Daily Devotional for Friday January 3, 2020

You will choose today to obey or rebel against God this very day!

(1 Samuel 15:22)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, help me to be a blessing to someone I meet today. Help me to not be so self-absorbed that I miss the opportunity to be a good witness for You today. I yield myself to You and ask that you use me for Your glory! In the name of Jesus...AMEN!!!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: One of the challenges we are going to sadly see unfold in 2020 is various states enacting anti-gun laws, many of which could end up being totally anti-Constitutional. Virginia will be the main focus initially. The Democratic Governor, baby-killer and black face Governor Ralph Northam, and his new Democratic state majority is going to enact some of the most liberal anti-gun laws in the country that are ultimately designed to take guns from its’ citizens. They are looking to ban AR’s and AK’s, with some sort of “voluntary buyback” program. They are putting in place plans, such as using the National Guard, to physically confiscate guns from citizens who refuse to comply. New York is also ramping up new anti-gun legislation as is California. As you can imagine, this has the potential to become a very dangerous and volatile situation. It is ironic that as these new anti-gun plans unfold around the nation, we had the sad incident in a Texas church where an armed individual opened fire on the congregation killing two people. WITHIN 6 SECONDS, THE KILLER WAS HIMSELF KILLED BY AN ARMED MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION! The reality was, there were at least SEVEN armed members who rose to confront the shooter. Only God knows how many others would have died without those “good guys with guns!”

*Don’t miss the Liveprayer TV program, airing “LIVE” every Monday thru Friday from 11pm EDT to Midnight! For details on viewing options for the Liveprayer TV program, “LIVE” or “On Demand,” go to: https://liveprayer.com/liveprayer-show-about.cfm

This very day you will have a chance to obey or rebel against God. In reality, during the course of any given day there are many opportunities that we consciously choose to obey or rebel against God. But I want to focus on the very next decision that you have to make after reading these words. IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT GOD HAS ALLOWED YOU TO READ THESE WORDS. GOD IS PREPARING YOU FOR THE VERY NEXT DECISION THAT YOU WILL MAKE WHERE YOU CAN EITHER OBEY HIM, OR NOT.

The life of King Saul is a very sad commentary of someone that God anointed in a great way and chose to rebel against God. King Saul lived with the same free will that God gives to all of us. He had to make choices each day to obey or rebel against God. Sadly, there are ALWAYS consequences for our rebellion. These consequences come in many forms but there is always a price to pay when we choose not to obey God.

Likewise, blessings will always follow our obedience to God. The greatest blessing of all is that peace that passes all human understanding we receive when we are living our lives the way God has asked us to. When we are living for Him, making choices that honor God, there is a peace and joy that you could never put a price on.

Today's Devotional is a special warning for you to be aware of the choices that you will make today. You will have many opportunities today to choose to obey God, or rebel against God. I will be praying that you will make the choice to obey God. To set aside your will, your desires, for His will and His desires.

Jesus promised His followers a life of abundance. That abundance comes from living a life pleasing and acceptable to God. God loves us so very much. Like any parent, He only wants the best for us. When He asks us to obey Him, it is not for HIS good, but for OUR good.

In the Old Testament, many of God's children were quick to offer up sacrifices to Him, yet their hearts were far away from Him. They honored Him with their lips but God saw their hearts. We obey God out of our love for Him. All of our good works, our good deeds have little meaning to God if our hearts are not right.

I love you and care about you so much. When we have surrendered our lives to Him it is our DESIRE to love Him, and we show Him that love through our obedience. We can tell our mother or father how much we love them, but we SHOW that love through our obedience. God is the same way. We can sing praises to Him, do great works in His name, but it is our obedience that shows God how deep our love for Him really is.

As you go through the rest of this day, remember these words...TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE. You will be making a choice very shortly in which you can obey God, or rebel against Him. Show God how much you love Him today, and OBEY.

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller