Hello!

I pray you are having a great day.

Have you visited my 50 Worship Song archive?  It's about halfway completed!  You can stream worship songs, read their lyrics, and even learn how to play them!  I've recorded them by using high quality equipment, guitars, effects, and much more.  Link: http://jcsm.net/50PC/50Songs.htm.

Please pray that JCSM receives our federal, 501(c)(3) designation.  This week, we are sending our fourth correspondence to the IRS as we try and work out the fine details of our organization.  We are optimistic and looking forward to being a full-fledged, non-profit organization!

Please pray for the situation in Alabama.  In America, secularism is being entertained and this has led some to absurd actions like removing the 10 Commandments from the lobby of a courtroom.  As I'm sure you've seen from these devotions, the United States were founded by Christians that gave this great country a biblical foundation.  Keeping the 10 Commandments in the lobby of a courtroom is as American as waving the flag.

My interview with Joe Taylor went very well.  He is a very nice man with a lot of information on fossils.  You can freely hear it here: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=8280311038.

My campaign for the office of California's Governor is going very well.  My television ad/interview will be available for streaming on the internet, soon.  In next week's devotions, I'll provide a link.  Until then, you can see my campaign site here: http://jasongastrich.com.

Today, atheist Farrell Till told me that he wants to debate another subject.  This offer is open to everyone, so I encourage you to prayerfully consider it.  Here are some potential topics you can debate with him: Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre or Egypt, Isaiah's prophecy against Babylon or Tyre, the biblical accounts of the Israelites' wanderings, etc.  He is also open to other ideas.

I will moderate the formal, online, text debate, so you don't have to worry about anything.  Your debate will likely be seen thousands of times before the end of the year!  It will also be seen by countless atheists, so it will be a witnessing tool to them.  Right now, my plate is full, so I'm looking for someone to debate Mr. Till.  Please email me if you're interested.

I pray that you are blessed this week.  Keep looking to the Lord and He will lift you up.

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!)

"Choosing God and Predestination"

2 Thessalonians 2:13  "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

Revelation 17:8  "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.  And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

Joshua 24:15  "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Matthew 19:16-21  "Now behold, one came and said to Him, 'Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'  So He said to him, 'Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.'  He said to Him, 'Which ones?'  Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?'  Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."

Insight: Did God choose us or did we choose God?  The answer is: both.  All believers in Christ can remember a time where they opened their mouth, repented, and believed, trusted, and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  However, there are also a number of scriptures that indicate how God chose us.  Therefore, we know that both are true.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thanks for loving us so much.  Thank you for choosing us and giving us the free will to choose You.  Help us to understand You and your ways.  Bless us and make us like You.  Thank you for the ministry that You have given to each of us.  Lift us up and cause us to be joyful, patient, loving, and kind.  Forgive our sins.  Purify us.  Help us to witness to all people.  Remind us that we cannot know if someone is chosen or not, so we need to witness to everyone.  Help us to love others like You would.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was a cosigner and "ratifier" of the U.S. Constitution and the first Secretary of the Treasury. 

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests." - "One Nation Under God," by Christine F. Hart, 1787.

"In my opinion, the present constitution is the standard to which we are to cling.  Under its banner bona fide must we combat our political foes, rejecting all changes but through the channel itself provided for amendments.  By these general views of the subject have my reflections been guided.

I now offer you the outline of the plan they have suggested.  Let an association be formed to be denominated "The Christian Constitutional Society," its object to be first:  The support of the Christian religion. second: The support of the United States." - In a letter to James Bayard, written from April 16-21, 1802, and contained in the book, "The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton," by Allan M. Hamilton.

"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor.  I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man." - "Famous American Statesmen," by Sarah K. Boulton.

A Moment of Introspection

How often do you pray for your unsaved friends and witness to them?

I'm convinced that if we could understand the reality of eternal damnation, it would motivate us to share the gospel in a new way.  The next time you avoid witnessing or don't want to share the gospel, remember that Hell is eternal, and share the good news.

Share the gospel with one person this week.

Moses (Hebrew): mosheh - drawing out of water, rescued

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 4:12 - As a punishment for killing Abel, God says Cain will be "a fugitive and a vagabond." Yet in just a few verses (4:16-17) Cain will settle down, marry, have a son, and build a city. This is not the activity one would expect from a fugitive and a vagabond.

Genesis 4:14 - Cain is worried after killing Abel and says, "Every one who finds me shall slay me." This is a strange concern since there were only two other humans alive at the time -- his parents!

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

* After this point, very little is said about Cain.  The time between his punishment and his marriage is unknown.  An argument from silence is a very weak argument.

* Adam and Eve lived for hundreds of years.  They surely had other children.  Their other children also had children.

(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.)

Christians are spiritually rich because they have a direct link to God, so they shouldn't act like they're spiritually poor.

God is here and there at the same time.

God knows all things.

Jesus is all God and all man at the same time.

God has knowledge of the entire course of future events.

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.

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: http://5.jcsm.org.

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."