Daily Devotional for Monday November 20, 2000

The "f" word, gay marriage, and the only true answer to these issues

(Acts 17:22-32) The "f" word, gay marriage, and the only true answer to these issues. The Federal Communications Commission has approved the use of the "f" word on TV and radio as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation. The FCC said the word cannot be used to describe sexual acts. In Massachusetts, their Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Even though many people are shocked and outraged by these two recent events, they only reinforce what I have been trying to share for the past 4 years here at Liveprayer, satan is busy 24/7! Actually, these events should not be surprising to anyone. The fact is, since the 1970's, cable television has had no language restrictions since is it was considered a pay or premium service. Radio has continued to push the envelope since the 1980's in regard to obscene content and language. We are all aware that movies, music, video games, and the Internet are totally unrestricted in regard to language and content. As for gay marriages, the pro homosexual community has been relentless in their efforts to not only force their deviant lifestyle on our society as normal and healthy, but they have been tireless in their efforts to use the courts to put a legal stamp of approval on their choice to live in rebellion to God and His Word. As the institution of marriage and family is under attack from every side, perverting what God intended marriage and the family to be is simply part of that attack. The bigger problem is not that you will now hear the "f" word coming out of your TV and radio, or people who choose to live in a homosexual relationship will now be considered "married," but what we as followers of Jesus Christ are doing to impact our culture IS NOT WORKING! I have done my best these past 4 years to try and help you understand that this is no longer a Christian nation. This is NOT a nation the loves and honors God. This is NOT a nation that lives by the absolute truth of His Word. The majority of the people in this nation DO NOT believe in the God of the Bible and DO NOT have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The biggest part of two full generations have never even been to church. That is a fact the church simply refuses to accept and deal with. Over the past 40 years we have created our own Christian world separate from the rest of the world. We hide in our churches, have our own TV and radio stations, books and magazines, and stay as far away from the rest of the world as possible. The result of this isolation by Christians has been satan having a free reign to do whatever he wants with very little opposition in his goal to kill, steal, and destroy lives. We are seeing the results of this in our society each and every day. There is only one answer my friend, and that is bold, creative, and God-inspired evangelism! We have got to understand that the majority of the people are NOT Christians and we cannot approach them as if they are. They really don't believe in God, they definitely don't believe in who Jesus Christ is, and they utterly reject the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God representing absolute truth and our final authority in all matters. That means we have got to use bold and creative ways to get the message of hope and love through Jesus Christ into their lives in new ways. Creating major motion pictures is a great way to do that. Creating programs for secular television and radio is another way. Using secular publications to get the truth of God's Word into peoples lives is yet another. In these last days, there needs to be Godly men and women of vision that are not afraid to use the same vehicles satan uses to carry his lies to the masses, to carry the truth of God's Word to those same masses. I love you and care about you so much. The good news is that we already know the end of the story, WE WIN! The problem is that too many of God's children are satisfied with their salvation and are not very concerned about those in this world that are lost and without hope and destined to eternal separation from God. A byproduct of not doing all that we can to reach the lost, is the deterioration of the society in which we live. You see, any efforts to reach people for Christ, will put the truth of God's Word into our culture. By keeping the truth of God's Word in the daily discourse, it makes it much more difficult for things that are in total rebellion to God to become acceptable and normal parts of our society. I am praying for you today as God speaks to your heart about this issue. You see, EVERYONE that knows Christ as their Savior has been called by God to share Christ with this lost world we live in. I want to encourage you to live a Godly life before your neighbors, those you go to school with or work with. Look for opportunities to share what Jesus has meant in your life with people God puts in your path each day. Those who are lost, KNOW deep down there is something missing. We know that what is missing in their life is Jesus! I will be praying for organizations that have been called by God to fight these social issues we face each day in our nation. We need to take advantage of every opportunity we can through the legal system, through our elected representatives, and by speaking out on these issues. But while we do that, never forget, the one and only true answer is to help lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Changing hearts, one at a time, is the ultimate answer. In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller