Be Faithful to Jesus

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.

I was speaking with a spiritual leader recently who
proclaimed that it doesn't matter what the Bible says:
We have to update our beliefs to fit the times.

Is that what Jesus would do?

Please read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL   MONDAY APRIL 24, 2006
( John 6:68, 69 )

"Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that
you are the Holy One of God.' " (John 6:68,69)

Quitting, giving up, turning back IS NOT AN OPTION!  Have
you ever come to a place where you were tired of fighting
life's battles, things weren't working out the way you had
hoped or expected and you simply said "this Jesus thing
just isn't working."  How about coming to that place where
you heard what God said on a specific subject and decided
that you didn't agree with Him and made the choice to
reject God and do it your way.  Has there ever been a time
when you wanted to quit following Christ and go back to
your old life?

The reality is, this is the exact place MANY come to at
some point in their journey with the Lord.  Based on the
emails I get each day, I know there are people reading
these words this very moment that are at that EXACT
place.  Each week we add apx.. 8,000 new subscribers to
the Daily Devotional.  Each week we also see apx 4,000
leave the Daily Devotional.  In well over 80% of the
cases where people unsubscribe, they tell me they don't
agree with what God's Word says on issues like faith in
Christ being the ONLY way to be saved, the sin of
homosexuality, that abortion is murder, that all sex
outside of marriage is a sin, that living together
without being married is not God's plan, and any other
issue you can name.  They make the choice to quit
following Jesus.

(Note:  This is the exact reason so many pastors refuse
to deal with the critical issues of life.  They don't want
to "offend" anyone for fear of losing people in their
church and money in their treasury.  So they compromise
and stay away from the real issues of life and preach a
"feel good," watered down Gospel, being careful to never
talk bout sin.  This "positive mental attitude Gospel"
sounds nice but unless a person accepts the fact they are
a sinner, the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin,
they repent and ask the Lord to forgive them, and then
invite Him into their heart and life by faith, they are
being duped into believing they are going to heaven by
gutless pastors who are more worried about the applause
( and $$$) of men than the applause of God!)

In today's anchor verses from the 6th Chapter of John's
Gospel, we have the Biblical account of people who were
following Jesus, but after hearing Him preach on an
issue they didn't agree with, "many of his disciples
turned back and no longer followed Him."  In the Book of
Acts we hear of a man who was part of Paul's ministry
named Demas (Colossians 4:14).  We hear of Demas again in
2 Timothy 4 when Paul states, "For Demas, because he
loved this world, has deserted me."  I remember many
years ago preaching a message on Demas and in preparing
that message, literally breaking down in tears reading
that verse in 2 Timothy 4 about Demas turning his back on
the Lord's work to go back into the world.  How sad for
someone to come to the place, for whatever reason, that
they quit Jesus.

*Sadly, every day many pastors and people who are in full-
time service to the Lord make the decision to leave the
ministry.  This is a HUGE issue that is rarely talked
about or discussed.  I will address is soon.

This, of course, brings into play the great theological
debate regarding eternal security.  I am not going to go
into depth on this issue today, though I will soon to
help those who may be confused about what God's Word
teaches regarding if it is possible for someone to lose
their salvation.  You are free to believe whatever you
want about this issue, but the Bible is clear that if
you are truly saved by faith in Christ you will always be
saved.  Choosing to turn your back on the Lord ruins your
joy, robs you of your peace, and causes you to miss the
abundance of this life, but you don't lose your salvation.
Salvation is a product of your faith in Jesus and God's
grace, period.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God
withdraws His grace, which by definition is His unmerited
favor, or something you did nothing to earn in the first
place.  The real key to this issue, something only God
knows for certain, is did the person really accept the
Lord into their heart and life by faith to begin with.

The thing I have always loved about Peter was that he was
a very bottom line kind of guy.  He was never shy about
stating his opinion, and more often than not that opinion
was inspired by God Himself.  Here again we see Peter rise
to the occasion when Jesus asked the 12 disciples if they
too were going to leave.  Peter boldly proclaimed, "To
whom shall we go?"  For those of you today who are
discouraged, thinking about quitting, giving up, turning
back, let me ask you the same question Peter did, WHERE
ARE YOU GOING TO GO?

I love you and care about you so much.  You really only
have two options, you stick it out with Jesus or you go to
satan.  There is no other choice.  You either follow Jesus
or you follow satan.  Satan is a liar and his goal is to
kill, steal, and destroy.  By following satan you will
spend all eternity in the Lake of Fire, a place specially
created by God for satan and his fallen angels.  God is
Truth.  God wants you to know His peace and joy and the
abundance of this life.  He loves you unconditionally.  He
sent Jesus to die for your sins so that you could spend
all eternity with Him. As Peter correctly told Jesus, "You
have the words of eternal life."

I will be praying for you today.  Praying that the next
time you get discouraged, the next time you get weary
from fighting life's battles, the next time you start
thinking how things aren't working out the way you
hoped in your life, you will remember the words of Peter,
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO GO?  The only place to go is to
satan.  Do you really want to go back to the way your life
used to be before you started to follow Jesus?  My friend,
the Lord is your only real hope and your only real answer
for this life and all eternity.  The trials and
tribulations we face are all part of living in this fallen
world infested by sin.  But take comfort today from the
words of Jesus when He told his disciples just hours
before gong to the cross, "Be of good cheer, for I have
overcome this world!"

Even though we don't have the details, I proffer that one
reason Demas turned back to the world and quit serving
the Lord was the attacks that come when you sell out your
very life to serve and follow Jesus.  I told you late
last year when I shared with you the news of the
Liveprayer TV program going nationwide that the attacks
would be at a magnitude like never before.  The temptation
to quit, to give up, to stop following the Lord, all stem
from just wanting some peace from the never-ending attacks
at every level.  However, at some point you have to decide
no matter what, you are going to serve and follow the Lord,
even unto death!  Trust me, many days death would actually
be easier since that means the battles of this life would
be over.

We are into the countdown of the last 70 days until the
Liveprayer TV program goes nationwide.  Satan has come
after me hard on many personal fronts these past 60 days
and I have no doubt they will continue.  He has come
hard after my wife.  Thank you for your prayers, they
mean so much.  We will be setting aside the entire month
of June for prayer and fasting.  Satan knows that there
is NOTHING he can do to stop me.  His attacks only make
me more resolved in the work God has called me to do and
I know He is watching over me and will protect me.

The battle lines, however, have finally been drawn around
one area.....MONEY.  Satan knows that the magnitude of
what we are going to do is something that I can't do
alone.  His only hope in stopping this from becoming a
reality is to attack those who God is calling to help me
financially.

Some people may say, "Who cares if this TV program goes
nationwide or not."  That is a fair question.  Two who
clearly care are God and satan.  God, because He knows
that this instrument can bring thousands, even millions
to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ while bringing
Biblical Truth into the marketplace, and satan, who will
do everything he can to stop a vehicle that has the
audacity to confront him on his turf and expose his lies
to the masses, while literally taking souls heading for
hell on a conveyor belt and rerouting them to Heaven!
This my friend is clearly a battle for the eternal souls
of men.

The only Christian programming that exists are those on
Christian stations and networks where 99% of the audience
are already Christian.  A very few take their typical
preaching/teaching program they air on the Christian
stations and networks and play these pre-recorded tapes
on some secular stations on Sunday morning.  There is NO
"live" daily program on secular television to combat the
false hope merchants like Oprah and Dr. Phil and all the
garbage the secular networks air 24/7.  Nothing that
without compromise sharing Biblical Truth and without
shame telling people that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way.
We have proved in over 3 years that we can compete with
the major network programs, attract primarily viewers who
are not Christians, and bring the Truth of God's Word and
the hope and love of Christ to the lost and hurting masses.

We took a huge step of faith over 3 years ago in launching
this program on UPN in Tampa, the #12 television market in
the nation.  We took another huge step of faith last July
in expanding the program to ABC in Miami, Jacksonville,
West Palm Beach, PAX in Orlando, and the WB in Ft. Myers.
We are now taking the ultimate step of faith in bringing
this program to the entire nation July 3rd on the PAX
(now called ION) Network.  We will be on "live" from
Midnight to 1 a.m. EST every Monday thru Friday night
taking God's Truth into the marketplace and the hope and
love of Christ to literally millions of people who are
simply looking for answers and hope in their life.

Here is where we are at.  I need your prayers and for you
to seek the Lord about what you can do to help me in the
next 70 days.

If I was interested in raising money as some have accused
me, I would simply go to the Christian stations and
networks with the TV program and preach to the choir and
raise millions in donations like many others do.  I would
sell books and tapes to Christians.  I would rent out
stadiums and get churches to bring buses of people who I
can sell products to and get donations from.  I would
have a nice building, a million dollar home, and a great
plane to fly around in.  Actually, if I was really
interested in making money, I would simply go back into
the financial markets, make $500k a year trading, and
live a quiet, peaceful life with my wife.

My friend, I refuse to quit, I refuse to give up, and I
refuse to turn back on God's calling in my life.  I made
the commitment to serve and follow Jesus over 16 years
ago and will do so with my last breath.  God has truly
blessed my life over these years and the work of
Liveprayer these past 80 months.  He has given us the rare
opportunity to boldly and without shame take His Truth and
the hope and love of Jesus Christ to this lost and hurting
world.  Liveprayer only exists today because friends like
you care, you pray, and you sacrificially give.  All that
we have done in impacting millions of lives worldwide for
Christ each day has been possible because of those who
were faithful and obedient to hear God's voice and stand
with me.

***I NEED YOU TO STAND WITH ME TODAY!

***TO GIVE A GIFT TO LIVEPRAYER, you can use your major
credit card on our secure sever at: www.liveprayer.com
under the "Donation" link, you can give using your PayPal
account using my email address: bkeller@liveprayer.com ,
or you can mail your gift to:  Liveprayer,
6660 46th Ave. North, St. Petersburg, Fl 33709.  All
gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Also, don't forget that you can give to Liveprayer by
transferring stock to us which could be a help to you on
your taxes.  We can also accept gifts of real estate,
again saving you in taxes by simply transferring your
property to us.  Please be praying what you can do in
the coming weeks to help me.

We are on the verge of seeing Liveprayer become a major
force in this nation and world in bringing God's Truth to
the lost and hurting masses, and as a vehicle to lead
literally millions of people to faith in Jesus Christ.
Now is the time, this is the moment, and God is calling
YOU to help me make a difference in this world by letting
Him use your life and all He has entrusted you with to
reach those who need Christ's hope and build His Kingdom!
Quitting, giving up, turning back IS NOT AN OPTION!

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
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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