The Only Group It Is OK To Bash

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL SUNDAY DECEMBER 15, 2002
(Jeremiah 6:10, Proverbs 29:18)

But who will listen when I warn them? Their ears are closed and they refuse to hear. The word of God has angered them; they don't want it at all.

Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild; but what a wonderful thing it is for a nation to know and keep his laws!

The only group it is OK to bash. In this politically correct society we find ourselves in, there is still one group of people that you can bash, make fun of, castigate, lie about, and make the butt of any joke without fear of repercussions....born-again Christians. I was somewhat amused as I watched the news over the summer about the reports that sports teams like the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Redskins may have to change their nicknames after all of these years due to the outrage of some Native American groups of how it puts them in a bad light. Many colleges who had Native American nicknames have recently changed for this reason.

Women's groups are incensed when they feel people are not being "gender correct" in their speech. This has even been an issue in some of our churches with the anointed old hymns of our faith being re-written. Pro-homosexual groups will mount incredible campaigns against anyone or any organization that even dares to call their chosen lifestyle an abomination, which by the way is what God calls it. I can assure you, that with over 1.6 million people who read this Devotional each day, people have stopped reading at this point to write me a nasty email about how insensitive I AM to even say such a thing about their particular group. Let me say this to save you the trouble. I am NOT commenting on the merits of these examples I use, so don't misunderstand me. I am simply using them to show you the one group that our society has deemed OK to bash and trash with no repercussions are born-again Christians.

So you understand why this is so, you have to understand a couple of points. First, the Bible clearly tells us that the Gospel is offensive to the unbeliever. Regardless the stats Barna or any other pollster may tell us, people who are born-again, committed in their walk with Christ make-up a very small percentage of our society. There are lots of people who may sit in pews on Sunday morning, but the actual number of people who have committed their lives to Christ by faith is a small percentage of our society. Secondly, it is probably one of the most ineffective "groups" in our society at getting their message out. For years I have studied the pro-gay movement and how effective they have been at getting their message to the general public. Their propaganda machine has convinced most that over 10% in this country are gay, when the actual number is only about 1%, and they have effectively made AIDS a national crisis when research clearly shows it is primarily a disease that affects the gay and HIV drug communities.

In the meantime, the Christian community has been very weak in taking its' message of hope and love through God's Son Jesus Christ to the public at large. We have broken ourselves off into so many different denominations and factions that our voice is little more than a whisper over the din of public debate. Because of the hardened hearts of sinful men, and our own ineffectiveness to articulate our message to the masses, we are an easy target.

Let me encourage you today. When people reject our message, they are not rejecting us, but God. So don't ever take it personally. We are simply instruments God is using to bring His Word to the world. Even though the world may take great delight in their bashing of born-again Christians, the fact is, they are to be pitied. As those who possess the real Truth of what this life is all about, we realize that we are not citizens of this world, we are simply passing through. Our citizenship is in Heaven.

Those of this world have been blinded by sin and have rejected the Truth of God's Word and have bought into the lie of the enemy. That is sad since God never intended His creation to not spend eternity with Him. Hell was created for satan and his fallen angels. It was NEVER a place for man to spend his eternity. Sadly, those who reject Him will not be forever reunited with their Creator, but destined to eternal separation. As Christians, knowing Christ died for the sins of ALL man, we should pray for those who mock Christians, who have rejected Christ since we know the penalty of that rejection.

This also should encourage people to be even more bold in their Christian life. Many of you have caught the vision God has for Liveprayer.com. Using this technology that has primarily been used for the things of this world, and having the simple message of hope and love in Christ to hurting people, we have the PERFECT opportunity to touch lives. This ministry God has raised up in these last days is not tied to a specific miracle like healing, or a specific denomination, but is simply a vehicle to take the love and hope of Jesus Christ to people who are hurting and who are searching for answers in their life. The one common bond we all share in this life is the fact we all struggle, we all hurt, we all go through the experiences of living in this world. In the midst of this journey, Jesus Christ is the one and only answer to the bumps in the road we all face. That is what Liveprayer.com is all about. Taking Christ to people in their time of need.

That is why, now more than I ever, I need your prayers and support of this work. The window is open, NOW is the time to take this message to the world at large in ways never done before. The world has developed a sophisticated way to get its' message out through the media and advertising. With your help, Liveprayer.com is going to tap into that same system to share the hope and love of Christ with the masses.

I love you and care about you so much. Many of you get so upset about the way Christians are portrayed and treated. Be of good cheer, our Lord has overcome this world. We have a higher calling. Being ridiculed, even persecuted for our message is part of it. Jesus was crucified for simply sharing the love of God. Stephen was stoned for simply telling people Jesus was the way, the truth, the life! As both Jesus and Stephen did, let us pray for those who bash Christians, since they simply don't know what they are doing. At the same time, let us be even more diligent about taking our message of life to this sin-filled and dying world. The more they bash us, the better we must be doing. If we were not being effective, the enemy would not be concerned.

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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