Daily Devotional for Wednesday August 6, 2008
Satan Brings the World a Message Designed to Kill, Steal, and Destroy Lives
(Acts 19:8)
With the amount of email Liveprayer receives each day, you can only imagine the amount of SPAM that we get. As I was weeding through the SPAM in my personal email account the other day, I actually had to stop and look carefully at a few, that looked almost like prayer requests but were SPAM for porn sites. If there is one thing in this world that upsets me more than anything else, it is the bold way that satan shares his message of sin with this world, and how afraid most Christians are to share our message of Truth and hope!
Satan brings the world a message that is designed to kill, steal, and destroy lives. He has NO FEAR in presenting that message as boldly as he is able to. Yet we, those who have placed our faith in Christ, who have the ONLY true message of everlasting life, who have the ONLY message of hope for this hurting and lost world, meekly, almost ashamedly, present our message in the most low-key form possible! WHY??? I actually got mad that if satan can be so diabolical and relentless in trying to destroy peoples lives, why can't we be as relentless in trying to SAVE people's lives???
Satan knows the weaknesses of man. He has man's nature down to a science. Greed, sex, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food are the most base weaknesses. So satan uses the modern day media to flaunt his message of "greed is good," sex is great any way that you can get it no matter what form it takes, alcohol is socially acceptable, drugs are the "in thing," gambling is just harmless entertainment, and food is a necessity of life that we should enjoy no matter how much of it we eat.
These messages permeate the world that we live in. We are bombarded endlessly with them by the media to a point that we accept them as fact. Satan knows that this strategy works because there will be nobody bold enough to counter or challenge his message. His message in the mainstream media goes mostly unchallenged. HE REALIZES THAT VERY FEW CHRISTIANS IN A SECULAR FORUM WILL CHALLENGE WHAT HE SAYS!
The FACT IS, greed is NOT good, it is evil. Sex is designed ONLY in the confines of marriage. Alcohol affects your brain and is a crutch that many turn to, to numb their way thru life. Drugs are an escape from reality that will destroy you. Gambling is a misuse of the resources that God has entrusted to you and is poor stewardship. Food is necessary, but only when you consume the right kinds of food and the right amounts. Who out there is telling THIS SIDE, the TRUE SIDE, GOD'S SIDE of this story to the world at large???? Answer: not many!!!!
My friend, it is time for God's people to stand up, to say, "DEVIL, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH." Our churches are just as much to blame!!! Many don't even deal with the needs of their congregations, let alone the world outside the doors of the church. It is time to stand up and accept the responsibility God has given to those in leadership, those who call themselves Christians, and take His message of hope and everlasting life through Jesus Christ to this lost and sin-filled world. How can the devil be so bold with lies, and God's people so timid with the truth???
I love you and care about you so much. Jesus in MANY parables told us that our time is short, we must be busy about our Father's business. Now is the time to be aggressive. Now is the time when those who God has placed in roles of leadership must be willing to sacrifice all to take HIS message to this world at large. EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING ALL THAT WE HAVE. We can never lose everything when we have Jesus!!!
The fact is, what we have is simply given to us by God to further His Kingdom, NOT to create our own personal fiefdoms. That is why when the opportunity came nearly 9 years ago to start Liveprayer, my wife and I and the Board of my ministry had no problem committing ALL that we had to this ministry. It was a vehicle God could use to open hearts and share the everlasting message of faith through Jesus Christ with the lost and hurting of this world. It was a privilege to give all that we had to be able to share Christ with hurting people.
God is calling YOU today to be bold. Look around you. How bold is satan with a message of destruction? How much bolder should YOU be with a message of everlasting life? DO NOT LET THESE WORDS GO UNHEEDED TODAY. GOD IS CALLING ME AND YOU TO A LEVEL OF BOLDNESS LIKE NEVER BEFORE.
It is time to take on the same mindset of satan in regard to presenting our message. Satan has no fear, there are no limits to him. We must operate the same way. We must never tire, never lose sight of who the real audience is--the lost in this world!!! We must get outside the comfort zone of the existing church, Christian community, and be bold enough, creative enough, to share the message of hope and faith in Christ with this lost and hurting world. Now is the time, today is the day. Time is short!!! A lost and hurting world is waiting to hear the TRUTH!!!
Let this word today be a wake-up call to pastors, those who work in ministry. Let this also be a wake-up call to YOU. Just because others choose to stay within the safety of the Christian community, does not mean God is not calling you TO THE WORLD THAT YOU LIVE IN TO MINISTER. It is time to "think outside of the box", quit doing what is comfortable, and start making some noise in the world at large as we proudly, and boldly proclaim that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, the ONLY life, and the ONLY way to God! HE is the answer all men and women worldwide seek! God gave you this life to serve and glorify Him. We only get one chance to make a difference. God is calling YOU today to share the GOSPEL with the world!
IF SATAN IS SO BOLD WITH A LIE, HOW MUCH BOLDER SHOULD WE BE WITH THE TRUTH!!! SATAN IS RELENTLESS IN DESTROYING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE, WE HAVE TO BE JUST AS RELENTLESS IN SAVING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD!!!
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller