DAILY DEVOTIONAL   WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2, 2008
(1 Peter 3:15)

***THANK YOU!  Thanks to your prayers and sacrifice, we ended December and
the year with ALL of our financial obligations taken care of.  Thank you!
It is friends like you who pray and faithfully give that allows us to reach
and impact millions of lives for Christ worldwide every day.

***FLORIDA STATE FAIR!!!  I pray you and your family had a wonderful
Christmas and that 2008 is a richly blessed year.  I wanted to ask you to
pray with me about the upcoming Florida State Fair that starts in just 5
weeks.  This is such an incredible door the Lord has opened for us to boldly
and visibly bring Christ to the 500,000+ folks who will be attending this
years Fair.   As you know, our budget for the Fair is $60,000.  We have
raised $20,000 of that so far and I am praying for 8 people who in the next
few weeks could help with a special one-time gift of $5,000 so we can cover
that remaining balance.  Thank you for your prayers as we continue to find
ways to take Christ to the masses in the marketplace each day.

***COMING FRIDAY,  Britney’s 16-year-old sister is pregnant.  How the media
is trying to turn her into a role model by glorifying the fact she is going
to have a baby.  This is a message parents and young adults can’t miss!

***5 DAYS UNTIL THE DEBUT OF THE NEW LIVEPRAYER TV PROGRAM AND NETWORK ON
THE INTERNET!!!   Don’t miss the launch of the new Liveprayer TV program on
the Internet, “LIVE” Monday, January 7th from 10 p.m. to Midnight ET, which
will also be the launch of the 24/7 Liveprayer TV Network on the Internet!
PLEASE TELL ALL OF YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO TUNE IN !!!

Encountering those unbelieving family members and friends during the
holidays.  Every year I get the post-holiday emails from people who share
with  me their encounters during the holidays with those in their family or
friends who have rejected the Bible, Jesus, and the Christian faith.  Most
share how they either didn’t have the answers to the questions these
unbelievers raised, or in many cases, they were intimidated into silence.
So today, I want to deal with this issue and help you to be better “prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have.”

I always find it amusing that uncle Joe or cousin Julie or the friend from
school you only see during the holidays, people who have rejected the Truth
of the Bible and faith in Christ, are always ready and more than willing to
tell anyone who listens why the Bible is not true and Christians are weak
and stupid people who need a crutch to get through life.  They are quick to
point out that smart people, educated people, people who think for
themselves and don’t live their lives for some mythical “man in the sky” or
follow an archaic book that they claim has been written and re-written
thousands of times by all types of men for their own personal motivations.

Never forget what I have told you in the past.  Unbelievers are always
looking to justify their unbelief.  They will seize on anything and
everything to justify their rejection of the Bible and the Christian faith.
A Believer shares his or her faith to help lead someone who is lost to
everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ.  A non-believer shares their
rejection of the Truth to make themselves feel better about their rejection
of that Truth.  After a while, you will hear them all regurgitate the same
reasons and cite the same stereotypes.  In most cases I know what they are
going to say before they even say it.  Again, they are not trying to
convince you to abandon your faith, only justify why they have rejected that
faith.

So that brings us to how a Believer should respond to that unbelieving
family member or friend, especially during the holidays.  It can be very
awkward in a family setting to get into a discussion about your faith.
Personally, I think there is no better time or place for it.  In responding
to that unbeliever, you end up witnessing your faith to everyone.  Remember
this.  If an unbeliever can be so bold and convicting as they share their
rejection of God and His Truth, a follower of Christ should be even more
bold and more convicting as they share their love of the Lord and His Word.
Let me say that one more time, since you MUST hear this.   If an unbeliever
can be so bold and convicting as they share their rejection of God and His
Truth, a follower of Christ should be even more bold and more convicting as
they share their love of the Lord and His Word.

The best counsel I can give you is to not get involved answering the
questions or statements an unbeliever makes.  There are always more
questions than answers, even for the most seasoned theologian, so please
don’t fall into that trap.  The key is for YOU to take control of the
conversation.  You do that by simply ignoring the questions or statements
being presented, and instead ask the unbeliever if they believe there is a
God, a Supreme Being, a Creator.  The greatest evidence for God is you and
me.  There is NO OTHER logical explanation or scientific proof that man’s
existence could have happened any other way, NONE!  If they are foolish
enough to talk about evolution, they are still left with the unanswered
question where did that first cell come from, or the supposed “Big Bang.”
Again, God is the only legitimate answer.

The other direction I take the unbeliever to is two indisputable facts.  The
first being we will all die, the second being we all sin.  There is no
denying either of those two facts.  At that point they are left with
believing we just die and that is it, meaning this life has no meaning or
purpose.  If our life indeed does have meaning and purpose, it not only
makes the case for God, but that we have an eternal soul.  This now allows
us to deal directly with the most important topic of all, where our soul
will spend eternity.  That of course is the natural open door to share the
sacrifice of Jesus and why it is only faith in Jesus that can save men’s
souls.  Again, as you are sharing this, it is not just for the benefit of
the unbeliever you are engaging, but all those who will be listening.

The icing on the cake is taking a few moments to share what Jesus has done
in your life.  A nonbeliever wan try to prove the Bible isn’t really God’s
Word, or that the Christian faith is in vain, but they can NEVER take away
your testimony and your personal witness about what Christ has done in your
life.  My friend, your life is a living testimony for Christ and His love
and power!  Trust me, that unbelieving family member or friend can say
NOTHING when you stand up under the power of the Holy Ghost and testify what
Christ has done in your life!!!

I love you and care about you so much.  I know how hurt many people are
after the holiday’s when they tell me how they failed God by not standing up
to that unbelieving family member or friend who takes every opportunity to
slam the Bible, mock Christ, and denounce the Christian faith.  Be honest.
Did you encounter that during the holidays and sit back in silence?  What
about when you are confronted with unbelievers in your daily life at work,
school, or wherever your day takes you?  Do you usually just sit back and
say nothing?  If you do, you are not alone.

One of the biggest problems we have today are people who simply won’t stand
up for their faith since they don’t want to be called names or shunned by
the people they interact with each day.  I will be praying for you today to
know God’s boldness and have the courage to stand up for the faith.  If
those who serve and follow satan are bold enough to take a stand for their
beliefs, why aren’t those who serve and follow the Lord?  You have your
testimony, you have the indisputable fact of God’s existence, you have the
indisputable facts that we will die and all sin.  You have everything you
need to stand up to that unbelieving family member of friend and make a case
for the existence of God, the Truth of His Word, and that Jesus is our only
answer and hope!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at:
bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY?  The fact is you will
die one day.  At that moment, you will either spend eternity with the Lord or
be cast into everlasting darkness forever separated from God your creator. 
To know for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.cfm

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(C) Copyright 2008, Bill Keller Ministries. All rights reserved.