Suicidal Thoughts, Sin and Salvation

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.

Do you ever think about ending your life? 

What would such an act do to your relationship with God? 
What does God want for you?

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   FRIDAY MAY 19, 2006
( Genesis 2:7 )

Suicide.  One of the saddest things that I have to deal
with every single day is the tragedy of someone taking
their own life.  The fact is, right now there are people
reading these words who are actually contemplating
killing themselves.  If this is you, or if you have had
thoughts of killing yourself, know that it is no accident
you are reading these words today. God is trying to speak
to you, so please, LISTEN TO HIM!

You see my friend, God not only loves you very much, but
He is the one who gave you your life and wants you to
live.  It is satan who wants you dead! Never forget that
satan has come to what, KILL, steal, and destroy!  Satan
wants you dead!  The thoughts you have of killing
yourself don't come from God, they come from satan.  He
is the one telling you that you would be better off dead. 
He is the one who is telling you that you should just
give up and kill yourself.  He is the one who is telling
you that the best answer to your problems is to take your
life.  He is the one who is telling you that everyone
else will be better off if you were dead.  He is the one
who is telling you that your life is meaningless and it
is not worth living any longer.

SATAN IS A LIAR!  In John 8:44, Jesus tells us that he is
the "father of lies," that when he speaks, he "speaks his
native language," LYING!  The thoughts you have of
killing yourself are coming directly from the pits of
hell, from the very lips of that liar satan!

God on the other hand wants you to LIVE!  God is Truth! 
It is God who is telling you to live.  It is God who
loved you so much He sent His very Son to die for your
sins.  It is God who is telling you to cast your cares
on Him and let Him see you through those difficult times. 
It is God who says you are not alone, that He will never
leave you nor forsake you.  It is God who is telling you
that your life has meaning and purpose.  It is God who is
telling you that He has given you life and life
abundantly.  It is God who is telling you to trust Him
and LIVE!

So what this really boils down to is who do you listen to,
satan, who is a liar, or God, who speaks Truth? 
Seriously, if you are having thoughts of killing yourself
or if you have ever had thoughts of killing yourself, you
have got to understand where those thoughts are coming
from and ultimately make the choice who you are going to
listen to.  If you are having thoughts of killing 
yourself today, or if you have ever had those thoughts,
make sure you take a moment to ask yourself the critical
question of who you are going to listen to, satan, a liar
who wants you dead, or God, who represents Truth and
wants you to live.

Now let me answer one of the most asked questions I get
each day.  Killing yourself does NOT keep you from
Heaven, the only thing that keeps you from Heaven is
rejecting Christ as your Savior. 

*THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS OK TO KILL YOURSELF OR A PASS
TO COMMIT SUICIDE!!!  Make no mistake, killing yourself
IS a sin.  To even think of suicide is rebelling against
God.  However, the ONLY sin that will send you to hell
is rejecting Christ.  If you have truly accepted by faith
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you commit
suicide, you will spend eternity with God your Creator.

The reason suicide is a sin is because it is God who gives
us life for the purpose of serving and glorifying Him, and
it is ONLY God who can say when our work here on earth is
finished.  Remember, if you accept Him into your heart it
is NOT your life any longer, it belongs to Him.  That
means it is NOT your right to end your life.  That right
only belongs to God.  Suicide is an act of rebellion
towards God!.

I know there are some people who erroneously believe that
if you kill yourself you can't go to Heaven since you died
without repenting of that sin.  According to that
erroneous theology, if you commit a sin, have a massive
heart attack and die instantly without confessing that sin
you committed prior to dying you would be lost for all
eternity.  Sorry, but that is simply not what the Bible
teaches.

Some may ask, what are the consequences of the sin of
suicide since it ends your life?  One of the consequences
of all sin is it keeps us from enjoying our relationship
with the Lord.  Sin keeps us from being all God wants us
to be.  Sin keeps us from knowing the joy, the peace, the
abundance the Lord promised to us in this life.  Those
who commit suicide have already allowed the enemy to blind
them to God's love, otherwise, they would never make such
a horrible choice.  Someone who commits this act misses
the fulfillment of God's perfect plan for their life.  It
is a very sad way to end this wonderful journey, and a
way God never intended!

Suicide is really nothing more than an act of cowardice
and is one of the most selfish things anyone can ever do. 
Despite all the reasons that satan the liar gives you to
kill yourself, it really boils down to the fact that only
a coward chooses this course of action.  Rather than deal
with the problems of life, fight through them, work
towards victory in the power God can give you, you chose
instead to simply stop living altogether.  That my friend
is a coward's answer to their problems.

Suicide is also one of the most selfish acts a person can
commit.  One of the great lies satan feeds a person
thinking about killing themselves is that their family
and friends would be better off if they were dead.  The
truth is, a person who kills themself leaves behind
family and friends, who in many cases, spend the rest of
their life carrying around unnecessary guilt over what
role they may have played in causing the person to kill
themselves.  I deal daily with family members and friends
of a person who has committed suicide and they experience
tremendous guilt over what they may have done to force
their loved one or friend into taking their life.

*To you family members and friends of someone who has
committed suicide, YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY
CHOSE TO DO!  They, not you, made this sad and tragic
choice.  So please, don't put yourself under the
unnecessary burden of carrying around guilt from
something you didn't cause and didn't do.

Let me speak directly to anyone who may be contemplating
suicide this very moment.  It is God who gives us this
precious gift we call life.  Dealing daily with some of
the most incredible human situations you can ever imagine,
I understand the pain, the difficulty, the hopelessness
so many live with each day.  It is always at the lowest
points in our life when the enemy attacks us.  Like with
everything, there are always scenarios, always
circumstances we can point to, but sin is sin, and no
amount of justification changes that.  THERE IS ALWAYS AN
ANSWER OTHER THAN SIN!!!!

I love you, and I care about you more than you will ever
know.  The pain I feel daily as I walk with you in your
time of need is sometimes overwhelming.  But I keep the
truth and promise of God's Word in my heart, and the hope
and love we have in Christ in my every thought.  I will be
praying today for you, that you will never even consider
suicide as an option.  IT IS NOT AN OPTION BECAUSE YOUR
LIFE BELONGS TO GOD.  Only God can say when it is over.

Instead of focusing on the lies of the enemy, on the pain
and the circumstances in your life, look instead to the
Truth we find in God's Word, the promises and hope we have
in Christ and the fact God will ALWAYS give us a path of
escape.  God has a wonderful and perfect plan for your
life.  The key is you have to be alive for that plan to
unfold.  Don't ever take this wonderful gift of life for
granted, because it will be over soon enough.  In the
meantime, we need to be focused on what it is God wants
from our life, what it is God wants us to accomplish each
day for Him.

Let me leave with you two powerful truths from God's Word. 
The first is, He loves you so very much.  The second is,
He is a God of answers.  Embrace His love for you today,
and let Him help you find the answers to those questions
you have.  There is only one option if you know Christ as
your savior and that is to LIVE for Him.

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

Baptism and Salvation

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.

Have you ever wondered about the role of baptism on
salvation?  This subject is well covered in the Bible
but many haven't yet read the Bible.  Do you know the
difference between dedicating a baby to God and baptizing
a baby?

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   THURSDAY MAY 18, 2006
( Psalms 127:3, 1 Samuel 1:11, 26-28, Deuteronomy 6:4-7 )

Is it proper to baptize your baby?  This is a question
that I get every day so today I want to address this issue
of infant baptism, and deal with baptism in general since
there is some erroneous teaching on this wonderful
experience every follower of Christ should enjoy in their
life.  Like many people, I was "baptized" as a baby in the
church I grew up in.  Even though I was saved in 1970,
rededicated my life to the Lord in 1990, it wasn't until
Good Friday 1994 that I was actually baptized.

A dear man, Dave Scott, who became my spiritual father in
1992 and went home to be with the Lord last year, donned
a wet suit on that chilly Chicago morning in 1994.  I was
in just a pair of shorts as we waded out into the
freezing waters of Lake Michigan off of Oak Street Beach. 
After we prayed, I went under the icy water and moments
later came up, symbolizing the washing away of my sins
and identifying my life with the life of Jesus.  It was a
special moment for me and one that I will never forget as
long as I live.

So let's get back to the initial question, is it proper
to baptize your baby?  The answer is NO!  There is NOTHING
Biblical about baptizing a baby.  Baptism is the act of
someone who has accepted Christ by faith, identifying
their life with the life of Christ in this symbolic act. 
It is the act of a person who has made the choice to
accept Christ into their heart and life by faith, and is
symbolic of going into the water a sinner, and coming
out of the water washed clean by the blood of Jesus. 
Subsequently, since a baby is not yet at a place in
their life to make the choice to accept or reject Christ,
baptizing a baby is a meaningless act.

Please understand this important fact.  BAPTISM DOES NOT
SAVE YOU!  You can't save your baby by having your baby
baptized.  Each person matures at a different pace, but
at some point, every person with a sound mind reaches
the place in their life where they are accountable for
their decision to accept or reject Christ.  A baby is
clearly not able to mentally comprehend they are a sinner
and make the conscious choice to accept or reject Christ
in their life.  The fact is God will hold each person
accountable for the light they have had in their life,
so if a baby dies they are without question forever with
the Lord for all eternity.

What IS PROPER, is to dedicate your baby to the Lord. 
That is Biblical.  We have the great example in 1 Samuel
of Hannah dedicating her baby Samuel to the Lord.  Every
parent should have a time of dedication as they present
their baby to God and dedicate that child's life to the
Lord's service.  As I have spoken often recently about
parenting and a parent's greatest ministry being to their
children, this is part of that responsibility as you
offer up your child to God and ask for God's blessings on
your child's life.

Let me quickly address the erroneous teachings of a few
churches on the issue of baptism.  The Church of Christ
denomination and some other churches hold to the false
teaching that you have to be baptized in order to be
saved.  This is NOT true and it is NOT Scriptural. 
Ephesians 2:8 and 9 clearly tell us that we are saved by
1) faith in Jesus Christ, and 2) God's grace.  PERIOD! 
Nothing else.  No amount of good works can save you, no
additional acts are required.  Salvation is a
supernatural spiritual experience that transforms the
eternal soul of a person from being separated from God
their Creator due to their sin, to being forever
connected with God their Creator because their sins have
been forgiven by their faith in Christ.  Baptism is a
physical act.  THERE ARE NO PHYSICAL ACTS REQUIRED TO BE
SAVED!

*Please do me a favor.  I am NOT going to engage anyone
in an email debate over this issue.  If you are part of
the Church of Christ denomination or another church that
teaches the unbiblical doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration,
you are free to believe whatever you want.  I am well
aware of the arguments those who hold to this erroneous
teaching make to try and support their position.  But a
careful and complete study of the WHOLE counsel of God
clearly teaches that baptism is NOT part of the salvation
process, but simply an act of obedience AFTER a person is
saved.

So why should a person even bother getting baptized if it
isn't necessary for their salvation?  Someone who has
committed their heart and life to Christ by faith will
have a deep desire to follow the life of Jesus, to
identify with His life.  Baptism is a public act of
identification with Christ.  It is the symbolic act of the
washing away of our sins.  It is a way for a follower of
Christ to proclaim their allegiance to Him through a
physical act.  I have had the honor to baptize hundreds of
people over these past 16 years, and I would encourage
anyone who has committed their heart and life to Jesus
Christ by faith to have this special experience.  It is
one you will cherish the rest of the days of your life.

I love you and care about you so much.  I know many parents
are confused about whether to have their babies baptized
and I pray this word today will help you understand that
it makes no sense to baptize your baby, but is God's
desire for you to dedicate your child to the Lord.  I also
want to encourage anyone who has accepted the Lord into
your heart and life by faith and has never been baptized
to do so.  Not so that you are saved, you are already
saved.  But to enjoy that wonderful experience of
identifying your life with the life of Jesus.  It is a
special experience in the life of every Believer.

I will be praying for you today.  Praying that as you go
through your day-to-day life you will never forget that
you are a child of God, a blood-bought son or daughter of
the Lord Jesus Christ.  A wonderful way to never forget
that great truth is by being baptized.  Every time you
remember that special moment when you went under the water
and came up, you will be reminded that your sins have been
forgiven, that once you were lost and now you are found,
that because of your faith in Jesus Christ you have the
assurance of everlasting life as well as the peace, joy,
and abundance of this life.  Baptism is a great reminder
of your faith!

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

Appreciate and Act on Your Freedom of Religion

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.

In the United States, we are blessed with freedom to
worship God as we choose.  In some other countries
Christians are not so lucky. 

Let's all be sure that we use this freedom to honor and
follow God.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    TUESDAY MAY 16, 2006
( Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 11:13-16, 25,  Acts 5:41,
1 Peter 5:10 )

The coming persecution of Christians....IN THE UNITED
STATES!  Several months ago, I read about three 15-year-
old high school girls in Indonesia who were beheaded
simply for being Christians.  Indonesia is the world's
most populous Muslim nation and killing Christians simply
for being a follower of Christ is a common practice in
many parts of that country.  The reality is, in May of
2006 there are MANY places on this planet where it costs
to be a Christian, and that cost is often a person's
life!  I submit to you today that there is coming a day
when Christians will be persecuted for their faith, even
unto death, right here in the United States of America!!!

For those of us who have lived our lives in the United
States, we have enjoyed tremendous freedoms to live and
share our faith in virtual peace.  The fact is we have
never even begun to experience and can't even comprehend
what many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other
parts of the world have to endure to simply be a follower
of Jesus Christ.  Actually, we should be ashamed of
ourselves.  We can go out and start a church and nobody
is going to bother us.  We can go out and preach the
Gospel and nobody is going to bother us.  We can set up
Internet sites, create TV and radio programs, write
books, make movies, produce music, all to share our faith
in Christ and for the most part nobody is going to bother
us.  In fact, there is very little we can't do in May of
2006 here in the United States to live out and share our
faith in Jesus Christ.

In a way, all of this freedom has made us "soft
Christians."  I firmly believe after 16 years of
evangelistic ministry that all of the peace and freedom
we have as Christians in this nation make us not really
appreciate our faith in Christ.  Instead of our faith
being the most important thing in our life, it is simply
just part of our life like belonging to a country club, or
having a hobby we enjoy.  The main reason is that we pay
no price of any kind to get saved since Jesus already paid
that price.  But it costs us nothing after we are saved to
be a Believer in Christ here in the United States.  Most
who come to know Christ have that "born again" experience
and grow very little in their faith because they put
virtually nothing into their relationship with Christ. 
Even the basics like praying and reading the Word each
day, going to church, are too great a sacrifice for most
who call themselves Christians in this nation!

I wonder if a group of men armed with automatic weapons
came into your church on Sunday, told the congregation
they had 5 minutes to denounce Christ and leave the
sanctuary or proclaim Christ as their Savior by staying
with the understanding that those who stayed would be
killed, how many would be left in the pews?  I wonder if
you were with 20 people who were taken at gunpoint by a
man who said he would kill anyone who claimed to be a
Christian, and then started asking each person one by one
if they were a follower of Christ, when he got to you what
YOUR answer would be?  The sad truth is, most Christians
are afraid to share their faith in Christ with others
simply out of the fear of being laughed at, mocked, and
verbally challenged!!!

These may sound like unrealistic scenarios but they
actually happen all the time in countries around this
world.  People are beaten and tortured for their faith
in Christ.  People are put into prison for years, for
decades, for being a follower of Jesus.  Many people
every day are martyred, killed for proclaiming that Jesus
Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We are too
busy to pray, yet brothers and sisters in Christ in some
places today are risking their lives to pray.  We are too
busy to read the Bible, yet brothers and sisters in Christ
in some places are beaten and put into prison just for
having a copy of God's Word.  We have no use for Christ's
church, yet brothers and sisters in the Lord in some
places are killed for having a church service.  My friend,
we have it so easy here in the U.S., we take our faith for
granted and instead of it defining who we are, it is
shuffled far down our list of priorities and simply part
of our life like the Tuesday night bowling league we
belong to.

Please, I am so tired of hearing Christians whining about
being persecuted in this country.  Because we can't pray
in public schools we are being persecuted?  Because the
town hall won't put up a manger scene we are being
persecuted?  Because a department store like Wal-Mart
won't say "Merry Christmas" we are being persecuted?  That
is not persecution, that is simply part of living in a
society that has chosen to live in rebellion to the God
of the Bible and reject His Truth and Son Jesus Christ! 
Should we speak up about these issues?  Sure, but please
don't say we are being persecuted.  Being persecuted is
when someone takes a machete and chops off your head for
no other reason than you have identified yourself as a
follower of Christ!!!

However, there is coming a day, sooner than any of us
think when we will endure that type of persecution right
here in the United States!  Impossible you say?  NO, very
possible.  We have taken our faith for granted, taken the
great freedoms we enjoy for granted, and there will come
a day when we won't have those freedoms any longer and we
will have to decide how important our faith is to us.  At
that time, it will COST to be a Christian.  It will COST
to pray.  It will COST to read the Word.  It will COST to
go to church.  It won't cost money but the potential of
being beaten, tortured, thrown in jail, and even killed. 
On that day, I wonder how many will be left willing to
pay the cost?  Will you?

I love you and care about you so much.  I pray today that
this word will cause you to think, cause you to evaluate
your faith.  It is easy to say I would die for Jesus, but
would you really?  Let me challenge you today.  If you
would die for Jesus, will you live for Jesus?  If we
really love the Lord as we claim, then He should be the
top priority in our life.  Christ should be such a
burning passion in our heart that we should be actively
involved in trying to help everyone we know come to the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When you accepted Jesus into your heart and life by faith,
you gave Him your life.  Not just for an hour on Sunday
morning, but ALL of your life!  The Bible says it is no
longer your life, that it belongs to Him.  If you really
believed that your life is no longer your own, you would
live like it was no longer your own.  You would be fully
and completely surrendered to Christ every moment of
every day.  It would not be about you, it would be about
Him.  It would not be your desires, it would be His
desires.  It would not be you that lived, but yea, the
Christ that lives within you!!!

Sadly, it is going to take real persecution in this
nation for God's people to be One.  When persecution
comes, we won't be divided any longer by Methodist,
Baptist, Catholic, or Pentecostal, we won't be worried
any longer if this person speaks in tongues or that
person chooses to worship quietly, it won't matter if the
color of your skin is black, white, yellow, or red, only
if you know Jesus.  All of the ways we have found to
divide ourselves will be gone and we will be bound simply
by the blood of our Lord, one in Him.  Those God raises up
to lead His people in these days of persecution will be
true servants, since there will be no money in serving the
Lord, only sacrifice.  Those who want to lead in these
days of persecution won't have people paying to hear them
speak, only people coming to lead them to their death.

But be of good cheer.  The Bible proclaims that our
citizenship is NOT of this world  We are citizens of a
different world and are simply passing through this one. 
Those who know Christ as their Savior understand that
this life is but for a brief season and that we have the
assurance of spending all eternity with Him.  They don't
live in fear of death, since death has no hold on the
Believer.  Our purpose in this life is to serve and
glorify God with our lives and that will be the only
goal of those who follow Jesus.

In closing, let me leave you with this thought and
challenge.  Every day, somewhere on this planet a brother
or sister in Christ is literally giving their life for
their faith.  These are courageous men and women of God
who in spite of death have chosen to follow Jesus.  I
pray that their lives will encourage YOU today, challenge
YOU today.  God has blessed us in this nation to have a
season with great freedoms to live our faith and share
our faith.  Instead of taking those freedoms for granted,
causing us to take our faith for granted, let us use
those freedoms to proclaim to this lost and dying world
that Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life,"
and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him.

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

Be Skeptical of Spiritual Advice from Talk Show Hosts

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.

Back in the 1960's, there was a bumper sticker that
became popular.  It said "Question Authority".  Today's
devotional suggests that we apply that advice to what
talk show hosts espouse and encourage us to believe,
even those who are obviously trying to do good things.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   MONDAY MAY 15, 2006
( Deuteronomy 13:5, Isaiah 9:15 )

***THE GREATEST MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT THERE IS!  The mother
and wife of this man received the greatest Mother's Day
present there is, the salvation of a son and husband. 
Watch this powerful moment from the Liveprayer TV
program this past Friday night!  
www.liveprayer.com/doug.cfm

Rev. Oprah?  Why Oprah is so dangerous:  For the nearly 7
years Liveprayer has been around, I have continually
exposed this New Age false-hope merchant and warned
people of how dangerous she is.  If Oprah Winfrey was
simply another Hollywood entertainer I could care less
about her.  What makes her so dangerous is that while her
program normally deals with the same subject matter the
raunchy Jerry Springer program does, Oprah also deals
with the very real day-to-day issues of life and uses her
nationally-syndicated television program to tell people
how to live.  The authority she speaks from?  Herself, 
OPRAH WINFREY!

We are living in a time where the better percentage of
two full generations don't go to church.  People still
hit those difficult places in life and at those moments
they are looking for help and for hope.  Sadly, the
Christian leaders of our day have abandoned the
marketplace and secular television for the safety and
prosperity of the "Christian trough."  In so doing, they
have left the lost and hurting masses looking for a
savior, someone to come along and help them through the
difficult moments of life, tell them how to live, and
give them hope.  To fill this void in people's spiritual
lives, along comes Oprah!

People defend her by saying she is not a theologian or a
preacher, she is a talk-show host and entertainer.  I
agree.  However, that is not how she portrays herself or
positions herself.  She has eagerly cashed in to the tune
of over $1 BILLION DOLLARS on being the spiritual guru to
over 49 million people a week!  The authority she speaks
from is what she has determined truth to be, her views on
right and wrong, her values and morals, as opposed to the
only Truth and authority there is...God's Word!

Lest you think I have overstated my case and have been
wrong all these years, please take a moment to read some
quotes from a recent article in the USA Today on "the
Divine Miss Winfrey."

"Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has emerged as a
spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of
authority for the nation."

"With her television pulpit and the sheer power of her
persona, she has encouraged and steered audiences (mostly
women) in all matters, from genocide in Rwanda to
suburban spouse swapping to finding the absolute best
T-shirt and oatmeal cookie."

" 'She's a really hip and materialistic Mother Teresa,'
says Kathryn Lofton, a professor at Reed College in
Portland, Ore., who has written two papers analyzing the
religious aspects of Winfrey. 'Oprah has emerged as a
symbolic figurehead of spirituality.' "

" 'She's a moral monitor, using herself as the template
against which she measures the decency of a nation,'
Lofton says."

"With 49 million viewers each week in the USA and more in
the 122 other countries to which the show is distributed,
Winfrey reaches more people in a TV day than most
preachers can hope to reach in a lifetime of sermons."

"In a November poll conducted at Beliefnet.com, a site
that looks at how religions and spirituality intersect
with popular culture, 33% of 6,600 respondents said
Winfrey has had "a more profound impact" on their
spiritual lives than their clergypersons."

"Winfrey called her talk show her 'ministry.' "

"Marcia Nelson says that it's not going too far to call
her a spiritual leader. 'I've said to a number of people
- she's today's Billy Graham.'"

" 'Our culture is changing,' she says, 'as churches are
in decline and the bulk of a new generation is growing
up outside of religion.' Instead, they're turning to the
Church of Oprah."

" 'People who have no religion relate to her,' Nelson
says."

It is clearly established that Oprah Winfrey views herself
as some sort of spiritual leader, and based on the 49
million viewers of her TV program, you can laugh at that
notion but can't ignore the fact she has an incredible
amount of influence over tens of millions of lives.  Let
me be clear.  The danger of Oprah Winfrey is that like
any cult leader, her version of the truth and her final
authority are not from God but from herself!  It has
been clearly documented from transcripts that Oprah
Winfrey may use the name of "God," and very rarely
"Jesus," and use many "Christian" expressions, but so
does the Mormon cult!  While she was raised in the
Baptist church, she has been a long-time member (though
rarely attends) of a very liberal church in Chicago that
mixes Christian faith with New Age spirituality.

Because she has never been married, choosing instead of
live for decades outside the bonds of God's Holy
Institution with a man who is not her husband, Oprah has
a jaundiced view on this most sacred bond between a
man and woman.  Oprah embraces the New Age philosophy that
there are "many roads that lead to God," a lie from the
pits of hell itself.  On her program she promotes and
endorses cults like Scientology, Kaballah, those who
speak to the dead, psychics, and people of ANY
"spirituality."  There is only ONE GOD, the God of the
Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to
promote the false gods of this world makes Oprah an
enemy of God!

As for the social issues, Oprah condones and supports
those who choose to engage in the sin of homosexuality. 
Oprah is on the record supporting a "woman's right to
choose," code for slaughtering innocent babies.  While
she gives lip service to being pro-family, Oprah's
definition of the family is whatever men want it to be,
not what God says it is!  Again, the truth Oprah espouses
comes from her own imagination, not from the only
authority and source of Truth there is, the Bible.  By
going against God's Word on the key social issues of our
day makes Oprah an enemy of God.

I could go on, but there is no reason to.  Simply denying
the Bible as the only Truth there is, God as the one and
only God there is, and faith in Jesus Christ as the one
and ONLY WAY to be saved, makes this woman dangerous and
a false prophet in every sense of the word.  What makes a
person a false prophet is that they lead you AWAY from
God, Biblical Truth and Jesus Christ.  Sadly, those who
follow this false prophet, this merchant of false hope,
put their eternal souls in peril.  That is why I have
warned people for years about her and will continue to.

I love you and care about you so much.  I know all the
Oprah disciples who spend hundreds of dollars to go hear
her preach the "gospel of Oprah" at her seminars, buy her
books and magazine, watch her faithfully every day, hang
on her every word, will run to her defense by pointing
out all the good she does.  I don't doubt for a second
that Oprah uses some of her billions to help others.  That
is not the issue.  The Mormon cult feeds the hungry,
clothes the naked, and visits the prisoners, yet they are
still lost and going to hell for rejecting Jesus Christ. 
The Mafia gives millions to worthwhile causes that help
those in need, but that doesn't make them good people. 
God's Word teaches you can't buy your way into heaven!

So what is the answer to Rev. Oprah?  She is locked in. 
One of the most powerful women in the entertainment
business.  She is not going away and now that she is at
least being honest about her "spiritual guru" status,
will become even bolder in trying to position herself as
the spiritual leader of the nation.  By the way, this is
EXACTLY how the anti-Christ will rise to power and the
one-world religion will come to be.  A charismatic figure
who can control the masses and fill their spiritual needs
by feeding them a perverse theology that makes them feel
good for the moment.

The answer is to take on Oprah just like Elijah took on
the prophets of Baal, head-on!  In the end, the TRUTH
will always win out over the lie.  False hope will always
give way to true hope.  The false prophet will always be
exposed when confronted by a true prophet of God.  I have
told you many times that what we are dealing with is a
battle for the souls of men.  This is why I am so
passionate about taking the Liveprayer television program
nationwide.  It will be a beacon of light in the darkness
of this world for Biblical Truth and lead people to the
only answer there is..Jesus Christ!

The reality is, for over 3 years now, night after night I
have done on the Liveprayer television program what Oprah
does on her program:  Deal with the pressing issues of
the day, reach out to people who are hurting, and give
them answers for their life.  The difference?  I let them
know that I can't help them and I am not their answer,
Jesus is!  I deal with the issues of the day not from a
worldly perspective but a Biblical one!  The answers
for the hurting I share are not from my imagination but
from God's Word!  The truth I share is not my truth, it
is God's Truth!  The hope I give people is not a false
hope, but the ONLY hope there is...JESUS CHRIST!

(Sadly, many high profile Christians will go on Oprah's
program and rather than confront her and challenge the
false theology she espouses, say nothing so they can sell
whatever book they are pushing.  David had no fear in
taking on Goliath on his own turf.  David was a shepherd,
not a great man of war like Goliath.  I have no fear in
taking on Oprah on her own turf.  I am an evangelist, not
a great television and entertainment celebrity like
Oprah.  David didn't need the fancy armor of Saul, only a
few pebbles.  I don't need fancy buildings and studios,
only a few pebbles and that is why I am asking you at
this time to help me.  Supply me with the pebbles I need
and our God will do the rest!)

The world has always had false prophets, merchants of
false hope.  Oprah, her creation "Dr. Phil," Montel, are
simply some of the more notable ones of our day.  I expose
them for who they are, talk about them, because they are
leading people AWAY from the only Truth there is and AWAY
from the only hope there is.  Pray for Oprah today.  The
fact is, Oprah could become a powerful woman of God if
she would humble herself before the Almighty, get on her
knees and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and stop
preaching the gospel of Oprah but the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

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

Happy Mother's Day!

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.

Mother's Day is a special opportunity to honor our
Grandmothers, Mothers, Mother-in-law, wives, sisters,
sisters-in-law, daughters and daughters-in-law.  None
of us would even be here without the love and caring
of our beloved Mothers.  May God bless you all!

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   SUNDAY MAY 14, 2006   (Mother's Day)
( Matthew 15:21-28 )

***THE GREATEST GIFT A MOTHER COULD EVER RECEIVE!  On the
TV program last Friday night, Doug from Brandon, Florida
called in.  He called about the DaVinci Code, but by the
time the call was over, he had given his heart and life
to Jesus Christ by faith!!!  It was a battle, but in the
end, Doug bowed his knee to Jesus and his salvation was
no doubt the answer to the prayers of his mother and his
wife and mother of their children.  For you moms and
wives, your prayers are not in vain.  God is no respecter
of persons and the same God that answered the prayers of
Doug's mother and wife is the very same God who will
answer your prayers for your unsaved husband and
children!!!  See and hear this incredible call at:
www.liveprayer.com/doug.cfm

A mother's love.  On this day that we honor our mothers,
I thought it fitting to share with you this wonderful
story from God's Word that personifies a mother's love. 
I have often said a mother's love can be broken down into
the 3 P's.  Pleading, persistence, and prayer.  I can
testify today that the only reason I am in the ministry
is because my mother who is with the Lord now, pleaded,
was persistent, and prayed.  I have no doubt that many of
you know Jesus as your Savior because of your mother's
prayers.  So in honor of our mothers, let me break down
the 3 P's of a mother's love for you.

A mother will plead for her child.  It was the deep love
for her daughter that drove the Canaanite woman in
today's scripture to Jesus, pleading for mercy for her
daughter.  In our time of despair, "something" pulls us
to God.  Many people, who openly reject God, will cry out
in a time of need.  Even believers will live apart from
Christ, not giving Him much time in their daily life...
until the trials come.  This mother in her hour of need,
knew where to go to plead for help.

Persistence is something that defines a mother.  Moms have
a God-given talent to stay on something, no matter how long
it takes, to get the job done.  Many times, God delays His
answer to test our belief, much like He did in the parable
of the persistent widow in Luke 18:2-5.  Are you serious
about the needs in your life?  Then don't give up...be
persistent.  Isaiah 65:24 gives us that special promise,
"Before they call I will answer; while they are still
speaking, I will hear."  God has promised to hear and
answer our prayers, but that does not always mean in our
timing.  Often, we need to be persistent, like this
Canaanite mother who was not going to be denied the
miracle she sought for her daughter.

If persistence defines a mother, then prayer is her
greatest weapon.  In verse 25 of today's scripture we
hear the simple prayer of faith, "Lord help me!"  Moms
are prayer warriors.  Moms know that it is prayer that
moves the hand of God.  Moms know that prayer works
because it demonstrates to God that we are powerless in
our own strength, and have put our faith in Him. Jesus
healed this woman's daughter because of her faith!

I want to encourage you today to honor your mother, she
is a great gift from God.  It is also God's commandment
that we honor our mother. For those of you who have been
estranged, separated from your Mom due to the events of
life, please, swallow your pride and contact her today. 
No matter what may have happened in the past, tell her
that you love her.  I understand that many mothers have
not been what God called them to be, but through your
love, God can restore them.

For those like me whose Mom is with the Lord, let me
suggest calling a local nursing home and finding out the
name of a lady who has no family, no regular visitors. 
An inexpensive arrangement of flowers and 5 minutes of
your day just to tell her she hasn't been forgotten on
this Mother's Day will touch a life like you can not
even imagine.  I am a firm believer that the little acts
of kindness, even to strangers, are our most effective
and powerful ministry.  Don't let this day pass without
making it special for your mother.

I love you and care about you, and it is my goal each day
to encourage you and challenge you to have that intimate
daily relationship with the Lord that He desires to have
with you.  I know from years in the ministry, one of the
biggest concerns for Moms is their unsaved children.  Mom,
let me stand in agreement with you today for your unsaved
children, praying with you for their salvation since I
realize that is your number one prayer request.  Millions
will be in Heaven because of the prayers of mom!!!!

To all the Moms out there today, may you be richly blessed
on this day that we honor you!

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