Let's start with my favorite one, Jesus. I am always amazed at how those who reject Jesus Christ for who He is, love to cite Jesus and claim to know what He stands for despite having never really read and studied His life and ALL He taught! Jesus had one mission in life and that was to die for the sins of mankind. He came to bring man salvation, everlasting life for those who would put their faith in Him. Those who reject Christ and live in rebellion to Him talk about Jesus being for peace and the poor, and if you are a true follower of Christ you have to be against all wars and working with the poor.

Does Jesus like war? Of course not, no reasonable person does. But Jesus also knew that war would be part of this lost world until God decides to bring it to an end and the Prince of Peace Himself returned. We as a nation have every right and responsibility to defend ourselves from those who would destroy us. Much like the children of Israel had a right and responsibility to defend themselves from those nations that would try to destroy them, there are evil forces in this world who would love to see the United States cease to exist. Thankfully, our forefathers understood this and defended our country to their death so that we could enjoy the great freedom and liberty we enjoy today. It is now our turn to defend this nation from its enemies to insure that our children have the same freedoms should the Lord tarry in His return.

As for the poor, Jesus said that we would always have the poor among us. He said very little other than to point out our responsibility to the poor. Talking about the poor is simply a smokescreen non-believers use to deflect attention from all of the REST of what Jesus said on issues like sin and how we are supposed to live our lives in accordance with the Word of God. They are quick to cite what Jesus said about peace and the poor, but never discuss what He said about following God and living a righteous life.

As long as we are talking about Jesus, whenever the issue of homosexuality comes up one of the classic statements of a non-believer is that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. While there is no record of the question being presented to Him, there is no doubt that He would have responded by reaffirming God's creation intent of heterosexual monogamous marriage. Only this expression of human sexuality is blessed by God. Jesus, when questioned about marriage, responded by referring to God's plan for marriage (Matt. 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12).

Of course the two great lies of the homosexual community is that 10% of the people are homosexual and that people are born "gay." The fact is, less than 1% of the people will EVER engage in sex with someone of the same gender. Also, despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the last decade to prove people are born gay, they are no closer today than when they started. Who you have sex with is a CHOICE! You are not born to commit adultery, that is a choice. You re not born to have sex with children, that is a choice. You are not born to have sex with animals, that is a choice. You are not born to have sex with someone of the same sex, that is a choice. Like all sin, if you choose to do it long enough it may seem natural, but it is still a choice.

That brings us to the issue of same-sex marriage. God's definition of marriage found in Genesis is one man, one woman, for one lifetime. God didn't create Adam and Bruce, He didn't create Eve and Lucy, He created Adam and Eve. One man, one woman. Non-believers always ask what is it going to hurt you if people of the same sex get married. First, not only is it a perversion of God's Holy Institution of Marriage, but it destroys God's plan for the family which is the foundation of our society. I wish you could read some of the 40,000 prayer requests Liveprayer receives every single day. The deterioration and destruction of God's plan for the family is the number one problem in our culture today. Having people of the same sex marry is not only a perversion of God's plan for marriage, but you now have these same sex couples raising children, further destroying God's plan for the family.

Probably the one issue that I have the most difficulty understanding is how ANYONE could support the slaughter of an innocent baby. Of course the non-believer quickly states that it is NOT a baby. It is just a mass of tissue. I heard one tortured explanation recently where I was told that until 22 weeks and there is a functioning brain it is not a baby, just a mass of tissue and having an abortion is no different than removing a kidney! How sad. At the moment of conception there is a life, a life that can ONLY come from God. At that moment it is a living being and it is MURDER to end that life.

The other big issue raised by non-believers is the audacity of Christians to think that they are right and everyone else is wrong. How could God ( a God many of them don't even believe exists) send billions of people to hell, when many good people follow Buddha and the host of false religions that exist in the world. The fact is, Christians ARE right, because God is right. It is God, not man, that revealed Himself to His creation and called on man to follow Him. It is God who gave us His Word to live by. It is God who gave us the plan of salvation through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. It is also God who gave man the free will to accept Him and His truth, or reject Him and His truth.

I love you and care about you so much. As a follower of Christ, we are challenged daily by family, friends, those we work with, go to school with, and even total strangers who have rejected our Lord and the truth of His Word about our faith in Christ. Never forget, the foundation of our faith is based on the inspired, inerrant Word of God, representing absolute truth and our final authority in all matters. Of course the non-believer will always dismiss the Bible as a book written by men. They have to try and minimize what it really is to justify their rejection of it. The fact is, they are right. It is a book written by men...UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF GOD, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE!!!

You will often hear a non-believer state that only the weak need Jesus, that it is a crutch to get through life. Actually, it is those who are REALLY weak who reject Him and live in rebellion to the Lord since it takes true STRENGTH to follow Christ and to live according to His Word. Anyone can follow the desires of their flesh like an animal, it takes commitment and resolve to be a follower of Jesus.

Never forget my friend, you will never change the heart of a non-believer by having all the answers. The reality is, nobody has all the answers and the non-believer will ALWAYS have more questions than there are answers since some things only God knows for sure. But you can open their heart to Christ in how you live your daily life, by being a vessel of His love and grace, and by being available when they hit those potholes in life we all hit along our journey. That is when you will have a real opportunity to share with them that Jesus is the only real hope and answer there is.

I will be praying for you. Praying that you will not allow those who reject Christ and the truth of God's Word to intimidate you into silence, or make you fearful of standing up for the Lord. God has called His children to be the salt of this earth and the light of the world. May you proudly and boldly proclaim to this lost and unbelieving world that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that everlasting life is only found through faith in our Lord!

By Bill Keller DAILY DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2004

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