Daily Devotional for Wednesday August 1, 2012
This is the Start of Liveprayer's 13th Anniversary Month
(1 Peter 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 28:19,20)
***ASK BILL: It is clear that the Bible states to forgive people who sin against you. Does a believer have to forgive someone who betrayed them?
ANSWER: Forgiveness is something none of us can do in our own strenght, but in the strenght God gives us. We ask the Lord to forgive us for our sins and He does. How can we expect to be forgiven, yet not forgive others. That does NOT mean you have to have a personal relationship with the person who hurt you. IN many cases that is NOT wise. However, you still need to use the Lord's strength to forgive them Here is a link to a Devotional on this critical issue: http://www.liveprayer.com/ddarchive3.cfm?id=4485
This is the start of Liveprayer's 13th anniversary month. Over the past 155 months, I have done hundreds of print and electronic interviews regarding Liveprayer and the work that we do here each day through the Internet and on secular TV. The one question I am always asked is to sum up what Liveprayer is all about. That has not changed since day one, and it is simply to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with the lost, and to encourage those who already know Him as their Savior in their daily walk, to be all God has called them to be.
That is the foundation on which Liveprayer was built, and everything we do here each day points back to that foundation. It is also the common goal all Believers should share, regardless of whatever differences there may be on individual doctrinal issues. We should all agree that the ultimate goal is to win the lost in this world for Christ.
There are many ways to accomplish that goal, but the vehicle God has led me to use is prayer. After preaching in over 500 churches of all denominations, sizes, racial and ethnic make-ups during my first 3 years of ministry, the one common bond I found in every church was the day-to-day needs of the people. You see, it doesn't matter if you are white, black, or yellow, if you are rich or poor, if you are a Catholic, a Methodist, a Baptist, a Pentecostal, or if you are saved or not. The fact is, we ALL face the same day-to-day struggles of living life in this sin-filled world.
We all face problems with finances, with our health, in our relationships, problems with our jobs, dealing with the death of people we love, or an addiction to something. This is the common bond we all share as people on this journey called life, and in those times of trouble, Christ is the ONLY hope and answer.
That is what Liveprayer is all about, being available and accessible to people in their time of need. I realize that every day, people are dealing with some problem in their life. Liveprayer is a resource for people at those times in life when they need the strength and hope that only comes from Christ. Many of the 600,000 plus we know of who have accepted the Lord as their Savior came to Liveprayer at a time of crisis in their lives. The ever-growing archive of over 6 million praise reports are a testimony of how God met people at a time of a great need in their life and heard their cries.
Every single day, we receive over 40,000 requests for prayer. I have been blessed with an incredible team of over 700 mostly retired pastors from all over the nation that help me to send personal responses back to each request. I personally respond to between 50 and 100 requests each day at random so I never lose sight of what this ministry is all about. I never want to forget what we are here to do each day, and that is to minister to the lost and hurting in this world, and share with them the hope and love that is only found in Christ.
Here is my promise to you today. I want you to know that when the storms of life come, and none of us are immune to them, I will be here for you. To love you, to pray for you, and to stand with you in your time of need.
One of the great rewards for me these past 155 months has been the way God has allowed me to be part of the lives of so many people all over the world. Seeing those we have ministered to graduate high school and college. Standing with people who went through the devastation of losing their jobs, and rejoicing with them as God opened the doors for new ones. Praying for babies in the womb and then celebrating their birth. Comforting those who have lost moms and dads, sons and daughters, other family members and friends.
Praying for couples as they made the decision to get married and seeing them make that commitment to God and each other for life. Asking God to bring deliverance to someone who was in bondage to some sort of an addiction. Standing in prayer for the restoration of a marriage. Believing God for His healing touch during health problems. Praying for those who were fighting legal matters. Not to mention the day-to-day challenges of life from a dog that ran away to losing a set of keys. I am so grateful to God each day that we are able to be an instrument to share His love and His hope with real people dealing with the real problems of this life.
I love you and care about you so much. I want you to know that no matter what, I am here for you. I want you to know that when you hit the speed bumps in life we all hit, I will be here to pray with you and pray for you. You can always email me at: bkeller@liveprayer.com . I realize that we may not always agree on every issue, but regardless of the areas we may disagree on, know that I am always here for you. No matter what, I will be praying for you and for God's richest blessings in your life.
God has raised up Liveprayer in these last days to be an oasis of hope for people, lost and saved, all over this world. Through the Internet, through secular television, Liveprayer has become an instrument God is using every day to bring the truth of His Word, the hope and love of Jesus Christ to this dark and sin-filled world that we live in.
God has called me to do many things over these past 20 years of service to Him, 13 of those years through Liveprayer. However, none is more fulfilling than to pray for you in your time of need. Let me leave you with this powerful word from one of the greatest prayer warriors that ever lived, E.M. Bounds. He said, "talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God FOR men is greater still."
***PLEASE PRAY ABOUT MAKING A SPECIAL GIFT TO LIVEPRAYER DURING OUR ANNIVERSARY MONTH. MANY HAVE BEEN BLESSED BY GOD'S WORK HERE, BUT HAVE NEVER GIVEN TO HELP US. ACTUALLY, LEASS THAN 1/4 OF 1% OF THOSE WE REACH EVERY GIVE A DIME TO SUPPORT GOD'S WORK HERE. ALL WE HAVE DONE OVER THESE 13 YRS, IMPACTING LITERALLY TENS OF MILLIONS OF LIVES WORLDWIDE, HAS ONLY BEEN POSSIBLE BECAUSE FRIENDS LIKE YOU PRAYED AND MADE THE SACRIFICE TO HELP US BE HERE EACH DAY FOR THE HURTING AND LOST.
MOST EVERYONE CAN SEND SOMETHING. LET ME CHALLENGE YOU TO GIVE A GIFT OF $13, $130, $1300, OR FOR SOME, $13,000. THAT IS $1, $10, $100, OR $1,000 FOR EACH YEAR OF SERVICE. GOD WILL MULTIPLY YOUR GIFT EXPONENTIALLY IN THE LIVES AND SOULS OF THOSE WE REACH WITH HIS TRUTH AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!
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,or you 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, YOUR PRAYERS, AND YOUR SACRIFCE. THESE 13 YEARS HAVE ONLY BEEN POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF YOU, AND I THANK GOD FOR YOU EACH DAY. KNOW YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE IN MY PRAYERS. WE PRESS ON TOWARDS THE PRIZE!
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller