Hello!

I hope you had a good weekend and are doing well, today.

Please pray for the people in San Diego and Los Angeles counties.  Millions are being effected by wildfires.  Some were started because of arson; one started by accident.  Right now, the fires have destroyed about 1000 homes and hundreds of thousands of acres of land.  One fire is about 10 miles from my home and another is about 7 miles from my parent's home.  Let's pray that everyone stays safe and the fires are drenched, soon.

Have you visited the JCSM Study Center, lately?  As I write this letter, I'm uploading 100mb of files to the web, so people can read God's Word in their language.  I'm adding over 10,000 files that include the following, international Bibles: Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Shuar, Tamil, and Japanese.  Link: http://study.jcsm.org.

Please pray for our ministry.  We hope that millions of people take advantage of the resources we freely provide. 

Do you need web hosting or services?  Choose NKJV!  We offer great services at a price you can afford.  Visit http://nkjv.org and see!

Do you celebrate Halloween?  My wife, daughter, and I will be going to a church event on October 31.  Whatever you do, please be safe and pray for those that use this day for evil.

Don't forget!  Next week, you can begin pre-ordering the 3rd edition of "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained."  You won't want to miss it and if you already have a copy, then this is your chance to get one for a friend!  Link: http://skepticsannotatedbible.org.

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 550mb 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!)

"Trust in the Lord"

Proverbs 3:5, 6  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Psalm 7:1  "O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me;
and deliver me."

2 Samuel 22:31  "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him."

Hebrews 2:13a  "I will put my trust in Him."

2 Corinthians 3:4, 5  "And we have such trust through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God."

1 Timothy 4:10  "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."

Insight: Are you trusting in the Lord?  Have faith in the One who is faithful.  When things go bad and when things go well, make sure you trust in Him.  Our faith cannot be conditional.  We must rely on God and continually remember how He has been faithful to us.  If we could emulate His faithfulness, then we would be where we need to be.

Prayer: "Thank you for being faithful to us, Lord.  Help us to be faithful to You.  Forgive us for falling short.  Lift us up.  Thank you for giving us second chances.  Remove our worries and fears.  Give us courage, love, and faith.  Increase our faith.  Help us to see You as You really are.  Thank you for keeping the promises that you've given us in your Word.  Let us read them, know them, and memorize them.  Let us also be people of our word.  Thank you for having mercy and patience with us.  Help us to have these qualities with others and with ourselves.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) was a General in the Confederate Army and the son-in-law of George Washington's adopted grandson.  He excelled at West Point and as a military leader.  Abraham Lincoln offered him the position of Field Command of the United States Army.

"The doctrines and miracles of our Savior have required nearly two thousand years to convert but a small part of the human race, and even among the Christian nations what gross errors still exist!" - "The Story of Robert E. Lee," by Ralston Lattimore, pp. 22-23.

"My heart is filled with gratitude to Almighty God for his unspeakable mercies with which He has blessed us in this day.  For those He granted us from the beginning of life, and particularly for those He has vouchsafed us during the past year.  What should have become of us without His crowning help and protection?" - "Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee," by Captain Robert E. Lee (the General's son), pp. 88-89.

"I pray that our merciful Father in Heaven may protect and direct us.  In that case I fear no odds and numbers." - "Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee," by Captain Robert E. Lee (the General's son), pg. 95.

"Soldiers!  Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, our God, asking through Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, beseeching the aid of the God of our forefathers in the defense of our homes and our liberties, thanking Him for His past blessings, and imploring their continuance upon our cause and our people." - "Christ in the Camp," by John William Jones, pg. 58.

"There are things in the old Book that I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible Word of God, and receive its teaching as inspired by the Holy Spirit." -  "The Glory of America," by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, 8.9. (also in "Marse Robert," by Young, pg. 344.).

A Moment of Introspection

It has been said that God is never silent.  Have you ever paused, silenced your thoughts, and listened for God's voice?

Take two minutes to calm yourself, clear your thoughts, and ask God if He has anything to say to you.  Write it down and do what He tells you.

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

ach (Hebrew) - brother: used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance

* Do your own Greek and Hebrew word studies right here!  Link: http://kjv.jcsm.org.

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 6:2-4 - "The sons of God saw the daughters of men ...." But according to John (Jn.3:16, 18, 1 Jn.4:9), God only has one son -- Jesus. Well, maybe they died before Jesus was born. Anyway, the "sons of God" copulated with the "daughters of men," and has sons who became "the mighty men of old, men of renown."

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

The "sons of God" refers to fallen angels.  The Hebrew word for "sons" includes a wide variety of figurative uses, such as "nation, grandson, quality, condition, subject," etc.  God is not referring to Jesus Christ or a literal son.

(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 aren't any new quotes this week, but we have thousands in our archives!  If you'd like to read them, please go 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."