Being the light of this world.

One of the commands that Jesus has given His children is to go out into this world that we live in and "let our light shine before men." This was NOT a suggestion of something we can do on a Saturday afternoon when we are bored. This was a direct command to LET OUR LIGHT SHINE in this dark, lost, and sin-filled world that we live in. Today, I simply want to reiterate that order Jesus gave to His children 2000 years ago. To fulfill our God-given purpose in this life, we have to serve and glorify HIM with our lives. Ultimately, that is what the life of EVERY believer is all about.

I will never forget back January 1996 when the National Religious Broadcasters held their annual convention at the huge downtown convention center in Indianapolis. One evening at about 5:30, I left the convention center by a side door. As those who live in the Midwest know, at 5:30 in the afternoon in January it is getting dark, it is cold, and it is very dreary. The moment the door to the convention center closed behind me, there was a moment frozen in time when everything stopped.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me as plain as I am speaking to you now. He told me that behind that door inside the convention center, was a collection of some of the most gifted men and women on the face of the earth. There was hundreds of millions of dollars in commerce involved in the Christian broadcast world. Yet with all of those incredibly gifted people of God, with all of those vast resources, outside that convention center was a dark, dreary world that DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY EXISTED!!!

For the most part, all they were doing was trading dollars with each other, enjoying the fellowship Christians enjoy together, and simply self perpetuating the Christian broadcast world to survive one more year! FEEDING FROM THE CIRCULAR CHRISTIAN TROUGH ALL FEED FROM TO SURVIVE! Rather than letting their light shine before ALL men, they were content with keeping their light in the safety of the world that they had created. As guilty as the Christian broadcast world is of this, the church is just as bad. They stay within the safety of the four walls and keep the doors locked!!!

Now you know a little about where my passion comes from for the work that is being done each day through Liveprayer. I loved my time preaching in churches all over the country, but knew deep inside that was not where God wanted me long term. I loved my time in the Christian TV world, but knew that it wasn't where God wanted me long term. Why? Because in both cases I knew that the light of Christ in me was not being seen by the majority of those who needed it the most. Those in the world who were lost, looking for answers, trying to find just a tiny piece of hope to hold onto. I HAD THE ANSWER THEY WERE LOOKING FOR!!!

One of the things that has frustrated me for so long is how bold satan is in getting out his message that leads to the death and destruction of so many every day. Yet the people of God, who have the only REAL answer to life, are so afraid to be just as bold. Well, I am not afraid, and I have no idea how much work God has left for me to do but I am going out each day and giving 100% to let the beacon of light that is Liveprayer shine bright enough for the entire world to see!

The enemy has boldly used the Internet to do his work. Well, we are using it just as boldly to proclaim the hope and love of Jesus Christ and will continue to increase the amount of people that we can reach each day. The enemy boldly uses secular television for his purposes. The Liveprayer television program is a vehicle that is JUST as bold as anything satan does, and on the same secular stations satan uses!

You see my friend, the strategy of most Christian organizations has always been to operate within the confines of the walls of the Christian world. It is safe there, they don't have to deal with the endless attacks the lost world will bring on them, AND it is very expensive to try and compete in the secular world. BUT THAT IS WHERE OUR LIGHTS ARE NEEDED THE MOST!

We have created a synergy between the Internet and secular TV to BOLDLY proclaim that there is hope, that there are answers in the name of Jesus! To me, THAT is what Jesus meant when He told us to let our light shine before men. That is what He has called YOU to do, and that is what He has called ME to do. Now, more than ever this world needs the hope that we have and know in Jesus. It is time to let our lights SHINE..as BRIGHT AS WE CAN UNTIL THIS ENTIRE DARK WORLD IS LIT UP LIKE IT IS HIGH NOON ON A SUNNY DAY IN FLORIDA!!!

I love you, and care about you so much. I pray today that you not only take this message to heart for your own life, but that pray for me as God brings together all of those people and resources necessary to let Liveprayer be a powerful beacon of light in this world. The Bible says that people perish for lack of vision. Well, people in the world we live in are perishing every moment, being lost for eternity.

One major contributing factor is the lack of vision among God's people. He has given me the vision of how to play a small part in taking His message of hope to the masses. NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE LIGHT OF LIVEPRAYER TO SHINE BRIGHTLY IN THIS DARK WORLD. May you and I always be faithful to honor what Jesus asked us to do and LET OUR LIGHTS SHINE!

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

Via Liveprayer.com daily devotional, December 22, 2003

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