Daily Devotional for Tuesday February 13, 2018

The Bias by the Media against Christians

(Romans 10:13,14)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, help me to stand strong in these difficult days. I know that in the end, YOU...and YOU alone will have the final word. Give me boldness and courage to stand for you as evil abounds. In the name of Jesus I pray..AMEN!!!

“...how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

A media in full attack on Christians. Having spent nearly 2 decades in the secular media, I have spoken often throughout those years about the media bias against God, the Truth of the Bible, and the gullible fools who believe in such myths better known as “Christians.” Never before has this bias been more apparent than during the controversy this past year concerning NFL players “taking a knee” during the National Anthem, and currently during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Before I deal with the bias against Christians by the secular media, I have to first talk briefly about the Christian media. One of the reasons Christians are under such attack by the secular media is because 25 yrs ago, we chose to abandon the secular media to create our own media geared 100% towards the Christian community. Prior to setting up our own TV and radio stations, Christians such as Billy Graham, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Oral Roberts, Rex Humbard and others, aired their message of Christ’s love and God’s Truth to the world on the same media that the world watched their news of the day and other programming.

Sadly, the creation of the Christian media subculture was literally the Christians abandoning the culture and taking the Gospel to a friendly audience that agreed with their words, and most sad, paid them millions to hear their words. What we know of today as the “Christian media” was created because it was safe, comfortable, those who watched and listened for the most part agreed with the message, and please don’t underestimate this last reason...it was HIGHLY PROFITABLE!

The NFL controversy started during the 2016 football season by than San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick. who during the National Anthem in the pre-season leading up to the 2016 season sat on the bench alone. During the 49ers last pre-season game he visibly “took a knee” during the Anthem, later explaining the reason for his actions. Kaepernick stated, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

This of course was born out of the purposeful and premeditated attack on law enforcement by the Obama administration that was responsible for perpetuating the “hands up don’t shoot” lie during the Ferguson, Mo. shooting of Michael Brown. Brown, who after committing a strong-arm robbery of a convenience store, punched a white police officer in trying to take his service revolver, and was shot and killed when he charged at the officer refusing to stop.

Ferguson and the ensuing riots were followed by events the media hyped in Staten Island, Baltimore, and other locations, all being used by the Obama White House and Justice Department in a premeditated manner to try and begin a Federal takeover of local police forces. The racially charged “Black Lives Matter” movement arose out of these events as did the misguided actions of Kaepernick.

I remember telling a friend the morning after his initial “kneel” that if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t take quick and decisive action this act of defiance would get out of control quickly. Not only did Goodell NOT take action against Kaepernick’s rebellion, he actually defended it. As I predicted, using the NFL stage by certain players to publicly protest (I assure you most didn’t even know what they were protesting) during the 2017 season led to the first time in decades the NFL saw a double-digit downturn in attendance and TV ratings, despite the spin the NFL was trying to make people believe.

The visible protest of law enforcement was cheered on and applauded by the mainstream media and the sports media. I have spoken in the past about my disgust in the politicizing the sports media has engaged in over the past decade. The result has been massive subscribers fleeing from sports cable giant ESPN and double-digit ratings declines for the networks in their coverage primarily of the NFL. Arrogantly, ESPN and the major networks were unapologetic and actually doubled-down on their advocacy and promotion of those players in the NFL and others sports protesting law enforcement, turning Kaepernick into a cult hero. ESPN even honored him with the “Ali Legacy Award” during their ESPY awards program.

With his skills already deteriorating, which is why he was entering the 2016 season as a back-up, he asked for the 49ers to release him which they did. To date NO NFL team has signed Kaepernick to a roster, which he and the sports media blame on his activism. However, anyone that knows professional sports knows that you can commit virtually any crime you want and if you can help a team win games, they will figure out how to get you on the field to play each Sunday.

I have laid this foundation to talk with you about Philadelphia Eagles and Super Bowl winning QB Nick Foles, as well as their original starting QB Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson...all bold, visible, unrepentant Christians! I am not minimizing the Christian faith of other Eagle players, but being the most high profile faces of the franchise, they used their Super Bowl run through the playoffs and subsequent Super Bowl victory to publicly declare their faith in Christ.

Unlike the media’s non-stop coverage and support for Kaepernick’s rebellion and stand against law enforcement, the media did all they could to RUN from the comments by Foles, Wentz, and Pederson about their faith in Christ. Tony Dungy is an NFL icon as the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl and for his leadership and mentoring of young black athletes. For the first time I can remember, he came under fire by the media for stating that Foles won the Super Bowl because he was a Christian which is NOT what he said.

As Dungy properly responded, God doesn’t have a favorite football team. Christians on BOTH teams pray for victory. I do believe God gives his servants a platform in every area of life to proclaim their faith and that Jesus is “the way, the truth,a nd the life!” Dungy simply stated that Foles would play well in the Super Bowl when asked for his prediction, because his faith would help him stay calm on the biggest stage in football with hundreds of millions worldwide watching. By the way...IT DID!

We have been inundated over the years with stories of coaches from pee-wee to high school to college, praying with their teams and being legally called out for doing so. Again, the media is anti-Christian even when it is sports. I remember this past college season Clemson head coach and strong Christian Dabo Swinney thanked the “good Lord” and his dad for being with him during Clemson's upset of Notre Dame, and ESPN literally cut out of the interview!!!

Lastly, let me address the current Winter Olymmpics in South Korea. With the support of the media, US male figure skaters who CHOOSE to engage in perverted sex with other men, have been openly mocking and lambasting Vice President Mike Pence for his stand as a Christian against the perversion of gay marriage and the sin of homosexuality. With the media solidly in their corner, these men have been given a platform to promote and advocate for their sexual perversion in contrast to the “homophobic beliefs” of our Vice President.

To add insult to injury, the media this past weekend took the unbelievable stand in actually promoting the evil sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un over our own Vice President during their brief joint appearances in the opening days of the Olympics. This is a woman whose family for 6 decades has been responsible for the literal starvation of tens of millions of their own citizens, the brutal way in which their family runs this “hermit kingdom,” and is as guilty as her deranged dictator brother for the human rights abuses they have been and are currently responsible for. For the media to literally praise such a tool of satan over a Godly servant of the Lord first and servant of the people second, Mike Pence, is a low even I never thought they would sttop to.

I love you and care about you so much. There is nothing else to say. We as Christians are ultimately responsible for the media bias against our faith because we CHOSE to abandon the secular media years ago, and I hate to be so brutally honest, primarily for MONEY! As the decades have gone by, Christians and our message of Christ’s love and God’s Truth has been minimized, marginalized, and today, totally rejected in the secular media.

However, this is where the lost masses live and can be reached. That is why for nearly 20 years now, I have refused to ever go into the Christian media, but instead, deal with the constant death threats, harassment, ridicule, to bring the only hope for man to those who need it most, and without finding that hope in Christ, will die and burn in hell for all eternity. Jesus not only died for my sins and yours, but for the sins of ALL mankind. How can I ignore those who may never hear of their only hope if I remain silent and sadly, like well over 95% of ministries, simply preach to the choir!

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