Daily Devotional for Wednesday October 26, 2011
Death of a Prince
(Hebrews 9:27)
A few days ago, Saudi Crown Prince Sultan, heir to the Saudi Arabian throne, died at age 81. Despite the privilege this man was born into, despite the incredible wealth he controlled, despite his power as a leader of one of the top oil producing nations on the planet, the second his heart stopped beating, Prince Sultan was no longer a prince and heir to a throne, his great wealth became meaningless, his earthly power no longer existed, he was simply a man and stood before the God of the Bible, His Creator.
My friend, death is the great equalizer. I have no doubt that the second Prince Sultan passed from this life into eternity, there was a man in some part of this world, a follower of Jesus Christ who also died. However, this man was NOT born into royalty as Prince Sultan was. This man had NO wealth in his lifetime. This man was UNKNOWN to the world. Yet the moment this man died, what he didn't have in this life didn't matter any longer. You see, he too was simply a man standing before God his Creator just like Prince Sultan.
At that moment when this life is over and we are standing before God, there is only ONE thing that matters, DO YOU KNOW JESUS BY FAITH? You see my friend, it was God's plan to send Jesus to die for your sins, since it is your sins that separate you from a Holy God. That is why ONLY faith in Jesus Christ will save you and allow you to spend eternity with the God who created you. I spoke with several friends who minister in Saudi Arabia and they confirmed that Prince Sultan was indeed a devout Muslim.
Sadly for him, he had put his faith in Mohammed and not Jesus. You see, Mohammed was simply a man who lived and died like you and I. He was born with the same sin that you and I are born with. That is why faith in Mohammed cannot save you. It was JESUS who God sent to this earth in a supernatural way to escape the sin we inherited from Adam. It was Jesus who lived a sinless life so that He could go to a cross 2,000 years ago and give His life as a one-time perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. On the third day, God raised Him from the dead and He is ALIVE TODAY!!!
That is why the poor man who died at the same time as Prince Sultan, the man with nothing, but the man who knew Jesus Christ as his Savior is forever with God while Prince Sultan will spend all eternity in Hell for his rejection of Christ. Prince Sultan chose to live for the few years he had on earth rejecting Christ and God's plan for everlasting life. Despite his great wealth and power during his few years on earth, he now has to live for all eternity apart from God his creator.
I love you and care about you so much. While you may not have been born into a royal family, and may not have the great wealth Prince Sultan had, the fact is that YOU TOO can get caught up in living for the temporal pleasures of this life and miss eternity. YOU TOO can get caught up with having "things" and not having Jesus. I pray today that you will take a moment and ask yourself this one question. If I die in the next minute, will I spend eternity with God, my Creator?
If you cannot emphatically and with 100% certainty say YES. If you have ANY DOUBTS AT ALL, then take a moment and pray, then go to this link, http://www.liveprayer.com/plan.cfm . YOU DO NOT EVER HAVE TO DOUBT AGAIN WHERE YOUR ETERNITY WILL BE SPENT IF YOU TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY FOR GOD TO OPEN YOUR HEART, READ THESE WORDS, AND ACCEPT CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART AND LIFE BY FAITH!!!!
Sadly, it is too late for Prince Sultan. All of the incredible advantages and benefits that he had in this brief life DID not help him when it came to the most important question we will ever have to answer . . . DO YOU KNOW JESUS BY FAITH??? Today, YOU can settle that issue once and for all and never doubt again where YOUR eternity will be spent!!!
***We finally covered the balance of our September budget, however, with only 6 days left in October we need to bring in the $40,000 for this months operations. I have been in prayer today for the Lord to send 3 people immediately who are willing to make the sacrifce of $5,000 to help me cover$15,000 of our October budget that we need immediately. If you are able to wire of overnight a gift today or tomorrow, please contact me and I will give you our bank wiring information or FedEx account.
Amazing, less than 1/4 of 1% of those we minister to each day ever give. If 5% gave just a little each month, we would never have any financial challenges. I am asking you to take a few minutes today, especially if you have never given to Liveprayer, or haven't in a while. I know times are difficult for many people, but I also know God is blessings most with employment, your bills are paid, and you have the ability to send a gift. The Bible teaches to give according to your ability to give, so the amount is simply something you need to pray about and let the Holy Spirit guide you.
TO GIVE A GIFT TO LIVEPRAYER, you can use your major credit card on our secure server at: www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" link, you can give using your PayPal account using my email address: bkeller@liveprayer.com,oryou can mail your gift to: Liveprayer, 6660 46th Ave. North, St.Petersburg,FL 33709. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.
Thank You for your love, prayers, and sacrifce! Together we ARE making a difference in this word and in the lives of millions each day!!!
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller