Daily Devotional for Thursday July 22, 2021

Pick up your cross today!!!

DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY JULY 22, 2021

(Luke 9:23)

***JULY FINANCIAL UPDATE: After finally covering our May shortfall, we are currently working to cover June's shortfall which of course was the entire monthly budget of $55,000. So far in the past 12 days since we covered May, the first $25,000 of our June shortfall has come in! My prayer is that we can clear up the final $30,000 of June's shortfall by the end of this week or sooner, so we have at least the final 10 days of this month to take care of the $55,000 we require for July's ministry operations.

THAT IS $85,000 BY THE END OF JULY SO WE CAN BEGIN OUR 22ND YEAR ANNIVERSARY MONTH OF AUGUST WITH ALL OF OUR MINISTRY OPERATIONS CURRENT! OVER THESE PAST 22 YEARS WE HAVE FACED SEVERAL CHALLENGES FINANCIALLY, BUT GOD HAS ALWAYS MOVED ON THE HEARTS OF OUR FRIENDS IN THE LIVEPRAYER FAMILY TO KEEP HIS WORK MOVING FORWARD! WHAT GOD DID YESTERDAY...HE WILL DO TODAY!!!

I am asking several of our friends to pray about a special one-time gift to help us insure we end July current! Please pray about what the Lord is calling you to do to help me, whether it is $10, $20, $50, $100, $1,000, $10,000 or more, and give cheerfully unto the Lord as an act of worship! DON'T FORGET A GIFT OF $1,830 COVERS ONE DAY OF MINISTRY AT LIVEPRAYER!!!

TO GIVE A GIFT TO LIVEPRAYER, you can use your major credit card at: http://liveprayer.com/donate.cfm or you can mail your gift to: Liveprayer, 6660 46th Ave. North, St. Petersburg, FL 33709. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible!

***LIVE ON AFTER YOU ARE IN HEAVEN!!! By remembering God's work here at Liveprayer in your will/estate planning, you can still help me share His Truth with the masses, be here for people in their time of greatest need, and help lead the lost to faith in Jesus even after God has called you home!!! God has led many of our friends in the Liveprayer family to remember His work here in their will. Please pray about this opportunity to continue and partner with me in the Lord's work at Liveprayer, even after you are enjoying your rewards and the eternal peace of Heaven! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at: bkeller@liveprayer.com

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Father, bless me this day to have the courage to stand up for YOUR TRUTH in my daily life. Give me boldness to proclaim YOUR TRUTH when I am with those who mock and demean our faith in Christ and for following the teachings of the Bible. No matter what they may say, let me be not afraid to stand for YOU. In Jesus name...AMEN!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: The church in China. For the 22 yrs Liveprayer.com has been online and the 18 yrs of the TV program, I have always encouraged people to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in China. That persecution has gone from “bad” to “extreme” in the last 5 yrs. Pastors routinely jailed, tortured, and killed. Congregants jailed for simply going to church and treated like social outcasts. Churches bulldozed or burned to the ground. Now in China for a church to even remain open, they are forced to teach the speeches of Chairman Xi. China is re-writing the Bible, literally re-writing the Bible to pervert God’s Truth with fictional accounts of Bible stories. Out of the 1.4 billion Chinese, just under 100 million belong to the Communist Party and there is an estimated 45 million Christians. The amazing thing is the one thing the CCP is most afraid of isn’t the United States, or Russia, or any other foreign power. They don’t fear climate change. They don’t even fear economic challenges. Know, the one thing the Communist Chinese fear more than anything else are CHRISTIANS! Over the last 2,000 years, once they gain political power totalitarian and authoritative regimes worldwide have always targeted Christians. They understand their real power comes from the loyalty and obedience of the citizenry to the state. They ALL maintain that loyalty and obedience through real violence against those who oppose them and fear. THE REASON THEY FEAR CHRISTIANS IS BECAUSE VIOLENCE EVEN UNTO DEATH DOESN’T WORK! CHRISTIANS DON’T FEAR THE GOVERNMENT AS NON-CHRISTIANS DO SINCE A TRUE CHRISTIAN ONLY FEARS GOD! So please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in China as they face real persecution, even unto death, for their faith in Jesus. I personally pray daily that should that type of persecution ever come to this country, and that possibility is more real today than ever before, I will take my stand for the Lord without compromise even if it means prison, even if it means torture, even if it means death!!!

*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

Pick up your cross today. I have a simple but profound word for you today! Jesus said to pick up the cross and follow me. For Jesus, the cross He bore was the sins of mankind. God has not asked any of us to bear such a burden, but we each do have a cross that we are asked to bear. For some of you it may be a marriage that is in trouble. Many are bearing a cross of physical affliction. Some are bearing a cross of financial difficulties.

We each have a cross that God has asked us to bear for a season!

How we bear that cross each day becomes the challenge we face. Let me give you some insight I have gleaned from the Word of God in regard to this. First is having a right attitude. God promised not to put on you more than you can handle. Trust Him. He loves you and knows you better than you know yourself. Second, realize that you can't do anything in your own strength.

Often times the cross we bear keeps us humble and constantly reminded that it is not in our strength that we live, but in His!

Lastly, give thanks for the cross God has given you. Give thanks? The Bible tells us to give thanks in ALL things. That includes those things that we may not be very thankful for. Don't forget my friend, nothing happens in your life that God doesn't know about or allow to happen. So yes, give thanks even for the cross you bear because God has a master plan and is doing things you cannot even see or understand.

The best advice I can give you today to help you carry that cross God has given you, is to stay close to Him each day by being in prayer and the Word each day. Be in church, fellowship with other Christians, and find ways to serve God. All of these things working together keep you focused on Him.

The farther you get away from God, the heavier that cross will become. It is through carrying the cross each day that we become perfected and more like Him. Rejoice today, carry your cross with thanksgiving, and know that God is walking with you every step of the way!

I love you, and care about you so much. Know that when you get weary, when your cross becomes too heavy, I am here for you. God has given me the incredible blessing to be able to be here each day for you to pray for you, to stand in the gap for you, and to counsel you through those difficult times in life we all go through.

I will be praying for you, praying that you will pick up your cross and follow Jesus today!!!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller