Amanda
08-08-2004, 04:01 PM
If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
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CELEBRATING 5 YEARS OF SERVING GOD ON THE INTERNET!
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY AUGUST 6, 2004
(1 Thessalonians 4:16,17)
***GOD is the giver of all gifts to carry out His plan and purpose. I pray
that this prophetic word God has spoken through me today will open your
hearts to the TRUTH of His Word and the imminent return of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. This is a word the believer and non-believer alike
MUST read. Please do your part to get it to everyone that you know, post it
on every message board and chatroom you can. GOD IS TELLING US THAT JESUS
IS COMING BACK....AT ANY MOMENT!
The trumpeter is warming up. The other day I read the most accurate
description of our world today I have EVER SEEN. Let me share it with
you: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts
were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal
man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their
bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and
worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever
praised. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their
women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust
for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in
themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they
did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become
filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of
doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those
who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very
things but also approve of those who practice them."
Actually, this came from GOD Himself in Romans 1:21-32. I especially like
the line in verse 25, "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.." If that
doesn't describe our culture today perfectly, I don't know what does.
Satan, the great perverter, has told the lie enough times that people have
now accepted the lie as the truth, and rejected the truth as a lie exactly
as God said they would.
I know there is much debate and controversy within the Body of Christ as to
exactly how the events of the end times will unfold. One of the interesting
things about Bible prophecy is that you really can't tell someone they are
wrong since these are events yet to occur. While the study of eschatology
or the end times is interesting, my focus is on our real day to day lives
and how to live victoriously in the context of the Christian faith.
However, there are some end time events nobody will dispute and one of those
is the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
The Bible clearly teaches that NO MAN, only God knows the hour of Christ's
return. But make no mistake, this is NOT a Hollywood movie, it is a very
real event that will take place. One thing is certain, when Christ returns
whatever final events that must take place will quickly unfold and this
world as we know it will no longer exist. Even though only God knows the
exact moment Christ will return, the Bible clearly tells us what the last
days prior to His return will be like. My friend, you do not have to have a
Doctorate in Theology to read God's Word and know that without a doubt, WE
ARE IN THE LAST DAYS.
In Paul's second letter to his young disciple Timothy, in chapter 3 verses
1-5, he describes the last days. "But mark this: There will be terrible
times in the last days.
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do
with them."
Peter also shared the signs of the last days in 2 Peter 3:3, "First of all,
you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and
following their own evil desires." Peter and Paul could have been writers
for the USA Today commenting on the state of our world in the year 2004 with
their words.
Jesus commented as well on the signs of the last days in Matthew chapter 24.
His disciples asked Him point blank what will be the sign of His return and
the end of the age. Jesus answered in verses 4-14, "Watch out that no one
deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,'
and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to
it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still
to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the
beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and
put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that
time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the
increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands
firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end
will come."
You see my friend, this is why those who know Christ as their Savior have to
be busy about the work of the Kingdom. We are clearly in the last days, the
night is coming and we must work while it is still light. The imminent
return of Jesus Christ is a message you will not hear in the church very
often because too many pastors either don't believe He is coming back, or
they have lost sight of how soon it will happen. God's people need to not
only be ready themselves for Christ's return, but must be busy sharing this
Good News with the lost and dying world that we live in. The Bible tells us
it is only God's patience that is delaying the last chapter from being
played out because it is His desire that none perish and ALL come to
repentance.
I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying for you to take
some time today and PRAY over these words. It is no accident or coincidence
that you are reading this today, God is speaking to you. For those who have
never made a commitment of your heart and life to Jesus Christ by faith, the
Bible says that TODAY is the day of salvation. Take a moment right now,
pray and ask God to open your heart and go to the following link and read
the words there: www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html .
For those who know Christ as your Savior, this is a wake-up call from God
that the time is short and you need to be giving all you have each day in
serving Christ. Serving Him is not an option but a requirement of ALL His
children. God calls most to serve Him right where they are at, in your
neighborhood, at school, on the job, where you recreate, in the various
hobbies you have. Everyday the Lord brings people into your life who will
never go to church, never read a Bible, or never watch Christian media. You
are the only connection to God they have. God has put them into your life
so that you can share with them the hope and love of Christ. Never forget,
when your life is over the ONLY thing that will matter for eternity are
those lives you impacted for Christ.
Based on what God's Word tells us about the last days, you can hear the
trumpeter in the back room warming up. Christ came to this earth the first
time unannounced to the world, born in a lowly manger in an obscure village.
However, He is preparing for a triumphant return at any moment that the
entire world will witness as He comes back "with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trumpet of God."
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller
©Copyright 2004, Bill Keller Ministries. All rights reserved
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe.
www.liveprayer.com/signup.htm
CELEBRATING 5 YEARS OF SERVING GOD ON THE INTERNET!
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY AUGUST 6, 2004
(1 Thessalonians 4:16,17)
***GOD is the giver of all gifts to carry out His plan and purpose. I pray
that this prophetic word God has spoken through me today will open your
hearts to the TRUTH of His Word and the imminent return of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. This is a word the believer and non-believer alike
MUST read. Please do your part to get it to everyone that you know, post it
on every message board and chatroom you can. GOD IS TELLING US THAT JESUS
IS COMING BACK....AT ANY MOMENT!
The trumpeter is warming up. The other day I read the most accurate
description of our world today I have EVER SEEN. Let me share it with
you: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts
were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal
man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their
bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and
worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever
praised. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their
women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust
for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in
themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they
did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become
filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of
doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those
who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very
things but also approve of those who practice them."
Actually, this came from GOD Himself in Romans 1:21-32. I especially like
the line in verse 25, "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.." If that
doesn't describe our culture today perfectly, I don't know what does.
Satan, the great perverter, has told the lie enough times that people have
now accepted the lie as the truth, and rejected the truth as a lie exactly
as God said they would.
I know there is much debate and controversy within the Body of Christ as to
exactly how the events of the end times will unfold. One of the interesting
things about Bible prophecy is that you really can't tell someone they are
wrong since these are events yet to occur. While the study of eschatology
or the end times is interesting, my focus is on our real day to day lives
and how to live victoriously in the context of the Christian faith.
However, there are some end time events nobody will dispute and one of those
is the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
The Bible clearly teaches that NO MAN, only God knows the hour of Christ's
return. But make no mistake, this is NOT a Hollywood movie, it is a very
real event that will take place. One thing is certain, when Christ returns
whatever final events that must take place will quickly unfold and this
world as we know it will no longer exist. Even though only God knows the
exact moment Christ will return, the Bible clearly tells us what the last
days prior to His return will be like. My friend, you do not have to have a
Doctorate in Theology to read God's Word and know that without a doubt, WE
ARE IN THE LAST DAYS.
In Paul's second letter to his young disciple Timothy, in chapter 3 verses
1-5, he describes the last days. "But mark this: There will be terrible
times in the last days.
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do
with them."
Peter also shared the signs of the last days in 2 Peter 3:3, "First of all,
you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and
following their own evil desires." Peter and Paul could have been writers
for the USA Today commenting on the state of our world in the year 2004 with
their words.
Jesus commented as well on the signs of the last days in Matthew chapter 24.
His disciples asked Him point blank what will be the sign of His return and
the end of the age. Jesus answered in verses 4-14, "Watch out that no one
deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,'
and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to
it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still
to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the
beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and
put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that
time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the
increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands
firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end
will come."
You see my friend, this is why those who know Christ as their Savior have to
be busy about the work of the Kingdom. We are clearly in the last days, the
night is coming and we must work while it is still light. The imminent
return of Jesus Christ is a message you will not hear in the church very
often because too many pastors either don't believe He is coming back, or
they have lost sight of how soon it will happen. God's people need to not
only be ready themselves for Christ's return, but must be busy sharing this
Good News with the lost and dying world that we live in. The Bible tells us
it is only God's patience that is delaying the last chapter from being
played out because it is His desire that none perish and ALL come to
repentance.
I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying for you to take
some time today and PRAY over these words. It is no accident or coincidence
that you are reading this today, God is speaking to you. For those who have
never made a commitment of your heart and life to Jesus Christ by faith, the
Bible says that TODAY is the day of salvation. Take a moment right now,
pray and ask God to open your heart and go to the following link and read
the words there: www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html .
For those who know Christ as your Savior, this is a wake-up call from God
that the time is short and you need to be giving all you have each day in
serving Christ. Serving Him is not an option but a requirement of ALL His
children. God calls most to serve Him right where they are at, in your
neighborhood, at school, on the job, where you recreate, in the various
hobbies you have. Everyday the Lord brings people into your life who will
never go to church, never read a Bible, or never watch Christian media. You
are the only connection to God they have. God has put them into your life
so that you can share with them the hope and love of Christ. Never forget,
when your life is over the ONLY thing that will matter for eternity are
those lives you impacted for Christ.
Based on what God's Word tells us about the last days, you can hear the
trumpeter in the back room warming up. Christ came to this earth the first
time unannounced to the world, born in a lowly manger in an obscure village.
However, He is preparing for a triumphant return at any moment that the
entire world will witness as He comes back "with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trumpet of God."
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller
©Copyright 2004, Bill Keller Ministries. All rights reserved