Daily Devotional for Thursday April 3, 2003

Your life can change in a spilt second

(James 4:14, Matthew 7:24-27)

Your life can change in a spilt second. One of the things that I dread most each day are the emails I receive daily of tragedy striking people's lives. Never a day goes by that I don't get many emails from people who have recently experienced life-changing events. Situations that took the life that they were living, and turned it upside down. People write me daily how they came home and their husband or wife decided they wanted a divorce. I get many from people who have been involved in automobile accidents where they, or a loved one, was injured in some way. Some tell me how a spouse, child, or family member died without any warning. There have been numerous emails of people losing all of their money in the stock market. Never a day goes by that I don't get people emailing me for prayer because they have lost their job. There are always some emails that tell of a visit to the doctor and a report of a serious illness. For all these people and those like them, they were just living their life, and in a spilt second, their world was turned upside down.

The key lesson that I want you to take away today is that we should NEVER take for granted what we have. All that we have is a gift from God. We must realize that anything we have in this life is temporary. The people that are in our lives, the places that we live, the jobs that we do, the resources that we have....are all temporary. They can change in a moment's notice. One dear brother and sister in England that have been part of Liveprayer since day one operate a large farm. Last year they watched 70 years of hard work by their family destroyed overnight by the terrible problem they had in that country with diseased animals. In one day, one minute, one second, our life can be dramatically changed. The uncertainty of life is all the more reason why we need to cling to our daily walk with Christ. Our time with Him in prayer, in the Word, just fellowshipping, helps us to keep our focus on the big picture so that no matter how the winds of life may blow, we are anchored to the Rock.

I do not mean to scare you today, or try to intimidate you in any way into getting more serious about your walk with Jesus. I am simply trying to point out that so often we get comfortable in our life. We begin to take the blessings of God for granted. We get apathetic about the things that go on around us. In that process, we let our guard down and forget how dependent upon the Lord that we really are. We forget that without Him, "we can do nothing"!!! We lose sight of the fact that He, not we, are in control of the things that go on around us.

The storms of life can come at any moment, and without warning. It is imperative that we always be prepared. Not in a paranoid sense of waiting for bad things to happen, but prepared spiritually knowing that no matter what happens, God is still on the throne. He is always in total control. He allows the things that happen to us, happen. The logical question is why? The only legitimate answer is nobody knows but God. It is in those times that our faith must become real. We must trust Him that no matter what. He has His plan and purpose at work, and it is our job to exercise our faith and trust in Him at all times.

For those of you today that have had major, life-changing experiences recently, let me encourage you. The same God who has walked with you in the past, is the same God who will walk with you today. The same God that has delivered you from trouble before, is the same God who will deliver you from trouble today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Now is the time to press into Him. Get closer to the Lord than ever before. He is our only refuge in times of trouble. His promises are true, and He will not leave you nor forsake you. His love is real and unconditional. I will be praying today for you to open your hearts and receive all He has for you this day as you walk through the valley, and back onto the mountaintop.

I love you, and care about you very much. It hurts me so much to read of the pain and heartache in so many lives each day. But Jesus warned His disciples just hours before going to the cross that in this world they would have tribulation. He then encouraged them by telling them to "be of good cheer, for I have overcome this world." Amen! What a promise! That means no matter what you are facing in your life today, Christ has overcome that circumstance or situation. He has already won the victory. You can't lose no matter what it may look like if you are with Jesus. He will ALWAYS have the final word in every situation.

Let me take this opportunity to ask you one question. IF you die today, do you know with 100% certainty that you will be forever with the Lord? If you have to pause, or can't answer that question with anything but YES, please go to this link. Simply pray before you read the words, for God to open your heart to receive what He has for you, www.liveprayer.com/SPlan.html .

As we are into our 44th month here at Liveprayer, I am encouraged by the past 43, and challenged by the future. The ability to reach millions each day for Christ through the Internet inspires me. I can only imagine how Paul would love to have had this tool to work with. We are committed to using it to literally to touch the world with the Gospel, while being a beacon of hope to those who need a special touch from God during those difficult times in life that we all face. Will you pray today about helping me? I need your prayers, and I need you to give the best gift you possibly can. We need $30,000 each month to meet all of our monthly obligations. That means we are able to minister to just under 2 million people worldwide every single day for just $1,000 a day!!! Take a moment and pray right now, ask God what He wants you to do to help me this month, and then be obedient.

You can give your gift on a major credit card via our secured server at our website, www.liveprayer.com under "donations", or you can give using your PayPal account using my email address, bkeller@liveprayer.com , or you can always mail in your gift to: Liveprayer 6660 46th Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida 33709 ALL gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Thank you for standing by me with your love, your prayers, and your financial support. It is friends like you that make it possible for me to be here for people in their time of need. Together, we are making a difference for God's Kingdom! Our lives can change in a split second, but our God NEVER CHANGES!

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