Daily Devotional for Wednesday August 29, 2012

Why is This Nation in a Spiritual Abyss

(Deuteronomy 8:19-20)

***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, If you, a spouse, daughter, or another person are being attacked to be raped or killed by an aggressor, and you are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, is it a Christian's right or duty in love to shoot the offender and protect those who are being attacked? I know that Jesus taught 'turn the other cheek' but what if it involves the very threat of the life of someone and you have the ability to offer protection? The Bible nowhere teaches against serving in the military to defend one's family and homeland; is this any different?

ANSWER: The Biblical commandment "thou shalt not kill" is speaking directly to the premeditated murder of another human being, NOT self protection or serving in the defense of your country. You have every right and responsibility to protect yourself, family, and nation!

"If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God." Deut 8:19,20

Why is this nation in a spiritual abyss and experiencing the judgment of God? How about this for starters. This week as the Republican Party holds their convention in Tampa, nominee Mitt Romney's speech will be preceded by a prayer from a member of his satanic cult that leads souls to hell with a false gospel. Sadly, the vast majority of people in that arena will be Bible-believing Christians who will bow their head and agree as this prayer to the mythical god of the Mormon cult, NOT the God of the Bible, is spoken. What a complete joke and abomination. They may as well sacrifice a child on the podium as an offering to Baal!

Next week, as the Democrats meet in Charlotte for their convention, the event will include a 2-hour prayer meeting led by Muslim imams. That is right. President Obama will lay the foundation for his big time in the spotlight by asking the mythical "Allah" to bless their event. Really???

While these wonderful prayers to false gods are going on, you have Hollywood stars pontificating why Hurricane Isaac can't just KILL people who oppose the killing of babies, who call homosexuality a sin as God does, and who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

AND YOU WONDER WHY THIS NATION IS UNDER THE JUDGMENT OF GOD?

God's hand of protection and blessing is being removed from this nation!!! As I shared last November, the Presidential election this November will pit satan vs. satan. I have feared over these past 13 years this day would come. Over that time I have written extensively that if we didn't turn back to God, turn from our gross sins and wickedness, God will eventually have enough. Are we so arrogant to think that God, whose mercy and grace ran out when dealing with His chosen people time and time again, would not run out of patience with our gross sin? I think it is fair to state that we have been as wicked, if not moreso, than the children of Israel ever were!

Every day in this nation, we slaughter apx. 4,000 innocent babies. Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, apx 56 MILLION innocent babies have been killed. This nation now accepts, embraces, and glorifies the choice by people to engage in unnatural, unhealthy, perverted sex acts with others of the same sex as great as Sodom and Gomorrah ever did. We have also bought into every type of sexual perversion known to man far greater than ever before in human history. In so doing, we have totally perverted God's Holy Institution of Marriage and the family.

This nation has embraced every type of false religion and philosophy in rebellion to God. No nation in history has ever been more idolatrous than this nation. We have bowed down and worshipped every false god and idol man has been able to create in his evil imagination. In so doing, we have mocked, demeaned, and rejected in word and deed the God of the Bible, our Creator!

It is easy to argue that there has never been in the history of mankind a more sinful people. The fact God hasn't simply wiped this nation off the face of the earth is a testament to His grace and mercy and nothing more. He richly blessed our nation, and while no people is ever without sin, for the most part since its' founding the nation as a whole was one that feared the Almighty and accepted Biblical Truth.

That all began to change in earnest 50 years ago. In just the last 5 decades, we have gone from a nation that revered God and honored Biblical Truth, to a nation that has totally rejected God and the only Truth that exists which is found in the Bible. God warned us in Deuteronomy what He would do if we ever forsook him for the false gods of this world. Just like the promises in the Bible are true, so are the warnings!

The good news today is that no matter how evil and wicked the children of Israel became, God always had a remnant of the faithful who refused to bow their knee to Baal. Throughout the ages, God has always had a remnant. Despite the spiritual freefall this nation is in due to its' gross sin and wickedness, God still has a remnant today who refuses to bow down to the false gods and idols of this world, and have remained faithful to the Lord.

In the Bible, we read about the religious institutions that became corrupt, were mostly about money, had become part of the spiritually bankrupt culture due to compromise and worldly motivations, and their leaders who lived a life of luxury off of the sacrifce of the people they were supposed to be guiding spiritually. Isn't it amazing that in the year 2011 nothing has really changed? Most mainline denominations have bought into the perverted liberal theology of the day that accepts many sins and opposes Biblical Truth. They have embraced ecumenicalism, laying aside the absolutes of the Bible to fellowship with the cults and false religions of the world.

Other churches have bought into the man-made marketing plans of our day like the seeker movement, the purpose driven church, the emerging church, and the prosperity gospel. So called Christian leaders sell out the Gospel for their own benefits. Many preachers think they are celebrities and use the sacrifices of the people they minister to live like the ruler of a small nation. Is it any wonder why our nation is in spritual freefall when the very institution God created to lead our culture and the people to the Lord, has allowed itself to become part of this sinful and rebellious landscape?

Sadly, in the Bible, other than the prophet warning the people, the remnant was quiet never heard from until AFTER God's wrath and punishment rained down upon the children of Israel. It was ultimately the remnant that led their nation back to God and His Truth during that time of punishment, and helped re-establish the worship of Almighty God and following His Truth in the aftermath.

I don't believe that the remnant needs to remain silent and sit back while our nation experiences the wrath and judgment of Almighty God. I believe that if the remnant will rise up with one voice, we can see God's hand of judgment stayed for a season. However, we have no time left. As I told you 4 years ago, we would begin to see God's wrath and judgment begin to fall on our nation, and we have. This is only the start of God's judgment on this land. We must act now!

This can not be a movement led by a mere man of flesh and blood, but must be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Works of men are little more than fiefdoms, and we already have thousands of them in Christendom which is a major reason why the church has virtually no influence over our culture. This has got to be a movement of the remnant, God's true and faithful followers. Those in the remnant refuse to bow their knee to the gods of this world, their goals and desires are heavenly and not earthly, and they seek to use their God-given gifts and talents to serve and glorify Him.

Jesus prayed in the Garden just hours before His death in John 17:21 that the Body of Christ would become one. To date, that has NOT happened, and our division is one of the major factors that have allowed satan to gain so much ground and lead souls to the eternal flames of hell. One of the miracles of Liveprayer is that this ministry has brought together men and women and young adults from all denominations, from every corner of Christendom.

God has uniquely positioned Liveprayer to be a catalyst to rally and lead His remnant, to sound the trump of warning, in the marketplace and help guide His remnant to lead this nation back to God and His Truth for a season. It is amazing what God can do with only a few who are completely and unconditionally sold out to Him! In just 13 years, Liveprayer, one small work of God operated out of the back of a used car lot, has literally impacted tens of millions of lives worldwide through the Internet and secular media, responded to just under 80 million emails for prayer, have over 6 million praise reports archived, and seen over 600,000 souls we know of come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Liveprayer has refused to get involved in the politics the big-time Christian ministries become ensnared in, stayed true to our mission to reach out to the lost and hurting masses in the marketplace despite knowing the road to comfort and prosperity in the minsitry is paved through the Christian media, and has never compromised the Gospel and God's Truth found in the Bible regardless the personal consequences to myself or that it caused many key donors to stop supporting God's work here.

Our nation will soon be operating without God's hand of protection and blessing. He will still watch over His people, but the land we live in is going to be without Him. We must act and act decisively. Today, I am looking for just 7,000 who refuse to bow their knee to Baal and will go to their death faithfully serving the Lord. We have set up a special web page for "The Remnant" at: www.liveprayer.com/remnant.cfm . Please take a minute and go there, read what being part of the remnant means, and take your stand to be one of the 7,000 who will make up the remnant in these last days.

The fact is, every person has gifts and talents God has bestowed upon them. Some have more than others, but everyone has something God has blessed them to be able to do. It is time for the remnant to rise up where God has planted you and take your stand for Him! Where you live, where you work or go to school, where you shop, where you recreate, none of that is by accident. God has placed you in strategic places in these last days to be His voice. Pray, seek the face of the Lord, ask Him for courage and boldness, and use your life to serve and glorify Him as He opens the doors, while without shame proclaiming to all he brings into your life that Jesus is their only hope and only answer!

I am also asking those 7,000 who become part of the remnant to pray about making a sacrifce of $300 between now and the end of June to God's work here at Liveprayer. God has opened several doors for Liveprayer to have a visible and prominent voice in the mainstream media. It is a needed and critical voice that will give one voice to all in the remnant as we take on the lies of satan and stand for Biblical Truth in the marketplace, something NOBODY is doing on a national secular media stage.

Again, having a strong unified voice is the key for the remnant to be successful in helping to turn this nation back to God and His Truth while leading lost souls to faith in Jesus Christ. It will be the sacrifce of those in the remnant, the sacrifce of their time, talent, and treasure, that will give us the tools we need to see victory!!

I love you and care about you so much. I echo the challenge Elijah issued to the people of his day on Mt. Carmel, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." With God removing His hand of blessing and protection we no longer have the luxury of sitting on the fence!

Here is the reality of where we are at today. We have forsaken God for the false gods and idols of the world. The leader of our nation is no friend of God. The economy is not going to get better anytime soon, it is going to get worse. The heart of our society, marriage and the family, has been decimated. We are in all out rebellion to God and evil operates virtually unopposed throughout this nation and world. Our nation and this world is overdue the wrath and judgment of God for our gross wickedness. Now is the hour for the remnant to rise up and be heard before it is too late. Our time is up and we are currently operating on God's grace and mercy at this point.

THE FACT IS, WE CAN SEE POSITIVE MOVEMENT IN THE SPIRITUAL COURSE OF THIS NATION, A TRUE CHANGE IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THIS NATION IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. WE HAVE THE TOOLS, GOD HAS THE PEOPLE (HIS REMNANT), AND THE FUNDS NECESSARY ARE MINISCULE IN COMPARISON TO WHAT THE WORLD SPENDS TO LEAD SOULS TO HELL. THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO STAND FOR THE LORD AS THE REMNANT HAS ALWAYS STOOD. MAY HISTORY SHOW WE WERE FAITHFUL!

LIVEPRAYER WILL LEAD THE REMNANT AND ESTABLISH OUR POWERFUL VOICE FOR GOD'S TRUTH IN THE MARKETPLACE TO CALL OUR NATION AND THE WORLD TO REPENTANCE AND THE LOST TO FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. IT WILL BECOME A VOICE FOR THOSE WHO ARE THE TRUE REMNANT AND MOBILIZE THE FAITHFUL TO WIN VICTORIES OVER THE SOCIAL ISSUES OF OUR DAY AND LEAD THE LOST TO FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST! TIME IS RUNNING OUT, THE HOUR IS UPON US, IT IS TIME TO ACT AND ACT DECISIVELY!!! WILL YOU BE PART OF GOD'S REMNANT???

To take your stand as part of "The Remnant," go to: www.liveprayer.com/remnant.cfm

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

Bill Keller