A Game Plan from God

(Exodus 25:40)

You must have a game plan from God. I remember so clearly the first time I read the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, how God always gave His children a game plan. From the exact measurements for Noah to build the ark, to the Ten Commandments, to the way the tabernacle was to be constructed, to how the armies were to take the city of Jericho, all the way to the founding of the early churches...God always gave His children a specific game plan. I don't care what the situation you may be facing today is, whether it is a health issue, financial, a relationship problem, work or school related, the fact is God can give you a game plan today to guide you to victory in whatever battle you are fighting today. Those who are successful, those who are moving forward in their life, those who are bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God . . . are those who have a plan from God and are executing that plan on a day-to-day basis.

The natural question is how do you get a plan from God. That comes from the intimate daily relationship with the Lord I encourage you daily to maintain. Does the general of an army give his battle plan to his troops or to total strangers? Of course he gives them to his troops. God is the same way. He has a game plan for His children, but you have got to be plugged in to hear Him. Most people languish in their circumstances and never get beyond them because they have no game plan. Most people are ineffective in their Christian service because they have no game plan. Most people fail because they are trying to execute their own plan. To be effective you must get a game plan, and to be successful that plan must come from God!

I am going to be praying that you hear this very important message today. This is literally the breakthrough word many of you have needed to hear for a long time. Remember one thing. Getting a plan from God does not mean things change immediately. Most of you didn't get into the trouble you are in overnight, and the solution will probably not happen overnight. However if you are faithful in executing His plan, you will see victory. I will be praying with you today for God to reveal His plan for your circumstances.

Pray, read the Word, and let God direct you just as He directed those men and women we read about in the bible. They were no different from you or I. Those who were successful were walking close with God, and not only heard from God . . . but obeyed His voice. You and I can have those same experiences as long as we stay close to Him, listen to His voice, and obey Him.

Being Debt Free

(2 Kings 4:1-7)

For those of you who have been reading my devotionals for a while, you know that I try to take a practical approach to the scriptures. While it is wrong to compromise the Word of God, many take passages out of context and become dogmatic to the point where they actually violate other scriptures, such as being a stumbling block to your brother or sister. The issue of debt is one of those where I have heard much dogmatic and incorrect teaching. I believe scripture teaches us to be debt free. There is no doubt that God’s children are most effective when they are in that state. Does that mean you are going to hell if you are not debt free? No. It just means that you have another area of your life to work on, to prepare a game plan for, and to work towards that goal.

The ideal place to be is to have a residence paid off, a car paid off, earning an income that is meeting your monthly obligations with some left over for investments and savings. Unfortunately, that is NOT where most of God’s children are. The important thing is to start where you currently are financially, and put a game plan together that will get you from that point to the ideal place I just mentioned. God has gifted many people in the Kingdom with the ability to consult and advise people how to first get out of debt and then stay out of debt. A good friend of mine is Dave Ramsey of Nashville Tennessee who is one such person. Larry Burkett is another. You can go to any Christian bookstore and find books by these men to help you in this area.

Let me give you one starting point, though, in your goal to become debt free. Tithing. I have counseled many over the years in this area and have heard them say, “I can’t afford to tithe.” My response is, “You can’t afford NOT to tithe.” Like everything in life, there are spiritual principles for money as well – specific laws God has laid out to guide us in this area of life. When you obey those laws, you are successful. When you rebel, you pay the consequences. Those of you in debt didn’t get there overnight. It was a long process over many years. The road out won’t be easy, but God will help you as long as you start following His guidelines. One of God’s spiritual laws involves sowing and reaping. You can’t reap a harvest of corn until you sow corn seeds into the ground. Likewise, you can’t reap financial blessings unless you are willing to sow financial seeds. It may not make sense to you, but the Bible says often the things of God confound the wise. I don’t totally understand why every time I drop a brick from a high place it goes straight to the ground, but I have done it enough times to know that it will happen. I am not always totally understanding the things of God, but I trust them from experience, knowing that His way works.

I will be praying for you today. I know from my email many battle problems with debt. Let me encourage you today that God is able to help you formulate a game plan and give you the strength to follow it to victory. Be faithful and follow His principles in this area, and you will get the weight of debt off your back.

I love you and care about you a great deal. I am going to be fasting and in prayer for the elimination of your debt. God has great things for us to accomplish, and one way His children can be more effective is to get the burden of debt off of our back that hinders so many in the world. It gives us a great advantage as we share with this hurting and dying world the Good News of Jesus Christ. Never forget, no matter how it may look in the natural, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!

The Praise Of God Or The Praise Of Man

(John 12:43)

The praise of men. There is the time of year when the television is full of awards shows. The music industry has their Grammy, the movie industry the Oscar, in sports there is the ESPY, and there are the catch-all awards like the Golden Globe and People's Choice, and even the Christian music world has their Dove Award. It is always special when people single out your work and give you praise. The Bible even encourages us to "give honor to whom honor is due". However, the point of today's Devotional is very simple. Do we live our lives for the praise of man or the praise of God? Let me assure you that it is easier to get the praise of God than of man, and it is praise that is not temporary but eternal.

You see, trying to please man is an impossible task, because what is expected and required of us changes so often. You can try your entire life to please man, but you will be most sad and frustrated because it is not possible. The wonderful thing about God is that he has told us in His word what He expects; thus we know without a doubt what is required of us. The other problem with the praise of man is that it is so temporary. How many people in the entertainment and athletic industry you may be part of are "hot" for a period of time, then are all but forgotten. The praise of man is fleeting and temporal. The praise of God is everlasting.

I realize that many of you struggle with this issue, trying to get the praise of someone in your life, whether it be in school, professionally, or in some sort of relationship. I am not saying not to try to please others, or do a good job. What I am saying is that your first priority is to please God. So many email me how distraught they are because they just can't seem to make this person or that person happy. Continue to try, but always remember that your goal should not be to receive the praise of a man, but the praise of God. I realized a very long time ago that I could not make everyone happy. No matter how hard I tried it just wasn't possible. I still do my best each day, but in that effort, I never forget that ultimately it is God that I have to please. Even though everyone else may not like what I do, as long as I am doing what God wants and He is pleased, then I have succeeded. We see the human cry of the prophets in the Old Testament, complaining how nobody would listen to them, nobody was willing to heed their warnings, how frustrated they were. I can guarantee you this. None of those guys were ever going to receive any awards from their city, but they were receiving far greater rewards from God because of their faithfulness.

In the Book of Acts, Stephen's reward for preaching the Gospel was death by stoning. Even though those around him were so upset they literally stoned him to death, Jesus rose from His throne and stood to welcome Stephen into heaven because of his faithfulness!!! I don't know about you, but like most, I enjoy the praise of man. However, I do not live for that. I live my life for the praise of God and to one day hear those words, "well done thou good and faithful servant".

Being Honest

(James 5:12)

Being honest. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" will be one of President Clinton's lasting legacies. It was an obvious lie no matter how he or his people tried to explain it. You see, there is no such thing as gray when it comes to truth. It is either the truth or it is a lie. There is no such thing as a white lie, or a little lie, or a harmless lie. The Bible tells us that Satan is a liar, "the father of lies". The Bible also tells us that God is Truth. So when you lie, you are acting like Satan, and when you tell the truth you are acting like God. There is no room for argument on this issue, it is very cut and dried.

One of the things that we as Christians must continually guard against is allowing our conversation to be filled with lies, no matter what we are talking about. Most of the time we are not trying to be mean or hurt anyone, but when we lie we are hurting God. Telling the truth is one of the best ways that you can act like God. When you are truthful, you are acting like God. Listen, I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on you. I am trying to make you aware of something many take for granted. Many lie habitually and don't even realize it. It is part of their make-up. My goal today is to point out and make you aware of exactly what you are doing when you lie. It is an area many must work on, much like an alcoholic or drug addict must work daily to stay clean.

I love you deeply. I really do care about you. You know by now that I am not one to beat an issue into the ground or try to bring pain to you. However, sometimes the Word of God is painful and it does hurt. Pain has a purpose though, because it tells us that something is wrong. It is a mechanism that warns us when things aren't right. As always, you can count on my prayers. You can count on me standing in the gap for you as you work to clean up this area of your life. Telling the truth, being a person of the truth is critical to our relationship and walk with Christ each day. I pray today that He will impress upon you the need and importance of being a person of the truth in every aspect of your life. Oftentimes the truth is difficult, but there is no choice to be made. Lying is not an option. One way that you can be like God is to be a person of the truth at all times, and I will be praying with you to achieve that in your life.

May this be a most blessed day for you as you focus today on being a man or woman of the Truth.

The Enemy Is Never Far Away

(1 Peter 5:8)

The enemy is never far away. For many years, I lived in downtown Chicago. You do not have to spend much time in downtown Chicago before you see the Chicago Streets and Sanitation Departments big blue tow trucks. These are not your normal tow trucks. They are about three times the size of a standard tow truck and bright blue. One afternoon I was sitting on a bench near City Hall and I was watching this one particular tow truck slowly creeping up the street. Very slowly. The driver was carefully looking at each parked car to make sure they were parked at a meter and there was money in the meter. I watched as the truck slowly went up one block, then back down the next block. Then all of the sudden, the yellow lights went on, the truck went into action, and within a few minutes had attached an illegally parked car to it's hook and was off to the pound. Now, as interesting as this story may be, you are probably wondering what this has to do with the Lord or anything spiritual.

That tow truck represents the enemy, walking about seeking who he might destroy. The parked cars represent each of us. You see, when your spiritual meter is full and you are properly parked, then the enemy has no control over your life. The enemy is interested in finding those who are adrift, away from God. He looks for those who are weak. That is why day after day I encourage you to start in prayer and reading the Word. That is the spiritual food you need to be strong for the day. That is the equivalent of putting money into your spiritual meter. What you do during the day, the places you go, the activities you are involved in, are the equivalent to being properly parked. Remember, when we are illegally parked in places we shouldn't be, we become an easy target for the enemy.

The point of this Devotional today is to keep you aware that there is a very real enemy out there whose goal is to kill, steal, and destroy. If you think back on your life, or possibly where you are right now, you can probably trace a lot of the attacks to not being where you need to be with the Lord. Just like those cars illegally parked or cars at expired meters, you become an easy target. I love you, and care about you, and try daily to do my best to warn you of the dangers that exist in this life and how we can avoid many of them. Remember, it is critical to be prayed up and in close daily contact with the Lord. The enemy is out there, lurking. Like the big blue tow trucks of Chicago, the enemy is looking for an easy target. God has given you the tools to avoid being an easy target. Use them.

Personal Responsibility

(Genesis 19:23-26)

You could be hindering God from blessing you. If you have read many of the devotionals I write each day, you will see that a common thread is personal responsibility. Many of you are missing the blessings of God because you are hindering God from working in your behalf. In today's scripture passage, we read how God was trying to bless Lot's wife, sparing her life in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was her disobedience that hindered God from blessing her and actually cost her life. Your disobedience, your sin may not have such tragic consequences, but they are still a hindrance to the blessings God has for your life.

There are many factors that come into play that can cause us harm. The sins of others. Consequences that God allows to happen that we might never understand. But when it is an outside influence, whether you ever see them or acknowledge them, God is still blessing you and keeping you by His grace and mercy despite what you are going through. Others cannot hold back God's blessings on your life. However, your sins and your rebellion can hold back the blessings of God and keep you from realizing all the wonderful things that He has for your life. The worst part of sin, the worst part of living in rebellion, to me is not so much the consequences of those actions, but all that we miss, all the blessings of God that are held back. God cannot and will not bless sin, so on top of everything else you are missing the best He has for your life.

I am going to pray today that as you read this devotional, the Holy Spirit brings to your thoughts the things in your life that you know, even though you try to suppress them, are keeping you from knowing all of God's blessings in your life. I am going to pray that God will strengthen you to turn from your sin, turn from your rebellion, and come to Him with a broken and contrite heart asking forgiveness. He loves you. He wants to bless you. All He is waiting for is for you to turn from your sin and follow Him. Why would you settle for a hamburger if you could have a New York strip? That is what you do when you won't let go of the sin in your life. God has so much for you. It is up to you to get all the benefits there are from following Christ, blessings you can't even imagine are waiting. All He is waiting for is your life, totally surrendered to Him. My prayer is for you to turn to Him today and have all the wonderful blessings waiting for your life.

Food Is From God

(Genesis 9:3)

Food is from God. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave His children everything needed to sustain this life. I have always maintained that the Bible contains everything we need for every aspect of our life. That includes what we eat. In the study I have done in regard to Biblical diets, I have to admit that the dietary laws found in the book of Leviticus are perfect for sustaining our bodies and health throughout this life. God made us, He should know best what it takes to run these human machines we use during this lifetime. Now, I have to be the first to admit that I DO NOT eat according to the dietary laws found in the book of Leviticus. I don't see a trip through the McDonalds drive thru, drinking a liter of Coke to wash down hot dogs and pizza, or even a pint of Haggan Daaz ice cream anywhere in the Bible. I have made up my mind to do better. God has blessed me with great health throughout my life. I have been able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and never worry about gaining weight. I have just been blessed. That still gives me no excuse for abusing my Temple the way I do and not taking the proper care of it that I should.

As you know from reading these Devotionals, our purpose in this life is to serve and glorify God. Only God knows when our work here is over and we graduate to Heaven. So it is our responsibility during this life to maintain to the best of our ability our bodies, so that we are at maximum efficiency in our ability to serve the Lord. That means getting the proper exercise and eating the right foods. There is enough research on the books to tell us that how we feel each day, our immune system, many infirmities we get, even major diseases can be greatly affected and influenced by our diet. That being the case, it is then incumbent on us to research and discipline our eating habits so that we are putting into our bodies the best things possible. It is amazing how much more we can accomplish each day when we feel good, when we have energy. It becomes our responsibility to be the best we possibly can each day to serve God, and that means eating the things that will keep our bodies healthy and strong.

I really do love you and care about you. I have been involved long enough in the nutritional world through my study of the Word to know that it does make a big difference what we put into our bodies each day. I received so many wonderful emails after my Devotional on gluttony before Christmas, thanking me for talking about something that is clearly defined as sin in the Word, yet seldom discussed. While I do my best each day to prepare you and try to encourage you to be the best servant of God you possibly can be, today it has been necessary to point out an obvious but often overlooked aspect of our service. It is difficult for God to use us when we are always tired, when we are always sick, when we have neglected ourselves to the point we have trouble just getting around each day. I want to challenge you today to pray about this part of your life and ask God to help you have the discipline to take control over your Temple. Ask Him to give you the discipline to exercise regularly and to eat the right things so that you are in the best health possible. I will be praying for you.

The Consequences Of Sin

(Proverbs 11:21)

Consequences of sin. The destructive nature of sin is that it does not happen in a vacuum. I hear many say that it is my sin, my problem. Unfortunately, that is not true. When you sin, it is like throwing a pebble into a still pond. There is the initial ring it produces, but slowly the ring spreads out, and it gets bigger and bigger and produces more rings inside it. The initial pebble may not have been that much and the initial ring may have started small, but in the end it has grown to encompass a very large area. The point I am trying to make is that sin is not just your problem. At the very least, your sin is against God first and yourself second. Almost always though, it involves other people that you are either sinning with or sinning against.

I do not have to tell any of you about the pain, heartache, and problems that evolve from our sin, the lives we injure, the lost trust from those we care about. The damages are great. On top of everything else though, we end up missing the blessings of God. God has blessings beyond our ability to imagine for each one of us. He loves to bless His children. But God cannot and will not bless disobedience. On top of everything else, your sin is keeping you from enjoying the blessings of God. We are so stubborn, so full of ourselves, that we usually try to do things our way, ignoring what God has to say. We accept at best some very little, temporary pleasure from our sin, and miss the greater blessings God has for us if we had been obedient. The Bible tells us that to "obey is better than sacrifice."

I want to encourage you today to pray about whatever sin there may be in your life today. I want to pray for you as well, for God to strengthen you and give you the courage to walk away from your sins and into obedience to His word. I want to encourage you to leave behind the temporary pleasures of sin for the eternal joy of obeying our Lord. There is no greater joy than when you are in obedience to what God has asked, knowing that He is as proud of you as a father or mother is of a child who is obedient. Being obedient is the ultimate act of a child of God saying not my will Father, but thy will be done. As a believer, our ultimate objective should be to enter heaven one day and hear God proclaim, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."

Thank you all for praying for this work. We are seeing God move in people's lives daily. I am praying for you and believing God for your needs. Never hesitate to email me if I can help in any way.

May his richest blessings be with you today as we work to become the obedient children God has called us to be.

The Holy Place

(1 Chronicles 23:32)

In the days of the Tabernacle, the Temple, there was a place called the Holy of Holies. This was the innermost area that only the High Priest was allowed to go at certain times of the year. This was where God resided. Of course, we know that God is omnipresent–He is everywhere. However, there are certain places where you can feel His presence, feel His power in a special way. I have always felt a special presence of God kneeling at the alter of a church. There are some places that you can just seem to “feel” God. I am so blessed that we have such a feeling of God’s presence in our studio at Liveprayer. We also have that feeling in our chat room. The chat room has become a special place for many people and is where Godly men and women will greet you and pray for your needs. It has become a wonderful, loving community where people worldwide congregate to discuss the day-to-day things as well as the deep things of God. I have been so blessed by those few people who have been led and called by God to monitor the room and give it the intense spiritual atmosphere it possesses.

God has raised up Liveprayer.com as an instrument that He can use to touch lives. There is the state-of-the-art 24/7 LIVE video feed from our studios with pastors around the clock to pray for people’s needs. We have the Daily Devotionals that go directly into email accounts worldwide every single morning. There is our chat room, a unique community where people can go and hangout to discuss the day’s events or just get prayer and spiritual guidance. All working together, Liveprayer.com has become a powerful tool God is using to reach hurting people, work miracles, and save souls.

I pray today that you will make sure you have a special place to go in those difficult moments of life, where you can literally “feel” the presence and power of God. Whether it is at your church, your office, school, home, it doesn’t matter. We all need that secret place, that special place to get alone with God and know He is with us in a special way. Feel free to use the chat room at our site, www.liveprayer.com as such a place when you need somewhere to go. God has blessed us with wonderful, compassionate, loving men and women to share His love and Word with you to help you over those difficult times, and encourage you when you are down. Wherever your special place is, your Holy of Holies, make it part of your life. Make it part of your spiritual arsenal. From time to time, we all need a place to go to be alone, where we know we can tap into the presence and power of God. I love you, care about you deeply, and know how important it is to not only know in your head God is with you but somehow be able to “feel” His presence. I have always cautioned people about putting too much into their feelings, since feelings change and God is immutable; unchanging. We know what we know by faith, not feelings. But there are times when “feeling” God helps us get over the rough spots.

Fear God

(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

A summary of what this life is really about. If you accept the Bible as God's inspired inerrant word as I do, then Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. Over the years, I have studied carefully his life, the things he said, trying to gain some wisdom myself. As a man, like all other men, Solomon made many mistakes and gave into the temptations of this world on many occasions. It doesn't make me feel any better, but it does help when I make mistakes to know that even the wisest man who ever lived also made many mistakes in his life. I have torn apart the Book of Ecclesiastes many times and have spent countless hours reading Solomon's summation of this life. It is actually a pretty negative book until the next to last verse. As only the wisest man who ever lived could, in 6 words Solomon summed up what this life is all about.

"FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS".

This may sound like an oversimplification, but it really isn't. The original Hebrew word for fear is not the type of fear you have when you are afraid, but literally means to be in awe, in reverence. That should always be our attitude towards God. Awe and reverence. Keeping his commandments refers to the Ten Commandments. Jesus in John 13:34 gave a new commandment that "we love one another even as he loved us". My friends, if we can do this throughout our life, then we have really accomplished as much as is possible. You see, this world remembers those who led great armies into war, leaders of empires and nations, those who have amassed tremendous wealth, and people who are responsible for accomplishing incredible feats. But I tell you today that the acclaim of the world is nice, but is temporary. I would rather have the acclaim of God, because that is for eternity. Solomon at the end of his long and distinguished life on this earth, summed it all up by saying that to get the acclaim of God, fear Him, and keep His commandments.

I love you, care about you, and realize many are facing incredible obstacles in your life. This word ties in nicely with the past few that have talked about remaining focused on the things above, as opposed to the things of this life. I pray today that you will focus, possibly take a long hard look at your goals and priorities, and see if fearing God and keeping His commandments are part of your top goals and priorities. If not, you have no excuse after reading this word today. What really is our ultimate objective in this life, as short as it really is? It should be to fulfill the purpose God gave life to us and that is to serve and glorify Him. If fearing Him and keeping His commandments is how to fulfill His purpose for our life, then should not that be our number one goal and objective? For many years I can honestly say it was not for me. But I praise Him each day, because now that is what I live for. I pray that today you will make that commitment if you have not already done so, to let that be your number one goal and objective as well.

Loving The Things Of This World

(Colossians 3:2)

Loving the things of this world. The enemy is so subtle how he works. One of my main goals is to expose some of his tricks so that you won't be fooled or have to live through the consequences of falling into one of his many, many traps. My whole purpose in calling AOL into accountability is to educate you as to some of the subtle, seemingly harmless ways we can get off base and entrapped in conduct we never thought possible. How easily we get distracted from our heavenly mission and goals and get focused on the meaningless things of this world that will one day be gone. I think about the other night, the millions who were glued to their TV sets watching that horrible perversion of God's plan for a man and woman, "Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire". Most laughed at the show, but what powerful messages it sent to so many without any kind of Biblical foundation, about how we have minimized the sacred institution of marriage. It is now little more than a way for TV networks to get ratings. Or professional wrestling, one of the most popular programs on TV. Entertainment, fun? Is it really entertaining to watch a huge man body slam a woman through a table? Is that what our "fun" has deteriorated to?

The reason I address these issues today is to show you how we, yes Christians, have gotten so out of focus in our daily lives. It would be nice to assume that everyone watching these programs, everyone going into adult bookstores, everyone that is engaging in so many ungodly activities each and every day, were simply "the lost". But unfortunately that is not the case. Many good, saved, churchgoing people get caught up in the things of this world because they have allowed the temporary, short-term allure to capture their minds. They have focused on the things of this world instead of on things above. For most, it happened slowly, over a period of time. But by continually focusing on the things this world has to offer instead of the things of God, they have slowly been led down roads they never thought they would be on.

For the record, I am not blaming the problems in people's lives on wrestling, TV shows, or other things that many get enjoyment from. I am not telling you that you should stop doing things you enjoy or stop having fun. I am, however, issuing a warning to you today, that when you start focusing too much on the things of this world and not enough time on the things of God, you are inviting problems into your life. Just like the way that TV programs have perverted the institution of marriage, often the world perverts things and you start to think that is the way it should be. Remember, in the world, there is no right or wrong. There is no absolute truth. Again, that is why I encourage you daily to stay in the Bible, because God's Word IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH. The world's goal is to be politically correct and not offend. The truth in God's Word is highly offensive to many because it lays out clearly what is right and what is wrong, and those living in rebellion to God are then reminded that the free will choices they have made are wrong and not in God's will. I guess my question for you today is, are you more concerned with pleasing the world, or pleasing God???

I love you and care about you. A special thanks to so many of you who took time out of your busy lives to wish me a happy birthday yesterday. That was special and deeply appreciated. I am also thankful for those of you who have been able to stand with us in prayer. One day in Heaven you will get a tap on your shoulder and someone will tell you how they gave their life to Christ or got through a difficult time because of Liveprayer. Your help makes that possible each and every day with your prayers and support of this work. Thank you. Let me close today again with a simple question, is your mind focused more on the things of this world or the things of God? Think about that today.

The Brevity Of Life

(James 4:14)

On a day-to-day basis, we get so wrapped up in our lives, the things we are involved in, that we often take it for granted. Every now and then we do stop long enough to reflect. Today is my birthday, and this is usually the day I sit back and try to see what has happened in the last year and where things are heading in the months to come. It is also the day I am extra grateful to God for the time He has given me here on this earth. It is hard for me to believe that I am 42 today, but it has made me even more determined to get everything I possibly can out of each day. I am totally aware, as never before, my purpose is to serve and glorify God with my life, and be focused on making each day count for Him. Having done many funerals over my years of ministry, having lost both sets of grandparents, my father, and last Christmas my mother, how quick this life is over becomes even more apparent. Each day the news tells us of prominent people who have died, we hear about natural disasters that claim many lives at a time, and it becomes inescapable how brief life is and how we must take advantage of each and every day God blesses us with.

The whole purpose of this devotional today is to make you aware that no matter how young you are or how old you may be, today is a special gift from God. The purpose God gave you this day was to serve and glorify Him with your life. Don’t get so caught up in the day-to-day activities that you lose sight of why you are here and how little time we really have. If our life is focused on our service to the Lord and we are involved in helping others each day, then not only are we fulfilling our purpose, but we enjoy the blessings, peace, joy, and abundance this life can offer.

My challenge for you today is this. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then today is the day to make that commitment. The greatest decision you have to make during your life is where you will spend eternity. God has given you free will to make that choice. The Bible tells us that “today is the day of salvation”. I encourage you, go to my website, www.liveprayer.com, and you will see a button labeled SALVATION. Read what is written, pray the prayer that is there, and insure that you will spend eternity with Jesus when this brief life is over. If you have already made that commitment to Christ, then the challenge for you today is to make sure each and every day you are serving the Lord in some way. It is not a choice or an option, but a responsibility we have as God’s children to serve Him.

The Root Of The Problem

(James 4:17)

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, SINS." This is often referred to in theological circles as the sin of omission and yes, my friend, it is just as much of a sin in God's eyes as a sin of commission such as adultery, murder, or any other active sin. If you don't agree, talk to God, He said it . . . not Bill Keller. I have never been what someone would call a Christian activist. I have always taken the approach that true change is made one heart at a time. We can't eliminate pornography from the Internet, but we can change the heart of those who look at it. We will never win the mythical drug war by locking people up, seizing shipments of drugs, or burning the fields it is grown in. We win by changing the heart of the person who is using drugs. So my approach has always been to attack the root of the problem, sin, and help people find a new life in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. However, I cannot sit back and watch things go on around me that are just absolutely wrong and keep silent.

Several weeks ago, American Online merged with media giant Time-Warner. During the coverage of that merger as in the past, AOL Chairman Steve Case took great pains to point out what a family-friendly, family values-oriented world AOL was. I have heard this from Mr. Case over and over thru the years, but it is time for me to speak out. Everyday I receive email prayer requests from a minimum of 5 people outlining how their marriage has been ruined and their homes destroyed by a husband or wife who has met someone in an AOL chat room and ended up running away with that person. Everyday, 7 days a week, a minimum of 5. Based on the fact that a very low percentage of people we deal with ever send in prayer requests, and realizing there are literally millions out there that we have no contact with, I can only imagine the thousands and thousands of homes and families that have been destroyed because of AOL chat room romances. Let me say right here that I am a firm believer in personal responsibility. A person who kills with a gun is to blame, not the gun. However, if the gun manufacturer can do something to make it more difficult for his product to be abused and refuses to do so, then at that point the manufacturer bears some responsibility also. Affairs, divorce, and ungodly behavior have existed long before AOL chat rooms, and no doubt will exist long after AOL chat rooms. However, these chat rooms have become a customized playground for anyone looking to explore every kind of sinful perverse activity known to man. Real lives are being destroyed in this "cyber adult playground." I sent a letter to AOL CEO Steve Case making him aware of this incredible problem and asking him to make some immediate changes in the AOL-controlled chat areas.

I realize that AOL is a for-profit business dealing with a massive global audience. I am not taking them to task for the way they protect children in their community, although that leaves a lot to be desired. I am not even taking them to task for being a portal to the Internet and Newsgroups which can connect people with incredible amounts of ungodly content. My contention is their AOL chat areas that they constructed and control. Both in the rooms created by AOL, and those created by their members, every kind of perverse fantasy and desire is being dealt with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They have the ability to disband these rooms and monitor the content; however, they choose to simply ignore them and allow whatever goes on to go on. In fact, they have made special features like Instant Messages and private rooms to facilitate and encourage the activities that go on in their chat area. My Bible tells me that to know the good I should do and not do it is sin. I have no intentions or goals of trying to bring down AOL. However, I am here to make sure that you are aware of what is available, what is going on, what is just a mouse click away in the AOL community. By the way, I am again addressing this primarily to adults . . . dads . . . moms. Let me ask a question. Would you let your spouse have your password so he or she can read all of your incoming and outgoing email? How about being able to see who is on your AOL Buddy List? If the answer is no, then you are already involved to a point you need to get out . . . NOW! I do not believe that AOL or Steve Case is the anti-Christ. It is a business, he is a businessman. But make no mistake, AOL is NOT family friendly or concerned about family values. They have become an incredible facilitator of the breakup and destruction of untold thousands of marriages and homes.

I will be praying today for those men, women, and children that have been affected by the sinful activities that have taken place in the AOL chat areas. God is able to put the pieces back together, and I will be praying for His hand of healing to sweep through lives worldwide that have been turned upside down as a result of what goes on each and every day in those chat rooms on AOL. I have always believed strongly in prevention. Many of these emails I receive daily on this issue start out the same. I was bored, it was harmless fun, I needed someone to talk to, I never intended it to get out of control. My questions is, why put yourself in the path of temptation?

I love you and care about you deeply. This has been longer than most of my devotionals, but this is serious since so many lives are being affected on a daily basis. I will be praying for you. If you have been through this nightmare, don't hesitate to contact me so that I can pray with you, and stand with you. I have watched God put the pieces of many lives destroyed this way back together over the last 5 months. What God did for someone else, He can do for you. For those of you who may be caught up right now in an on-line romance, let me encourage you to stop it now before it destroys you, your marriage, and the lives of many. Feel free to email me. It is 100% confidential, and I will pray with you, work with you, and help you get beyond the crisis you are in. The enemy is very tricky and knows how to trap even some of God's greatest soldiers. If He got to David, a man after God's own heart, none of us are immune from the attacks. So let's be prepared and do all we can to stay away from as many of those traps as we can. It is a day to day battle we fight my friend, but one God has already won for us. Let us walk in that victory!

Priorities

(Matthew 26:7)

Our priorities. My mother used to tell me as a young man that "actions speak louder than words". How very true. Nothing speaks louder about our commitment to Christ than how we prioritize spending our time and money. The one commodity every person alive today has in common is time. We make conscious decisions how we will spend that time, such as going to school, work, the time we watch television, read, hopefully have our quiet time with the Lord, go shopping, etc. We consciously decide how we will spend our day. For most of us, our time is very valuable. We guard it. We carefully schedule it. We recognize that it is a precious resource. It is critical to make the most of each day since when it is over it is never coming back. Let me interject this into your thought process about time. Time, like everything else BELONGS TO GOD. It is no different from anything else we have in this life. It belongs to Him! Only by His grace we have this commodity we call time to use each day. He gives it to us to achieve our purpose in this life..to serve and glorify Him. I want you to start recognizing each day as the gift from God that it is. Recognize that it has been given to you for the purpose of serving Him. That service comes in many forms. Most are called to serve Him in the day-to-day places life takes us . . . the classroom, the job site, the playground, the shopping mall. Most of us serve Him throughout our normal day-to-day routine. The danger is that we forget how precious time really is, and that like everything else, it belongs to Him.

Of course how we spend our money says a lot about our commitment as well. It is amazing how people committed to the things of this world have no problem spending whatever is necessary to fulfill their earthly pleasures. Adult websites charge $30-$50 each month to access their material and have tens of thousands faithfully paying each month. Las Vegas continues to build bigger, brighter, more excessive casino/hotels each year and people pour into that town with incredible amounts of money. Movie studios spend hundreds of millions on motion pictures depicting the best things this world has to offer, knowing that millions will spend $5-$12 per ticket to watch.

My point is that people always find the money to fulfill their earthly desires, while many works of God go underfunded. I am sure there is not as much entertainment value in giving $12 to a ministry helping homeless people get their lives turned around, as there is in sitting in an air-conditioned movie theater for 2 hours watching whatever the Hollywood hit of the month may be. Listen, I am not going to try to debate the whole concept of giving to ministries, the excesses some ministries have gone to, or any of those issues. I am not trying to condemn people for going to movies or having fun in life, as long as they are involved in wholesome activities. I am only trying to point out that how we spend our money, which by the way is not really ours at all . . . it is simply on loan to us from God . . . tells a lot about our commitment to the Lord. I just want it to be something you pray about today and take note of.

The purpose of this devotional today is not to condemn you or anyone. It is simply to get you to focus on the fact that our time and our money belongs to God. They are His. They have been given to us to help us achieve our purpose in this life of serving Him and bringing Glory to His name. I pray today that you open your heart and mind and pray. Ask God if you are being good stewards of the time and money He gives you each day. Remember, our actions always speak much louder than our words. Others are watching . . . most important, God is watching. I love you. I care about you deeply. I pray today that your goal is the same as mine, to one day stand before Him and hear those words, "well done thou good and faithful servant".

Renew Your Mind

(Romans 12:2)

The renewing of your mind. I am convinced that outside of John 3:16, the most important verse in the Bible is Romans 12:2. You see, the foundation of who we are and the decisions we make that lead to our actions come from our mind. This act of renewing your mind becomes the most important task a new believer has and not doing so is the number one reason people backslide. Think about it this way. The things you see and hear go into your memory. The more you do something, see something, hear something, the more of your memory is taken up by those things. For example, those who are into pornography have a tremendous problem kicking that problem. Why? Their memory banks are full of the images and sounds. Just looking at an attractive person can trigger those memory banks into full action. You see, before we get saved, most spent many, many years filling their memory banks full of ungodly content. When a person accepts Christ, those memory banks are still full of that content.

The renewing of a person's mind needs to become one of the very first priorities in their new life with Christ. All of the ungodly content did not get there overnight, and it does not leave overnight. It is a process. The process involves replacing the existing ungodly content with new Godly content. That is why reading the word is so important. God's Word acts as a spiritual detergent as it replaces the garbage in your mind with God-inspired content. That is why it is so critical what you watch and what you listen to. What is in your mind ultimately manifests itself in your day-to-day decisions and actions. The reason most new believers fall away is that they never successfully clean out the old thoughts and information in their mind with clean, God-inspired information. It is similar to programming a computer. The computer basically does exactly what the program says. Your mind reacts based on the program that is in your mind. If that program is full of ungodly information, you have a big chance of being involved in ungodly activities. If it is God-inspired content, then you are more likely to be involved in God-honoring activities.

This basic concept of renewing your mind is the most important process any believer can go through. Many have been walking with Christ for many years, yet have never really totally cleaned out their mind. They have learned how to compartmentalize their mind and keep the ungodly content in a back closet . . . hidden way in the back. But trust me, not dealing with that closet will ultimately result in major problems in your life at some point. I am praying and fasting today that this powerful message, straight from the throne room of God, will make an impact on your life. This is a message that needs to be printed out and passed around to your friends, associates, schoolmates, bible-study, Sunday school, and hung on bulletin boards in churches. Not enough sermons are preached on this most basic issue that is the cause of so many of God's people falling away. My prayer is that you will sit down after reading this and ask yourself what is in your mind that is not God-honoring, then make an effort to spend each day cleansing your mind. Don't forget, the cleansing process is only part of the problem. You then have to KEEP IT CLEANSED by not putting ungodly content back in. This battle is won or lost in your mind. Realize that your mind is the battle zone and treat it accordingly.

PROTECT IT!!!

I love you and care about you deeply. I am fasting and in prayer today, asking God to let this Word today find it's way into many hearts and lives. This is critical to our ability to serve God and is a war that must be won. God will help you. God will strengthen you in this renewal process. Recognize it's importance and begin this process today of renewing your mind, so that you can be the best servant for the Kingdom possible and know the joy, peace, and blessings this life has to offer. It won't happen overnight. It is a process . . . day by day. Your number one weapon is His Word. Start the process today . . . it will change your life.

Love

(1 John 4:8)

Love. Today is the day the world celebrates that powerful force known as love. The world focuses more on the romantic aspect of this emotion, but I want to focus you on the true meaning of the word from God's perspective. You see God's love, biblical love, has an aspect that the world tries to copy, but fails. That aspect is to be God's love, the love spoken of in the Bible, and must be UNCONDITIONAL. I can tell you right now, that in our human condition it is impossible to love anyone unconditionally. However, when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, when you have the strength that God imparts to you, that element is not only possible, but required of His children.

One of the common threads you find in my devotionals is that when you live your life and operate according to God's plan, things will work out. However, when you rebel, ignore God's warnings, do it your way instead of God's way, it never works long term, and you end up dealing with heartache and pain that could have been avoided. For those like me that are hardheaded and stubborn, we usually have to find this out the hard way and endure some of the worst things life has to offer before we finally realize that if we would just submit our will to His and do it His way, we could avoid many unpleasant experiences.

Love, God's kind of love is no different. In a romantic sense, between a man and woman, it was intended for us to have one partner during this lifetime. While I realize that is not always the case, that doesn't alter or change what God's plan is. For those who have gone through the pain of divorce and broken relationships, you understand very well why God's plan is the best plan. I want to encourage those young adults today to not hurry into romantic relationships so early in life. I cannot begin to tell you the mail I get daily from young adults 13, 14, 15, 16 who are writing because of problems with boyfriends and girlfriends. In all honesty, you have no business being romantically involved at that age. God's plan is one man/one woman for a lifetime. Again, those who have been through multiple relationships in their life understand why that plan works so well. Patience, faith, and trusting God are the key elements in establishing that God-ordained union in your life. It then puts you in a position, with the power of God living in you, to love that person the way you should . . . unconditionally.

Outside the romantic arena, unconditional love is the way God expects us to love others. How can you love someone unconditionally you don't even know? Think about the unconditional love God showed when He gave His only son on a cross 2000 years ago for the sins of this world, for the sins of everyone, including those who mock and curse Him. That is the true test of unconditional love. Loving someone who loves you is easy. Can you love, unconditionally love, someone who has been mean to you, done bad things to you, caused you pain and heartache. God did. How do you think God feels about those who defy Him, work against Him, and hate Him. These are the people He gave His son for.

GOD LOVES THEM, UNCONDITIONALLY.

I pray today that you will think of someone today, this Valentine's Day, who you might label as your enemy, someone who you have had problems with in your life. I want you to get on your knees tonight before you go to bed and pray for that person. Pray for them, and then ask God to give you unconditional love for that person. The Bible tells us to "love our enemies". Again, that
is God's kind of love, unconditional love. You will not even begin to know the feeling of joy and peace as you pray for that person, the blessings you will know as you love that person unconditionally. God loved you unconditionally even though you were a sinner, how can we do any less? Make today a special day as you pray for that person in your life who has harmed you in some way and God gives you the strength to love that person unconditionally. I love you, care about you, and will be praying today for God to give you the strength to take this step today to giving love God's way . . . unconditionally.

Get Godly Counsel

(Proverbs 12:15)

Getting counsel. I am totally convinced that some of the problems I have had in my life have been a result of not seeking any other counsel than my own. Let me promise you my friend, that is a disaster waiting to happen. I have not only become a believer, but advocate of God's principle of getting counsel as we make various moves in our life. Beyond that type of Godly counsel in helping us make decisions, there is the more intimate clinical type of counseling, and that is what I want to focus on today. So many have been born into incredibly challenging circumstances and experienced many difficulties in their early life that have had a lasting affect into their adult life. Many in their adult life have been through circumstances that have pushed them to the limits of their ability to cope with day-to-day life. Many are born with chemical imbalances that affect their decision-making ability and just coping with life in general. I believe in my heart that God has placed specially gifted people in the Body of Christ to help and work intimately with those who have very real problems in their life.

As in any situation we face in our life, the first step is admitting that there are things in our life out of our control and ability to deal with on our own. At these times, we should not be ashamed, but aggressively seek out Godly men and women who are professionals and use Biblically-based principles in their counseling work. I AM NOT in favor of secular counseling for the simple fact that God made us, and our only way of resolving our problems are through His Word and strength. I am in no way condemning secular counselors because they have a difficult job that helps a lot of people get through life. But as in anything in life, the ultimate answers have to be rooted and grounded in our faith and in God's Word. Anything else is at best a temporary solution. Over my close to 10 years now in full-time ministry, I have counseled people for about every problem you can imagine, though my counsel was always of a spiritual nature. Once I became aware that there were much deeper issues involved, I never hesitated to refer the person to a professional counselor that could not only offer the deeper professional help the person needed, but from a Godly and Biblical perspective.

I realize that I am hitting very close to home for many of you today. For those who are not in a situation where you need this type of help, praise God. Do me a favor, and pray for those who are. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ face many difficult issues each day of their life. They need our prayers and support to help them get beyond the issues they face in their life so that they can be the best servants during this lifetime they possibly can. For those of you that are dealing with some deep issues in your life, let me encourage you today, it is all right. Many things were totally out of your control and not your fault. God loves you, He cares about you, and He has placed Godly men and women in the Body of Christ to help you overcome whatever the issues may be. Take this opportunity right now to ask God to give you the strength to admit there are unresolved issues that you just can't overcome on your own, and that He will open up the doors for you to get the professional counseling you need to help you get beyond those issues and live that victorious life He intends His children to live.

I love you, I care about you deeply, and this is God talking to you today to lay the pride aside and seek out the help you need to overcome the stumbling blocks in your life that keep you from having the peace and joy that He intends for you to have.

As I mentioned, God has placed many gifted and wonderful men and women in the body of Christ to help people looking for Godly, Biblically-based counseling. Ask your pastor to recommend someone for you, or check with one of the larger churches in your area and tell them that you are looking for a Christian counselor. Make sure you set up an introductory meeting, which is almost always free of charge. In that meeting, find out if that person is a member of a local church, is saved, and uses Biblically-based counseling methods. Don't beat around the bush, ask these questions straight out. You need to insure you are, in fact, dealing with a Christian counselor that is going to be truly helping you overcome the issues in your life. I am very comfortable telling you that there is a fine Christian-based counseling organization on-line. Glenn Robitaille is the president of the Barnabus Christian Counseling Network at www.barnabus.com. This is a nationwide network of Christian counselors and they have an incredible track record of helping people get beyond their problems and lead victorious, fruitful lives. If you need help and are having trouble finding someone to work with you, I suggest contacting Barnabus and see if they might be the answer to your prayers.

I will be in much prayer today for those of you who needed to hear these words of encouragement today. I realize that these can be deeply personal and difficult issues to deal with. My only desire is to see you become all that God has raised you up to be and know the incredible abundance this life can offer. There are many who have major issues in their life that are keeping that from happening, and I want you to know that there are answers. You don't have to go through the rest of your life with that dark cloud hanging over you. You don't have to go through another day without the joy God intends for you to have. God loves you and has placed help in your path today to overcome those issues and know the fullness of His blessings. My prayer is that you pray, open your heart, and let God walk with you, putting those issues to bed once and for all that are robbing you of knowing the fullness of His love.

Studying the Things of God

(Acts 17:11)

I have always been convinced that one of the best ways to avoid a lot of life’s traps is by staying immersed in the things of God during our day-to-day life. That includes the things we read, the music we listen to, and the places we go. It is no accident we get off track when the things we do on a day-to-day basis have no value and lead us away from our daily relationship with the Lord instead of closer towards it. I am NOT one of those who advocates never reading anything non-Christian, or only listening to Christian music, or not watching a movie because it may not have a Christian theme to it. However, I can tell you that the things we put through our senses each day, the things we read, listen to, and watch, all have a big role in how we ultimately act and carry out our day-to-day decisions.

I will do a Devotional shortly on one of the most important issues there is in sustaining a victorious walk with Christ, and that is renewing your mind daily. But today, I want to focus simply on the importance of putting good, solid, Biblically-based books and music into your daily lifestyle. It is important! We can wake up, spend 30 minutes or so in prayer and the Word, then get out into the world and in a few short hours forget we even know a man named Jesus. I think it is important that whatever else we may be reading, to always have at least one good Biblically-based Christian book we read each day. I think it is important to listen to some good uplifting music, whether it be Gospel, praise and worship, contemporary, or Southern...just as long as it is good, Bible-based music to put into your heart and life each day. You see, what we put into our life has a lot to do with what comes out of our life. I am sure you have heard the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” We need to be aware of the things we put into our life to help keep us focused on what this life is really all about.

I pray, today, that these few words have been a wake-up call to many of you. It is easy to get out and about in this world we live in and not even be aware or think about the influences we deal with that impact our lives. I am very big on personal responsibility and think we blame “things” way too much for our own behavior, but the things we read, the music we listen to, play a big role in how we live each day. I love you and care about you and want you to really start being more aware of what it is you read and listen to on a day-to-day basis. Changes in your life can be as subtle as reading a good Christian book or listening to some uplifting Christian music, both of which help keep you focused and close to the Lord and our real purpose in this life.

Again, I pray that this Devotional today is a wake-up call to be more aware each day of the things you read and listen to. It is a big part of your life and greatly affects your day-to-day decisions. My prayer is that you will always keep Him first, every single second of every single day as we stand together for His glory!!!!

Honoring Those We Love

(Exodus 20:12)

Honoring those we love. One of the wonderful parts of our life has to be our memories. It seems the older we get, the more special those memories are to us. As life goes forward, we often experience the death of our grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, as well as other family members and friends we make along life's journey. While those we love may not be with us any longer, we still have our memories of them. My father passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1974 when I was just 16. Even 26 years later, I still think of him from time to time, and have fond memories of my early years growing up with my father. Those fond memories will be with me the rest of my life. I am sure right now, you are reliving some of those wonderful times in the past that you shared with a loved one who is no longer alive.

I have often thought it was appropriate when buildings, bridges, streets, other public places were named after a famous person. There is probably no better way for the memory of someone's life to live on than in the memoralization of their name on a public place. As Christians, our outlook is beyond this life to the eternity we will share one day with our Lord. As wonderful as it is to have a building with your name on it, how much better if your name is living on through the everlasting life of a person you have touched. I have always held that our greatest legacy is in the lives we touch along the way. Someone was faithful and preached the Gospel that was heard by a young man named Billy Graham. The great religious leaders of our day, all at one time in their life, heard the Gospel and responded to it. Their lives and ministries are living testimonies to the faithfulness and legacy of those who led them to that personal relationship with Christ.

Today, my prayer is that no matter how old you are, you focus on the legacy you will leave behind. The greatest legacy you can leave is in the lives of those people you share the love of Christ with throughout your life. You can leave no more lasting mark than to let God use you to lead someone into an everlasting relationship with His son Jesus. While we hear about the great exploits of golfer Tiger Woods and his incredible accomplishments on the golf course, some feats possibly never repeated again, you can do far greater things in your life. Remember, the things we do in this lifetime on earth, will ALL pass away one day. They will cease to exist. Tiger's great records will be meaningless during the Great Tribulation. Golf is not going to be on many people's minds during those terrible last days. But the life you touch for the Lord will be for eternity. I admire what Tiger does on the golf course, but I am in awe at those who touch people's lives for the Kingdom of God!

Sowing

(1 Kings 8-24)

Sowing into your need. There is a Biblical principle that I learned many years ago that I want to share with you today. Biblical principles are like scientific laws. They work. The law of gravity works . . . there are no exceptions. Biblical principles work...there are no exceptions. One of those Biblical principles is sowing into your need. Now trust me, many of God's principles don't make a lot of sense. But then again, when God gave the army generals the battle plan for taking the city of Jericho, I doubt that walking
around the walls of the city and blowing trumpets was something that made much sense either. I am convinced that many things God does don't make sense to us, because we have to realize that only God could make something like that work. This principle is very easy to understand. You give when you yourself have a need. Common sense says if I have a need, I hold on to what I have or my need becomes worse. I am sure that is what the widow of Zarephath was thinking when the prophet Elijah asked her for her last bit of food. This woman literally gave the man of God the last thing she had. Talk about faith.

Faith is not a word, but it is a belief system. Faith is easy to talk about, hard to practice. The problem with exercising our faith is our brain gets in the way. The enemy puts doubt in our mind. Living our faith becomes the test of our Christian experience. From the thousands of prayer requests we get here daily, I realize that so many of you are struggling with your finances. There are many great Christian financial ministries that can help people apply biblical principles to their financial life. I would encourage you to invest a few dollars and study their teaching, and follow those biblical principles that can help you keep your financial life healthy. I would encourage those of you today that are in the midst of a financial crisis to sow into your need. I have done this continually throughout my ministry. Even now as we work towards eliminating the debt of Liveprayer, each week I sow a seed into other ministries, knowing that God will honor my faith and bless us in return. My friend, it works. Look at the widow. She gives the man of God her last bit of food, and soon afterwards her son dies. God blesses her faith by using the man of God to bring that son back to life! Sowing into your need works. God's principles work.

I will be praying for you today. I care about you deeply and will do everything I can each day to share the things God places in my heart to try and help you along this great journey we are on. You are never too young to begin applying God's principles into your life. What happens is, when we obey and God's blessings flow from our obedience, our faith is strengthened. The next time we have to exercise our faith, we do it more readily, since we already have seen God move before. We gain confidence that our faith is real, God is real, and His way does work. I pray that you who are struggling today will give into your need. I don't care where you give, just give and show God you believe Him. God cannot lie, and His Word is the absolute truth you can stake your very life and eternal existence on. Trust Him today, and watch Him work miracles in your life.

Being Discipled

(1 Timothy 1:2)

Why being discipled is a MUST! In my many years of ministry, perhaps the one aspect of our Christian experience that I see most neglected is discipleship. I can tell you right now, without being properly discipled by someone mature in the faith, you will not, and cannot experience the type of spiritual growth you should. Even more important, without proper discipleship the odds of falling back into your old life and habits will almost always occur. Having accepted Christ, an inward act by faith, the reality is that you are still sleeping in the same bed. You still go to the same job or school. You still do most of the things you did before that act of faith. To grow in your new faith, to not only be changed on the inside, but have that change be manifested in all aspects of your life does not happen overnight . . . it is a process. Without proper guidance and discipleship, how are you supposed to know what to do?

The church as a whole has failed miserably in this area. When you read of the early church, it was primarily a place of fellowship, teaching, and discipleship. Our church today has become a place of fellowship, teaching, and social/entertainment activities. There is nothing wrong with that when it is in perspective, but one of the church's key roles is to disciple new believers in the faith. The reason discipleship is such a neglected part of our Christian experience is because it requires a commitment of time . . . both on the part of the person being discipled as well as the person who is helping the new believer. Now you see the problem. We are all so busy. Let me tell you, you can NEVER be too busy to spend time discipling someone new in the faith. For anyone who has made the commitment to Christ, you have to work at this Christian journey like anything else. It is not hocus pocus magic and everything is perfect. It is a journey, one day at a time. We always find the time to spend doing other things we enjoy in life. Let me tell you, you MUST make the time and work at your new relationship with Christ.

I love you deeply, and care about your life. I want to issue this challenge today. If you are saved and been walking with the Lord for several years, then you need to be involved in the life of a new believer. You need to be part of God's plan to help them grow in their new faith. If you are a new believer, the challenge is to seek out a mature man or woman in your church and ask them to help you in your new walk. Ask them to be part of your life for the next year to help you understand what the Christian journey is all about. It is like anything else. How does someone learn about football, or butterflies, or gardening, unless someone who has been involved in that activity for a while and understands it, teaches them. It is time we get serious about sharing our lives with others to help them along the way, so they in turn can help others down the road. That is in essence what the early church was about, passing the torch of their faith from one generation to the next.

I pray today that you will listen to this challenge. God is speaking directly to your heart today. Everyone should be in a discipling relationship of some kind. You should be helping young believers if you have been walking with God for some time, and if you are new to the faith, you should have a mature Christian in your life helping you down this new road. This is very serious, and my prayer is that you will take these words to heart today and not delay being part of this very critical and important part of your Christian experience.

Treat Others As We Would Ourselves

(Psalm 41:1-3)

Helping others. Like sharing our faith, helping others is not an option. It is something that all throughout God's Word we are told to do. When you read over and over throughout the Bible a certain command or way we should live, God is doing that for emphasis. In many passages in the Old and New Testament, God tells us to help others. As a matter of fact, Jesus says that the great commandment is to treat others as we would ourselves. So often in this selfish, self-centered world in which we live, it is easy to focus on ourselves to the extent we neglect the hurts and needs of others. I want to challenge you today to think about someone in your life, maybe a family member, a co-worker, or schoolmate, who could use a kind word or some help in their life. Reach out to that person. I have said many times that the most effective witness is not what you say, but how you live your life. Reach out in love and kindness and let them see Jesus in you.

One of the most exciting things that has happened on Liveprayer.com has been the effect of these daily devotionals. So much of what we hear in church and in different situations makes sense, but has little relevance to our own life. My number one objective each morning as I sit down to write these devotionals, is for God to give me the words to touch someone's life that day. Make it practical, real life, biblically-based, and about the daily struggles and challenges we face not only as Christians, but as real live human beings. One way to bless someone today would be to sign them up to start receiving this daily devotional. So many have said, "I don't know who signed me up, but I am so grateful." Many have signed up their family members, their bible study group, and their youth group. All you have to do is go to our website, www.liveprayer.com and hit the daily devotional button, and you can sign up anyone you wish, as many as you wish. I would encourage you today to think about someone in your life that could use the daily encouragement, Biblical direction on real-life issues we all face.

God has a perfect plan for each one of our lives. Some of that plan applies to all of us who know Jesus as our personal Savior. We all have the commandment to help others. That is the whole reason for www.liveprayer.com to be a place on the Internet where people can find help and hope in their time of need. I want to really encourage you today to take very seriously God's direction for us to be a blessing to others. He blesses you so you can bless others. Take time today to reach out to someone you know and be a blessing. It doesn't have to be a major act. Sometimes that kind word of encouragement can make all the difference in the world.

Thank you so much for being part of this great work of God. I pray for you and am concerned about your needs. No one person can touch everyone, but God gives us each a sphere of influence and people to minister to. I take this responsibility very seriously. I pray that this will be a special day for you as you reach out to someone in need and let them know that there is hope, that they aren't alone, and that Jesus loves them.

Who Do You Hang Out With

(2 Thessalonians 3:6)

Who do you hang out with? Professional football player Ray Lewis is in jail in Atlanta, charged with double murder. There has been a lot written and only time will tell if he is guilty of the crimes. One thing has come out, and that is his choice of associates. If he is not guilty of the slayings, he is very guilty of hanging out with the wrong people. Many in the church have taken this verse from Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica and have used it to say Christians should separate themselves from the lost. I totally disagree with that philosophy. Jesus was the one that told us we are the salt of the earth and that we are to let our light shine before men. I have always contended that our loudest witness is not what we say, but how we live. We have an obligation and responsibility to God to share the love of Christ and the Good News with the lost. We also have an obligation to be aware of the people we hang out with.

We can accomplish our God-given responsibility to witness without hanging out or being closely associated with the wrong people. We do that by witnessing and living correctly before these people in public and social settings. Hanging out is defined as being close friends and spending lots of time together. I am a firm believer that we should not abandon our friends who are lost, but we don't have to be as closely associated with them as we were before we found Christ in our life either. After all, those who are lost are going to want to be places, doing things that as a Christian you can no longer do. That fact alone will begin to separate you. Abandon them, cut off all communication with them . . . no. But you can never go back and be with them, hang-out with them as you once did because you now have different priorities in your life that they don't have.

I write this because this problem exists at all stages in life. It is most pronounced amongst young adults in junior and senior high, but is just as much a problem for those in college and even adults in the business world. Peer pressure knows no age. It is with us our entire life. The key to this problem again is in your personal relationship and commitment to Christ. Once you have made that commitment, you simply cannot go to the same places or do the same things you once did. That will keep you from associating with old friends and acquaintances who are lost and still living in a world of sin. Your associations with those people will be less frequent and in places where you are not going to have to possibly compromise your walk with Christ. In many instances, your old friends may simply not want to be around you because your new life reminds them of the sin in their own life. Do what you can to keep the communication lines open, because there will come a day, just as it did in every life that accepted Jesus, when you want a better way to live.

Why People Do Bad Things

(Galatians 2:2)

Explaining why people do bad things. Not a day goes by that I don't receive several emails asking if God is so good, so powerful, than why do people do such evil things. Rather than going into a complicated theology lesson, let me try to help you understand the evil men and women do this way. For those who have been raised in Christian homes, made the decision to come to know Christ at an early age, and have lived your life for Him from early on, God bless you. You have missed out on a lot of the pain and heartache sin and rebellion cause people. For those who came to Christ later in life or perhaps lived in a rebellious state like the prodigal son, then you will be better able to understand what I am going to say today. The bottom line is that when a person is without Christ, ANYTHING is possible.

I think back on rebellious periods of my life and am ashamed and saddened by things I have done before. I can't even imagine that I was the one that did them. Thus the scripture, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature". You see, when a person accepts Christ into their life, they actually become a new creation. The old is passed away and they become new. Prior to that new birth experience, in the old state there are no rules, no laws, other than those each man puts upon himself. There is no absolute truth we find in God's word, since the only truth is what each man believes in his/her heart at the time. You can understand that under these conditions, people are capable of anything, including the incredible evil we see each day in the world we live in.

The answer to why God doesn't do something about it is also found in scripture. We know that there is a coming day of judgment. There is a day coming when everything we know will pass away. There will be a new heaven and new earth. Part of our problem is that we are so conscious of time, we fail to comprehend that to God a thousand years is as a day. We want everything now. We want our food now, our mail now, our phone call now, our money now. We are into instant answers and instant gratification. God is not bound by time, and while we may think He isn't acting on the things we see as wrong, He is, but it is happening in His time, not ours. The Bible is clear to point out that every one of us will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for our life. That is not a fairy tale. There are no special passes to miss this event...we will all stand before that seat of judgment one day. Evil will be judged, maybe not at the exact moment we would like to see it, but the Bible is clear that there is a day of judgment for each one of us.

I pray today that this has helped some of you better understand the never-ending question, especially among nonbelievers, as to why God allows evil to exist. Evil exists because the heart of a man or woman without Christ is filled with sin and capable of anything you can imagine. Maybe this will also better help you understand my passion, my drive, and my desire to not only help people in their time of need, but help those who are lost find Christ. That is why I continually challenge you to stretch your faith and challenge you to do more each day to serve God, because it is in our service that lives our touched, hearts are changed. Evil exists because men and women without Christ have sin-filled hearts. I pray today that you will make it a renewed priority in your life to step forward and let God use you to touch people. He uses us as His instruments in the lives of people to help those who are lost find Jesus. That and that alone is the ultimate answer to the problem of evil in this world, helping the lost find Christ and become new creatures.

The Drive To Be Beautiful

(Psalms 49:14)

The drive to be beautiful. It is amazing to me how we live in a society where being beautiful is such an incredible asset. Women who have been blessed with natural beauty have incredible advantages in most areas of life. Because of the importance our society places on beauty, it has become an all-consuming drive for many. The problem with women chasing beauty is the same problem men craving money have. It is an unquenchable thirst that can never be satisfied. There will always be someone who is more beautiful, more perfect. This drive to be beautiful powers multi-billion dollar a year industries like cosmetics, clothing, hair, and cosmetic surgery. There is an insatiable drive to be beautiful that many women chase throughout their entire lifetime. This is a problem not only for women who are without Christ, but also for women who know Jesus as their Savior. In many cases it is actually a sin, since it takes priority over a person's relationship with Christ.

We have all heard many times that beauty is only skin deep, and true beauty is what is on the inside, not the outside. That sounds good, and is actually true. But in reality, it is not how we live. Let me say right here, that men are as much to blame for this problem as women are. Men have put incredible pressure on women to look a certain way, to be beautiful at all times. If men were as concerned about a woman's inner beauty as her outer beauty, I believe women would not be as fanatical as many are to be "beautiful". This problem must be addressed by men as well as women.

Of course, the answer to this problem lies in the realization by women, and by men of who we are in Christ. We are new creations, beautiful in God's sight, not because of our outward appearance, but because our hearts have been cleansed and sin washed away. It is amazing how we can get consumed by something like beauty during these short years we have in this life. These clay bodies we are using for this time came from the dust of the earth and will one day return to the dust of the earth. I hate to be so blatant, but that is exactly what we are trying to make and keep beautiful. Let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, having a good appearance, and maintaining ourselves the best we can during this life. As a matter of fact, I believe the Lord wants us in good shape, looking our best so that we can be the best servants for Him possible during this life. The problem, though, is the insatiable. consuming desire for beauty that this society has pressured a lot of women into trying to attain and maintain. If the same effort went into our service for Him, it would be incredible all the additional work for the Kingdom that would be accomplished.

I want to encourage you today to honestly ask God today if you are putting too much emphasis on your outward appearance and not enough on your inward relationship with Him each day. I love you and pray for you, and have never even seen you. I love you because the Lord has placed love in my heart for you, not because of what you look like, but because of who you are, His creation, someone He loved enough to send His son to die for, someone He loves and cares for. God loves you not because of what you look like, but because you are His child! Let that truth take hold in your heart today and go forward knowing you are truly beautiful in God's eyes. Would you rather be beautiful to a world that will one day not exist, or to your God who you will be spending eternity with? Make sure your drive to be beautiful is in God's eyes first.

Doing Great Things for God!

(2 Corinthians 8:3-4)

I have always loved to read about the man called Saul, who became Paul. A man who was a leader in persecuting the first church, had that incredible transformation on the Damascus Road, and then proceeded to live one of the greatest lives of service ever recorded. Hours upon hours I have studied Paul’s life, and in the end I came to the conclusion that his success in serving the Lord was due to the fact he had no fear of what God could do and lived out his belief that all things were possible with God. Listen to me closely. Paul did not just say it . . . HE LIVED IT!!! If you are going to do great things for God, you must have no fear and LIVE each day without doubting that God is able to do all things.

I hear many people condemn the church, condemn ministries for always talking about money. I agree that perhaps too much effort does go into fund-raising, but I want to remind you that one of the most effective fund-raisers in the history of the church was Paul himself. He understood that to spread the Good News in a massive way took the financial support of those who were already in the faith. I appreciate his approach in that he always made it clear it was not the size of the gift, but the attitude of the heart that gave. It was not the amount, but the sacrifice involved. Paul was realistic because he understood that to take the Gospel to all the world, it required hard work, sacrifice, and finances. Being the intelligent man he was, I have, no doubt, that he sat down, figured out what it would take for each of his missionary journeys and the planting of the new churches, and then asked God for wisdom in how to raise the amount needed following God’s plan.

My heart is so open this very moment as I am typing these words to you. I sense in my spirit so many wanting to do more for the Lord, so many wanting to make a bigger impact. I want to tell you in love, the only thing stopping you is YOU! God is ready. We have a BIG God. He can do all things. Only YOU can limit what God can do. I want this message to be an encouragement and a challenge for you to get out there and see how big God really is. Don’t be afraid of failure because there is NO failure in the things of God. I am encouraged by the great men of vision alive at this point in time, men who have challenged God and done great things for God, men who were not satisfied sitting back waiting for someone else to do something. God has given many of you reading this devotional visions, plans of how to reach the lost, abilities to touch the hurting. The state of our society and the world we live in tells us that now more than ever, we must move forward with the visions and plans God gives us to reach people with the Gospel. This is a wake-up call to many of you that NOW is the time to move forward. Now is the time to make those dreams into reality.

NOW IS THE TIME TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR GOD!!!

Pressing On

Philippians 4:12-14

Pressing on. Some days when you wake up, you just don't feel like fighting any longer. You are tired of the battles, tired of the struggles, with no desire to keep fighting. Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi gives us some great daily advice. He says, "Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead." How often are we weary and tired because we are still looking back, allowing those problems and situations to hold us down today? Listen, what is past is past. The enemy wants to hold you back by keeping you focused on the past. I am telling you today to let it go and live for today. Focus on today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

So many I deal with every day are in a pit of quicksand called yesterday's problems. First of all, whatever those problems are, it is time to turn them over to God and start living for today. Most of what is going on isn't going to be fixed quickly, isn't going to have an overnight answer, and is going to take a power much greater than yourself to fix. After all, if you could fix it, you would have already. Turn it over to God. Does that make it go away magically? No. But it does put it in the hands of our Lord who can start working it through and getting you beyond those circumstances.

In the meantime, you have today in front of you and tomorrow on the horizon. Get out of the quicksand of yesterday and start living for Him today. You will be surprised how much quicker and easier your past problems work out when you are concentrating on serving the Lord today. I understand that there are many complicated and difficult situations many of you are facing today. I am not trying to minimize those in any way. I am encouraging you to quit focusing so much on the problems of yesterday and start making the most of your opportunities today, looking towards the challenges of tomorrow. Looking back can paralyze you, looking forward can energize you.

God Is Still On The Throne

(1 Kings 22:19)

God is still on the throne. Probably one of things that comforts me more than anything else during a problem or crisis is the fact the God is still on His throne. He didn't get off to take a nap, or go watch the Super Bowl, or hit the refrigerator. He is there, in total control of all that is going on. That, of course, begs the question why does He allow some of the terrible things to happen if He is really on the throne. Remember, God does not cause evil, or encourage it, but at times He allows it to happen as He did in the case of Job. It was only with God's permission that the devil was able to do what he did to Job. Why does God let bad things happen? Men much wiser than me can argue that one. I just accept that they do happen from time to time, and that gives me even more encouragement knowing God is there watching it all unfold, already knowing the ultimate outcome.

That leads me to the great verse that assures us God will not give us more than we can bear. He knows our breaking point. Those two Truths . . . God in control at all times, and Him never putting on me more than I can handle, get me thru the difficult times. Many of you are facing difficulties in your life today. Unexplained problems. Circumstances that seem to be out of hand. Pressures that are becoming intolerable. Now is the very time to make your faith real, to look to God and ask Him to strengthen you, encourage you, and give you peace. He knows how to make the heavy burdens lighter, the crooked paths straight. Don't buckle when the hard times come. Be strengthened by them. Let them be times of testing, and honing, and sharpening your faith.

I love you deeply and care about you. I realize that life can be difficult. I also realize that in those difficult times we can grow in our faith, we can learn to depend on God, we can become real people of faith. Let the difficult times make you know God in a deeper, more intimate way. Learn to trust the Truth that He is on His throne in control of all things. Take to heart His promise that He will not put on you more than you can bear. Learn how to walk through the storms of life victoriously. Be comforted that He will never leave you, never forsake you, never let you down.

For those of you who are in need of a miracle, don't forget to stop by our Miracle Center on our site at www.liveprayer.com. We have had incredible testimonies of healing, restored marriages, financial blessings . . . all in just the first week.

Whatever you are facing today, know this to be true. God is on His throne . . . God is in Control!!!