Hello!

I hope you are well, today.

Please continue to pray for the families and animals effected by the California wildfires.  They have been quite destructive and costly.  Fortunately, my family and I have been safe.

This week, I added interesting messages from Christians in Australia and Great Britain in to our International Christians web page.  If you'd like to see what Christianity is like around the world, then come and see at http://www.jcsm.org/InternationalChristians.htm!

Someone has showed me some awesome pictures from the recent Aurora over Nova Scotia.  There are about twenty pictures of the beautiful sky and you can freely view them here: http://users.eastlink.ca/~jenniblackmore/astro/aurorae/aurora.htm.

Our ministry on Sermon Audio continues to reach a large audience.  In October, our MP3 files registered 1,429 listens!  5/6 of the Bible is available in MP3 format and the entire Bible will be uploaded by the end of the year.  This MP3 ministry can be found here: http://sa.jcsm.org and our most recent listener report can be viewed here: http://jcsm.org/JCSM/SAReports.htm.

Two of my favorite bands are releasing albums on November 4.  P.O.D. releases their “Will You” album and Jars of Clay releases their “Who We Are Instead” CD!  Support your local, Christian bookstore and get these albums from them!

On November 1, I celebrated the 9 year anniversary of my decision to devote my life to Christ.  I have been a Christian for 20 years, but I got "serious" 9 years ago.  I also began a diet.  I'm in average shape, but I want to get into great shape.  Please pray that I can lose a few pounds and workout more often.

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!)

"Know the Enemy: He is Real"

1 Peter 5:8-10  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you."

Job 1:7-12  "And the LORD said to Satan, 'From where do you come?'  So Satan answered the LORD and said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.'  Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'  So Satan answered the LORD and said, 'Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?  You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!'  And the LORD said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.'  So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD."

Ephesians 6:11-18  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

For more on Satan, please see these, two sites:

http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/satan.htm

http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/genesis3.htm

Insight: Our enemy is real and so are our spiritual battles.  Are you prepared?  Do you know our enemy?  After you walk with God for awhile, you will begin to see where the enemy likes to attack you.  Take heart and formulate a plan to overcome him and flee from him.  Knowing what to do, before you are attacked with temptation, will help you to stay pure and holy.

Prayer: "Bless us, Lord.  Give us strength and wisdom.  Thank you for being stronger than all.  Lift us up and help us to do your will.  Forgive us for neglecting you.  Forgive us for failing and falling short.  Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to Earth to overcome evil and be victorious.  Help us to use the power from your Holy Spirit and do the same.  Remind us that You live within us and will be faithful.  Let us be faithful to You as well.  We love You and praise You, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was a lawyer, statesman, and Revolutionary leader.  He was a member of the Virginia legislature in 1765.  He was also a member of the 1st Continental Congress.  Patrick Henry was the Governor of Virginia for several terms.

"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die . . . I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete." - "A Cloud of Witnesses," by Steven Abbott Northrop, p.227.

"This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries and gave independence to ours.  Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings, which a gracious God hath bestowed on us.

If they are wise, they will be great and happy.  If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.

Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation.  Reader!  Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others." - written on the back of the Stamp Act resolves, May, 1765.

"That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other." - Article 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights, June 12, 1776.

"The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed." - "The Life and Character of Patrick Henry," by William Wirt, 1818, pg. 402.

"This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family.  The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed." - "Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman," by Norene Dickson Campbell, pg. 428.

A Moment of Introspection

Did you know that the vast majority of America's founders were Bible-believing Christians?  Some say that they were merely deists.  However, I've investigated a number of these claims and found them to be false.

Since our founders lived around 200 years ago, we can't ask them what they believe.  Nonetheless, we can still find a variety of statements from them.  The atheists often take a couple of the more general and ambiguous statements about God and claim the founders didn't believe in Jesus Christ.  However, in nearly every case, I have been able to find quotes from these same founders that mention their faith in the biblical God and Jesus Christ!  And the specific and obvious quotes must be used to interpret the ambiguous ones.

Each week, I'm uploading the quotes from our founders.  There will be quotes from one founder in each devotional, but I also host http://michaelnewdow.com and archive all of the quotes there.  Yes, that's the same guy who is trying to get "under God" out of the pledge.  Since he has forgotten about America's foundation, I wanted to remind him by hosting that site and making it a monument to our Christian roots in America.  When you have a minute, please visit and you'll see how God is being glorified.

Write down your schedule for one week.  On each day, write 5-10 things that you will do.  Make sure you incorporate some time with God.

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

baptizo (Greek) - baptize: to immerse in water

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 6:3 - Here we are told that the human life span is 120 years, but Ps.90:10 says it is only 70 years, and many people in the Bible lived far beyond either of these limits [for example Abraham's father lived to be 205 (Gen.11:32)].

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

This verse never says the human life span is 120 years.  God says "I will not always strive with men, his days will be one hundred and twenty."  God is saying that He will destroy the Earth and all humans, except Noah and his family, in one hundred and twenty years (which He does).

(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.)

The Devil will try hard and rush you through life, so you feel like you don't have time for God.

Discover how the enemy fights you in your life and learn to overcome and flee from him.

God knows what you can handle.

God makes His people very resilient.

A tree's roots are strengthened when the wind blows.

Are you serving God selfishly?

Reject the Devil's blessings.

Satan's goal is to destroy your relationship with God.

The Devil's timing can be quite good for him and difficult for us.

After a loss is suffered, God blesses more the second time.

There are some things that will happen to you that will hurt, but you'll forget them, later.

The gospel frees us from self-addiction.

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

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."