Hello!

I hope you are doing well, today.

Please pray for an old friend of mine.  On the news, I heard about his arrest and upcoming arraignment.  A friend from high school that I haven't seen in over 10 years is being tried for murder.  I'm not sure if he is a Christian or not.  I'll be writing him a letter, so he can read it in prison and consider Jesus Christ.

I put some new pictures of my daughter on her web site.  She is 13 months old and growing every day!  Her site is here: http://jordanfaith.com.  Click the "1 to 2 Years" link for the most recent pictures.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement regarding Ernie and the files for the JCSM Forum.  After numerous emails and even prompting from the forum members, he finally decided to return the JCSM Forum to us.  Praise the Lord.  God must have changed his heart because it was beyond our control. 

On the same day the forum was returned, I received an offer from Credible Host to host it and the JCSM Study Center for free.  These were phenomenal blessings.  Let's pray that they are blessed greatly for all of the wonderful things they are giving this ministry.

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, AIM: MrJasonGastrich, YIM: Jesus_Saved_Jason

The Weekly Devotion (click here to listen!)

"Find Your Calling - God's Specific Will"

Romans 12:1, 2  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Romans 1:9, 10  "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you."

Mark 3:35  "For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

2 Corinthians 2:1  "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God . . ."

1 Thessalonians 4:3  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;"

1 Thessalonians 5:18  "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Peter 3:17  "For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

1 John 2:17  "And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Insight: God has given us His revealed will in the Bible.  We know a good number of things that we are supposed to do and expected to avoid.  However, we are also to seek God's specific will for our life.  This will isn't revealed in His Word, but can be discovered by diligently seeking and trusting God.  Learn to seek God's will and submit to His lead in your life.  His plan will be better and greater than any human plan.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, help us to know and do your will.  Thank you for having a plan for us.  Thank you for loving us enough to teach and guide us.  Bless us, increase our ministries, lay your hand on us, and keep us from evil.  Forgive us for blazing a path without You.  Help us to slow down and talk to you.  Help us to listen to You, too.  Thank you for knowing everything and wanting to reveal great things to us.  Give us humility, self-control, meekness, and discipline.  Remind us of the times where we have sincerely listened to You and discovered awesome things about ourselves and our future.  Bless us and give us more of You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was a famous astronomer who invented the sector-compass and made the first practical use of the telescope.  He discovered the four, bright satellites of Jupiter, discovered the Law of Falling Bodies, and was a brilliant mathematician.

"I am inclined to think that the authority of Holy Scripture is intended to convince men of those truths which are necessary for their salvation, which, being far above man's understanding, can not be made credible by any learning, or any other mans than revelation by the Holy Spirit." - "Famous Men of Science," by Sarah K. Bolton, p.16.

"I send you a rose, which ought to please you extremely, seeing what a rarity it is at this season.  And with the rose you must accept its thorns, which represent the bitter suffering of our Lord, while the green leaves represent the hope we may entertain, that through the same sacred passion we, having passed through the darkness of this short winter of our mortal life, may attain to the brightness and felicity of an eternal spring in Heaven." - "Famous Men of Science," by Sarah K. Bolton, p.18.

A Moment of Introspection

Have you ever sought God's will?  Did you distinguish between His revealed will and His specific will?

We can read God's Word and discover His revealed will.  It is the same for all people.  In short, He wants us to repent from our sins and believe, trust, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  He also wants us to obey Him.

After we obey God's revealed will, then we need to discover His specific will.  Should you be a missionary?  Is God calling you to be a professional athlete?  As you diligently seek God and become open to His lead, you will find His specific will for your life.

Pray and ask God for His will in your life.  This may sound simple or this may sound silly if you already have a career.  Nonetheless, God wants you to do what He wants you to do, so pray and ask Him what you should do.  You won't regret it.

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

thelema (Greek): will - a determination, to actively choose, purpose, decree, inclination, desire

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 5:24 - Enoch ascends into heaven, contradicting Jn.3:13 which says, "no man hath ascended up to heaven."

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

This verse says "God took him."  Therefore, Enoch did not ascend to Heaven (which implies he floated to Heaven by means of his own will).  He was "assumed" or "raptured."  The Hebrew word "taken" means "seized" and "taken up."

(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.)

You can't just do stuff.  You need to find and do God's will.

Satan's attacks involve rumors and accusations.

Praying for people is a great thing.

Pray for your unsaved friends, by name, to get saved.

People who are successful and win are those who put their head down and work without giving up.

If you want to fulfill who God wants you to be, then you'll have to give up some things.

God increases challenges for maturing Christians.

Walking with Christ is letting go of more and more stuff.

The enemy's distractions are well timed, very subtle, and meant to cause fear.

Stay focused on God's work and remember you are doing a great work.

Lives will be changed by doing God's work.

God's enemies become disheartened by people doing His will.

Be strengthened by God through prayer.

Pray for the good hand of God to be upon you.

Pray that God Himself will prosper you.

Pray for God to fight for you.

Focused diligence gets the job done.

Remember, when you get distracted, the work stops.

Keep your eyes on the prize.

Work together and do your share.

Go the extra mile.

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.

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.

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."