Minister to Others Like Jesus Did

Bill Keller wrote a devotional today that I recommend to
you for your consideration.  It has food for thought.  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.

After we know Jesus, it's natural to want to emulate His
wonderful example.  Obviously, we cannot do so much but
we can do our best.  Here are helpful thoughts about how
to do so.

I would like personally thank Jesus for healing my ailing
right shoulder that has been very painful for 18 months.
I was scheduled to go the doctor yesterday, but on Sunday
I listened to two healing services . . . and during the
prayer for healing in the second one my pain, stiffness
and loss of movement all disappeared.  Thank you, Jesus!

Please read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL   TUESDAY JUNE 6, 2006
( Matthew 9:36, 20:28, 2 Corinthians 4:2, 6:4,
1 Thessalonians 2:4, 5:14 )

Why so much ministry has become "one way."  During my
"Arabian desert" experience from 1990-1992 as God was re-
working me, molding me into the man He wanted me to be, I
as immersed in the study of God's Word for 12-16 hours
every single day.  I literally spent thousands of hours
studying the life of Jesus in the Gospels, reading about
His every move, paying close attention to how Jesus
conducted His business.  After all, He was the only one
who lived this life perfectly.  He is our example.  He is
the one we follow and are to pattern our lives after.  The
goal of every person who has accepted the Lord into their
heart and life by faith is to become more like Him each day.

One area of Christ's life that I studied endlessly was how
He ministered to others.  If I was going to serve Him,
minister in His name, I wanted to minister to people the
way Jesus did.  The first thing that stood out about the
way Jesus ministered was that He loved people, He had
great compassion for them.  You can literally feel His
love for people as He ministered to their needs, no matter
what those needs were.  The second thing that stood out to
me was that Jesus cared enough about people to tell them
the truth.  Even when it was not what they wanted to hear,
even if His words hurt their feelings, Jesus loved people
enough to tell them the truth.

The last thing that stood out was how ACCESSIBLE Jesus was
to the people.  How could you seriously minister to someone's
hurts and pains without having some interaction with that
person?  How could you effectively help someone through their
struggles from a distance?  Jesus got involved in people's
lives!  Yes, there were those times when He spoke to large
crowds like when he gave the "Sermon on the Mount," but for
the most part, Christ's earthly ministry was one on one or
to small groups of people.  Jesus understood that to
effectively minister to people's needs, He had to be
accessible to the people and he had to be involved in their
lives.  Sadly today, so much ministry is conducted "one way."

In the 16 years now since I have been in full-time ministry,
I have always done my best to follow the example of Christ
and make myself accessible and available to the people who
I was reaching out to.  Without a doubt the biggest hurdle
to overcome in any sort of media ministry, whether it be
on the Internet, TV, radio, or film, through music, or in
books and magazines, is to be accessible and minister to the
needs of each individual you are reaching.  This has also
become a big problem in the new "mega-churches" where you
have thousands and thousands of people in the congregation.
People need someone to minister to them when they are
hurting and need counsel and prayer.

That is why the commitment was made day one when
Liveprayer started nearly 7 years ago that every email for
prayer would be responded to.  That was not such a hard
commitment to keep in the first days when there were only
a few dozen, but as Liveprayer has grown and there are now
over 40,000 prayer requests daily, we have worked hard to
keep that commitment and make sure each email for prayer
receives a personal response.  TV is a very difficult
medium to make interactive since it is designed for one-
way communication.  However, through our existing Internet
infrastructure, we have been able through email to make
the TV program VERY interactive and accessible to
anyone who watches.

Yes, Liveprayer reaches over 2-million people daily
through the Internet, yes, Liveprayer reaches over 1/4
million people 5 nights a week on the TV program, but we
have done our very best to insure that any person we
reach has a way of communicating with us and most
important, that we can communicate BACK to them and
minister to their individual needs.  I never forget for a
second that each person who receives the Daily Devotional,
I never forget for a second that each person who watches
the TV program is a unique and special person that Jesus
loves and died for.  Out of the billions of people on
this planet, it is no accident that God allowed them to
read that message or watch that program, and as they reach
out for help it is my responsibility to be there for them
and make sure they know they are loved!

I love you and care about you so much.  The one thing that
I thank God for each day is for a new heart that truly
loves and cares for people.  There is no way that I could
do what I do 7 days a week otherwise.  I can honestly say
that I have not always had such a heart, and even now am
often selfish and need to work on being more loving and
compassionate towards others.  But deep down, God has given
me a desire to help those who are hurting and facing the
trials and tribulations we all go through during our brief
journey through this life.  I have no doubt that the number
one job God has called me to do is to share His Truth and
be there for those that are lost, hurting, and looking for
answers and hope in their life.

That is why I am driven to reach more people every day
through the Daily Devotional and the TV program.  It
doesn't equate to more money coming in as it would in a
business.  As a matter of fact it equates to more money
going out since we have to pay to reach out to those we
do and then bear the expenses to follow up and minister
to them.  However, there are billions of people living
today without the hope of Christ.  Billions of people
hurting as they make their way through this life.  It is
my prayer daily for God to continue to give me the
resources and ability to reach as many of those people
as possible since I have the answer they are looking for,
the hope they desire...JESUS CHRIST!

As impersonal as the Internet and TV can be, I will keep
doing all I can to insure that Liveprayer is a very
personal experience for each person we minister to.  What
has set this ministry apart from anyone else on the
Internet or on TV is that we just don't minister to people
"one way," but have made ourselves accessible so that
those who are hurting, those who need God's touch in their
life, know there is a place to come where they will be
prayed for and receive a personal response to guide them,
encourage them, and walk with them.

One reason why I still answer app. 300 emails at random
every day is because I never want to lose sight of what I
am here for, and that is to minister to the needs of the
dear people we reach each day through the Internet and
on TV.  The day I am too busy to minister to someone who
is hurting, too important to reach out to someone who
needs Christ's love and hope, that is the day I need to
leave the ministry and go do something else.  God has
called me to serve others, not have others serve me.  I
am grateful every day for God's grace and mercy in my
life.  He never gave up on me even though I turned my
back on Him.  I am honored that He allows me the
privilege to serve Him, and try my best each day to
bring honor and glory to His name through my life.

I am praying for you today my friend.  Praying for God's
blessings in your life and His strength as you faithfully
follow Him.  Please know that when you come to those
rough places in life we all come to at times, I will be
here for you.  Never hesitate to email me at
bkeller@liveprayer.com any time I can help you in any way. 
God has blessed me with the privilege of sharing His Truth
with you each day, to encourage you in your relationship
with Him, and to be here to pray with you and for you in
your time of need.  Jesus ministered in a very personal
way to the needs of those He reached.  I will continue to
do my best to follow His example.

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

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail is
an effective email SPAM filtering application
that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for FREE!  Get your
LPeMail account now at: www.lpemail.com.

***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:
http://wapdd.com

(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