Stopping To Help

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY AUGUST 15, 2002
(Luke 10:25-37)

One day an expert on Moses' laws came to test Jesus' orthodoxy by asking him this question: "Teacher, what does a man need to do to live forever in heaven?"

Jesus replied, "What does Moses' law say about it?"

"It says," he replied, "that you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself."

"Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you shall live!"

The man wanted to justify (his lack of love for some kinds of people), so he asked, "Which neighbors?"

Jesus replied with an illustration: "A Jew going on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money and beat him up and left him lying half dead beside the road.

"By chance a Jewish priest came along; and when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Jewish Temple-assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but then went on.

"But a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw him, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and walked along beside him till they came to an inn, where he nursed him through the night. The next day he handed the inn-keeper two twenty-dollar bills and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.'

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the bandit's victim?"

The man replied, "The one who showed him some pity."

Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."

Stopping to help. In the Bible, there is a great story of the Good Samaritan. This is the man who stopped to help a wounded traveler. There is much significance in this story in that several religious men failed to stop and help but kept on going. The racial division between the Jews and Samaritans was very much like the racial divisions we have in our society today, making it even more powerful that a Samaritan would stop to help a Jewish man. It is easy to read that story and condemn the religious men for going on their way without stopping to help, but ask yourself this question, how many "wounded do I pass each day and fail to stop and help?"

I am not talking about someone literally laying wounded beside the road, but hurting and going through so much pain because of the events in their life. If you know Jesus as your savior, and understand the gift of everlasting life He has given to you, isn't that information you want to share? So many people you come in contact with each day are hurting and struggling with life, and God has placed them in your path to stop, reach out with love, and share with them that Jesus is the answer. It is easy to point the finger at the "church" as it is the religious men in the bible story, and say how awful for them to be so cold. But God has done something wonderful in your life, and given you the commandment to tell others that He is real. It is not an option to stop and help!!!

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying for you today to take advantage of the opportunities that the Lord has placed in your path. The people that are "wounded by the side of the road" waiting for a good Samaritan to come along. They are not there by accident, and you are not walking on that road by accident. Take advantage of the opportunity the Lord has given you and share with them that Jesus is the answer.

One way that many of you help those "wounded" by life and laying on the "side of the road" is by your prayers and gifts to Liveprayer. Over 1/3 of the 1.2 million worldwide who get this Devotional each day are not saved, not part of any church. They are simply people trying to deal with the day to day issues of life that we all deal with during this lifetime, and looking for answers. YOUR love, YOUR prayers, and YOUR gifts to Liveprayer make it possible for them to get this WORD from God each day for free. As we are only 2 weeks from ending our 3rd year of ministry, we still need $23,700 by the end of the month to meet all of our financial obligations. Liveprayer has been shared 100% FREE. Free of a monthly subscription, free of advertising since day #1 so that nothing would prohibit the message of God each day from reaching those who need it. We have only been able to do that because or YOUR prayers, and YOUR faithful gifts.

God has honored our faithfulness to His work these past 35+ months. Over 20,000 commitments to Christ that we know of, over 600,000 praise reports in our praise archive from those who came to us, asking for prayer in their hour of need and God moved in their lives and situations. You see my friend, Liveprayer is about one thing, sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ with the hurting and lost of this world. We are not here to build large glass buildings, buy private jets, build mansions, purchase luxury automobiles. Of course money is necessary to operate. However my only financial goal each month is to raise the $30,000 we need to operate.. period. THAT IS LESS THAN $1,000 A DAY TO PROVIDE PERSONAL MINISTRY TO OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE EVERY DAY!!!!

Please take a moment right now, simply ask God what He would have you to do to help others today, and then be obedient. It may only be $10 or $20, or it may be $50 or $100, or you may have the ability to make a gift of $200, $500, $1,000, or even the entire $23,700 we need. GIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR ABILITY TO GIVE!

You can make a gift on your major credit card on a secured server on our website at www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" button, or you can mail a gift to:

Liveprayer
6660 46th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33709
All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Please take a moment and pray for me today to have God's peace about the monthly finances needed to operate Liveprayer each month. It is a burden, but one you have helped me carry. The only reason Liveprayer is able to do all we do each day for so many.. is because of YOU! It is YOUR love, YOUR prayers, and YOUR gifts that God uses each day. Thank you so much. God has been so good to us, so gracious to us. Show God how grateful you are today by stopping to help someone in need through your kindness to those you meet each day who are hurting and in need of God, and by your gift to Liveprayer.

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.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available via audio each day. Simply go to http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. Click on "Search by Category", then locate DAILY DEVOTIONAL. I want to thank Ed Morando for making this service available for FREE to Liveprayer.com.

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