Serve God to Be a Real Winner

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a devotional today that I
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.

Do you ever feel like you've failed?  Put that same
effort into serving God and you can only succeed.

The only way you can truly fail for all eternity is
to NOT serve God.

Please read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL    TUESDAY MARCH 21, 2006
( Mark 10:43, Deuteronomy 10:12, Hebrews 12:28,
Matthew 5:16 )

Seizing the moment!   Today is one of those messages that
companies spend $100,000 on to bring in the hot
motivational guru of the day to deliver to their employees.
The worst part is, they throw that money down the toilet
since these false-hope merchants deliver nothing but hype
and a New Age philosophy that makes people believe THEY
can do it, when the truth is nothing is possible without
God.  Today, I want to share with you how to be all God
has called you to be in your life, while encouraging you
and challenging you to accomplish more than you ever
thought you could for the Lord as you find that balance
between operating in God's power while doing what you are
responsible for doing to seize the moment.

The first and most important fact to understand is that
there is no failure when you are serving God.  When two
basketball teams play, one wins and one loses.  In a golf
tournament there is only one winner and the rest lose.
We have been conditioned by our culture that you either
win or lose.  The fact is, when you are serving God, you
can't lose.  Let me say that once again since this is
very critical that you understand this....when you serve
God, you can't lose!

Let me give you an example.  The world judges success by
numbers and dollars.  The world would say a church with
5 members and no property or money in the bank is a
failure.  I am here today to tell you that if the heart
of that pastor is to serve God, if he is preaching the
uncompromised Truth of God's Word, if he is equipping his
members to grow in their faith and serve the Lord with
their lives, he and this church are a HUGE success in
God's eyes regardless what the world says.

You see, God sees our heart.  God knows our motives.
When you have a heart that is pure and tender and you
seek to serve and glorify God with your life, you can't
fail.  God will use your sacrifice for His glory even
though you may never see the results of your faithfulness.
I remember many days and nights when I first started in
the ministry over 15 yrs ago.  I preached many times to
3 and 4 people.  As I type these words today, I can
honestly say I preached as hard, gave everything I had to
those 3 and 4 as I have when there were thousands, or
when millions read and hear what God is speaking through
me each day now.

THERE IS NO FAILURE WITH GOD.  YOU CAN'T FAIL WHEN YOU
SERVE GOD!!!

Having established that fact, we are left with the question
of how do we serve God?  What can I do to serve the Lord?
God calls each of us to serve in different areas, in
different ways.  Each child of God has a specific calling
upon their life.  The first step is to realize that as a
Believer you have been called by God and be willing to
serve Him.  That may not seem difficult, but I assure you
that it is.  You see, to serve God, you have got to be
willing to give your life to Him.  You have got to be
willing to lay aside YOUR will for HIS will.  You have got
to be willing to lay aside YOUR desires for HIS desires.
You have got to be willing to unconditionally give your
life and all that you have completely to the Lord.

Believe it or not, this is the place most Christians get
stuck.  They want to serve God, they want their life to
count for Christ, but the fact is they really aren't
willing to give up their life for Him.  Everyone wants
to be blessed, but few are willing to pay the price to
be blessed.  Better say that again.  Everyone wants to
be blessed, but few are willing to pay the price to be
blessed.  The price I am talking about is obedience.
God blesses our obedience, not our rebellion.  We all
want God's blessings in our life, but sadly, most aren't
willing to pay the price, obedience, to receive those
blessings.

The same is true with our service to the Lord.  I
believe most Christians want to serve God, but sadly,
most aren't willing to pay the price to serve Him.
Very few will be called to sell everything and move to
some jungle in Africa, or called to quit your job and go
work in some ministry, or spend your free time ministering
to AIDS patients.  God COULD call you to do any of those
things, but the chances are He won't.  Most people end up
serving God right where they are at.

God put you in the neighborhood you live in, in the job
you have, in the school you go to, meeting the people you
do in the course of your life...TO SERVE HIM!  Your most
basic form of service is simply being His light, His
ambassador, to the people you meet and interact with in
the course of your day-to-day life.  The most basic form
of service that most FAIL to perform, is simply being
His witness to the people who God brings into your life
each day.

Remember I told you that you can't fail when you serve
God?  The only way you can fail is to NOT serve God!!!

After that basic level of service, each Believer is
called to a more focused and specialized form of serving
the Lord.  This usually lines up with how God has wired
an individual, what their passions and gifts are.  The
key is to get involved in some form in serving Him, and
over time God will guide you, open and close doors to
have you right where He wants you to be and doing exactly
what He wants you to be doing.  Because He has given you
the gifts you will be able to do it, and because He has
given you the passion you will want to do it.

This next level of service will become part of your life.
You will still have your job or go to school, you will
still have your family responsibilities, you will still
have your own personal relationship with the Lord, you
will still have your hobbies and interests, but serving
the Lord will also become part of your daily life and
who you are as a follower of Jesus Christ.  This seems
petty basic but the reality is, most Believers don't
serve God in ANY capacity which is why Jesus said that
"the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."

I love you and care about you so much.  I can't even begin
to talk to you about "seizing the moment" until I get you
to understand that service is not an option but a
requirement for the child of God.  Nobody ever threw a
touchdown pass, or sank a basket, or made a putt from
the stands.   You have to be on the field, in the game.
As we live in these last days of human history, with
the return of our Lord imminent, God needs ALL of His
children serving Him with all they have each day.

Jesus shared many parables, especially near the end of
His life about the servant being faithful to the master,
about being a good steward of what we have been given,
about being prepared for the master to return.  There
was this emphasis by our Lord to teach the people, to
encourage the people, to challenge the people to seize
the moment.  The men and women we read about in God's
Word, the men and women throughout the history of the
church whose names are forever etched in history, are
all people who were first and foremost servants of God,
but second of all, men and women who SEIZED THE MOMENT!

God is speaking to you today about giving up your very
life to serve Him.  He is calling you today to
unconditionally surrender to Him so that He can use your
life to fulfill His plan and purpose.  Before you can
seize the moment, you have to be on the battlefield
serving Him with your very life.  As you make that
sacrifice, God will guide you, use you, and bring
opportunities your way to use your life to bring honor
and glory to Him.  In the course of your service, there
will come those sentinel moments when God raises you up,
calls you forth, and gives you the opportunity to make
your life count in a significant way for all eternity.

NOTHING YOU WILL EVER DO IN THIS LIFE WILL MATTER FOR ALL
ETERNITY EXCEPT THOSE THINGS YOU DO FOR JESUS!

I am praying for you today.  Praying that you will receive
this word today and take some time to read it over and over
and mediate on it.  I pray that you will step up and answer
God's call to serve Him.  Serve Him in your daily life by
being His witness to others you meet along your journey,
serve Him by finding avenues of service that God will open
up for you, and then be faithful as your life becomes a
living sacrifice.

In the course of serving the Lord, there will come
those precious moments when God will allow you to use
your life to make an impact for all eternity.  Never
forget, there is no failure when you serve God.  SEIZE
THE MOMENT!!!

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