Daily Devotional for Saturday August 31, 2013
Fourteen Years of Liveprayer
(John 3:16,17, 14:6, 15:5)
***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, I am confused, please help me. The Bible says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth 'Jesus is your Lord and Savior' you will be saved. Then is there a second condition, that you must also surrender your life 100% in addition to believing to be saved?
ANSWER: NO! Salvation is by faith and God's grace..plus NOTHING! Ephesians 2:8,9. The fact is you surrender your life to Christ when you make that decision by faith. That is what you are doing, giving your heart and life to Jesus. The Bible says we have been bought with a price. Surrendering to Christ is what happens when a person makes the choice to accept Jesus.
Fourteen years of Liveprayer! It is easy to get discouraged looking at the world around us today despite the wonderful milestone that 14 yrs ago at Noon on 8/31/1999, Liveprayer signed on and over the years has become the most effective interactive online ministry ever. God has used His work here to impact tens of millions of live worldwide while seeing over 700,000 souls we know of come to faith in Jesus Christ. To God be the glory, and it will be the eternal legacy of myself and each member of the Liveprayer family!!!
As I type these words, I think back to the numerous times over 14 years I have exhorted people that our ONLY hope is to turn this nation back to God and His Truth. Liveprayer is the instrument that God has been using to impact individual lives, and as we continue to do that, our final work for the Lord is to lead the way for a spritual revival across this land. Unless that happens, unless we have a Nineveh moment where the masses get on their knees and repent of their sins, turn back to God and His Truth, this nation is finished. Only the arrogant and prideful will believe that the same God who judged his own children for FAR LESS sin, won't unleash His wrath and judgment on this nation!
Over the last 14 years, Liveprayer has become by far the world's largest interactive Christian website. We've sent out just over 5,000 Daily Devotionals that began going out to a handful of people and are now are received by over 2.4 million people worldwide every single day. We have received and responded to over 100 million email prayer requests. We have accumulated a Praise Report archive with over 7 million testimonies of God's faithfulness.
We've broadcasted the uncompromised Truth of God's Word and the fact Jesus is the ONLY way on over 2,000 "live" TV programs on major secular network TV stations, seen by millions of people in Florida and around the nation since it debuted in March of 2003. Most important of all, over 700,000 souls we know of who have come to faith in Jesus Christ through Liveprayer!!!
Of course, ALL honor, glory, and praise goes to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Jesus said, "Without me you can do NOTHING!" That powerful reminder from John 15:5 is on the mirror in my bathroom and the first thing I see every morning. I have been most blessed of men to be given the honor and privilege to serve our Lord in such a meaningful way each and every day. It was 23 years ago this month that I sat in a Federal Prison cell and rededicated my life back to Christ and finally gave the Lord the one and only thing He ever wanted from me, and the one and only thing He ever wants from you...my life completely, fully, and wholly surrendered to Him!
Whatever has happened at Liveprayer these past 14 years is NOT because of Bill Keller, it is because of Jesus Christ. Bill Keller is simply a vessel God has chosen to use at this moment in human history in the fulfillment of His overall plan and purpose. All I did was give my life completely to the Lord and surrender myself to whatever His will for me is each day. I spent nearly 10 years PRIOR to the start of Liveprayer doing my best to serve and follow God faithfully. Whatever Liveprayer has become after these 14 years, is the result of serving and following Christ obediently and faithfully for over 20 years. It was God who has called me to do what I do today and I am simply doing my best to follow His voice as I walk by faith each day.
It is because of what we have done these past 14 years that I have the incredible passion for what we can do in the years to come should Jesus tarry. What drives me each day is the fact that I know Jesus may return at any moment, that tomorrow is promised to none of us and I need to be faithful each day to the work God has called me to do, and that every second of every day someone is dying and going to hell that could be in Heaven if we had been able to reach them with the hope of Christ. Thru the internet and secular television, we have the ability to reach the lost and hurting masses and not only help them find real answers in their hour of need, but the eternal hope we have in Jesus Christ.
Seeing the lost won for Christ is what I have given my life to do. With every waking moment, every breath until God calls me home, my only objective and goal is to reach the lost with the Gospel. That passion, that drive, that determination has not waned over these past 168 months, it has intensified. I refuse to let the personal abuse I take each day stop me. I refuse to let the continual threats on my life stop me. I refuse to let the daily challenges of living in this fallen world stop me. I refuse to let finances stop me. I refuse to let anything keep me from giving the Lord everything I have every day. I know that I fall short every day, fail the Lord every day, but I am thankful He knows my heart. Jesus gave His very life for me, how can I give Him anything less?
I LOVE YOU AND CARE ABOUT YOU SO MUCH! I really mean that each day! The greatest joy of all these past 14 years is this new family God has blessed me with. Every day I cry with those in the Liveprayer family who lose those they love, and I rejoice with those in the Liveprayer family as they bring new life into this world. I remember today the many dear and faithful friends who have been part of Liveprayer over the years, many who helped lay the foundation for God's work here who have gone on to their rewards in Glory. I also am excited by all the new additions to the Liveprayer family as they grow up to become the men and women of God He has called them to be.
It has been a privilege to stand with so many young adults as they have gone thru high school, college, started their first job, and gotten married, had children. I've been honored to stand with those in the Liveprayer family who have lost their job, gotten new ones, faced health issues, struggled with their finances, gone through a divorce, had legal issues, bought and sold homes, moved, dealt with children and grandchildren living apart from the Lord, those how have battled with different addictions, and all the rest of the daily challenges we face along our journey through this life. I'm grateful to be here each day to help bear your burdens.
*It's an honor to speak to people about God, it's an even greater honor to speak to God for people.
All I can say in closing is THANK YOU! Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your encouragement. Thank you for your financial support of God's work her at Liveprayer. I tell you often that without you there would be no Liveprayer. That is true. YOU make this all possible each day for millions of lost and hurting people worldwide. Your love and prayers and gifts have made an eternal impact in the lives of millions of people around this planet. Please continue to pray for me and for all those who labor here so faithfully each day to make this all possible. For those who God leads and have the ability, please continue to prayerfully give as the Holy Sprit leads you as we meet our financial needs.
I'm looking forward to the day my work here is complete and I am able to go to Heaven and hopefully catch up on some sleep. I know that at some point, there will be a great reunion of all those people who were part of the Liveprayer family. It is such an honor and great joy of mine each day to be able to actually meet those who are part of Liveprayer. Sadly, I know that I will never get that opportunity to shake hands and give a hug to the vast majority of those in the Liveprayer family during this life. So I look forward to that day in Glory when we will all be together.
In the meantime, God still has much for us to do. While it would be easy and tempting to sit back and be content with what we have accomplished these past 14 years, we can't because there is still too much work left to do. The Liveprayer Church, the world's online cathedral. The Jonah Project God's instrument to help lead this nation back to God and Biblical values. The "remnant" is about to rise up and be heard like never before!
So now is time to keep pressing on towards that prize, being obedient and faithful each day to serve and follow the Lord, and declare to this lost world the Truth of God's Word and tell the lost of the eternal hope they can have in Jesus Christ. May God continue to pour out His favor and blessings on Liveprayer as we remain faithful each day to our calling!!!
***PLEASE READ AND PRAY!!!
What a 14 years it has been! This Saturday at Noon, Liveprayer is officially 14 yrs old! What a 14 years it has been!!! I could have never dreamed 14 yrs ago when Liveprayer began as nothing but a vision from God that we would have impacted tens of millions of lives around the world, sent personal responses to over 70 million emails for prayer, an archive with 7 million praise reports, and have 700,000 people we know of come to faith in Jesus!!!
ALL OF THAT HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE PRAYERS AND FAITHFUL SACRIFCE OF THOUSANDS OF FRIENDS LIKE YOURSELF THESE PAST 168 MONTHS!!! THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO FULFILL GOD'S CALLING ON MY LIFE THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT OF THE LORD'S WORK HERE AT LIVEPRAYER!!!
As much as I have been tempted over the past few years to sit back, look at all we have accomplished, and get off the front lines to live the rest of my life peacefully, God won't let me. Just when I began to seriously think about ending this wonderful season of Liveprayer, the Lord has challenged me with one final work for the Kingdom, and that is to be used by Him to help lead this nation back to God and His Truth before we face his ultimate wrath and punishment for our rebellion.
To be honest, on the surface it sounds wonderful but doesn't seem possible. That would be easy to conclude, but when you read the Book of Jonah, he was sent to a completely secular society nearing God's ultimate wrath and punishment. However, the people of Nineveh repented, turned to God, and for a season were spared his judgment. It was possibly the greatest single revival in human history!
The Bible teaches that God is no respecter of person, and what He did for Nineveh He will do for us. The key of course is IF we respond the way Nineveh did! The Bible also clearly teaches that nothing is impossible with God. After watching his miracle working power over and over each day these past 14 years how could I ever doubt Him?
After all, when He gave me the vision for Liveprayer the year prior, I knew nothing about the internet an didn't even own a computer. Look at what HE HAS DONE!!! So my resolve is stronger than ever, my focus sharp, my hand to the plow not looking back.
I desperately need a few friends to help me today. We still need to bring in $25,000 to cover the balance of our basic August operations over the next few days. I need $10,000 of that amount IMMEDIATELY since they are operational expenses due the first days of the month, meaning they are 4 weeks in arrears.
I am praying today for God to send 2 friends today who can help me with a special one-time gift of $5,000. If you can wire the finds, or deposit them into our Wells Fargo account at a local branch, or overnight a check to us, it would take TONS of pressure off of me. Email me at: bkeller@liveprayer.com and I will give you the info you need. If 5 more people will send a special one-time gift of $2,000, and everyone else will give as God guides you to give, we can end our 14th year with our basic operational budget current!
Please, take a minute today and pray about helping me. We have a huge task before us. God has opened the door for us to be back on TV (http://www.liveprayer.com/liveprayertv.cfm) since May with a growing viewership each week, that is already translating into new members of the Liveprayer family to help support our work here. Now more than ever it is critical for us to insure our basic operating budget is current as we press forward. I am counting on you to help me at this important time. Please pray and give the most generous gift you can!
--->ANNIVERSARY!!! August is Liveprayer's 14th anniversary month. If Liveprayer has been a blessing to you, please pray about making a special one-time gift to Liveprayer for $14, $1 for every year online, $140, $10 for every year online, of $1400, $100 for every year online and the cost of one day of Liveprayer.com's operations!
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 standing with me over these many years. Please, pray about what you can do to help me end this anniversary month with our operational budget current so we can begin Liveprayer's 15th year with no shortfall to worry about. Thank you for your love and prayers, and know that I pray for you and your family each day.
Together, we have done some incredible things for the Lord these past 14 years, bringing God's Truth to the marketplace, impacting lives worldwide daily, and saving souls. Our greatest work is before us. May we be found faithful as we keep our eye on the prize and finish our race!
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller