Daily Devotional for Friday December 4, 2020

Single mother's Christmas!

(Romans 8:35-37; 1 John 5:4)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, please help me today to be an active member of Your body. I pray each day that I will be yielded to You and Your will for my life. Let me remove all that is in my life keeping me from being the best servant I can possibly for You and Your Kingdom. I love You Lord, and let my love be expressed in my daily life as I serve You. In the name of Jesus I pray…AMEN!!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: Christmas is cancelled!!! In that classic Christmas special from the early 60s, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” starring Burl Ives, there is a scene when due to the huge snowstorm that was coming Santa said Christmas would be cancelled. Well, now it is not Santa declaring Christmas is cancelled, it is a bunch of power-drunk Democratic governors and the politician Dr. Fauci! As for Fauci, you do not occupy a government position for 40 yrs, over numerous administrations without being a political animal. Like all good politicians, Fauci has been on both sides of every issue concerning the Chinese Flu. I shared a couple months ago that politicians declaring Christmas is cancelled was going to happen. It is the ultimate power play to fear-monger, intimidate people into setting aside important norms in our lives like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Listen, I have not and am not minimizing the fact we are in the midst of a pandemic not just in the US but worldwide. It is causing people to get sick and a small percentage to die. Over the last 1,000 years of human history, we have had several major health crisis around the world that has killed huge percentages of populations. This pandemic currently isn’t even in the top 50! In context, 95% of those dying not just here but around the world are over 65. 98% of those dying have one or more pre-existing medical issues. WE KNOW WHO THE VULNERABLE POPULATION IS. Each family will have to pray and decide how they will handle Christmas this year. Sadly, it is guaranteed that over 50% of churches across the nation will be closed this Christmas which is sickening and due to weak pastors! My counsel is, don’t just cancel Christmas!!! You may have to be a bit creative when it comes to the elderly in your family, but tomorrow is promised to none of us and to simply cancel one of the most holy times of the year for Christians is straight from the pits of hell...NOT FROM SCIENCE!!! You can still make this a special Christmas, since the whole reason we celebrate this time of year is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I will be praying as the Lord gives you wisdom and guides how you and your family celebrate this Christmas. LET ME SAY WITHOUT ANY HESITATION... NO MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR POLITICIAN CAN CANCEL CHRISTMAS!!!

*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

***Action steps: 1) Pray for the nation to turn back to the Lord every morning for at least 5 min. 2) Share the Gospel every day with at least 1 person you know is no saved. 3) Every day share something Biblical with everyone you know via email. 4) Every day encourage at least ONE PERSON you know about the responsibility we have to VOTE in November. 5) GET ONE PERSON YOU KNOW TO DO ACTION STEPS 1-4!!!

***CHRISTMAS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS! After much prayer, I have taken a huge step of faith and am announcing that as we have done most years since Liveprayer began, we will be helping out single mothers this Christmas. We will be helping 30 single mothers with a gift of $200 so they can insure their children have something under the tree and a nice Christmas meal. As in past years, all I ask is that these single mothers we help go to church with their children on Christmas! I never ask people to do something I don’t do myself, and as in past years I will be taking care of 10 of the 30. If God is leading you to help with the other 20, just make sure you mark on your $200 credit card of check gift it is for the Single Mothers Christmas. What I need is for those who want to be considered, send me a short email with your name, address, and phone number. I need to know how many children you have and their ages. Lastly, a brief description of why you need this help. PLEASE, AS IN YEARS PAST WE WILL GET INUNDATED WITH REQUESTS. IT WILL BE MOSTLY FIRST COME. PLEASE DON’T BE UPSET IF WE AREN’T ABLE TO HELP YOU, SINCE WE CAN ONLY HELP 30 SINGLE MOTHERS. KNOW IF WE CAN’T HELP YOU, WE WILL BE HERE PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN! Email request to” bkeller@liveprayer.com Put SINGLE MOTHER in the subject line. God bless you and enjoy this blessed celebration of the birth of Jesus!!!

The challenges of being a single mother. (This special word is also for the many single fathers as well, so simply replace since mother with single father!) Being a mom and raising children is a 24/7 job that never ends. Even in the perfect context of God's plan to marry a man who loves the Lord, have children, raise those children in the admonition of the Lord as the Bible teaches, it is a difficult job.

That job gets exponentially more difficult when a woman is raising her children alone, having to be mom and dad, the provider, the spiritual head of the home, all rolled into one!

Sadly in today's culture, there is a large percentage of women who are raising their children alone for a myriad of reasons. Today, I want to give a word of encouragement to you single moms out there and try to make this Christmas a special one for a few of you and your children.

I take a firm Biblical stand on issues like marriage, fornication, being equally yoked as the Bible commands, and what God's plan for the family is. First, because it is what God says and His way always works best for our life. His Word cannot be compromised. Secondly, because we see daily here at Liveprayer the destroyed lives of those who ignored God in these areas of their life by doing it their way.

That is why, especially for the young adults who read this Devotional each day, I do my best to warn them from falling into these traps that can literally destroy their lives. God has given me a responsibility for sharing the Truth of His Word. Much of the pain and heartache that we deal with in this life is because we ignored God, or rebelled against God in some way.

I realize there are cases when the actions of others cause us great pain, but again, a good percentage of our problems come from OUR decision to ignore God's plan!

While the world at large says "Do it your way," "Whatever you think is right is okay," "If it feels good, do it" . . . God says there is only ONE WAY that is right and that is found in the Bible. God gives us His way because He loves us! He knows that His way works and the other ways do not! His way brings us peace, joy, happiness, and blessings.

Ignoring His way brings turmoil, pain, unhappiness, and tragic consequences that can last a lifetime!

For you single moms, God loves you and will help you see victory despite whatever has happened in the past. It would be great if we all lived life the way God planned for us to. It is my prayer daily that those young adults reading these words each day will take that challenge and do just that. But for those who have already made some mistakes along the way, who got off-track from doing it God's way, TODAY IS THE DAY that you can get back on track. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE!!!

The key however is doing it God's way from here on out. For whatever reason you may be raising your children alone, know that God will make you adequate each day and give you all that you need to be the best parent that you can be. Your greatest ministry will ALWAYS be to your children.

The Lord will guide you, strengthen you, protect you, provide for you, and bless you and your children each step of the way as you follow Him!!!

I love you and care about you so much. The key today for you single mothers is to remember that the past is the past. There are no "do overs" in life. You can't go back and relive your life. So no matter what situation you may find yourself in today, know that if you make Christ the Lord of your life, keep Christ first at all times, do it God's way, you can know the peace, the joy, and the abundance that this life can offer.

Our life is today and forward until God calls us home. Yesterday is over. Live for today and make it all that God intends it to be. I will be praying for you and your children. God will make you adequate each day as you go forward with God's favor and blessings!!!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller