Daily Devotional for Friday November 15, 2013

How Low Can the Government Go

(Psalms 119:9; Titus 2:6,7)

***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, Illinois has passed the bill allowing same-sex couple to be married. Will our church come under attack if our pastor refuses to perform such a "marriage?"

ANSWER: It is a very good possibility. ANY pastor or church who would be part of such a perversion of God's Holy Institution of Marriage is an abomination in the eyes of God. No doubt, churches and pastors will come under pressure to perform such perverted ceremonies, but must take their stand since there is NO LAW that can force them to do such based on their religious beliefs.

How low can the government go? I grew up in a time when people saw the government as something that was good, interfered very little in our daily lives, and was there primarily to keep our nation safe and oversee the infrastructure like roads and highways. That vision of government has been over for most people for many decades now, but the majority of people still believed that the government was not there to purposely hurt them or promote things that could destroy their lives.

Now even that is no longer true. This past week in a desperate attempt to attract young people to buy government insurance, aka Obamacare, an ad campaign was unveiled that viewed young adults as nothing but depraved sex addicts and alcoholics! This ad campaign basically said to young adults, buy Obamacare and you will have free contraceptives so you can go out and have as much sex with as many people as you like and enjoy your keg parties.

The really sick part of this is that a real byproduct of young adults having endless sexual escapades, often while intoxicated, is the possibility of getting pregnant. However, as I exposed last week one of the dirty secrets of Obamacare is that it will be used by women to have abortions under the guise of "women's health issues," meaning anyone who has an Obamacare plan will be paying for the slaughter of innocent babies.

The government takeover of the health care industry representing one-sixth of the economy was bad enough since in the end it will forever change for worse something that is critical to the life of every man, woman, and child! In the process, without any conscience they roll out an ad campaign specifically targeting young adults with the message that having unlimited amounts of promiscuous sex outside the bonds of marriage, pounding alcohol, are great things and buying Obamacare will help you to be able to enjoy both!

Is it any wonder that we've lost our kids to the lies of the world, including most kids who are in church! A reoccurring theme that I share often is how much damage has been done to our culture and society by Christians taking the salt and light out of the marketplace and hiding in the "Christian trough," or the Christian subculture we have created for ourselves over these past 40 years. The end result has been the better percentage of two-full generations now who have NEVER been to church regardless of the numbers you may hear from people like George Barna.

Also, because of the spiritual vacuum we have created in the culture, it has given rise to false hope merchants like Oprah and Dr. Phil, cults like Beck and the satan worshipping Mormons, the JWs, Scientology, and Kaballah, false religions like Islam, and even the atheists! All have seen a tremendous increase in their power and influence over millions of people who are simply looking to fill that spiritual void in their lives. Many of those they are reaching are young adults.

In addition, we have seen an unprecedented and unrestrained proliferation of pornography, abortion, homosexuality, pedophilia, other deviant forms of sex, gambling, alcohol, drugs, and just about any kind of sinful activity and rebellion to God and His Word that you can name. All of these activities that just 40 years ago were understood by most people to be harmful and damaging to a person's life, activities that the Bible identifies as sinful, are now socially acceptable and part of the fabric of our culture in 2013.

AS I HAVE STATED IN THE PAST, THE LIES HAVE BEEN TOLD LONG ENOUGH AND LOUD ENOUGH THAT THEY ARE NOW ACCEPTED AS THE TRUTH!

Sadly, I see the evidence of this each day here at Liveprayer. One of our main demographics we reach on the Internet are those 25 and under. These young adults and kids have grown up their entire life exposed to pornography on TV, the computer, in games, in their music, in advertising, and in the movies. They have been told that it is normal, even healthy to watch porn. No matter how sheltered they may have been, they have been exposed to pornography from a very early age and have become desensitized to it because it is literally everywhere. That is why most young adults see nothing wrong with having sex outside of marriage and have a perverted view of this gift from God..

This group has also been exposed to women having the freedom to make the choice to go to a local clinic and kill her unborn baby. They have been told since birth that it is a woman's right to do whatever she wants with her body. They've been told that it isn't really a baby until it is born. Having an abortion is simply a choice that is available if a sexual relationship results in a woman becoming pregnant. It is a minor inconvenience that costs a couple hundred dollars and a few days of discomfort.

This is a group that sees nothing wrong with gambling. They have grown up being told that gambling is simply a form of entertainment, a way to go out and have a good time. After all, when they buy a lottery ticket, they are told it helps the state pay for education. Things like going to casinos, betting on sporting events, even betting on the horses used to carry a stigma to them. They were things people of poor character did. Respectable people simply didn't go to casinos, bet on sports with bookies, hang out on the rail at the track. Now gambling is not only socially acceptable, but is so accessible you don't even have to leave your home any more.

This group has also been a primary target for the homosexual activists. Through the media and the schools, those who promote the sin of homosexuality have targeted this 25 and under group to indoctrinate them with the lies that 10% of the population engage in homosexual acts and that this is how God created some people, therefore there is nothing wrong with it. They are even taught to lash out at the "religious bigots" who call homosexuality a sin, teaching them that only hate-mongers, intolerant and narrow minded people take such a view. The bottom line, they have been told there is nothing wrong with men having sex with men and women having sex with women.

While I fully understand that young adults 25 and under who weren't raised in a Christian home, didn't go to church as a kid, have lived their lives void of God and Biblical Truth buy into these lies, the sad reality is that so do young adults and kids who HAVE been raised in Christian homes, HAVE gone to church, and HAVE experienced God and been taught Biblical Truth! Let me explain to you why.

Most young adults and kids have very little interaction with their parents. Mom and dad are busy working, living their own lives, and the amount of time they actually spend with their children each day is really minimal. Church is usually only a few hours a week at best. I hate to say it, but even in those few hours they are in church they rarely hear someone with the guts to call sin what it is and preaching unadulterated Biblical Truth.

In the meantime, these young adults are being pounded 24/7 with the lies of the world every place they go and in every way possible. Through their friends, through their schools, through their teachers who in many cases spend more time with them and have a bigger influence on their lives than their parents, through the media, through the messages they are receiving from the world around them, virtually every second of every day these young adults are being bombarded with the lies of this world, and rarely if EVER are hearing Biblical Truth! Their views on life, what they believe, what they see as "truth," are all being shaped by the lies of this world and NOT the only Truth there is, God's Word!

I love you and care about you so much. We have a real spiritual crisis in our nation since the vast majority of young adults and kids 25 and under do NOT view God's Word as the Truth it is and have bought into the lies of this world. They live their lives void of God, void of His Truth, and without a relationship with Jesus Christ. They are a perfect target audience for such a disgusting advertising campaign that the government has rolled out to try and entice young adults to buy Obamacare.

The older saints are dying and heading on to their rewards in Glory, and left behind is this new generation of young adults who "know not the God of Israel" or His Son. This is the generation we MUST reach for Christ since they are now starting to have children and it will be yet another generation who lives void of God and Biblical Truth!!!

VERY FEW young adults in this 25 and under demographic have a real relationship with the Lord. We need to be praying today for God to help us reach this generation. That job is made more difficult since they have already grown up buying into the lies of this world and have rejected God's Truth, those lies now being reinforced by our very own government! However, there is great power in the Word of God and it is still able to bring men under conviction and to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This is why we must get serious about getting back into the marketplace and taking that Word to this 25 and under generation since they are not going to come to church, they are not watching Christian TV, they are not listening to Christian radio or music, and they are not reading Christian books or magazines.

It is time for God to raise up men and women who aren't interested in playing games, in playing church, in entertaining the saints, in simply preaching to the choir, but who are interested in going out into this world armed only with the Truth of God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit to reach these lost and dying young people for Christ.

The fact is, we know the lies of the world destroy lives, so these young people will come to a place soon where they are looking for help and hope. There is only One who can help, and there is only One to put your hope in...and that is Jesus. May we boldly and without shame take Jesus to these young people who need Him so desperately!

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

Bill Keller