:44-46  "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?"

Insight: Christians are commanded to love their enemies.  This doesn't mean that we are to tolerate or simply like our enemies; but we are to love them.  Ask God for this kind of love and when you show it, give God credit because it was surely unnatural for us and completely from His Holy Spirit.

Prayer: "Thank you for wanting us to love our enemies.  Help us to do this as You would.  Thank you for wanting to reveal yourself to others through us.  Let us be sensitive to your Holy Spirit.  Thank you for literally living inside of us!  Forgive us for being unfriendly to our enemies.  Remind us that You will be faithful and help us obey You.  Let the world see your love through us as your, imperfect vessels strive to do your perfect work.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

William Penn (1644-1718) was the founder of Pennsylvania.

"I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect.  They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them.  We accept them as the words of God Himself." - from "Treatise of the Religion of the Quakers"

A Moment of Introspection

It isn't always easy to love your friends and family.  People do things that are upsetting.  They sometimes let us down or break promises.  How much more difficult is it to love our enemies?

Christ set an awesome example for us.  He could have used His power to judge His enemies, but He didn't.  His miracle working power that healed people and cast demons into swine could have been used to repay the mockers that hated Him.  However, He exercised meekness, self-control, and love. 

I hope and pray that we can do the same.

Pray for three people that hate you.  If possible, find a way to love them in a tangible way (e.g. giving them something, saying something nice to them, etc.).

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

orexis (Greek): lust, excitement of the mind, longing after

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 4:23-24 - Lamech kills a man and claims that since Cain's murderer would be punished sevenfold, whoever murders him will be punished seventy-seven fold. That sounds fair.

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

Simply because his actions and words were written in the Bible, this does not mean his murder and his curse were justified.

(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 new quotes this week.  However, 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.

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization.  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.

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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."