Daily Devotional for Sunday November 7, 2010

I was Richly Blessed in My Elementary School Years to Have Wonderful Teachers Who Cared about Me

(Malachi 3:3)

I was richly blessed in my elementary school years to have wonderful teachers who really cared about me. They were a big part of my life and like family. I have always thanked God for such wonderful, loving, caring people who gave of themselves to instill the basics into my life. It was a firm foundation that the rest of my academic life was built upon. In the third grade, I had a history teacher, Mrs. Wilson. You had to stay on your toes with Mrs. Wilson because she was famous for her pop quizzes. You never knew when, and usually when you least expected it. Often she would stop in the middle of a lesson, tell us to take out a piece of paper, and proceed to give us a pop quiz.

God does that to us also. Rarely a day goes by that at some point, He doesn't tell us to take out a piece of paper and proceed to give us a pop quiz. The purpose and use of a pop quiz is to give us a measuring stick to see how we are progressing. Like Mrs. Wilson, God's pop quizzes come at the most unexpected times, when we least expect it. We may wake up one morning and to our horror see that our alarm clock did not work and we are an hour late. Do we panic start running around frustrated? Or do we take a second, pray, and ask the Lord to help us be where we need to be, do all we need to do even though we are an hour late?

Often the pop quiz occurs in traffic. The thoughts of the day racing in our mind, in a hurry to get to our destination, and of course, someone not driving the way we think they should. Do we get angry, yell at them, shake our fist at them, call them names? Or do we rest in the fact God is guiding us to our destination in His time, not ours? The pop quiz may happen at school or work. We deal with people in our lives daily, classmates, coworkers. How do we handle the problems that always arise from these inter-personal relationships?

Of course, all through the day there are opportunities for the Lord to give us a pop quiz. With our finances, our spouse, our family members, decisions about romance, where to live, where to fellowship, how to serve Him, and on, and on, and on.

I often take a few minutes at night before going to bed, and replay the events of the day. What I did, what happened throughout the day. I try to reflect back and see how I did in relationship to actually living my faith. How did I handle the pop quizzes the Lord threw at me that day. This has proved to be a valuable tool for me in regard to my spiritual growth, as well as identifying areas of my life that I need to really work on. By doing this, I can see those areas that need attention. It also keeps me very close to the Lord, because you CANNOT pass the pop quizzes God gives us each day, and not be walking close with the Lord. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

It would be like someone who had virtually no knowledge of chemistry, walking into an advanced chemistry class and taking a test. This daily review also makes it very difficult for us to be living with sin in our life. We become aware of our sins, we repent of them, ask the Lord's forgiveness, and work on keeping that sin out of our life in the future.

The 20-30 minutes you should spend at the start of every day in prayer and the Word, the 10-15 minutes you should spend with the Lord before you go to bed reflecting on that day, are the most productive minutes of the day. They will ultimately be the difference between living a victorious or defeated life. They are the difference between walking with Christ each day, or running from Him.

I love you and care about you very much. I want to see you getting an A+ on all of your pop quizzes the Lord throws you way each day. To do that however, requires work on your part. The only way I could do well on the pop quizzes Mrs. Wilson would give our class, was to study the material, and be prepared. That is what God is asking you to do as well. Study the material in His Word, and be prepared to put what you read into action in your daily life. The fact is, the pop quizzes God gives us are real life, with real consequences. Failing them in some cases can dramatically alter your life.

This is not a game, but very serious. Men and women in the armed services train diligently, because they know that the training they undertake one day can save their life as well as the lives of many others. As soldiers in God's army, we need to take our training just as serious, because the eternal souls of many are at stake.

My prayer today is that you will start to really pay attention to those tests God gives you each and every day. They are a way for you to stay focused each day on Him, stay aware of the weak areas of your life, and keep you prepared for the real life spiritual battles we face each and every day. I have to admit, I was very challenged by the pop quizzes Mrs. Wilson gave our class. I made it a point to study hard, always be prepared so that I could do well on them. I try to do that today in my spiritual life, and challenge you to do the same. Never forget, our life is a series of tests, tests that help us in our spiritual growth, tests that help us to stay prepared for the work God has for us to do. Make sure you are ready for that next pop quiz God has for you

***As we prepare to open the "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero" January 1st, I am excited to be able to offer those who are able to help me with the initial funding an incredible way to honor someone you love! As you know, we are in the process of raising the $500,000 we need for the opening of the center primarily through 100, $5,000 units. We will be placing a gorgeous plaque in the lobby of the new center with 100 engraved leafs, each one in honor or memoriam of someone special in the life of the person giving the unit for that leaf.

In addition, for a special gift of $100,000, we will name the new chapel in honor of a person the donor designates. We are also looking for one special donor to give a gift of $100,000 in memory of the victims of 9/11 who will be honored in the 9-11 Memorial Prayer Room that will become a must-see for the many daily visitors to ground zero.

COUNTDOWN TO 100!!! Wow, God is great! As you know, I am looking for people to help me with 100/$5,000 units to give us the $500,000 we need to fund the opening of the new "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero." We have our new permanent home which will be announced in a major press conference in NYC at the location Wed. 11/10 at 10am.

The $500k covers our Liveprayer.com operational expenses through the end of November ($60,000 in shortfalls through the end of October plus $40,000 for November), the Liveprayer TV program in the NYC market that begins Monday December 6th and will be seen every Mon-Fri on a major secular network to promote the new evangelistic center and acquire new financial supporters ($50,000), the deposit for the 5 yr lease ($30,000), and our expenses for the current services at the NY Marriott during November ($20,000), and the funds we need for construction of the space and purchase of everything we will need for the new center ($300,000).

So far, we have had 2 units sent in, plus, one dear friend can only take 1/2 unit and is looking for someone to take the other half, and another friend of the ministry has issued a challenge to match the next 3 units. That means your unit will be doubled! Please pray about stepping up today to help me with one or more units and let's see this need covered in the next 2 weeks!

To make a special gift to the 9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero, you can send your 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 it to: Liveprayer, 6660 46th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33709. One the credit card or PayPal form after your name simply mark (9-11). Also, in the notes section of your check mark (9-11). This will insure all of the gifts towards this special projects go to that cause. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

--->I really need several people who have the ability to help me today, since the bulk of our October operational budget has still not been met. If you can overnight or wire to our bank $5,000 or more, please contact me for the instructions at: bkeller@liveprayer.com

WE ARE GOING TO BRING GOD'S TRUTH TO TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DAILY, SEE WOULS WON FOR CHRIST, AND CHANGE THE SPIRITUAL DEIRECTION OF THIS NATION!!! WILL YOU HELP ME???

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller