HOLD FAST TO YOUR FAITH

       A word from the Lord was given to me that I would be writing 5 more books.  Since I love to write and feel it is a gift to be able to do so, I was thrilled to hear that.  I will leave the details, like where the money will come from, to the Lord. I was told it would be coming from an unexpected source.  I will not speculate or waste time thinking about it.  My gift is to write on behalf of the Lord, not predict future events.  Having said that, one thing I can predict with assurance is that when the time is right and the Lord fills me with words, 5 more books will be written and published for human consumption.  May God's will be done in my life and may I always honor and glorify His name with my thoughts, words and actions.  Amen!!

       In todays devotional I ask the question, do we fully comprehend the magnitude of the personal relationship we have with Almighty God?  Do you?  I believe I may be uncovering the tip of the iceberg, but as with icebergs, the greatest mass is beneath the surface.  So it is with God.  There are far deeper insights that we can uncover as we draw closer to Him.  He desires for us to know Him more.  Wisdom and discernment are there for the asking. Dig deep into the treasure trove that is the Lord.  Drink deeply from the pool of life.  Allow the Holy Spirit to take you places you never dreamed of.  Release yourself into His care and see how much of a blessing your relationship with Him can be.  The devil wishes us to be pathetic weakling Christians, when the reality is we are mighty lions just waiting to roar.  Unfurl your banner and march forth in the grace of God.  He will never fail you.  Proclaim what you know to be true and hold fast to your faith.  rlkeller

DO YOU KNOW MY CHRIST?

Nice day outside for a change.  Cool & breezy, not hot and muggy.  Out back writing with my pups lying around by me.  As I reflect on the day I realize that there are so many folks that are lost and don't even know it.  I wore my Albert Camus quote shirt the other day to work (see below) and received 3 comments, not that I was looking for any comments at all.  I just wore it to make people think.  That's what I'm all about, not shoving the Bible down people's throats, but saying or writing things that make people think.  One comment was sort of poking fun at it.  The person who said it says he is a Hindu, but displays no characteristics that sets him apart from anyone else in the world.  He lies and flirts with the young girls just like most of the other guys there.  Apparently he isn't a practicing Hindu.  My dear Kenyan brother Alex, who loads the trucks, told me something very encouraging.  He said, "Only God knows who may have read your shirt and not said anything to you about it."  I was successful in my mission ... 

... what about you?  Have you given your life to God?  Have you considered all He has to offer you?  Do you realize the amazing gracious gift of forgiveness for past sins?  Do you understand that no amount of good acts in this life can earn your way into heaven?  Do you know that Christ bled and died on a cross willingly to pay the price owed for your sins?  Think about it, then ask God if He is real and if what I've written is true.  Open your heart to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to come in.  You will never be the same. rlkeller

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is."

THE STATE OF THE WORLD

     With all the persecution in the world today, how are American believers to act and/or react?  Scripture teaches that persecution of those who are faithful to Christ will take place and in the last days it will be amplified.  Should we care? Of course.  But what can we do?  We can pray for God's mercy, but better still, that the faithfulness of those martyred for Christ's sake would have such a pronounced effect on their murderers that they would turn their lives over to Christ as a result.  THAT is what we should pray.  Persecution is here to stay.  It will no doubt only get worse and very likely will take place in the US at some point in the future.  If you don't believe that Google Anti-Theists and see what their agenda is.  They are evangelistic Atheists who preach in concerts (as with anti-theist proponent Enos, psychedelic rocker who hates all forms of religion and isn't afraid to say so) or in any public forum.  They might be in the minority, but they are vocal and brazen in what they say.  We should be so brazen for we hold what we believe is eternal truth.  Live for Christ with pride for we are His ambassadors to this perverse & dying world.  His power and might is behind our efforts.  May God be praised & every man proven a liar.  In Jesus' name ... amen. rlkeller

THIS WORLD IS DYING

     The world we live in is crazy!  Tolerance & intolerance ride side by side and it is an ill matched pair to say the least.  The ungodly factions in this world tolerate sinful practices while at the same time are supremely intolerant of those with religious affiliations.  "Live and let live" seems to be the battle cry for this age.  The world's seeming insistence to ride a speeding bullet to hell is only topped by their efforts to irradiate all religious belief.  Why do thy care what others place their faith in?  Could it be conviction?  The gnawing, nagging thought in the back of their minds that perhaps they are wrong in their rejection of all things godly?  Perhaps; not that you'd ever get any of them to admit that.  Sadly, without Christ's blood to wash them clean of the stench of their own sins, they are like walking dead men without hope; just waiting to die.  Without forgiveness, the payment shall be theirs to make and they can ill afford to make it.  I will continue to live my faith to the best of my ability with the help of God's Holy Spirit and pray that others see Christ in me.  May God in all His mercy reveal Himself to those who are lost and confused regarding what to believe.  rlkeller

PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

     Our church is having a special prayer service for persecuted Christians this coming Sunday.  A Coptic Christian pastor will be present, an Armenian Pastor will as well.  We are trying to raise awareness regarding the plight of people of all faith being mercilessly slaughtered for their faith.  There is no doubt that the Bible speaks of the persecution of Christians and even the disciples, save John who was sent to the deserted island of Patmos, met with terrible deaths.  It hasn't come to America ... yet, but some day we men and women of the faith may be asked to give our lives for the sake of our belief in Christ.  Are we prepared to do that?  I am trusting God that I will stand for Him if it should ever come to that. These are perilous times.  Christians are freely mocked and disregarded as fools.  There will come a day when time will be no more and all those who rejected Christ will pay for their sins with their own life.  God is not dead, He is very much alive.  If you doubt that, ask Him to reveal Himself to you and then be attentive, listening for His answer.  It will no doubt come when you least expect it.  rlkeller

PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTORS

       Hot day today.  Supposed to reach 90.  We'll survive.  I just like cold weather better is all.  My lone weekday off.  Thursdays and Sundays.  Kinda disjointed, but it is what it is.  Pups are snoozing behind me on the bed.  Marty is snoring ... < chuckle - smile > ... get that dog a CPAP machine. (lol)

       In light of all the persecution that is going on in the world today, we must pray for the persecutors, that they may find Christ.  I only need to look in Acts to find a biblical example of a persecutor being challenged by God.  Paul witnessed the stoning of Stephen and was diametrically opposed to all the fledgling believers adhered to.  It took being knocked to the ground and struck blind by none other than Jesus Himself.  That will get your attention.  The rest is chronicled in the NT.  I've heard that some of the members of ISIS had actually turned to Christ.  I have no confirmation of that, but since Christ is greater than any force that might attempt to come against Him, I can certainly believe it.  Those who have died for their faith have fought the good fight and are now home.  All that awaits the persecutors of the faith is a lake of fire.  They are unaware of this so it is our responsibility to pray for them that they would come to know Christ in all His glory.  May God's good and perfect will be done. rlkeller

SOME HISTORY

          My schedule has kept me from writing here very often.  Sometimes just once per week.  Such is life.  There hasn't been much to say anyway.  In the non-spiritual realm, the Yankees are doing alright, I don't care about the NBA and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals got rolling last night.  My 2nd favorite team is the Chicago Blackhawks.  My mom came from Chicago and I've been there multiple times.  Even saw a Blackhawks game in 1994 in the old Chicago Stadium.  All I remember from that outing was that they beat the Red Wings and the bathrooms were really tiny with low ceilings. Also that they had a big pipe organ high up in the rafters where someone sat and played during breaks in the action.  Very cool!!  That was the final year of the Stadiums existence.  I've experienced two final years of the existence of things in Chicago:  Chicago Stadium, where the Blackhawks played hockey and the Chicago Bulls played basketball and Riverview Amusement Park, which at one time boasted the largest roller coaster in the world.  That was quite a while ago, 1967 to be exact. Wow! How time flies.  Always remember, God is still on His throne and prayer changes things!! rlkeller