Spring Break Cautions

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.

Are you or someone you know headed for Spring
Break?  There are a lot of temptations there. 
Please read on.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    FRIDAY MARCH 10, 2006
(1 Corinthians 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:22, Ephesians 5:18,
James 4:7)

***TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL ON "SPRING BREAK" IS ONE THAT
EVERY YOUNG ADULT, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE
PREPARING TO GO AWAY FOR SPRING BREAK IN A FEW
WEEKS MUST READ!  THESE WORDS COULD LITERALLY SAVE
SOMEONE'S LIFE.  PLEASE FORWARD THIS AND GET IT IN
THE HANDS OF EVERY YOUNG ADULT AND PARENT OF A
YOUNG ADULT THAT YOU KNOW!!!

Spring Break, and girls (and boys) gone wild!  In
just a few weeks, young men and women will be
flocking to places like South Padre Island in
Texas, Panama City in the Florida Panhandle,
Daytona Beach in Florida, various hot spots in
Mexico, as well as places like Jamaica and other
beach front destinations in the U.S. and abroad. 
While the official reason for these few days away
from family and school is "Spring Break," the real
reason for going is to let loose and party.  Young
adults go to Spring Break for three things, SEX,
ALCOHOL, AND DRUGS, or what I simply call...SAD.

Is it unfair to say that the only reason young
adults go to Spring Break is to have sex, drink,
and do drugs?  Yes, but sadly the statistics over
the past decade clearly tell us that is what the
vast majority end up doing whether that was their
initial goal or not.  Even "good kids" who would
never think of having sex until they get married,
who don't drink, who would never do drugs, find
themselves away from home in a far-off place where
nobody really knows them, being immersed in a
scene that is promoting sex, alcohol, and drugs
non-stop, and around other kids who have clearly
come to have wild uninhibited sex, drink until
they pass out, and take illegal drugs.

It reminds me of that passage of Scripture that
says to "flee from temptation."  If sex, alcohol,
and drugs are not your goal during Spring Break,
why would you ever want to put yourself in an
environment and around others who clearly have
that as their stated desires?  Can a young adult
go to Spring Break and not have sex, not drink,
not do drugs?  Of course!  However, knowing that
is what Spring Break is all about, knowing that
is what most young adults go to Spring Break for,
if in fact you are not interested in those things
why would you go to begin with?

Joseph didn't stand around in the presence of
Potiphar's wife who came on to him and wanted to
have sex with him.  He literally RAN from her. 
Let's be honest.  Joseph was a man of flesh and
blood.  My guess is Potiphar's wife was probably a
gorgeous woman.  On top of that, this gorgeous
MARRIED woman made it very clear that she wanted to
have sex with Joseph.  At that point he really only
had two choices.  Stay and probably fall into sin
with this woman, or run from her and honor God. 
Could Joseph have stayed, tried to reason with her,
and not had sex?  Of course!  However Joseph knew
that he was weak, and rather than try to see how
strong he was, got up and ran from temptation.

Listen, every year after Spring Break I get deluged
with emails from young men and women who are back
home or back in school after Spring Break.  Some
know the Lord, others don't, but the emails every
year are the same.  They are riddled with guilt
because they ended up having sex with someone.  Oh,
and this just in, oral sex is sex!  Many drank for
the first time or did drugs for the first time.  Those
who have drank and/or done drugs in the past, drank
more than ever and did drugs they have never used
before while on Spring Break.

It would be bad enough if some guilt and shame were
the only aftermath of Spring Break, but those are
the ones who got off the easiest from their time of
rebellion by indulging in the pleasures of the flesh. 
Most were dealing with more dire consequences from
their sins.  Things like unwanted pregnancies,
sexually transmitted diseases (some that they will
have the rest of their life), girls who had pictures
or videos taken of them flashing their bodies, men
and some women who got into fights, finances ruined
by maxing out credit cards and using funds needed
for school, various injuries, auto accidents, are
just a few of the real life consequences many young
adults had to face after Spring Break.

What clearly drives this sinful, hedonistic behavior
during Spring Break is alcohol and illegal drugs. 
As a matter of fact, let me tell you that well over
90% of the sins I deal with each day in people's
lives involve alcohol and/or drugs.  Most young
adults are not experienced at drinking, and under
the influence of alcohol make choices, do things
they would never dream of doing while sober.  The
same goes for the use of illegal drugs.  Each
drug affects a person in different ways, and young
adults on Spring Break using illegal drugs
recreationally will have their minds altered to
the extent they will make choices, do things that
they would never even consider doing if they were
not high.

IT IS THE CHOICES YOU MAKE, THE THINGS YOU DO WHILE
DRUNK AND/OR HIGH THAT CAN  CHANGE THE REST OF YOUR
LIFE, OR LITERALLY COST YOU YOUR VERY LIFE!!!

*I can guarantee you that almost 100% of the people
who email me for prayer each year after Spring Break
would not be in the situation they were in if they
had not been drinking and/or using illegal drugs.

For those of you who are laughing right now, thinking
that I am making a big deal out of nothing, that
Spring Break is just harmless fun, let me share
with you a recent example from the news to drive home
the point that we are talking about something that
could literally cost you your very life.  A couple
weeks ago, a 24-year-old grad student in New York went
out on a Saturday night drinking.  A few days later
they found her dead body in a garbage dump.  She had
been sexually assaulted, tortured, butchered,
killed, and her dead, mutilated, bound body discarded
in an empty lot like an old sofa.

As this tragic story has been unfolding, what is
known is that this young woman began the last night
of her life out drinking with friends.  As one bar
closed, she went by herself to another bar and was
there drinking until it closed at 4 a.m.   At some
point after leaving the bar in a highly intoxicated
state, she was abducted by a sick and demented
predator, sexually violated, tortured, and killed. 
Does a woman who uses poor judgment by getting drunk
and being alone at 4 a.m. deserve to be killed?
Am I blaming this woman who was killed?  Absolutely
not!  However, they become the easy prey these sick
and demented predators are looking for.

It is dangerous enough for a woman to be out alone
at 4 a.m.  When you add being intoxicated or high
on drugs, you now have a very dangerous situation
where someone could easily lose their life.  Young
women and men in a strange city or even strange
country for Spring Break that are out in the bars
in the early morning hours become easy targets for
rapists, robbers, and predators of all kinds who
are looking for people in a vulnerable state to
take advantage of.  Being out in the early morning
hours, especially drunk and/or high, is very
dangerous and can even cost you your life.

I love you and care about you so much.  What I am
sharing with you today is not meant to keep people
from having fun in their life, it is to insure
people have fun in their life.  Don't ever forget,
satan is a liar and his goal is to kill, steal,
and destroy...YOU!  Satan says having sex outside
of marriage is fun.  Tell me how much fun it is to
be young, not married and having the responsibility
of caring for and raising a baby, or how much fun
it is to have a STD for the rest of your life, or
how much fun it is to deal with all the emotions of
being involved with a person sexually you are not
committed to for life in marriage, or how much fun
it is to carry the guilt of knowing you are living
in rebellion to God by having sex outside of God's
plan for marriage.

Satan says getting drunk and high are fun  Tell me
how much fun it is to drink or get high and start
saying and doing things you would never do with a
clear mind, or how much fun it is to have a hangover
or the hard "down" from being high, or how much fun
it is to get a DUI, or how much fun it is to get
sick and throw up all over the place, or how much
fun it is to wake up and not remember what you did
the night before, or how much fun it is when you
get into bondage to alcohol and/or drugs and need
it every day.

Satan uses illicit sex, drinking, and illegal drugs
to destroy lives at every age, especially young
adults who get caught up in these activities before
they really understand life or how dangerous they
are.  Spring Break has become that time of the year
when satan tempts many good kids who are away from
home and in an environment where they can easily have
sex, drink, do drugs without anyone knowing. 
Another lie, since God knows!  Spring Break has
become a trap to lure young adults into the world of
illicit sex, alcohol, and drugs under the guise of
just having fun when engaging in these activities
can bring you great harm, destroy, and even cost
you your life.

I will be praying for you today, especially
those young adults preparing to go to Spring Break
in a few weeks who are  reading these words.  God
loves you so much.  He only wants the best for your
life.  He has a wonderful plan and purpose for your
life.  That plan and purpose will only unfold as
you yield your life to Him.  God gave you life and
life abundantly.  The lie of this world is that to
have fun you have to engage in acts of rebellion
to God.  In reality, those acts of rebellion aren't
fun at all, they are harmful.

There are tons of things young adults can do to have
true fun that don't include acts of rebellion against
God.  In these last days when the lie has been told
so long and so loud, and most young adults have
fallen for the lies of the satan that enjoyment is
found in sex, alcohol, and drugs, I am praying that
those young men and women who know the Lord will take
a stand for Christ this Spring Break.  You can show
your peers that you can still have fun without having
sex, you can still have fun without alcohol, and you
can still have fun without doing drugs.  This Spring
Break, I pray there will be plenty of girls (and
guys) gone wild...for Jesus!!!

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


************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell

Avoid Cheating

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.


Have you ever been tempted to cheat?  Did you imagine
that no one would know.  Cheating can wreck lives
worse than many sins.  Please read on.

*********************************************


DAILY DEVOTIONAL   THURSDAY MARCH 9, 2006
( Proverbs 13:5, Hebrews 13:18 )

Cheating dishonors God.  One of the early lessons
most learn as a child is that cheating is wrong. 
Period.  It is not something that you can debate
or make exceptions for, it is always wrong 100%
of the time.  One of the breakdowns in our society
these past 40 years is the attitude of people
towards cheating.  The sad reality of the world we
live in today is that cheating is not only accepted,
but condoned as long as you don't get caught.
Today, I want to deal with this whole issue of
cheating and challenge those who love the Lord to
be men and women of honor, not dishonor which is
what a cheat is.

News broke Tuesday about a book coming out next week
by two writers from the San Francisco Chronicle that
catalogs and documents the use of steroids and other
performance enhancing drugs by baseball superstar
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.  Bonds has
been suspected for many years of using steroids to
enhance his performance on the field.  Never before
in baseball history has a player had their
productivity increase after the age of 35 like
Bonds.  Steroids not only makes an athlete stronger,
but just as important, allows their body to recover
quicker keeping them on the field each day playing
at their highest level.

The upcoming book, "Game of Shadows," uses as one of
its many sources, interviews, cell-phone records,
answering-machine tapes, and documents from Bond's
long-time mistress.  Sadly, Bonds not only cheated
in playing baseball, but he also cheated on his wife
and family.  The fact is, Bonds was already a
baseball superstar, possibly even a Hall of Famer
prior to his involvement with steroids.  Cheating
has not only tarnished his career, but will
undoubtedly cause great pain to his family and others
in his life.  Remember this, when you cheat, you will
eventually be caught.

"You have set our iniquities before you, our secret
sins in the light of your presence." 
(Psalms 90:8 NIV)

I know in my own life the pain I caused myself, my
wife, and others close to me when I made the
decision to cheat many years ago.  It was 1988, I
had the opportunity to get involved in a scheme to
trade the stock market on inside information.  Even
though I knew it was illegal, Satan, the great
justifier, told me that nobody was really getting
hurt and I wouldn't get caught.  Sadly, we forget
when we listen to satan, we are listening to a LIAR! 
John 8:44 calls him the "father of lies."  He is
always there, quick to lie to us to help us justify
why it is OK to cheat.  Of course, less than a year
later my cheating was exposed and I would eventually
spend 31 months of my life in Federal Prison. 
( http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2003-12-04/cover.html )

Never forget my friend, that your secret sins will
be exposed one day.  What you do in the dark so
nobody else can see will eventfully be seen in
the light.  If you are cheating at work or at school,
if you are cheating on your taxes, if you are
cheating someone out of money or property, if you
are cheating on your spouse, if you are cheating at
a game, if you are cheating in any way you will
eventually be caught.  As I share with you often,
sin always carries a big price, a price much
greater than we ever dreamed we would have to pay.

This is a huge issue in our society today since we
now have the largest percentage of two-full
generations who have never been to church and have
grown up in homes void of God and Biblical Truth. 
We have so many children growing up in busted,
blended, unstable homes where basic values like
honesty are not being taught or reinforced. 
Subsequently, we live in a culture now where
cheating at every level is pretty much acceptable,
again, as long as you don't get caught.  Baseball
knew Barry Bonds was cheating, but until now when
documented, irrefutable proof was put forth, they
simply ignored it and let it happen.

The heart of all the recent high-profile corporate
scandals from Martha Stewart to Enron to WorldCom
to Tyco to Adelphia are all about this same
thing, cheating.  Again, the stance of our society
today is that cheating is not only acceptable but
often encouraged...as long as you don't get caught,
then every one acts outraged and incredulous at
how people could do such a thing.  This is another
reason why now more than ever, the people of God
have got to rise up and take a stand for
righteousness.  We can start by living our lives
each day with honor and integrity.

I love you and care about you so much.  As followers
of Christ, it has to be our desire, our goal to be
like our Lord.  Jesus was truth!  (John 14:6,
John 8:32, 36, Hebrews 6:18)  To be like Jesus, we
have to be people of truth.  Don't forget, satan is
a liar.  When we lie, when we are dishonest, when
we cheat, we are not acting like Jesus but like
satan.  We live in a world that is lost in sin,
listening only to the lies of satan, so it is no
wonder why people cheat.  They don't know how to
live any other way.  That is why those who know the
Lord have got to rise up and be counted in these
last days and lead people into righteousness.

I will be praying for you today.  Praying that you
will take some time today and evaluate your life. 
Are you cheating in any area of your life?  If
you are, STOP NOW before it destroys you.  God is
speaking to many of you through this message today. 
He is trying to get your attention by tapping you
on your shoulder.  Trust me, the next time He taps,
it may be with a 2x4 on the back of your head, or
maybe a steel pole for those like me who have extra
thick skulls.  A tap on the should can be
convicting, but it is better than the pain of that
2x4 or steel pole.

Barry Bonds is only 6 home runs from passing Babe
Ruth and 48 from passing Hank Aaron to become the
all-time home run king in baseball history.  Even
if he does set these records, he will always be known
as a cheater.  Rather than enjoy the adulations as
one of the greatest to ever play the game, he will be
scorned and rejected by most who will only remember
him for being a cheater.  Pray for Barry Bonds and
his family today.  I have no idea where he is with
the Lord, but now more than ever, he needs Christ in
his heart and life.

While you may never be as famous or as well known as
Barry Bonds, you are known by your family and friends,
by the people you go to school with, work with,
recreate with, and go to church with.  Do you want
to be known as a person of honor and integrity,
someone who lives a life that exemplifies what being
a man or woman of God is supposed to be like?  Or
will you cheat in different areas of your life, get
caught, and be known by those people in your life as
just that, a cheater?  The choice is yours.  You can
dishonor God by being a liar and cheater, or honor
God by being a man or woman of honor, integrity, and
the truth!!!

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


************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell

God's Help in Fighting Evil

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.

We all see unspeakable evil on television and read
about even worse evil.  What are we to do?

Please read on.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    WEDNESDAY MARCH 8, 2006
( Genesis 6:12, 2 Timothy 3:1,2 )

The incredible amount of evil in the world today. 
Every day I get flooded with emails from people who
are sad, frustrated, angry, and even scared about
all of the evil that exists in our world today. 
Every morning when you wake up, there is a story of
another child who has been abducted, sexually molested,
and killed.  During the day there will be a news alert
of people being killed in their school, the execution
style slaying of a Federal Judge's husband and mother,
a man on trial for rape who overpowers a bailiff and
takes her gun and kills the judge, a court reporter, a
deputy as he is fleeing the building, and a US Customs
Agent the next morning.

At night you sit down to watch the news and it is
filled with stories of more of our brave young men and
women being killed in Iraq, suicide bombers killing
themselves and innocent people in Israel, thousands
dying in civil wars in African nations, in addition to
the tragic lives millions live each day under
dictators like North Korea's Kim Il Jung.  We are
reminded every day of the gross evil that exits in our
world.

Whether our world today is more evil than in years
past, that is a debate for historians and social
scientists.  No doubt we have never had the
communication abilities that we have today that
enables us to literally see what is happening anywhere
on the planet, so our awareness of evil is greater
than ever before in human history.  But never forget
that the world at the time of Jesus, the world at the
time of the first church during which the New
Testament was written, was also full of unbridled and
unchecked evil.  As a matter of fact, Christians became
a big target of that evil as they lived under
tremendous persecution and being killed for your faith
in Christ was a common occurrence.

As a side note, when we share with the lost today God's
free gift of everlasting life through Jesus Christ, we
tell them about all of the benefits of becoming a
Christian.  The promise of eternity with God your
Creator, being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a
victorious life while here on earth, the peace, and
joy, and abundance of this life if you have Christ in
your heart.  Despite all of the reasons TO accept
Christ, people are still reluctant, hesitant to make
that decision.

Can you imagine witnessing during the day of the
early church.  After you share the hope and love a
person can know in Christ, you have to add, "oh by
the way, there is a good possibility that if you
accept Jesus as your Savior you will be put to death."
Not sure how many people would be running for the
altar during "Just As I Am," when you add that to
the end of the invitation!

However, it was in the evil world that existed
during the first century that the authors of the
New Testament encouraged people to overcome evil
with good, to put their hope and faith in Christ,
that ALL things were possible with Christ, and that
our citizenship was not of this country, but a
heavenly one.  You see, for the Believer, we
understand that there is evil in this world due to
men who have chosen to live their lives in
rebellion to God and His Word.  We know that one
day soon, God will step in and put an end to that
evil.  But for this season while evil exists, we
have got to live above the evil in our world through
our faith in Jesus Christ and the hope we have in
Him.

People ask me daily why God allows evil to exist. 
Why doesn't God, who is all powerful, just put an
end to it.  Again, the Bible teaches us that one
day, very soon, God will.  It is actually out of
God's love, grace, and mercy that He allows the
evil to exist.  You see, when God does put an end
to evil by wiping away this world as we know it, at
that moment there will be no more opportunities for
people to come to know Christ as their Savior.

The Bible teaches us that it is God's desire that
ALL come to repentance and none be lost.  Each
moment God allows this world to continue, which
also means evil to exist, is another moment for
someone to accept Christ and escape the horrors of
eternal damnation.  Be assured though, evil will
cease to exist when God pours out His final wrath
and this world as we know it comes to an end as
God declares in His Word.

Here is the message that I want you to hear today. 
Meditate and pray about this.  Jesus, during His
days on this earth did not eliminate evil from
the world.  Despite the great works He did, Christ
did not wipe out the evil in the world of His day. 
We won't either!  Evil will continue to exist
until that final day due to men who have made the
free will choice to live their lives in rebellion
to God and His Word.  What Christ did do, was change
hearts and lives!

My friend, THAT is what God has called us to do
as well.  We can never eliminate evil from our
world, that is not our job anyway.  What is our job
is to share the truth of His Word, the hope and
love of Jesus Christ with people we meet in this
lost and hurting world we live in.  We are
instruments of God to touch lives for the Lord and
allow the transforming power of Christ to change
hearts.

I love you and care about you so much.  In addition
to all of the evil in our world that we see on TV,
hear about on the radio, and read the accounts of
in the newspaper and online new services, every
person reading this today has experienced evil in
some way in your own personal life.  In the 40,000+
prayer requests we get every day here at Liveprayer,
we read about that evil so many are facing in their
marriages, in their families, in their homes, where
they live, at work or school, and sadly, even in
many churches.  Wherever you find men choosing to
live in rebellion to God and His Word, you will find
evil.

I will be praying for you today.  Praying that God
will watch over you, protect you, and keep you safe
from the evil you may be facing in your life today. 
I also am praying that God will give you the boldness
and courage to share the hope and joy you have in Him
with those you come in contact with during your day-
to-day life.  Your job is not to wipe out evil, that
is God's job.  Your job IS to share Christ with
those you meet along your journey who are hurting,
lost, and without Jesus in their hearts and lives.
Sadly, there is an incredible amount of evil in our
world today, but bringing people to faith in Jesus
Christ is the ultimate answer to that evil.

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


************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell