Daily Devotional for Wednesday April 23, 2008

The Assault on the Christian Faith Continues in Earnest While Some are Fighting Back

(1 Corinthians 9:16)

The assault on the Christian faith continues in earnest, while some are fighting back! There was a movie in theaters worldwide last December to cash in on the Christmas season. This was a wonderful movie geared to teach children there is no God and to indoctrinate them from their earliest years to become atheists. The movie, "The Golden Compass," is a movie adaptation of a book series by the atheist and a bold and brazen hater of the Christian faith, Philip Pullman. The Golden Compass is the first in a fantasy trilogy of books entitled "His Darkest Materials." Pullman's books are designed to spread his atheistic beliefs to children, and the hero of his story acutally kills "god."

The movie version of Pullman's book intentionally left out the Godless themes. Many feel this was not only done to make the movie more accepted by a mainstream audience, but also an attempt to create hype around Pullman's books which are clearly written to teach children the Christian faith is a myth, there is no God, and the church is an organization that tortures and kills children. There is no doubt that the movie's success at the box office, helped the sales of Pullman's books. For a complete review of this movie and book series written by my dear friend Dr. Ted Baehr for WorldNetDaily, go to: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58341

I am sharing this with you today for several reasons. First of course, is to warn parents to keep their children away from both the movie and the books. Second though, is to make the case again that in this dark, fallen, and increasingly Godless world, Christians better start speaking up, better start competing for the hearts, minds, and SOULS of men since that is the real battle! While most Christians are too busy with their lives to care about the world around them, tools of satan like Pullman are busy spreading their gospel of death and destruction, and without conscience purposely targeting children.

They understand the better percentage of 2 full generations have never been to church, so they have virtually no resistance in lying to children there is no God, Christians are weak and pathetic, and the church is only about money and power. JK Rowling already proved how easy it is to reach children with her "stories" glorifying witchcraft, wizardry, and sorcery, while parents were either too busy to care what their children were reading or actually helped in making her garbage available to them. Why would a parent who has a weak belief in God or none at all, rejects the Bible as Truth, doesn't have a relationship with Jesus, and never goes to church, care if their children were reading books that promoted atheism?

On the positive side of the movie theater aisle recently was the movie "Bella." Bella is a small, independently produced film that won the People's Choice award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. It isn't riddled with sex and violence, but is a wonderful story of life. It is about a young woman who finds herself pregnant, contemplates having an abortion, but decides to KEEP THE BABY! It is a movie where God is a prominent thread throughout and takes a clear stand that life is precious. This is a movie families SHOULD see with their children, since it gives you great opportunities as you eat pizza or ice cream afterwards, to reinforce the powerful lessons of life this movie portrays.

So my friend, the battle wages on. That shrinking minority of people who love Jesus will stay away from "The Golden Compass," while the masses flock to it and then to the books. This movie and the books will only reinforce in the minds of those who are growing up void of God that there is no such being, that Christians are mentally unstable people who hate everyone, that the Bible is a book of fictional stories, and believing in Jesus is no different than believing in Santa Claus! This is the growing mindset of the masses my friend, and now God-haters like Pullman are helping to indoctrinate and reinforce these ideas in the impressionable minds of children!

What can you do? KEEP SPEAKING OUT WHEN YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY! Don't back down at work, at school, in the gym, in the grocery store line. Rise up and take your stand for Christ and His Truth. Why are those who follow satan fearless and bold and never hesitate to state what THEY believe, while followers of Christ are afraid and timid and will hold their tongue instead of speaking out? WE HAVE THE TRUTH!!! GOD IS REAL!!! THE BIBLE IS THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH WE CAN STAKE OUR ETERNAL SOULS ON!!! JESUS IS THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE AND NOBODY COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THRU HIM!!! Either you believe it or you don't, and if you believe it, have the guts to DECLARE IT!!!!

I love you and care about you so much. A newspaper reporter recently wrote, "Bill Keller says what many feel and would like to say, but simply don't have the nerve to or the platform." I agree with that. I understand everyone is not called to the marketplace to battle with men like Howard Stern, the homosexual activists, those who promote the false religion of Islam, those who aggressively promote atheism, members of the cults like the Mormons, the JW's, the Scientologists, the Masons, Kabbala, and others. We all have our calling. God has called me to the front lines to battle these tools of satan with His Truth and the eternal hope we have in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Listen, I could have easily built a huge Christian organization over these past years. I could have a staff of hundreds, a new glass building, a new Gulfstream, mansions, new luxury cars. All I had to do was play the same politically correct game everyone else is playing, target my message to those who I know will agree with it, don't offend people by warning them they will die and go to hell without Jesus, compromise the absolutes of the Bible when it makes good business sense, and play the political games to be in the right circles. Trust me my friend, I could easily do ALL of that and build a nice personal empire. BUT I AM NOT HERE TO BUILD MY KINGDOM, BUT GOD'S. THIS ISN'T ABOUT BILL KELLER, IT IS ABOUT THE ETERNAL SOULS OF MEN.

John the Baptist preached in the wilderness, I preach out of the back of a used car lot. I am shunned by the religious establishment of the day because I refuse to play their games. Those who have become "leaders" by virtue of their building big organizations simply dismiss me as some fringe loudmouth in Florida who doesn't get it. No, I do get it. I don't get these "men of God" whose motivation is the mammon and temporary pleasures and power of this world rather than the souls of men. But that is OK since when I take my last breath, it won't be any of those men who I will stand before, it will be God Himself! When I lay my head down for the few hours of sleep I get each night, it is God who I have to be at peace with.

I challenge you today. For those who love the Lord and have committed your life to Him, GET BUSY SERVING HIM! Now more than ever God needs His children busy about His business. I know we have all been called to serve Him in different ways. Some God has blessed with great positions in the business community, others with lots of resources. I can only ask you to pray about helping me. I am willing to put my life literally on the line for the Gospel, to take His Truth to the heart of where satan operates on television as well as aggressively and interactively on the Internet.

I have nothing but my faith. My wife and I live month to month by the grace of God. I am only able to bring God's message of hope and everlasting life through Jesus because of the prayers and sacrifice of so many friends like yourself. So while you pray about how you can serve the Lord each day, also pray about how you can help me as we take our bold and visible stand for Christ in the marketplace each day. Together, we have, we are, and we will continue, to make an impact for Christ!!!