Daily Devotional for Thursday May 10, 2018

The Latest Mockery of Christ, His Followers and Our Faith

(Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 26:62-63; Psalms 22:6-8; Matthew 27:39-40)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, please be with me throughout this day and guide my thoughts, words, and deeds. Please give me the strength to live this day for you. Give me the wisdom, boldness, and courage to stand for you and your truth as the opportunities present themselves. Help me to be BOLD FOR CHRIST THIS DAY! In the name of Jesus I pray...AMEN!

"The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Gala and also known as the MetBall, is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It marks the grand opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit."

The theme for the Met Gala this year was, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” While it may sound like a nice gesture, the reality is it was just the latest slap in the face of Christians by this lost world. The fact is it was pure blasphemy and a brazen mockery of Christ, Christians, and the Christian faith!

Just as in film, in music, on television, the world no longer fears openly mocking Christians. They have been justified in that boldness because the church really never fights back so their efforts of mostly unopposed.

Let me add this fact that I do not want you to miss!!! PLEASE QUOTE ME!!! The reality is the world openly mocks and blasphemes Christ, Christians, and our faith because we are not only gutless when it comes to defending our faith, but we have supposed “Christians” and “Christian churches” that do the best job of all!

Let me share a headline in the news TODAY: “The United Methodist Church Council of Bishops has endorsed a proposal to soften the denomination's stance against homosexuality in order to prevent schism.”

For the record, I was born, raised, and saved in the United Methodist Church. Sadly, I have not been part of that once great denomination for over 30 years because like so many old mainline denominations they have compromised the Truth in God’s Word, allowing the “world” to guide them rather than guiding the world.

How can you soften your stance on sin? Of course, you have the gutless wonder “cotton candy Osteen” who brags about never even talking about sin! The fastest growing “church” in the nation is the Metropolitan Community Church, a denomination where all of the “pastors” openly and unrepentantly choose to engage in sex with those of the same sex and whose membership are made up of men and women who have also made that perverted choice!

You have “churches” where you have women pastors in complete violation of the Scriptures, that support the legalized slaughter of innocent babies, who support the perversion of God’s Holy Institution of Marriage, and openly accept every type of sexual perversion man has dreamed up in his deranged mind.

So yes, taking on things like the “Met Gala” for openly mocking the Christian faith is something we MUST do, we can’t ignore that the greatest mockery and blasphemy actually comes from within the Christian church itself!!!

By the way, I vote that next year the theme for the “Met Gala” is “Fashion and the Muslim Imagination!” How do you think that will go??? The MET would be burned to the ground and countless innocent people would be killed in retaliation!!! That what makes me sick many days. Those who serve a lie are so much more bold defending the lie than those who serve the only Truth there is!!!

I have done many Devotionals over these past 19 years on the boldness of satan versus the timidity of Christians. Do you believe me now???

Let there be no mistake, mocking Jesus is not a new phenomenon. There were people who lived at the same time as our Lord who rejected Him, just like there are people who reject Him today. We know from the Bible that in the fulfillment of Scripture He was mocked and scorned in the last hours of his life.

Every day there are bold and fearless public attacks on our Lord and His people throughout the world today. I have told you often that the United States is no longer a Christian nation. A classic example of that fact is the way those who hate Jesus publicly mock Him. Just 10 years ago, the “Met Gala” would have never put on such a blasphemous display.

The natural question of course is what do we do about it? Again, you can't blame those who put out these disgusting and blasphemous representations of Jesus. Oh, don't get me wrong, God WILL hold them accountable, but these are people who have clearly rejected God, His Truth, and Jesus, so what do you expect?

They have given themselves over as instruments of unrighteousness so they are actually only doing what comes naturally to them. How can you really blame those who hate and reject the Lord from expressing that rejection and hatred? Hear me carefully. Once again, they are not the problem, WE ARE THE PROBLEM!!!

Maybe now you can understand why I hammer relentlessly on how Christians have abandoned the marketplace for the comfort, safety, and oh yes, the profitability of this Christian subculture we have created for ourselves. In reality, we are in rebellion to God since the Bible doesn't say separate yourselves from the world, it actually COMMANDS us to do the exact opposite!

What we are seeing with the open and public mocking of Jesus is one of the results of our abandoning the culture of our day and leaving it to the devil. He operates virtually without any opposition so why are we surprised that he has taken his hatred and scorn for Jesus to the extremes we witness today? Let me warn you my friend, it is only going to get worse!

The answer to this blaspheming of our Lord is to get back into the marketplace and start taking a stand for Christ. Each follower of the Lord can do their part each day where you live, where you go to school or work, where you shop, in the recreational activities you are involved in, and with the people God brings across your path.

You take your stand by living a Godly and holy life. You take your stand by not being afraid to speak up for our Lord when you are around people who are speaking against Him. You take your stand by finding ways to serve Him You can't stop the mockers, but you can make sure their message of hatred for our Lord does not go unchallenged!!!

I love you and care about you so much. For anyone who loves Jesus, it has to break your heart to see how our Lord and Savior is portrayed by those who hate Him. I have no doubt Jesus is looking down and saying "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." The reality is, those who were responsible for the open and relentless mocking of our Lord and faith.

However, never forget that Jesus died for the sins of those who mock Him just like He did for your sins and mine. We need to boldly tell them about His love. Sadly, if they never make that personal decision for Christ, the last thing they will see, the picture that will be with them as they suffer for all eternity, will be that of King Jesus, the One they openly mocked and scorned!!!

Pray for these lost souls. Without the Lord in their heart, they have allowed their lives to be used as agents of satan. Don't forget that there was a man named Saul of Tarsus who persecuted the early church, literally killed Christians, yet that same Saul was visited by Jesus one day and his life gloriously transformed. He became Paul and went on to live one of the greatest Christian lives ever documented.

I pray that this will be a wake-up call for all Believers today. A wake-up call that we have got to get back into the marketplace where we live each day and boldly, without shame or compromise proclaim our faith in Christ. If this doesn't motivate you, nothing will. For too long, we have been intimidated into keeping our mouths shut while those who live in rebellion to God speak loud and bold without fear or conscience to promote their ungodly lives and choices.

Maybe this will give you some insight into my drive and passion for what we do each day here at Liveprayer. Our number one goal for these past 19 yrs has been to bring the lost to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Getting people saved is the ultimate answer.

In addition to proclaiming the Gospel to the lost and bringing the hope of Christ to the lost, praying for the apx. 40,000 people who contact us daily for prayer, for these past 19 yrs Liveprayer has faithfully taken God’s Truth into the marketplace. I can't stop The Met from mocking the Lord, however, with your help, I can go out into that VERY SAME marketplace and reach those VERY SAME people with the fact that their only hope and their only answer is faith in Jesus Christ!!!

Those who hate our Lord are bold and courageous in taking their message of hate to the masses. I challenge you today that if you love Jesus, you should be even bolder and more courageous in taking the message of His love to those same masses! While the world mocks our Lord, we have got to praise Him!!!

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