Daily Devotional for Thursday September 23, 2010
It is Thursday
(Exodus 14:14)
It is Thursday. The end of the month is only 8 days away, and many of you don't even want to leave the house because of the situations that you are going to have to face and deal with today. The problem is, as of this second, you don't have any answers. Let me encourage you this very moment. God has promised all throughout His Word to fight for you.
Your problem is that you have become so overwhelmed by your circumstances, you have been trying to find the answers yourself. I am here to tell you that there are no quick-fix, easy answers or you would have already come up with them. The ONLY answer there is this morning is to commit the day and your situation to the Lord, and trust Him. We claim to have faith and claim to trust God but when it really comes down to it . . . we really don't.
How many times are we in the midst of a crisis and we drive ourselves crazy trying to find answers when the One with the answers is only a prayer away? Now is the time to test your faith, build your faith, and exercise your faith! Let God fight this battle.
It is a shame that we have to get into situations where we have no other choice but to trust God. It would be much easier on us if we trusted Him all along and allowed Him more control of our life and decisions. We would avoid being in these critical dilemmas. But if you are in the midst of a crisis this morning, feeling like the walls are closing in and there is nowhere to turn, look to Him.
Get on your knees right now and ask God to take this burden. Ask Him to carry you through this day. Ask Him for the wisdom to get a game plan to walk through your circumstances and be victorious. He won't let you down and He won't leave you stranded. All you have to do is ask Him to step in. God will fight for you today!!!!
I love you and care about you greatly. I grieve as I read the terrible crisis many are in today. My goal every day is to try to give you the encouragement and words to challenge you to live the life God has designed for you, knowing that much of the pain and heartache of life can be avoided when we are walking with the Lord.
There are always consequences for our actions and our rebellion brings about a great deal of pain but God loves you and is merciful. He is always there for you waiting to take your hand and help you up our of that pit and put you back on solid ground again. All you need to do is cry out to Him, trust Him, and let Him fight for you.
I pray today that you will not let your circumstances overwhelm you, but tackle them head on. The first step is to ask God to help you then open your mind and heart and listen to Him as He guides you over the hurdles. Today is not a day to be dreaded, but a day to be excited about. It is like no other day before and will never come back when it is over. Take advantage of it. Make it special.
You can never do it on your own but with the Lord's help, He can make that happen. God will stand with you when all others abandon you. God will always be there to love you and comfort you. God will fight for you today and every day if you only allow Him to. Make this a special day as you walk through it in victory. Take a day you may have dreaded and turn it into a day of celebration, because you have God fighting for you!
***As I come to you today, we have some very critical financial needs. As you know, we accrued over $100,000 in shortfalls during 2009 due to the downturn in the economy and a drop of nearly 37% in donations from the previous year. We have been blessed, since over the past 2 years of this economic downturn, thousands of churches and over 10,000 non-profits have closed due to a lack of funding. We have pressed hard this year and because of some special large gifts, have covered $80,000 of those shortfalls. I have been asking 4 people to make a special one-time gift of $5,000 to help me clear this up.
Due to cutting everything possible to continue effective operations, we have held our own so far this year, despite an additional 8% drop in donations from last year. It took until the middle of this month to pay off the shortfall from our August budget, so we still have to cover the last $26,000 for this month. Lastly, yesterday we had one dear family cover the $7,000 for last weeks expenses at the new "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero." I still need to cover the $7,000 for this week, and $7,000 for the last week of this month. So by the end of the month in 9 days, we need to bring in $60,000 to end the month at zero, and that is all I have ever asked the Lord for from day one. Not one penny more, just what we need for that months operations.
The time is short, the spiritual state of this nation hangs in the balance, the souls of hundreds of millions of people are at stake. It is time to act!!! THE ONLY WAY SATAN CAN KEEP ME DOWN IS BY LIMITING OUR FINANCES!!!
--->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 *For a gift to the 9-11 Christian Center, please mark 9-11 on your check, or put (9-11) next to your name on the credit card or PayPal form. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.
If you can give a gift of $5,000 or more I can give you our bank wire or FedEx information so we can get those funds working right away. Just contact me at: bkeller@liveprayer.com
I have but one life, and when it was over, I want to be able to stand before God and know that I gave everything I had for the Kingdom. I want to take my last breath knowing my life's work is complete and I held nothing back in my service for the Lord. I have only been able to fight this fight these past 2 decades because of dear friends like you. Now more than ever I need you to stand with me. Pray, give as you are able in accordance with what the Bible teaches, and take your stand with me.
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller