Daily Devotional for Wednesday July 9, 2003

Giving the gift of life

( I John 4:21, 2:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Matthew 25:25 )

Giving the gift of life. A perfect follow-up to the Devotional I wrote Sunday on cremation is giving the gift of life through donating your organs. The Bible is full of admonitions to love your brother, to love others. What an incredible way to show your love to someone that you never even met in this lifetime, than by donating your organs and giving the gift of life!

What does God say about this? Obviously, there are no passages of scripture that speak directly for or against donating your organs after you die. So as is often the case, we need to take the whole counsel of God into consideration in looking at this issue. Our bodies serve two purposes during this life. They are the clay shells that we occupy during our brief journey, and for the believer, they become the temple of the Holy Spirit during this life. The Bible is quite clear that when this life is over, it is our soul that lives on for eternity and our bodies will return to the "dust of the earth" as God mandated. Our bodies serve no further purpose once we are dead.

Many ask about the "body" we will have after death. Scripture is clear that whatever body we will have will be a glorified body. Many people have their bodies destroyed in death. Whether you choose to be buried or cremated, your body will be destroyed. In cremation it is burned, in burial it slowly decomposes until it is nothing more than dust. So the body we will possess post-death will be a glorified body.

Since our bodies serve no further purpose once we are dead, it simply becomes an issue for each person to decide how they will have their bodies disposed of. This means that before you are buried or cremated, donating your organs simply comes down to a choice each person has to make. If your organs are healthy and able to be used by someone else, there is really no good reason NOT to donate them. The reality is, you are dead and you won't need them any longer. What a great way to show love for someone than by literally giving of yourself so that they can continue to live. God clearly calls us to love one another, to serve others. Donating your organs is an incredible act of love and service.

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying for you today that you will seriously pray about this special act of love. God gives us many opportunities in our life to serve others. This is the last act of service that we can perform, one that can literally save the life of someone else. Remember this, all that we have is from God and is simply on loan to us during this brief journey. That includes our organs. I pray today that you will seriously consider donating your organs once you die and give the gift of life.

Another way to give the gift of life, everlasting life, is through your support of Liveprayer. As we are 9 days into our 47th month of ministry on the Internet, let me encourage you today to pray and ask God how you can help me this month. As you know, it takes $30,000 every month to cover all of the operational costs of Liveprayer. THAT IS ONLY $1,000 A DAY TO MINISTER TO JUST UNDER 2 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE 7 DAYS A WEEK!!! The Bible teaches to give according to your ability to give. For some that may only be $10 or $20. For others it may be $50 or $100. For others it may be $300, $500, $1,000 or even the entire $30,000! Simply pray and be obedient to give what God leads you to give. Give the very best gift that you can today.

You can make your gift with your credit card on a secure server on our website at www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" button, you can give via your PayPal account using my email address, bkeller@liveprayer.com , or, you can mail your gift to: Liveprayer 6660 46th Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida 33709 All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Thank you so much for your love, for your prayers, and for your generous and sacrificial gifts to the work God is doing literally 24/7 here at Liveprayer. All we have done in millions of lives worldwide these past 46+ months is because of YOU. Thank you for giving the gift of life to others when you give to Liveprayer!

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