Count Your Blessings and Praise God for Them!

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 have problems?  Probably.  Most of us do.

Do you ever spend so much time worrying and working
on your problems that you don't take the time to
count your blessings and praise and thank God for
those blessings?

I make it a practice to spend time counting my
blessings and thanking God for them twice a day.
It's a great experience.  I commend it to you.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    SATURDAY MARCH 18, 2006
(James 1:17)

The good in the world and in your life.  Every time you
turn on the television, pick up a newspaper, or go to
an online news source, you are confronted with the evil
that exists in this world.  In dealing with the day-to-
day issues of living in this world, the Daily Devotional
often focuses on the evil we face in our lives.   It is
very easy to get so focused on all that is bad in the
world, that we forget to take a moment and reflect on
all that is GOOD in the world.  Does evil exist?
Absolutely.  However, there is also much GOOD in the
world we live in as well.

Sadly, we can fall into that same trap in our own
personal lives.  It is so easy to spend our time and
energy focusing on all that is wrong with our lives, we
rarely take the opportunity to sit back and see all
that is right with our lives.  Because our problems
always seem to be before us and dominate our thoughts
and prayers, we forget that there is also much good in
our life as well.  Today, I want to encourage you and
challenge you to take a few minutes and look at all the
GOOD that is in our world and just as important, all of
the GOOD that is in your life!!!

In discussing the evil in the world, I have shared with
you that the root of evil is the hearts of men who
choose to live their lives in rebellion to God.  Evil is
NOT from God, but those who have chosen to rebel against
God.  The bible tells us that "every good and perfect
gift is from above." (James 1:17 NIV)  Whatever is good
in this world comes from God.  Let me put this in a very
personal way for you.  When you live your life in
rebellion to God, you are contributing to the evil in
this world.  When you live your life in obedience to
God, you are contributing to the good in this world.
YOU literally become a vessel of evil or of good.

That is a very heavy statement I just made, so I am going
to repeat it for you and I want you to take time to
meditate on these words today and ask God to help you
understand the power and importance of what this means.
YOUR LIFE IS EITHER A VESSEL OF EVIL OR A VESSEL OF
GOOD.  When you live in rebellion to God, you are a
vessel of evil.  When you live in obedience to God, you
are a vessel of good.

I want you to take some time today and really reflect on
all that is GOOD in our world.  Rather than focusing on
all that is bad in the world, I want you to take some
time today and simply look at all the good there is
around you.  Every day people all over the world are
coming to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.   So many
people all over the world give of themselves to help
others who are less fortunate.  This planet has so many
tremendous resources that allow the vast majority of the
people to sustain a wonderful standard of life.  We have
many tremendous scientific and medical advancements that
help us enjoy our life.

Most important, we have the incredible blessings of God
that allow us to not just live our life, but live it
abundantly.  He has given us His Word to guide us and
direct us through this journey of life.  We have the
precious promises in His Word that we can count on to
sustain us throughout our life.  We have the incredible
opportunity to not only have an intimate relationship
with our Creator, but to know His love for us.  We can
wake up each morning knowing that our life is not an
accident or coincidence, but God has a plan and purpose
for each of us.  My friend, there is SO MUCH good in
this world if we will simply take the time to acknowledge
it.

I also want you to take some time today to reflect on
your own life.  Again, it is so easy to focus on what
is wrong with our life, we forget to focus on what is
right with our life.  Because we have to wake up and
face the battles with our finances, with our employment,
with our marriage, with our children, with our health,
or whatever your battles may be, we tend to forget that
there is actually much GOOD in our life.  My friend,
don't let your problems keep you from your praise.
Here we go again.  I know many of you just missed that,
so let me say it again..slow.  DON'T LET YOUR PROBLEMS
KEEP YOU FROM YOUR PRAISE!!!

I am not saying that your problems aren't important, or
that you should just forget your problems.  What I am
saying is to not let your problems overwhelm you to the
point you don't take the time to give God the praise
for all of His blessings in your life each day.  We all
have problems in our life.  That is simply part of life.
However, we all have blessings as well.  As a matter of
fact, we have blessings in our life that we take for
granted and don't even thank God for.  That great old
hymn said to "Count your many blessings, see what God
hath done.  Count your many blessings, name them one
by one."  You need to take some time today and do exactly
what that great hymn writer suggested, and COUNT YOUR
BLESSINGS!

I love you and care about you so much.  It is so easy to
fall into the trap of focusing only on the evil in the
world, the problems in our life, that we lose sight of
all the good in this world we live in and the MANY
BLESSINGS God bestows upon us each day.  I pray that
today you will take a few minutes to reflect on the good
in the world and the blessings in your life.  God loves
you so much.  Jesus said He came to "give life, and give
life abundantly."  Sit back today and look at all of the
good in our world.  Take a few minutes today and reflect
on all of the wonderful blessings God has given you.

I want to leave you with the words of our Lord, who just
hours before going to the cross told His disciples that
in this world they would have trials and tribulations,
but He also told them to, "be of good cheer, for I have
overcome this world."  AMEN!  One day the evil will be
gone and all that will be left is good.  If you know
Christ as your Savior the Bible says that when this life
is over, "there will be no more death, or mourning, or
crying, or pain."  Take time today to acknowledge all of
the good that is in this world and in your life!!!

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

Do You Love Sin More than God?

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 enjoy watching television shows and movies
about evil people doing their best to create mayhem?

Wouldn't that time be better spent in prayer and
reading God's word?

Please read on.

*********************************************
DAILY DEVOTIONAL   FRIDAY MARCH 17, 2006
( Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 10:5 )

Why people love the "Sopranos."  People love the HBO
series the "Sopranos" for the same reason they love
"The Godfather" trilogy.  Even 34 years after it was
released, "The Godfather" starring Marlon Brando is
one of the most popular movies ever made.  So what
makes "The Godfather" movies, other organized crime
movies like "Goodfellas," "Donnie Brasco," "Carlito's
Way," and "Scarface" such a hit with people?  After
all, these are movies where the lead characters are
part of organized crime, men who spend their life
killing, stealing, cheating and destroying other
people's lives.  They are involved in illegal
businesses such as bookmaking, prostitution,
extortion, selling drugs, and any other illegal
activity you can name.

THESE ARE MEN WHO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN COMPLETE
REBELLION TO GOD AND HIS WORD, SO WHY ARE THEY SO
POPULAR?  PEOPLE LOVE SIN MORE THAN THEY LOVE GOD!!!

The popularity of these fictional crime bosses like
Tony Soprano can be directly linked to the popularity
of the real-life crime bosses like Charles "Lucky"
Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel who ran New
York in the '30s, to Al Capone who ran Chicago in the
'30s, to all the men who ran the various families
across the nation throughout the decades.  Men like
Giancana, Marcello, Trafficante, Genovese, Gambino,
Bonanno, Lucchese, Colombo, Accardo, and Gotti to
name just a few.  People have always had a fascination
with these men who loved to portray themselves as
"businessmen" and "family men," yet in reality lived
brutal and evil lives.

Hollywood and television are largely responsible for
how we look at these criminals.  They have glorified
and glamorized the lives of these men, often turning
them into sympathetic figures.  The movies and
television have showed the human side of these men
while almost justifying and excusing what their life
is really about.  Make no mistake my friend, these
are cold, calculating, evil, and brutal men who
without conscience or mercy spend their lives killing
and destroying others.  There is absolutely nothing
glamorous or redeeming about how they live.  There is
nothing special about them.  They are simply men who
have chosen to live a life of crime and live in
violation of society's laws as well as God's!

I am going to share some things from my personal life
that I have never shared publicly in all of these
years.  After the initial success of my marketing
business in 1979, I moved to Chicago in 1980 and
that become the headquarters of my fast growing
network of companies throughout the nation and
Canada.  A close business associate had introduced
me to a law firm in Chicago that I would use to
help me set up my various companies over the years.
The lawyer I met with was a man named Jack Cerone, Jr.
who actually specialized in labor law, so he
referred me one of his partners, Joe DiNatale, to
handle my legal needs.  Little did I know that Jack
Cerone's father was the infamous John "Jackie the
Lackey" Cerone who was actually the Don of the
Chicago outfit (what the Mafia is called in Chicago).

In 1985, my attorney Joe DiNatale would represent
Jackie Cerone, Sr. when he and several other leading
mobsters would go on trial in Kansas City for
skimming millions out of Las Vegas casinos.  Jackie
Cerone, Sr. was convicted in that trial and would
spend the rest of his life in a Federal Prison.  I
was very close to DiNatale in the '80s, and often
when we were alone at dinner he would share some of
the stories of what really went on in the world of
organized crime.  He often referred to it as
"unorganized crime," and in reality it was nothing at
all like the world portrayed in the movies or on
television.

These were mostly uneducated street criminals who
killed, stole, and cheated people as their life's
work.  Those who rose to positions of power usually
did so by attrition, since in the world they lived
in you either ended up in prison or dead.  Those who
were able to escape those two fates the longest
become the "boss."  Over the years organized crime
diversified from their traditional illegal businesses
into legitimate businesses that would become fronts
for many of their criminal activities.

However, in the '80s new laws that turned what used
to be 2-3 year prison sentences into 20-30 year
sentences, encouraged people inside organized crime
who once would "honor the code" and do their time,
to now cooperated and testify against those they
worked for.  Also, the new technology that made
wiretaps and tracking people possible, gave the
Federal Government tools to gather information they
never could in the past.  Today, the Mafia as we
know it still exists and always will to some extent,
but doesn't have anywhere near the influence it used
to and thankfully never will again.

When I was indicted in December of 1989 for
insider trading, I was denied bond for fear I would
leave the country and was held at the Metropolitan
Correctional Center in downtown Chicago to await
trial sometime in late 1990.  I was at the MCC from
the first week in January in 1990 until October of
1990.  It was there on August 20, 1990 that I
rededicated my life to the Lord and finally gave God
the one and only thing He had ever wanted from me,
and that was my life completely and unconditionally
surrendered to Him.  My friend, today that is the
only thing God wants from you, your life, completely
and unconditionally surrendered to Him.

God began to work in my life.  Within a week of
rededicating my life to the Lord, my attorney was
able to work out a plea agreement with the government
that called for me to plead guilty and spend the next
22 months at a minimum security Federal Prison in
Pensacola, Florida.  If you have never heard my
testimony, you can go to the links below and read all
about it.  It is a story I have told to millions
worldwide over the years as a tribute to God's
grace and mercy in my life, giving Him all glory and
honor for what He has done for me.  Let me encourage
you today that what God has done for me, He will do
for you!!!

http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2003-12-04/cover.html
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_testimony.html

While I was being housed at the MCC in downtown Chicago,
in February of 1990, the Federal government indicted
Ernest Rocco Infelise, who at the time was the head of
the Chicago Outfit, and several of his top lieutenants,
including reputed mob hit man Harry Aleman.  They were
obviously denied bond and also housed at the MCC
awaiting their trial, and were assigned to live on the
same floor I was on.  I spent the next 8 months living
with these guys.  There are no secrets in a prison
environment, and they found out that Joe DiNatale was
my attorney, so I was one of the few people on the floor
they interacted with.  Many nights we would be in dining
area, and they would talk about their lives and
experiences.  They would never get specific, but it was
enough to know that these were men who lived lives of
crime from their youth and really only knew and
understood that world.

Obviously, I was fortunate enough to never make the
choices to become involved in that type of life or
be part of the world of organized crime. However, I
have had enough contact with those who were in that
world to know there is nothing glamorous about it.
It is a very dark, cold, evil world that operates in
complete and total rebellion to God.  No matter how
much Hollywood cleans it up, no matter how appealing
they make it appear, it is nothing but a world of
destruction.  Those who choose to be part of that
world have their lives destroyed.  Those who get
caught up in their world have their lives destroyed.
At the end of the day, NOBODY WINS BUT SATAN!

I love you and care about you so much.  This message
today is really a warning to you.  A warning to keep
your guard up at all times and not allow Hollywood
and the television industry to cause you to fall into
the trap of glorifying evil no matter how attractive
they make it appear.  The media already does a
masterful job at glamorizing sin.  Sexual sins of
every kind are promoted as fun and exciting with no
consequences.  Drinking and drug use are also
glorified by the media.  So it is no surprise that
the media will try to sanitize sins like murder,
robbing, and whatever kind of evil one man can
perpetrate on another you can think of.

I will be praying for you today to take a stand in
your life from letting the world lie to you and lead
you into the trap of sitting back and giving approval
to evil by viewing it.  Yes, I know the "Sopranos" is
a fictional story, but what they portray is the real
life evil and horrors of those who are part of the
world of organized crime.  No, you are not going to
hell or a horrible Christian if you watch the
"Sopranos" and shows like it.  However, our goal as
we mature in Christ is to be more like Him.  The
Bible talks aobut the "renewing of our mind."  A
great computer term is "garbage in, garbage out."
Why would you want to pollute your mind with murder,
adultery, physical violence, and a myriad of other
sinful activities?

The problem with a program like the "Sopranos," the
probem with so much of what is on television today
and in the movies, is that they glorify and glamorize
sin.  Can you tell me anything glamorous about the
sins you have committed in your life?  Can you tell
me how glamorous the consequences of your sins are?
That is the point my friend.  Sin is NOT glamorous
it is destructive!  The consequences of our sins
are very real and very painful. Watching sin, even
in a fictional format, is not something a follower
of Christ should be doing.  Why do people love the
"Sopranos?" Simple, they love sin more than they
love God!

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

Enjoy Your Life through 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.

Are you enjoying your life, despite its challenges?
If yes, your relationship with God is probably sound.
If not, it's time to work on that relationship.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   THURSDAY MARCH 16, 2006
( John 10:10 )

"I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV)

Are you enjoying your life?  Seriously, take a moment
right now, think, and honestly answer me, are you
enjoying your life?  I am not asking you if everything
is perfect in your life, since that will never be the
case.  We will always have things that we are facing,
battles to fight, challenges to overcome, that is
simply part of living in this sin-filled and fallen
world we are passing through.  But today I want you
to take some time and reflect and tell me whether you
are enjoying your life or not.

In my time with the Lord very early this morning,
this is the question God asked me.  As I was praying
for the things I had on my list to pray for,
spending some time after that just fellowshipping
with the Lord and talking to Him about different
issues, He stopped me and simply asked, "Bill, are
you enjoying your life?"  Without any hesitation I
told the Lord that yes, I was really enjoying my
life.  Despite the problems and trials we all have
to face in our life, despite the never-ending
challenges of Liveprayer, the bottom line is I look
forward to each day and truly enjoy my life.

Afterwards, I was thinking back about this seemingly
strange question He had asked me, but the more I
thought about it the less strange it really was.
You see, the Lord wants us to enjoy our life.  After
all, the Bible tells us that He came to give us life
and LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY!  This is a Biblical truth
that we often forget and I am afraid a promise from
the Lord we don't embrace enough.  What happens is we
get so caught up in our day-to-day trials and
tribulations we forget that we are supposed to be
enjoying our life along the way.

Here is the key and the message I want you to hear
today.  No matter what your trials may be, no matter
what your challenges may be, no matter what your
battles may be, you can still enjoy your life and
embrace the promise that Jesus came to not just give
us life, but life more abundantly!  That means
despite the hurts and pains you may be experiencing
today, you can still enjoy your life and the abundance
Christ promised you.

I already know many of you have stopped reading and
are typing emails that basically are asking me how
you can enjoy your life when you are going through
a divorce, or dealing with a major health crisis, or
in bondage to some addiction, or have serious
financial problems, or children who are living in
rebellion to God, or need a job, or any number of
things that may be going on in your life today.
The answer is your relationship with Christ!
Because of HIM, you can face all of the problems that
are out there and still enjoy your life.

Jesus told His disciples in the Garden that they
would have trials and tribulations in their life, but
He added to "be of good cheer" because He had
overcome this world.  We can never forget that because
of the victory Christ won on the cross 2000 years ago,
we have the victory over whatever problems life may
bring our way.  We can go through a divorce and be
victorious.   We can battle major health problems and
be victorious.  We can battle an addiction and be
victorious.  We can face severe financial problems
and be victorious.  We can face whatever life throws
our way and be victorious because of HIM!!!

I love you and care about you so much.  I want to
encourage you today that if you are not enjoying your
life, it is time to START!  The fact is today is the
only day you are certain of, tomorrow is promised to
none of us. Each day we wake up is a gift from God
and we need to treat it as such.  No matter what we
may have to face during the day, we have to never
forget that Christ is living within us, we have His
strength, can live in His victory, and that is why
we can go through the day with that peace that passes
all human understanding and unspeakable joy.

I will be praying for you today to start enjoying
your life.  Simply know that it is never going to be
perfect and that there will always be challenges to
face, hurdles to overcome, and trials to endure.
That is just part of this journey we are on.  However,
because you know Jesus, you have His strength, His
promises, His hope, and the assurance that when this
short journey is over you will be forever with Him.

Are you enjoying your life?  If the answer is no,
then you better start.  Life is too short to not enjoy
it.  The greatest enjoyment of all is when we are
fulfilling our purpose which is to serve and glorify
Him with our life.  I can guarantee you that if you
are allowing the Lord to use your life you will not
only find that perfect peace and great joy, but each
day ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!!

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

There Are No Coincidences with God

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've been struck at how when I need help, it seems
to appear from nowhere . . . just in the nick of
time.  Long ago, I decided that this was no
coincidence.  Now, I just assume the help will be
there when I need it.  I hope the same will be
true for you.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   WEDNESDAY MARCH 15, 2006
( Proverbs 16:4, 19:21 )

There are no coincidences with God.  If there is one
thing the Bible clearly teaches, it is that there are
NO coincidences with God.  There are so many outside
elements that you have no control over in your life,
starting with your birth, ending with your death, and
including everything that transpires in between those
two events.  The reason I want to bring up this issue
today, is to give you the confidence and assurance
that everything that is happening in your life today
is part of His Divine plan for your life.

One of the reasons I stress so much to walk with the
Lord daily, be in the Word of God, pray, seek Him
each and every day, is so that you will follow His
plan for your life.  You see, we can bring much
unnecessary pain and heartache into our life by
exercising our God-given free will to ignore God
and rebel.  However, that does not stop God from
still being in control.  When we are in rebellion,
when we are not on the path God wants us to be on,
that is when we miss the joy, the peace, and the
abundance this life can offer.  That is when we
are missing the blessings of God in our life.

I want you to understand clearly today that it is
no accident you live where you live, you work or
go to school where you do, you recreate where you
recreate, or shop where you shop.  It is no accident
the people that are in your life are there.  You
see my friend, there are NO coincidences with God,
things just don't "happen."  There is a Divine
purpose and reason for each and everything that
goes on in our life.  That includes the good, and
bad things.

The natural question becomes, why?   In many cases
there simply isn't an answer.  Again, holding on to
the fact there are no coincidences with God, helps
us to build our faith during those times when there
are more questions than answers.  It also should give
us the confidence and boldness to go out each day,
knowing that God has a reason for everything we are
experiencing in our life.  Understanding what we are
going through each day is not an accident, but part
of His plan gives us the incredible freedom to live
each day for Him.

I realize that many of you are going through difficult
times in your life today.  You are dealing with death,
illness, financial difficulties, marital problems,
issues with your parents or children, challenges at
work or school, the walls seem to be caving in all
around you.  How this could be part of God's plan may
seem beyond comprehension.  This was the same place a
man named Job found himself one day.  In spite of
everything, he never lost his faith in God, and it was
part of God's plan to bless him abundantly.

We never know how God will deliver us from trouble,
how He will bless us.  Our job is to hold on to our
faith, continue to praise Him in spite of the
problems we face, and know He will never leave us
or forsake us.  The Bible tells us that there will
be times our faith is tested.  It is at those times
our faith becomes real to us, and grows.  We grow
more spiritually in the valley than we ever could on
the mountaintop.  It is in the valley that we
recognize God as our only source of hope and learn
how to trust Him.  It is those times in the valley
where it is just us and God that we realize how
much He loves us.

I love you and care about you so much.  Know today
that God is with you, that nothing in your life is
an accident, and that God is in control.  It is no
coincidence that the Lord has brought our lives
together at this time in your life.   I want you to
know that I am here for you in your time of need.
I will be praying for you.  God is still on His
throne, and in 100% control at all times.  There are
no coincidences with God!!!

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

Pornography Is Always a Sinful Choice

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 wondered if pornography is all right
to stimulate a married couple? 

Please read on.

*********************************************
DAILY DEVOTIONAL   MONDAY MARCH 13, 2006
( Matthew 5:28 )

Are pornographic movies OK for a husband and wife? 
This is a question I get hundreds of times every week. 
The answer is NO.  The reason is because pornography
involves sexual fantasies with someone OTHER than your
spouse.  THAT is why it is a sin.  This Devotional
will spark the natural question, "what is acceptable
between a husband and wife?"  God created sex.  It is
beautiful and perfect when enjoyed in the CONTEXT GOD
CREATED IT.  That context is a man and woman, who are
married!

I have always held that whatever a husband and wife
enjoy sexually is fine as long as it is done in
private and they BOTH are open to it.  No spouse
should be forced to engage in sexual acts that they
are not comfortable with.  Also, the line is drawn
when it gets into fantasies involving other people. 
THAT is why pornography is not acceptable for a
husband and wife since by its VERY nature,
pornography is fantasizing about other people.
FIND YOUR FULFILLMENT IN EACH OTHER!

Pornography is a problem many men AND women have
battled for a long time.  With the advent of the
Internet, it has made accessibility to pornography
incredibly easy and has now become a very real
societal problem.  As with all problems in society,
many Christians also end up caught in the traps the
enemy has laid to destroy people's lives.  Let me
say up front, DO NOT underestimate the destructive
power of pornography.

Like all sin, it starts almost innocently, but
always escalates.  One day you are browsing through
X-rated pictures, and the next you are actually
involved in a real physical relationship.  One day
you are chatting with someone, the next day your
chat becomes more graphic, and then you are actually
sitting next to them.  Like all sin, there is a
seductiveness that eases you into it, and one day you
wake up in total bondage to that sin.

The reason pornography is a sin is because God's
plan for sexuality is for one man, with one woman,
for one lifetime.  Our sexual thoughts are to be
only about that person God gives us to share our
life with.  ALL other thoughts are impure. 
Fantasies take our mind to places we shouldn't be
going.  Even if we never act on them.  The reason
is Jesus said if you lust in your heart, you have
already committed the act.  Is it a high standard?
Yes!  But God has called us to live at a high
level in our life.  We are to live above the low
standards of this world.

We are to find our sexual satisfaction in the mate
God gives us to share our life with as our husband
or wife.  That means very simply this.  First of
all, if you are NOT married, you need to keep your
thoughts pure and save not only your body, but your
mind for the one God has for your life.  If you are
married, your sexual thoughts and activities are to
be ONLY with your husband or wife.  Anything else
is not God's plan and is sin!!!

Now that we know what God expects, let's talk about
real life.  Read, and re-read the second paragraph. 
There is to be NO compromise.  This is what God
expects from us.  Now, how do we get to that point? 
The best case is you are still young, have not been
exposed to pornography, you have the warning of this
message to guard yourself against it.  For those who
have been exposed in the past to pornography, the
key is to "renew your mind" and flush it out.  We do
that each day using the spiritual detergent of
God's Word.  Stay away from pornography.  Guard your
thought life.

There are those who are currently involved in
pornography at some level.  It is bondage.  Before you
can get victory over it, you have to want to quit.
Once you get to that point, then realize it is a
battle.  Like any battle, to see victory you need a
battle plan.  You need one or several people in your
life to be accountable to.  You need the strength each
day only the Lord can give you.  There is victory over
pornography just like any other sin.

I love you and will be praying for you.  I realize
this is hitting home with many of you.  Let it be a
special tap on the shoulder from God that now is
the time to deal with this issue in your life.  It
isn't going to change until YOU decide to change. 
As you know, any time we pervert the original plan
of God, things never really work.  We always get
cheated out of the best God has for us when we
settle for what the world offers.  You can only
know the true blessings of God, the fullness of
what life can give, when we are in His will, living
life His way.

God is in the deliverance business, and I know that
He can deliver you from the bondage of pornography. 
I will be praying for those people fighting this
sin in their life and believing God to touch their
heart, bring them under conviction, and help them to
have the courage to take the steps necessary to walk
away from this sin and live a victorious life.  He
is able, and can set you free. God is STILL in the
deliverance business!!!  God gave a man and woman
who are married the gift of sex.  God is the giver
of all good and perfect gifts.  Don't pervert it or
abuse it, but enjoy this wonderful gift by not
polluting it with pornography.

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

What, God?

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 wonder why God allows bad things to
happen?  Perhaps you would learn more if you asked
God a different question.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   SUNDAY MARCH 12, 2006
(Isaiah 55:8,9)

The question is not "Why God," it is "What, God."  I
have preached a message over the years called, "The
Right Question."  It is a message you need today
because everyone comes to that place in life when
they ask,  "Why God?"  I can't tell you how many
times over the last 14 years of ministry I've been
with people at a funeral, in a hospital room, in a
counseling session, and inevitably the same question
always gets asked, "Why, why is God allowing this to
happen?"  "Why is this happening?"  "Why doesn't God
care?" "Why doesn't God stop this?"  "Why doesn't God
step in and change this?"  "Why, why, why God?"

First of all, that is a natural question. Don't feel
bad. As a matter of fact, if you haven't asked that
question you're not normal.  We all come to that place
from time to time, especially in the midst of serious
trials in our life when we look up at God and we just
say, "Why God? "Where are you?"  "Why aren't you
helping me?" "Why God?"  Today, I want to help you to
ask the proper question. "Why God" is the natural
question, however, the proper question is, "What, God?"

Living in this sin-filled world that we do, a world
full of men living in utter rebellion to God and His
Word, there is incredible evil all around us. Because
of that sin and evil, there is always going to be bad
things happening.  That is simply part of this human
experience.  Just hours before going to the cross,
Jesus took His disciples to the side and said, "in
this life, you are going to have trials and tribulations."

Jesus didn't want His disciples to think that just
because they had walked with Him, that their life was
going to be a bed of roses.  Anybody who thinks that
when you get saved you automatically receive a free
pass from the trials and tribulations from life is
sadly mistaken.  You see, trials and tribulations are
part of living in this sin-filled and evil world
that we do.  Just like death is part of this life, the
trials and tribulations we all face during our life
are also part of this human experience.

Now, you can go through the trials and tribulations
of life, face those difficult circumstances we all
have along our journey and whine and moan and complain
and ask "Why God," or you can ask the proper question
which is, "What, God?"  What God, what can I learn
from this situation?  God what lesson can I take from
this experience?  Most importantly, "God, what can I
do to serve You through this?"

You read in the Book of Acts about some of the experiences
Paul went through. Repeatedly tossed into prison for
his faith, chased out of towns, people trying to kill
him, but you never read about Paul asking God why.
Instead he asked, "What God can I do to glorify You
through all that I am going through?"  You see my
friend, that has got to be your response to the
trials and tribulations that you face in this life. 
Instead of wasting your time and energy moaning and
complaining and asking God why, figure out what you
can do in the midst of your trials and tribulations
to serve Him and bring glory to His name.

You see, our purpose in this life is to serve and
glorify God.  That's our purpose. That purpose doesn't
change just because we're going through a difficult
time.  I'll never forget in the early days of
Liveprayer when we were facing what seemed to be
insurmountable pressures and problems andissues every
day.  One day I really need to sit down and write a
book about the first year of Liveprayer and the miracle
it was that we survived, as a testimony of God's
faithfulness.  I'd sit here and break down if I
started to tell you half of the things that we went
through in those early days. But instead of sitting
there and complaining and asking God "why" every
day, I finally came to a place where I said, "God
what can I do to serve and glorify you this day?"

Many of the things you are asking "Why God," are
out of your control.  In most cases, you can't
control the fact that you've got cancer in your
body, got laid off from your job, your husband or
wife left you, or your son or your daughter is living
their lives in rebellion to God.  So many of the
things that we face in our life are things that we
have no control over in the first place.  It's at
those times that your faith has got to become real
and you have to put your complete faith and trust
in God.  When you do that, you are no longer sitting
there asking, "Why God, why is this happening to
me?"  Instead, you are asking, "What, God, what can
I do for you?"

I love you and care about you so much.   Do you
want to start living in freedom?  Do you want to
start living with that joy in your heart?  Do you
want to start living with that peace the Bible
says passes all human understanding?  Oh, my friend,
when you are not asking why anymore, but instead
are asking what, there is a peace, there is a joy,
there is a freedom you can't even put into words. 
It is indescribable. You see, Jesus, after He told
His disciples that there would be trials and
tribulations quickly added, "but be of good cheer
because I have overcome this world!"

My friend, God knows what your problems are today. 
Give them to Him since I guarantee you He can handle
them better than you can.   What that does is free
you up to not waste your time and energy asking why,
but spend it serving the Lord.  You need to ask,
"What, God, what can I do for you today, what can I
do to serve you today?"   I know many of you are
hurting and going through difficult times right now. 
My admonition to you, my counsel to you, my
encouragement for you is to change your question.
Change your question from, "Why God" to "What, God."

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