Trust God . . . Avoid Lady Luck!

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.

Whenever I walk through a casino, I'm always
torn when I see people lined up the ATMs to get
more cash. I worry about them and say a little
prayer.  When I see people pouring hundreds of
dollars into slot machines, I feel a little ill.

Read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL    SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2006
( Psalms 118:8 )

***TODAY, OVER $2 BILLION WILL BE WAGERED WORLDWIDE
ON THE SUPER BOWL.  THE NEWEST CRAZE IN GAMBLING
TODAY IS POKER.  AS RECENT AS 40 YEARS AGO, GAMBLING
HAD A STIGMA TO IT.  PEOPLE KNEW THAT IT WAS NOT
ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.  IT WAS NOT GLORIFIED, BUT
RIGHTFULLY VIEWED AS AN IMMORAL ACTIVITY.  HOWEVER,
IN JUST 40 SHORT YEARS, VIRTUALLY EVERY STATE IN
THE UNION NOW SPONSORS SOME FORM OF LEGALIZED
GAMBLING.  IT IS AS CLOSE AS YOUR 7-11 STORE.  AS A
SOCIETY, WE HAVE BOUGHT INTO THE LIE THAT IT IS A
HARMLESS ACTIVITY THAT CAN HELP GOVERNMENT PAY FOR
VALUABLE PROGRAMS LIKE OUR SCHOOLS.  THE FACT IS,
AFTER MANY YEARS OF STATE SPONSORED GAMING, NONE
OF THE BENEFITS COME CLOSE TO THEIR PROMISED GOALS,
AND VERY REAL LIVES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.  IT IS NOT
HARMLESS FUN!!!

The Biblical case against gambling.  I am often asked
whether it is a sin to buy a Lottery ticket.  I am
going to tell you up front that there is no verse in
the Bible that says, "thou shalt not gamble."  However,
let me give you a Biblical basis why gambling is a sin.
Gambling involves an element of risk.  Ultimately, you
are putting your faith in something other than God
for the outcome.  Therein lies the foundation of why
gambling is a sin.  Instead of trusting God, instead
of putting your faith in God, you have chosen to put
your faith in luck.  You are hoping to beat the odds
and it is putting your hope and faith in something
other than God that makes gambling a sin.  Let me
outline for you three additional reasons why gambling
is a sin.

First, it can cause you to lose sight of your
priorities.  Never forget, anytime something is more
important than the Lord in your life, it is a sin.
We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart
and He MUST be our first priority at all times.
Second, it can be a poor use of God's resources that
He has entrusted to you.  Many people I have counseled
are in financial difficulties, not because they have
not been blessed by God, but because they have misused
and mishandled their blessing.  Lastly, it can be a
stumblingblock to your brother or sister.  Many people
have a compulsive nature, could end up in total bondage
to gambling.  So while it may not be a problem in your
life, your involvement may cause someone else to have a
problem with gambling.

Let me make an important point.  When I talk about
gambling, I am referring to the lottery, sports
gambling, casino games, private card games...but I am
also talking about the financial markets.  Having been
involved heavily in the financial markets in the 80's,
I can tell you that many people use the word investing,
when in fact they are literally gambling.  When you are
taking a financial position in the outcome of something
that is unknown, that is gambling no matter what words
you want to use.  You have as much control over the
stock price of a particular company as you do over the
performance of your favorite football team.

***This is NOT an indictment against having stocks and
bonds.  Prudent, reasoned, well strategized investment
plans are encouraged in God's Word.  I am talking about
those who are simply rolling the dice hoping to get
lucky in the stock market.

The Bible teaches us to be wise stewards with the
resources God has entrusted to us.  I am a strong
advocate of investing a portion of our resources in
well researched, fundamentally sound opportunities
that have the real potential of giving us a reasonable
return.  That is wise use of God's money.  God
encourages this type of prudent investing.  The line
is crossed into gambling when you are just "hoping to
be right," or entering into a situation with greed as
your motive.  No prayer, no research, simply taking a
chance you might win.  For the above outlined reasons,
that is a sin my friend.

I love you and care about you so much.  I will be
praying for you today, especially those who have been
caught up in the bondage of this addiction to gambling.
If you, or someone you know is addicted to gambling,
know that I will be praying today for those who are
in this bondage.   God is a God of deliverance and He
can deliver someone from the bondage of gambling.
Never forget that there is hope in Christ, and no
matter how bad someone has destroyed their life, God
can help them put the pieces together if they are
ready to surrender to Him.  Gambling is a sin, since
inherent in the nature of gambling there is a
reliance on chance instead of faith in God.  But
like all sin, Christ died on the cross to wash our
sins away and give us victory!

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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(C) Copyright 2006, 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 2006 Donald W. Mitchell