Love and Be Good to Your Children and Spouse

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL    SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2005
(Genesis 1:28, 2:24, Deuteronomy 6:7, Proverbs 22:6,
Malachi 2:16, 2 Corinthians 12:14, Ephesians 6:4,
Psalms 127:3)  PLEASE READ EACH ONE!!!

OVER THESE PAST FEW YEARS, it seems every time you
turn on the news there is another story of children
being abused and often murdered.  The Devotional
today deals with this issue and is one that every
mom, dad, and child needs to read.  I pray that God
will use it to bring people under conviction in
regard to His plan for the family, as well as
healing in those lives that have been damaged and
destroyed.

The damaged and destroyed lives of our children. 
Without question, the number one problem in our
society today is the breakdown of marriage and the
family.  God's Holy Institution of Marriage between
a man and a woman for life is His perfect plan for
a man and woman to become one and share this
journey through life.  A husband and wife having
children and raising them in the admonition of the
Lord is God's plan for the family.  This plan was
instituted in the Garden of Eden and has NEVER
CHANGED throughout the generations.  Regardless of
how man has tried to redefine marriage, redefine
what a family is, GOD'S DEFINITION HAS NEVER OR
EVER WILL CHANGE!

Everyday the vast percentage of prayer requests we
get are from people whose problems can be directly
tied to issues in their marriage or family.  For
those who are single today, please hear my heart. 
I can never emphasize enough what a critical
decision it is to get married and to whom you
marry.  This is a life changing event and will not
only involve you but your future children as well. 
Please, don't ever underestimate the importance of
marriage and how it will affect the rest of your
life and the lives of your future children.

That is why you cannot ignore God's warning in
2 Corinthians 6:14 to "not be unequally yoked with
a non-believer." Just saying they are saved is not
enough.  Do you actually see the fruit of their
relationship with Christ in their daily life? 
Lastly, even if the person you are praying about
marrying is a Christian and living their life for
the Lord, you still need to take the time to build
a spiritual foundation together and openly and
honestly talk through all of the various issues of
life.  Through this process God will confirm to you
both that this is part of His plan for your lives.

Also, this is a big reason why God designed sex FOR
MARRIAGE ONLY!  A natural byproduct of sexual
relations is a child.  God never intended children
to be raised by a mother alone.  That is why sex
outside of marriage is a sin and not part of His
plan since it may result in having a child.  It is
God's plan for children to be raised by a mother and
father who are committed to each other for life
through marriage.  There can never be a better
environment for raising a child than by a mother
and father who are surrendered to the Lord and to
each other.

As devastating and life changing as divorce is on
the parties involved, as devastating and life
changing as having a child outside of marriage is
on the woman, it is impossible to ever comprehend
the damage done to the children involved in a
divorce or those born outside of marriage.  In
the past 40 years as more and more marriages have
ended in divorce, as more women are having children
outside of marriage, the negative effect on
society is impossible to ignore.  I would be
willing, based on the 40,000+ prayer requests we
receive everyday here at Liveprayer, to boldly say
without hesitation that the current breakdown of
our society can be directly linked to the breakdown
of marriage and the family.

An incredible number of children are growing up
today in single parent homes, or homes where their
natural parent is on their second, third, even
fourth spouse.  Many children are growing up in
blended homes where they have brothers and sisters
by numerous mothers and fathers.  It is common for
many children to grow up today in several different
homes, during the week in one home and the weekends
in another.  Many children become pawns in hostile
divorce cases where they are forced to choose one
parent over another, in some cases being manipulated
to lie about one parent, often being moved overnight
from one home to another as different rulings come
down from the courts.  Physical, emotional, and
sexual abuse are experienced by a growing number of
children due to the fact they are living with
adults who are not their natural mothers or fathers
and the God-given natural love a mother and father
have for their child simply doesn't exist.

You can only imagine the damage done to children who
grow up in these types of environments.  Sadly, we
deal daily with children as young as 12, all the
way thru adults who have never been able to get
beyond their tragic childhoods.  The results are an
alarming number of children who need professional
help and are on some sort of daily medication for
emotional and behavioral problems.  You have
children and adults who have never known real love
in their life, falling instead for the love this
world promotes through sex.

You have so many children and young adults who have
never matured socially and end up with self-esteem
problems, never fitting in with others their own
age.  You have so many children and young adults
who have so much pain in their life they look to the
world's solution of escaping through drugs, alcohol,
and food.  The suicide rate of children and young
adults is at an all time high.  I could go on and on
but I wish you could sit here in my office each day
and read the stories of these children and young
adults who live in great pain each day and have
never known how wonderful this life can really be.

***THE LARGER PROBLEM is that these children and
young adults who have had their lives damaged are
growing up and they are having children of their
own.  Since they have no idea what God's plan for
marriage and family is, they will now be bringing
another generation of children into this world
living in ungodly environments who are damaged like
they are, and this cycle will simply continue with
more and more people living their lives totally
void of God and without any understanding of Christ,
His love, or God's Word.  These people are also the
prime targets for the cults and false religions of
the world who aggressively market themselves as the
answer to these people who are desperately looking
for hope in their life, when the only true hope
there is, is in a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ.

I love you and care about you so much.  The purpose
of this message today is three fold.  First as a
warning to those who are not married how serious
and life changing that decision will be and how it
will not only affect the rest of your life, but the
life of those children you will bring into this
world.  The second is to hopefully open the eyes of
those adults who may be thinking about getting a
divorce and ask that you pray about humbling
yourself before the Lord and asking Him to bring
healing and restoration to your marriage. Not just
for your sake, but for the sake of your children. 
Lastly, as a word of encouragement to you moms and
dads who have gone through the pain of being
divorced, to you moms who have had children outside
of marriage, and to the children and young adults
who are currently growing up in homes without their
natural mother and/or father.

For those who have been through the pain of being
divorced, let me assure you that the Lord loves you
and wants to help you heal.  For those women who
have had a child or children outside of marriage,
I pray that you will find the Lord's forgiveness in
His promise to you in 1 John 1:9.  God still has
much for you to do with the rest of your life as
well as many blessings for you to enjoy.   If you
are now married, God has given you a second chance
to do it His way.  Realize that you have made a
lifetime commitment to your spouse and that if you
will honor your vows to each other and to God, He
will richly bless you both for many years to come. 
For those who are still single, I will pray today
that in His perfect timing, He will bring into
your life a Godly man or woman to share the rest
of your journey with in His Holy Institution of
Marriage.

If you have children, please don't underestimate
what they have lived through.  They need your love
and attention and nurturing now more than ever. 
The number one ministry you will ever have in your
life is to your children.  Raise them in the
admonition of the Lord, pray with them every night
before they go to bed, make sure they are in church. 
Laying a foundation of faith in their life will not
only sustain them for the rest of their days on this
earth, but will help them to find the hope and
strength to overcome whatever they have had to
experience already in their young lives.  God is a
God of healing and He can bring healing to your
children.

Also, know that God will make you adequate.  If for
this season you are not in God's plan for the family,
know that He will help you and meet your every need. 
I realize that it is not easy, but the Lord will give
you wisdom, favor, encouragement, as you raise your
child or children.  Find your hope in the Lord each
day and look to Him for direction and provision, He
will not let you down.  Know that I am praying for
you and will stand with you as you raise your
children for the glory of God!

Let me close with a word of hope and encouragement
for you children and young adults that may be
growing up with only one parent or in some sort of
blended home.  First of all, God loves you very
much.  YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHOICES
YOUR PARENTS HAVE MADE.  IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.

Life can be very difficult at times, and sadly, you
have found that out at a very young age.  But never
doubt that Christ loves you so much and has a plan
and purpose for your life.  If you will take time
each day to pray to Jesus, read the Bible, get to
church each Sunday, follow Christ, He will give you
the strength to get through whatever you are facing
in your life. I pray today that you will turn to
Him and find His peace and joy in your life.  Jesus
is your hope and your answer, HE LOVES YOU....YOU
ARE SPECIAL!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

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***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer
Daily Devotional is now available via AUDIO each
day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional by
phone by calling  toll-free,1-888-382-4662, or
access it on your wireless device by going to:
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(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

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May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell