Daily Devotional for Tuesday February 26, 2008

Losing the Battle for the Soul of this Nation

(Jeremiah 11:9-17)

Then the LORD said to me, "There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. You have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.' "Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. "What is my beloved doing in my temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? Can consecrated meat avert your punishment ? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice." The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. The LORD Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal. Jeremiah 11:9-17

Losing the battle for the soul of this nation. Unbeknownst to most, there has been a major battle, a spiritual battle, raging in the heavenlies for the soul of this nation. It is a battle that sadly is being lost since like the children of Israel, this nation has forsaken the God of the Bible and turned to the false gods and idols of the world. God will not be mocked and the mercy and grace He has extended to this nation will soon turn to anger and wrath. Oh, how I have yearned to see this nation turn back to God and to His Truth, but I have had to accept that this nation wants nothing to do with God and will soon pay the price for its' wickedness and rebellion.

I told you many times during 2007 that our next President would not be a friend of God. With only three people left who can realistically win that office, it is now clear that will be true. None of the three left have any desire or goal to turn this nation back to God or to champion the spiritual issues of the day that have blackened this nation's soul. They all claim to be people of "faith," but none of them advocate or have a track record of taking a stand for Biblical Truth. Actually, most of them have opposed God on almost every spiritual issue we face today. Most alarming is the meteoric political rise of a man who has positioned himself to be the messiah of hope for this nation and all of the people. Since the hope he advocates is NOT in Jesus Christ and the Truth of God's Word, it is a false hope that will lead us down a road of destruction.

I was not surprised at the venom and anger unleashed on me after the Devotional I shared on Friday, February 15, 2008 about B. Hussein Obama ( http://www.liveprayer.com/ddarchive3.cfm?id=3224 ). So many missed the point of the Devotional since it had NOTHING to do about politics or the color of the man's skin, and everything to do with how hungry people are for someone to rise up and lead them. Sadly, as Jesus predicted, there would be many false prophets, many who claim to be "Christ," who will lead the people astray. You only need to watch the emotional response of so many to the charisma of Obama, the fainting and swooning at the empty rhetoric, to see how desperate the people are for someone to rise up and lead them....anywhere!

Jesus said that the people were like sheep, looking for a shepherd. Sadly, most of those who were called to be shepherds of God's people, have like many of the priests in the Old Testament, only led the people in one way... to give them money. This is true from major national ministers down to the local church. I have sat back in amazement watching Jim Bakker raising $100 million to build his next Christian utopia, Morningside, in Missouri. Televising on a handful of Christian stations so he can reach and fleece the choir again , the only thing that has changed is his wife and the fact he is 20 years older. I guess his book, "I Was Wrong," written when he got out of prison, was simply a way to get sell books, take offerings from churches who let him preach to their people, and to make people believe he had changed. Just as amazing are many of the top TV preachers who have the audacity to routinely ask people to send them $100 for their new private jet while they drive home each night to their million dollar mansion in a new luxury car.

However, this "lead the people only in how to give us their money" mentality is also alive and well on the local level as well, as churches spend hundreds of thousands of their donations on "consultants" to help them learn how to raise millions from their people for their next building project. It is too bad those who God has called to be shepherds aren't as proficient in winning souls to Christ or leading the people in ways of holiness and righteousness as they are in raising money to build monuments of bricks and mortar that one day will pass away. If you took every dollar that is invested in buying private jets and building buildings, and put those dollars into winning souls, a real revival would break out overnight!!!

I have to be honest with you. People have no problem emptying their bank account when it comes to building a building, but can't even find $1 when it comes to saving souls. During the rise of PTL in the mid 80's, Bakker stated that he always had to have some building project going on since people love to give to bricks and mortar. That is why over the past 40 years, ministries have left the marketplace and gravitated to the Christian trough where they can reach other Christians. Most churches have lost their zeal for evangelism and church growth is either preaching a watered down message that won't offend anyone or clever ideas how to steal people from the church down the street. The sad realty is with all of the resources going to buildings and everything BUT ministering to people, the lost are not being reached like they should and even many who know Christ are not being ministered to in their time of need.

So the end result is year after year most simply self perpetuate their "ministry" or "church" to keep it all going. They do the same conferences and conventions, attended by most of the same people, put on the same functions each year, since their goals aren't spiritual as much they are earthly (money). Those who could rise up and lead the lost and hurting masses to God's Truth and righteousness, have instead decided to find a following amongst the faithful to build their own little kingdom here on earth. Because of this, the lost and hurting have been left to the wolves, the cults and false religions, to feast on.

Killing babies without conscience, porn on demand that has turned sex into a sport, gambling at every street corner, deviant sex like homosexually now acceptable and mainstream, living together without marriage, divorce rampant, children being raised in every kind of environment by any number of people as they grow up, alcohol and drug use commonplace, is where we are at in February of 2008 because of the failure to lead the people by those God called to be shepherds. Why do you think there are more churches, ministries, and Christian media today, yet at the same time our nation is in spiritual freefall and on the verge of feeling the wrath of God's judgment.

I love you and care about you so much. After nearly 2 decades of ministry, I know the easy road. Start a church, go on Christian TV and radio, write books geared to Christians, develop relationships with other Christian leaders and work together to tap into each others support base, don't offend people, generate millions annually, build glass buildings, buy a private jet, have a huge staff, and live like the ruler of a small nation. I know how to do all those things but I am not here to raise money, but save souls and minister to people in their time of need.

That is why for 102 months now I have kept the ministry the focus of what we do, asking people to help me with exactly what we need to operate from one month to the next, making my annual audited financials available to people interested in donating to the ministry. I refuse to turn Liveprayer into a marketing organization that uses the people we minister to sell products to, call people at home to try and solicit donations, or fill your mail box full of direct mail letters. Less than 1/4 of 1% of the people we minister to ever give to Liveprayer since I don't look at people as "giving units," but as souls who go through the same trials of life we all go through and from time to time and need someone to encourage them, stand with them in prayer, and minister to their needs.

Let me share some insight with you from the Fair. People are really hungry! They really are searching and looking for something. We have that something they are searching for. All people really want is peace in their life and hope. We know true peace and true hope only comes from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't kid yourself. There are millions out there who have never really heard about Christ's love and that they can know Him in a personal way. That is hard for most who know the Lord to understand or realize but it is true. I see them every day here at Liveprayer. Hearing about Jesus and how He can change their life is not something so many people have ever really heard before because they have never been to church, don't ever watch, listen, or read anything the Christian media puts out each day that is really geared to other Christians.

A dear friend called me the other morning and shared Jeremiah 11:18 with me, "Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing." It is God revealing to Jeremiah the plot against him by those who wanted to silence his voice. I can't even begin to tell you all that I have gone through personally from both those in and outside the church for speaking out without compromise all these years. Especially this past year it has been as intense as ever, since I know in my heart God is going to use Liveprayer in a major way as this year unfolds to bring millions to Christ.

I still pray daily for this nation to turn back to the Lord, but as I shared with you over and over last year, it is going to be God's judgment on this nation, THIS YEAR, that will ultimately be responsible for leading millions of people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As the false hope of Obama is exposed in the coming months, it will make the environment ripe for someone with the message of true hope to rise up. Liveprayer is poised to do that, we have all the tools, we are simply trying to do the best we can right now to prepare everything to take full advantage of this opportunity. I am not trying to build a Christian utopia, or a new building, or buy a $30 million jet to fly around the world in, but to position Liveprayer to rise up and be that oasis of hope millions and millions people are looking and yearning for.

This isn't about building a physical kingdom led by men that will one day be gone, but advancing God's Kingdom that will stand for eternity!!!

As we entered 2008 and God guided us through all the circumstances we faced in late 2007 to move the TV program to the Internet and truly have a worldwide voice, while ministering to millions each day 24/7 through programming we will produce for that video feed, I sat down and realized we would need an influx of $1.25 million to properly advertise and promote the TV program and new network on the Internet to reach the unsaved masses that are on the Internet (currently apx 1 billion people worldwide). Most of the dot.com busts over the years have spent tens of millions on advertising and branding, for websites that had no track record, unlike Liveprayer that is in our 102nd month.

Since attracting a large audience on the Internet gives us the ability to tap into the billions currently being spent by advertisers on the Internet, I also saw this as an opportunity to create a funding source for the ministry to cover all of our expenses until the Lord returns, without the pressure each month of needing those in the Liveprayer family to sacrifice to keep us going. In order to bring in the $1.25m by the end of April, I worked with a well established venture capital firm to put together all of the standard business plan and accompanying documents so we could allow some in the Liveprayer family to make a one-year investment fully backed by the ministry, and receive back 10% interest, well above the return on most investments. We split it up into 50 $25,000 units, and to date, we have 20 of the units committed.

I need to bring in 12 1/2 of the remaining units by this Friday ($312,500) to meet a very critical advertising/promotion deadline to keep us on schedule! Please pray about becoming part of this small and special group of people who is helping to position Liveprayer as the leading Internet broadcaster of live and interactive programming that will enable us to generate several million dollars worth of ad revenues annually to support all of our ministry efforts in the future. Most important, it is going to help us become a huge voice on the Internet to bring the lost, hurting, and searching masses the hope they are looking for thru Jesus Christ! If you are interested and would like to get a copy of our Business Plan, Investors Brief, Equity Report, Vital Statistics, and our Power Point Presentation, please email me at: bkeller@liveprayer.com

This is the time I really need several who God has blessed financially and who have a real heart and vision for lost souls to take their stand with me. Each day, God has been opening up interesting doors for Liveprayer to have a major presence and a huge voice in the mainstream market place where the lost and hurting live. Through Liveprayer.com, a place where tens of millions of lives have already been impacted over these past 102 months, through some of these other new doors God is opening, Liveprayer is going to become a very visible voice for the unadulterated Truth of God's Word in this nation and is going to help lead millions to faith in Christ by the end of the year. Now is the time I need one, two, or many, to rise up and stand with me as we fulfill our destiny and faithfully play the small role God has given us to play in these last days, not for our kingdom, but for HIS!

God's wrath and judgment is coming on this nation. Soon. However, in the process, millions will find everlasting life through Jesus Christ. These next 10 months are ultimately what my life has been all been about. Satan has done all he could to keep me from being where I am at today, especially in the last 90 days, but I am here, standing, and ready to fulfill my calling.