Friday, May 26, 2006

Responding to Those Who Mock Jesus

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.

Every day, Christians are confronted with new forms of
blasphemy against Jesus. Obviously, it's up to God to
judge those who do these things. Our responsibility is
to forgive and love. But what else should we do?

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY MAY 26, 2006
(Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 26:62-63, Psalms 22:6-8,
Matthew 27: 39-40)

It is OK to mock Jesus. The "Insurgent" is the student
newspaper on the University of Oregon campus, and in a
recent edition this paper ran two cartoons of Jesus. In
one, He was hanging on the cross naked with an erection.
In the other, Jesus is shown kissing another man and they
both have erections. One of pop music's biggest stars is
Madonna. She is currently on her worldwide "Confessions"
tour, and at one point sings while hanging on a huge
mirrored cross in a mock crucifixion complete with a
crown of thorns. The number one movie in the world right
now is "The DaVinci Code," a movie that denies the deity
of Christ, reduces our Lord to a con man, while calling the
Christian faith a lie. My friend, in May of 2006 it is
perfectly acceptable and even applauded to mock, demean,
and debase the Lord Jesus Christ!

I wonder what would happen if that same newspaper ran
similar cartoons of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther
King? Can you imagine the uproar there would be? Or what
if they ran cartoons depicting Mohammed as a homosexual?
Those responsible would be in fear for their very lives.
Or what about if they ran cartoons that mocked and
demeaned people who choose to commit the sin of
homosexuality. There would be marches and protests by
every pro-homosexual group that exists. The fact is,
nobody would dare to publish these types of disgusting
representations of ANYONE other than Jesus or Christians,
since the public outcry would be deafening. People
would be fired, students expelled, and millions would be
spent to appease those who were offended.

Let there be no mistake, mocking Jesus is not a new
phenomenon. There were people who lived at the same time
as our Lord who rejected Him, just like there are people
who reject Him today. We know from the Bible that in
the fulfillment of Scripture He was mocked and scorned in
the last hours of his life. So many of the supposed "lost
books of the Bible" and these new "gospels" are nothing
more than the anti-Christian writings of men who rejected
the message of Christ and who He is. Those anti-Christian
writings have always existed throughout the last 2000
years, right up to today with the modern day heretics like
Dan Brown, the author of "The DaVinci Code" and Michael
Baigent, who wrote the equally blasphemous "Jesus Papers."
People have mocked our Lord since the days He walked this
earth.

What is new is the bold and fearless public attacks on
our Lord throughout the world today. I have told you
often that the United States is no longer a Christian
nation. A classic example of that fact is the way those
who hate Jesus publicly mock Him. Just 10 years ago, no
legitimate newspaper, even those on major college
campuses which tend to be more liberal and radical,
would have EVER had the audacity to publish cartoons
depicting Jesus in the way the University of Oregon paper
recently did. Ten years ago, a blasphemous book like
"The DaVinci Code" would have never sold tens of millions
of copies like it has today. While Madonna has made a
career of mocking Christ and His church, even she has
taken her blasphemy to a new level by mocking the
crucifixion.

I have done many Devotionals over these past 7 years on
the boldness of satan versus the timidity of Christians.
Do you believe me now?

The natural question of course is what do we do about it?
First, you can't blame those who put out these disgusting
and blasphemous representations of Jesus. Oh, don't get
me wrong, God WILL hold them accountable, but these are
people who have clearly rejected God, His Truth, and
Jesus, so what do you expect? They have given themselves
over as instruments of unrighteousness so they are
actually only doing what comes naturally to them. How
can you really blame those who hate and reject the Lord
from expressing that rejection and hatred? Hear me
carefully. They are not the problem, WE ARE THE PROBLEM!

Maybe now you can understand why I hammer relentlessly on
how Christians have abandoned the marketplace for the
comfort, safety, and oh yes, the profitability of this
Christian subculture we have created for ourselves. In
reality, we are in rebellion to God since the Bible
doesn't say separate yourselves from the world, it
actually COMMANDS us to do the exact opposite! What we
are seeing with the open and public mocking of Jesus is
one of the results of our abandoning the culture of our
day and leaving it to the devil. He operates virtually
without any opposition so why are we surprised that he
has taken his hatred and scorn for Jesus to the extremes
we witness today? Let me warn you my friend, it is only
going to get worse!

The answer to this blaspheming of our Lord is to get back
into the marketplace and start taking a stand for Christ.
Each follower of the Lord can do their part each day where
you live, where you go to school or work, where you shop,
in the recreational activities you are involved in, and
with the people God brings across your path. You take
your stand by living a Godly and holy life. You take
your stand by not being afraid to speak up for our Lord
when you are around people who are speaking against Him.
You take your stand by finding ways to serve Him. You
can't stop the mockers, but you can make sure their
message of hatred for our Lord does not go unchallenged!!!

I love you and care about you so much. For anyone who
loves Jesus, it has to break your heart to see how our
Lord and Savior is portrayed by those who hate Him. I
have no doubt Jesus is looking down and saying "Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do." The
reality is, those who were responsible for creating and
publishing those horrible cartoons in the University of
Oregon student newspaper, Madonna, Dan Brown, as well as
Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and all those involved in the
"DaVinci Code" movie will die one day. At that moment
they will be standing before God their Creator to be
judged. If they die rejecting the Lord, the Bible says
they will be cast into everlasting darkness.

I believe the last thing they will see, the picture that
will be with them as they suffer for all eternity, will
be that of King Jesus, the One they openly mocked and
scorned!!! Pray for these lost souls. Without the Lord
in their heart, they have allowed their lives to be used
as agents of satan. Don't forget that there was a man
named Saul of Tarsus who persecuted the early church,
killed Christians, yet that same Saul was visited by
Jesus one day and his life gloriously transformed. He
became Paul and went on to live one of the greatest
Christian lives ever documented.

I pray that this will be a wake-up call for all
Believers today. A wake-up call that we have got to get
back into the marketplace where we live each day and
boldly, without shame or compromise proclaim our faith in
Christ. If this doesn't motivate you, nothing will. For
too long, we have been intimidated into keeping our mouths
shut while those who live in rebellion to God speak loud
and bold without fear or conscience to promote their
ungodly lives and choices.

Maybe this will give you some insight into my drive and
passion for what we do each day here at Liveprayer. Our
number one goal is to bring the lost to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Getting people saved is the
ultimate answer. In addition to proclaiming the Gospel
to the lost and bringing the hope of Christ to the
hurting, I am here to bring Biblical Truth back into the
marketplace. I can't stop newspapers from publishing
disgusting representations of Jesus, I can't stop pop
stars like Madonna from mocking the crucifixion, I can't
stop people like Dan Brown from writing anti-Christian
books, but I can go out into that VERY SAME marketplace
and reach those VERY SAME people with the fact that their
only hope and their only answer is faith in Jesus Christ!

Those who hate our Lord are bold and courageous in taking
their message of hate to the masses. I challenge you
today that if you love Jesus, you should be even bolder
and more courageous in taking the message of His love to
those same masses! While the world mocks our Lord, we
have got to praise 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

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Thoughts about "American Idol"

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.

Are you interested in rags to riches success stories
involving entertainers like those who appear on American
Idol
? How does that interest square with your religious
beliefs? If you are like most people, you haven't
thought much about that.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY MAY 25, 2006
( Psalms 2:11, Ephesians 6:7 Hebrews 12:28 )

The lessons of American Idol. By the time this
Devotional is going out, there will be a new American
Idol. The 5th season of the highest-rated program on TV
today (over 40 million viewers), concluded and either
Alabama's Taylor Hicks or Southern California's Katharine
McPhee was voted by the viewers as the newest American
Idol. To Fox TV's credit, Idol is actually one of the
more watchable programs on television for families. It
is a refreshing throwback to some of the old talent
programs that have always been popular since the
inception of television. The real "hook" of Idol is that
it is the viewers who vote to ultimately choose who the
winner is. There are actually several interesting
spiritual lessons from American Idol that I want to share
with you today.

The first spiritual lesson is how people will chase after
the temporary things of this world with all they have,
yet put very little time, effort, or sacrifice in pursuing
the eternal things of God. At the beginning of each
season of American Idol, auditions are held in 5 or 6
major cities. People come from all over and will line up
for days, camping out, braving the weather, just to be able
to audition for an opportunity to get a "golden ticket" to
go to California and the next round of the competition. It
is amazing to hear the stories of those who sacrificed to
come to the audition, taking buses for days, using their
last dollar to get there, leaving their families and jobs
behind to try and become the next American Idol.

Of course, the ultimate goal of each person who auditions
is to become an overnight superstar in the music industry,
enjoying all of the fame and fortune that goes along with
success in that business. It is interesting to watch
thousands and thousands of people give all they have for
a shot at becoming a famous singer. Idol is a great
example of how people will sacrifice everything for the
temporary things this world has to offer. My friend,
whatever fame you may acquire, whatever fortune you may
amass, all becomes meaningless the second you die. When
you stand before God He is not gong to be impressed you
became an American Idol, or that you sold 50 million
records, or that you won 5 Grammys, or that you lived in
a 5 million dollar home, or that you were worth millions
of dollars. No, the only thing that God is going to be
interested in and impressed by is your relationship with
His Son Jesus Christ!

A sad lesson from American Idol is the incredible lengths
most people will go to, to chase the temporary things of
this world, while very few people will make those same
sacrifices to pursue the eternal things of God.

Another great lesson from American Idol is how so many
people live their lives through the lives of others.
Watching the program to see how your favorite does,
watching for the entertainment value is fine. What I am
talking about are people who live vicariously though
those on the program whether it is the host Ryan Seacrest,
the judges, or the contestants. It is amazing to me how
may people live their lives through the lives of others
whether it be Hollywood actors, people in the music
business, sports stars, TV personalities, politicians,
people they know, and even people in the ministry.

God gave each of us this wonderful gift of life. We are
each unique and special. You need to live your life
instead of wasting it by living through someone else's.
When you do that, you are cheating yourself out of this
precious gift God has given you. A great lesson from
American Idol is to not get caught up living your life
through someone else's, LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE!

The other great lesson from American Idol is that man
has the creativity and ability to create vehicles to
reach the masses with a message. I am fully aware that
the motivation behind American Idol is money, large
amounts of money. That is the motivation and driving
force for creating this program that is reaching the
masses. I contend that if we can use our creativity and
ingenuity to create a vehicle to reach the masses for
money, how much more should we be using that same
creativity and ingenuity to reach the masses for Christ!
Not only is it something we have been commanded to do by
our Lord, it should be the desire of every Believer to
reach this lost world we live in with the Truth of God's
Word and the hope we have in Jesus Christ!

Another great lesson from American Idol is that man knows
no bounds when it comes to creating something from
nothing that can reach the masses so he can make a
profit. I submit to you today, those who know the Lord
should be challenged that if men of the world can create
vehicles to reach the masses simply to make money, how
much more motivated should men of God be to reach the
masses to bring them the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

I love you and care about you so much. Tens of millions
of people have watched and voted and gotten caught up in
Idolmania these past few months. It is over for another
season as either Taylor or Katharine is the newest
American Idol. I pray today that for the people who
sacrifice and give everything they have for a shot at the
temporary fame and fortune of this life, they will
sacrifice and give everything they have for the eternal
rewards of Heaven. I pray today that for those who live
their lives through others, they will begin to live their
own unique and special lives. I pray today that instead
of using the incredible gifts and creativity and ingenuity
to reach the masses for a few dollars, men will use those
same gifts and creativity and ingenuity to reach the
masses for Jesus.

I'm encouraged by a program like American Idol. It proves
people will sacrifice for the things of this world, now we
need to help them see how much better it is to sacrifice
for the things of God. It proves that people want to live
better lives, now we need to help them see that they are
special and unique can have a better life if they will
follow the Lord. It proves that men can create unique
vehicles to reach the masses for money, now we need to
challenge men to create unique vehicles to reach the
masses for the Lord. May we learn these lessons from
American Idol and make an impact with our lives for
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

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Live in Victory with Jesus

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.

With all of the challenges and difficulties of our daily
lives, how we live in victory?

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2006
( John 16:33, 1 Corinthians 15:24, Revelation 3:21 )

Living in victory or defeat , it is up to you!!! I want
to give you a word of encouragement today that you don't
have to live in defeat, but YOU CAN LIVE IN VICTORY!
Even more important, you have 100% control over whether
you live in victory or defeat! That is right. YOU, and
nobody else holds the key to whether you live in victory
or defeat. This is a powerful, life-changing word today
so please open your heart and receive what God is saying
to you. You don't need to go hear the latest motivational
guru of the day, or buy the latest books and tapes on
being successful, just open your heart and receive this
powerful Truth that living in victory is up to you and
nobody else!

I know that many of you reading these words today are in
a major crisis in your life. You are facing what seems
to be insurmountable odds in your finances, in your health,
in your marriage, on your job, with your children, in
battling an addiction, or whatever your situation may be
today. As you face these very real struggles, you see
nothing but defeat. Of course, nobody wants to live in
defeat, everyone wants to live in victory. That is only
common sense. But you have done and are doing everything
you can to turn things around. However, your finances are
no better, your marriage is no better, your health is no
better, your job is still a nightmare, your children are
still living in rebellion to God, you are still in some
form of bondage, you are not seeing any hope in whatever
your battle may be. So you have every right to question
me when I state that living in defeat or victory is up
to you.

Here is the key to help you. Living in victory has
nothing to do with the day-to-day circumstances and
challenges we face in our life. I know most of you
didn't get that one, so let me say it again. Listen
carefully. Living in victory has NOTHING to do with the
day-to-day circumstances and challenges we face in our
life. This is heavy so follow me. The fact is, you will
ALWAYS have trials and tribulations, challenges and
battles to fight throughout your entire life. That is
simply part of living in this sin-filled and evil world
we do. NOBODY is immune from the trials and tribulations
of life. NOBODY. It is part of EVERYONE'S life. You
can still live in victory regardless what your
circumstances may be. You can still live in victory
regardless what you are facing in your life today.

YOU CAN LIVE IN VICTORY TODAY BECAUSE OF JESUS!

Choosing to live in victory is the choice you make when
you choose to follow Jesus! Jesus won the victory on
the cross 2000 years ago, and those who choose to put
their faith and trust in Him, invite Christ into their
heart and life by faith, live in His victory no matter
what may be going on in their lives. Remember that great
old hymn, "Victory in Jesus?" It is true. You see when
you know Jesus, you understand that in this life you will
have trials and tribulations, that you will have tests
along the way. But because you know Jesus you have
already won the victory. This world is not your home,
just a few short years of an eternal existence with
Christ. No matter what you may have to face and deal
with in this life, it is but for a season since your
eternal home in Heaven is secure and waiting for you.

The problems of this life are nothing but hurdles. You
can either let them stop you, paralyze you, rob you of
your peace and joy and abundance, or you can find a way
to get over them. There is no hurdle in your life today
that the Lord won't help you overcome. If your hurdle
is finances, Jesus will help you overcome it. If your
hurdle is a marital problem, Jesus will help you
overcome it. If your hurdle is a health issue, Jesus
will help you overcome it. If your hurdle is a problem
at work, Jesus will help you overcome it. If your hurdle
is a problem with your children, Jesus will help you
overcome it. If your hurdle is an addiction of some
sort, Jesus will help you overcome it. No matter what
your hurdle may be, JESUS WILL HELP YOU OVERCOME IT!

That does not mean you will never have financial
problems, or health issues, or problems in your
marriage, or an issue with your employment, or problems
with your children, or battle some sort of addiction, or
face a whole host of other problems. Just hours before
going to the cross, Jesus told His disciples that in this
world they would have trials and tribulations. He told
them that so they wouldn't be fooled into thinking that
just because they had chosen to follow Him they would
live without any problems. That is impossible since we
are living in a fallen world that for the most part
operates in rebellion to God and His Truth. But Jesus
encouraged them by saying, "be of good cheer for I have
overcome this world!"

That is why today I can say to you, living in victory or
defeat is up to you. You can choose to live a life of
defeat by rejecting Jesus Christ and not only deal with
the problems of this life, but live without the hope of
tomorrow. Your defeat is NOT in the problems of this
life but in the fact that when you die, you will live for
all eternity apart from God your Creator. By choosing to
accept Christ as your Savior, you have a new strength to
face life's problems, to overcome life's problems, but
most important the hope of tomorrow in knowing that when
your brief journey is complete you will spend all eternity
with God your Creator!!!

I love you and care about you so much. Living in victory
has nothing to do with the circumstances you are facing
in your life today. There will always be problems to deal
with, always be hurdles. If you think back 10 years ago,
you had problems in your life. It was God who saw you
through those problems. If you think back 5 years ago,
you had problems in your life. It was God who saw you
through those problems. If you think back 6 months ago,
you had problems in your life. It was God who saw you
through those problems. The fact is, there will always be
problems living in this sin-filled world that we do, but
God is there to help you and see you through whatever
those problems may be!

Living a life of defeat or victory has nothing to do
with the day-to-day trials of life, but it has to do
with your relationship with Jesus Christ! You can
choose to live a life of defeat by rejecting Him, or
live a life of victory by accepting Him into your heart
and life by faith. I will be praying for you today as
you make the choice to live a life of VICTORY!


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

Monday, May 22, 2006

Stay in Touch with God to Find His Will for You

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.

What's the secret to finding out what God wants you to
do for Him? Stay in touch through prayer, thinkging
about God and attending church. The more contact you
have the clearer His desires for you will be.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL MONDAY MAY 22, 2006
( Psalms 143:10 )

The goal is not to conform God to our will, but for us to
conform to His will. This Devotional today is a deep one.
One of the most frequent questions people always ask, is
how do I know what the will of God is for my life? Much
of the difficulty in determining what God's will is for
our life is trying to separate our wants and desires from
God's wants and desires. This is probably one of the most
difficult issues you will ever deal with in your walk with
the Lord and I just want to give you some basics to help
you in not trying to conform God to your will, but for you
to conform to His will.

The only way you can begin to understand what God's will
is for your life is to be in a daily, intimate,
surrendered relationship with Him. It is critical that
you are spending time with the Lord every day through His
Word, through prayer, and that quiet time where it is
just you and the Lord in fellowship. That is the only
way we can learn to hear His voice so that over time we
are able to discern whether it is God speaking or simply
ourselves. I can't begin to emphasize enough how
important it is to take the time each day to get alone
with God and have that time of fellowship. You only
begin to know God's will for your life when you really
know God.

The key is you have to be at a place in your life where
you are fully surrendered to the Lord. You need to be
able to say, "Lord, wherever you want me to go, whatever
you want me to do, I am completely yours". The biggest
hurdle to overcome in following God's will for our life
is the fear of the unknown. What is my life going to be
like if I follow God? How will my life be different if I
really let God have His way? Trust me, He loves you,
cares about you, and only wants the best for you. God
wants to bless you and those blessings are found as we
faithfully and obediently follow Him.

The more we listen to God's voice, the more we obey and
follow His voice, the less time we spend trying to force
God to follow what we want to do, and the more time we
spend trying to follow what God wants us to do. As we
grow and mature in our relationship with the Lord, we
find ourselves more concerned with what God is asking us
to do and we slowly begin to make His desires our
desires. My friend, THAT is the time when you find that
special place almost impossible to put into words. That
place where your desires have become God's desires. It
is clearly no longer your will that you seek, but it is
His will.

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying
for you that you will get serious about finding and living
in God's perfect will each day. It is the only way we
truly know the peace, joy, and abundance of this life. In
His will, we can do all things because it is not us, it is
Him. Out of His will, we can do nothing. Nothing works
or makes sense. Take some time alone with the Lord today
and begin to pray in earnest for God to help you begin to
quit trying to conform Him to your will, but for you to
conform to His will!

As we are into the last 9 days of our 81st month, I want
you to please take a moment and pray, ask God what He
would have you do to help me today. I only ask that you
are obedient, give according to your ability to give,
and give what God is asking you to give. If it is $20 or
$50, fine. If it is $100 or $250, fine. If it is $500,
$1,000, or a unit in "The 300" of $10,000, fine. *Don't
assume that someone else will give. What they do is
between them and God. It is YOUR obedience God is looking
at, and YOUR blessings.

You can make a gift to Liveprayer on your major credit
card at our website www.liveprayer.com under the
"Donation" button, or you can give from your PayPal
account by using my email address, bkeller@liveprayer.com ,
or you can mail a gift to:

Liveprayer
6660 46th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33709
All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Thank you for your love, for your prayers, and for
your sacrificial gifts to Liveprayer. I never forget for
a minute that without you there would be no Liveprayer.
I realize that you are asked to give to so many good
causes all the time, and I am HONORED that God has moved
you to share some of what He has entrusted to you to help
me reach the lost and hurting for Christ. On behalf of
those that we minister to every day, THANK YOU FOR YOUR
SACRIFICE !!!


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

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Be an Ambassador for Jesus

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.

How do you feel when those around your are sinning and
rebelling against God? I'm sure it hurts you to see them
taking that unhappy route.

What can you do about it? You can be God's ambassador
and remind everyone that God loves them, forgives them
and wants to fill their lives with His Grace.

Please read on.

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

DAILY DEVOTIONAL SUNDAY MAY 21, 2006
( Matthew 5:14-16 )

Bringing Christ to the masses through the secular media.
Fifty years ago, if you wanted to preach the Gospel on TV
or radio, if you wanted to create Christian music, if you
wanted to write a Christian book, if you wanted to make a
film with a Christian message, you did so through the
existing media outlets of the day that everyone else used.
There was no such thing as Christian TV or radio,
Christian record labels, Christian publishers, Christian
film companies. There was simply the existing media
vehicles that everyone used to reach the people of the day.

Sadly, over these past 50 years we have created a Christian
subculture of TV stations and networks, radio stations and
networks, record labels, publishers, and film studios.
Regardless of whether their stated goals are, the reality
is, those in the Christian subculture market to and target
people who are already Christians. Preaching to the choir
has become a several billion dollar a year industry and the
allure of big money has caused those who have the message
this lost and hurting world desperately needs to simply
package, market, and sell that message to those who
already are part of the family of God.

The effect of this has been that the "salt" and the
"light" has been removed from the marketplace, and we
have left the lost masses to satan. It is like what
sadly happens in many major metropolitan areas where a
church that has been in the inner city for decades,
decides to move to the suburbs where more affluent people
live, build a new million dollar building, and abandon
the very people that need that church the most. The void
left by that church leaving is quickly filled by the drug
dealers, the pimps, the scam artists, and those who can
now operate without any competition from God to destroy
the lives of the people in that area.

We have done the same thing over these past 50 years by
abandoning the secular media to create our own Christian
media fiefdoms, so all that the hurting and lost masses
get 24/7 are the lies of satan. We left secular TV that
is now overrun by "Desperate Housewives," MTV, and
programming that promotes perverted lifestyles, sexual
sin, and mocks God, Jesus and the Bible! We left secular
radio that is now taken over by Howard Stern and music of
every kind that glorifies a people in complete rebellion
to God and His Word.

We left the secular record labels to the artists of the
world, but amazingly in recent years those same secular
labels have now bought most of the major Christian labels
so that they could make the hundreds of millions of
dollars to be gained by selling Christian music to other
Christians. We left the secular book and magazine
publishers so that now all they produce are books and
magazines that promote the world's view of living in
rebellion to God and the Truth. Major Hollywood movie
studios that used to turn out wonderful family-friendly
movies in addition to Biblical classics like the "Ten
Commandments" and "Jesus of Nazareth" to name a few, now
mostly turn out violent, sex-laced movies that glorify
every sin known to man.

My friend, unless I am not reading my Bible correctly, the
Great Commission doesn't say to "separate yourself from the
world and preach to each other," but it says to go out into
the world and make disciples of ALL men! Jesus didn't take
His disciples and keep to themselves, He went TO the people
of His day who were hurting and looking for hope and sent
His disciples out to spread the Good News. Paul didn't
help start churches and then sit back and simply preach to
those who were saved, but he continued to go out and
preach the Gospel to the lost of the world of his day.

Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
(Matthew 5:14-16 KJV)

Now more than ever this world needs to hear the TRUTH of
God's Word. Now more than ever this world needs the
people of God to be the "salt" and "light" God has called
us to be. Now more than ever this lost and hurting
world needs the one and only answer there is...JESUS
CHRIST! If we, the people who know Christ as our Savior
won't take His hope and love to this world that needs Him
so desperately, WHO WILL???

I love you and care about you so much. I want to
encourage you today in your daily life to be that "salt"
and "light" God has called you to be. It is no accident
you live where you do, work or go to school where you
do, recreate where you do, shop where you do, or any of
your other activities during the course of the day. God
is always bringing people into your life that are hurting
and lost, who are simply looking for hope. These are
people who are never going to church, never going to read
a Bible, never going to watch Christian TV, listen to
Christian radio or music, or read Christian books or
magazines. YOU ARE THEIR ONLY CONNECTION TO GOD!

I want to challenge you that God has placed you where you
are for this season for a PURPOSE. Part of that purpose
is to be a witness for Him. Never forget that I tell you
often your greatest witness for the Lord is not what you
say, but how you live your life each day. People notice!
You are His ambassador. As a son or daughter of the Lord,
God has commanded you to share your faith in Christ with
those you meet along your journey. Your most effective
witness to others will always be what Jesus has done in
your life. People are hungry for the Truth, looking for
answers, searching for hope. YOU possess the truth they
want, have the answers they seek, and can give them the
hope they need. I pray that you will boldly proclaim
that Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth and the life"
and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him!

Please be praying with me for God to raise up men and
women that are not ashamed of the Gospel, that have a
vision to reach the lost and hurting masses with the
message of Christ. Men and women of God who instead of
simply becoming part of the current Christian subculture
that preaches to the choir, will have a hunger to take
the message of Christ through the same secular media
vehicles the world uses every day to lie to people and
destroy their lives.

We need more people who will follow the lead of
Liveprayer and take the message of Christ to the masses
on secular TV. Not the same old recycled preaching/
teaching programs, but programming that will attract a
secular audience and bring them the Truth of God's Word
and lead people to faith in Christ. We need Christian
music artists who will create music that can reach the
masses through secular radio stations and record labels.
We need authors who will write for a secular audience
that can be published by the major publishing houses of
the day and marketed to the world at large. We need
movie makers that will use Hollywood as a vehicle to
create God-honoring films that can bring Truth and the
hope of Christ into people's lives.

Will it be easy? NO WAY! Since we have abandoned the
secular media for so many decades now, getting back in
will be very difficult. BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR
GOD! I'm on major secular TV stations like WPLG-ABC10
in Miami "live" for an hour 5 nights a week proclaiming
the Truth of God's Word and the hope and love of Christ
without compromise, the very same station garbage like
"Desperate Housewives" is on! So it can be done. There
are wonderful Christian musicians that are taking their
music that glorifies Christ and the Word directly to the
lost and hurting. Great authors who are writing books
that can compete with any of the secular books on the
market. People like my friend Ted Baehr of Movieguide
that are working tirelessly to help get great movies made
and distributed through the same channels Hollywood is
currently using.

IT CAN BE DONE, IT MUST BE DONE BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT GOD
HAS CALLED US TO DO!

For too long we have abandoned our culture, have taken
the Truth out of the marketplace because it was more
comfortable and profitable to tell and sell the Truth to
those who already knew it. That is NOT Biblical. As we
are in the last days, now more than ever we are living in
a world that desperately needs that Truth, desperately
needs the hope that is only found in Jesus Christ. May
we rise up and use the secular media that is in place to
reach the masses worldwide and bring those lost and
hurting masses the Truth found in God's Word and
everlasting life through faith in 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