billiefan2000
June 17th, 2008, 11:26 AM
http://www.liveprayer.com
DAILY DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY JUNE 17, 2008 (Matthew 7:16)
Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, and ********* have NOTHING to
do with the Christian faith! Years ago when I first heard about a website
named *****************, I thought it was a joke.
In going through this
disgusting website, I began checking out the "church" and "pastor" who put
it together.
It was disturbing to find out there really was a Westboro
Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas,
though it is not affiliated with any
Baptist denomination, and a Fred Phelps, the 78-year-old pastor who in 1947
went to Bob Jones University for a few semesters and then to the Prairie
Bible Institute, but graduated from neither.
He eventually received a law
degree in 1962, though he would be disbarred in 1979.
This "church," while claiming to be Christians and speaking for God, is
really nothing more than a hate group.
Their main message is to attack the
sin of homosexuality.
While they quote the Bible and many of the things
they say about this sin and God's judgment for sin are true,
they do great
damage to the cause of Christ and make it that much more difficult for those
who are truly serving the Lord since they offer zero love, zero hope, and
never preach the Gospel.
Sadly, any time you go into the marketplace and
speak out against the sin of homosexuality, non-believers will always label
you as being part of Phelps and Westboro.
I had an interesting morning last Wednesday.
I received a call from the
producer of the Bubba the Love Sponge program around 7am.
He told me they
were having Shirley Phelps, the daughter of Fred Phelps
and the media "face" of this hate group, on their program and wanted to know if I would come on
and debate her.
I am always ready for those type of opportunities and
agreed to appear on the program with her.
Phelps and their group were in
Jacksonville to picket the funeral of a soldier, which has been their
primary way in the past few years of attracting publicity.
They claim the
war in Iraq is God's judgment on this nation for condoning the sin of
homosexuality, which just goes to show you how confused their beliefs are.
Bubba offered Shirley and her group 30 minutes of airtime on his #1 rated
program that airs in the Tampa and Jacksonville markets if she would agree
not to picket the soldier's funeral, and she agreed.
Knowing that
commercials on his program go for apx $700/min, I thought it was a pretty
generous offer.
She also agreed to take a phone call from "a pastor who
disagrees with her group" during her 30 minutes, which of course was me.
Here is a link to the audio of our 20 minute chat,
http://liveprayer.com/bubba2.cfm
In a situation like this, you really aren't debating the other person or
trying to convince them of anything.
Someone like Phelps has her talking
points and has been totally brainwashed with her false beliefs and theology,
so there is virtually nothing to be accomplished in trying to change what
she believes.
It is the listening audience that you are speaking to. It is
their hearts and minds you are trying to influence.
The ultimate goal was
to help those listening understand that Phelps and her family did NOT
represent Christianity.
Despite the fact she can quote the Bible endlessly,
she is not preaching the WHOLE Word of God and is no different than any
other cult or false religion that tries to use the Bible to justify their
beliefs.
The three main points I zeroed in on was the fact Phelps and the Westboro
folks had no fruit, no love, and offered people no hope.
The Bible states
that you know a tree by the fruit it bears.
A great way to judge the
effectiveness of any work of God is by the fruit they produce.
Phelps and
her family produce ZERO fruit, a clear sign to anyone that they are not of
God.
This group also shows zero love. God is love. You can tell people the truth but still do it in love
The message of this group is totally
void of any love.
Lastly, they offer people no hope. You can call sin sin,
but you have to offer the sinner hope. Jesus is the hope for even the most
wretched person, but in the false theology of the Phelps, sinners are
offered no hope.
I found it interesting that she immediately began to attack me personally,
calling me a fool and other names, though admitting she didn't even know me
or anything about my work for the Lord.
During the course of our
conversation, I also exposed the fact she believes people don't have the
free will to accept or reject Christ, meaning we really aren't responsible
for our salvation and some have no hope at all of being saved. What an
incredible lie from hell that is.
She also admitted to my amazement that we
aren't supposed to preach the Gospel and lead lost souls to faith in Jesus
Christ. I am sure this was lost on most of the listeners, but I found that
belief the best case that these people are not of God and are false prophets
in every sense of the word.
By the end of 20 minutes, it was evident Shirley was very frustrated with me
and had enough.
It was probably one of the few times in her life that she
has had been in a media setting with someone who could expose her false
theology and challenge her Biblically.
In most of these cases she makes
herself sound like a true spokesman of the Lord because she can quote some
scripture, getting away with it because she is dealing with a secular press
who is Biblically illiterate.
I've got news for you, satan quoted scripture
also, and like Shirley, out of context to suit his needs and agenda!
In nearly 20 years of ministry, I have been in the presence of pure evil on too
many occasions.
I can honestly say that last Wednesday I spoke with a woman
who was not some poor confused soul,
but a true tool of satan and evil in
every sense of the word.
I love you and care about you so much.
The Phelps/Westboro hate mongers are
a classic example of how you can be correct according to God's Word about a
particular issue, but still not of God.
The Mormon cult is in perfect
alignment with the Bible on many issues, but is still a cult from the pits
of hell since their final authority is not the Bible but the Book of Mormon
and the writings of their cults founder Joey Smith.
The Muslims are in line
with God's Word on some issues, but not of God since their faith is in a
false, non-existent god they call allah and they reject faith in Jesus
Christ as the way to be saved.
Other cults, false religions, and spiritual
beliefs may believe in some things the Bible teaches, but that does not make
them of God.
Pray for the Phelps family and those who sadly follow their hate-filled teachings.
Pray that they will come to know the Lord and His grace, mercy,and hope. Pray that their influence will be limited so the damage they do is minimized.
It is incumbent that we boldly call sin what it is, warn
people of God's coming wrath, but make sure we also share His love and hope
and that through faith in Jesus Christ men can escape the eternal horrors of
hell and reside for all eternity in a mansion in Glory.
My challenge for
you today is to examine the fruit of your life often and allow the Lord to
use you to bring His Truth, love, and hope to those you meet along your
journey each day.
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller
http://www.liveprayer.com
DAILY DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY JUNE 17, 2008 (Matthew 7:16)
Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, and ********* have NOTHING to
do with the Christian faith! Years ago when I first heard about a website
named *****************, I thought it was a joke.
In going through this
disgusting website, I began checking out the "church" and "pastor" who put
it together.
It was disturbing to find out there really was a Westboro
Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas,
though it is not affiliated with any
Baptist denomination, and a Fred Phelps, the 78-year-old pastor who in 1947
went to Bob Jones University for a few semesters and then to the Prairie
Bible Institute, but graduated from neither.
He eventually received a law
degree in 1962, though he would be disbarred in 1979.
This "church," while claiming to be Christians and speaking for God, is
really nothing more than a hate group.
Their main message is to attack the
sin of homosexuality.
While they quote the Bible and many of the things
they say about this sin and God's judgment for sin are true,
they do great
damage to the cause of Christ and make it that much more difficult for those
who are truly serving the Lord since they offer zero love, zero hope, and
never preach the Gospel.
Sadly, any time you go into the marketplace and
speak out against the sin of homosexuality, non-believers will always label
you as being part of Phelps and Westboro.
I had an interesting morning last Wednesday.
I received a call from the
producer of the Bubba the Love Sponge program around 7am.
He told me they
were having Shirley Phelps, the daughter of Fred Phelps
and the media "face" of this hate group, on their program and wanted to know if I would come on
and debate her.
I am always ready for those type of opportunities and
agreed to appear on the program with her.
Phelps and their group were in
Jacksonville to picket the funeral of a soldier, which has been their
primary way in the past few years of attracting publicity.
They claim the
war in Iraq is God's judgment on this nation for condoning the sin of
homosexuality, which just goes to show you how confused their beliefs are.
Bubba offered Shirley and her group 30 minutes of airtime on his #1 rated
program that airs in the Tampa and Jacksonville markets if she would agree
not to picket the soldier's funeral, and she agreed.
Knowing that
commercials on his program go for apx $700/min, I thought it was a pretty
generous offer.
She also agreed to take a phone call from "a pastor who
disagrees with her group" during her 30 minutes, which of course was me.
Here is a link to the audio of our 20 minute chat,
http://liveprayer.com/bubba2.cfm
In a situation like this, you really aren't debating the other person or
trying to convince them of anything.
Someone like Phelps has her talking
points and has been totally brainwashed with her false beliefs and theology,
so there is virtually nothing to be accomplished in trying to change what
she believes.
It is the listening audience that you are speaking to. It is
their hearts and minds you are trying to influence.
The ultimate goal was
to help those listening understand that Phelps and her family did NOT
represent Christianity.
Despite the fact she can quote the Bible endlessly,
she is not preaching the WHOLE Word of God and is no different than any
other cult or false religion that tries to use the Bible to justify their
beliefs.
The three main points I zeroed in on was the fact Phelps and the Westboro
folks had no fruit, no love, and offered people no hope.
The Bible states
that you know a tree by the fruit it bears.
A great way to judge the
effectiveness of any work of God is by the fruit they produce.
Phelps and
her family produce ZERO fruit, a clear sign to anyone that they are not of
God.
This group also shows zero love. God is love. You can tell people the truth but still do it in love
The message of this group is totally
void of any love.
Lastly, they offer people no hope. You can call sin sin,
but you have to offer the sinner hope. Jesus is the hope for even the most
wretched person, but in the false theology of the Phelps, sinners are
offered no hope.
I found it interesting that she immediately began to attack me personally,
calling me a fool and other names, though admitting she didn't even know me
or anything about my work for the Lord.
During the course of our
conversation, I also exposed the fact she believes people don't have the
free will to accept or reject Christ, meaning we really aren't responsible
for our salvation and some have no hope at all of being saved. What an
incredible lie from hell that is.
She also admitted to my amazement that we
aren't supposed to preach the Gospel and lead lost souls to faith in Jesus
Christ. I am sure this was lost on most of the listeners, but I found that
belief the best case that these people are not of God and are false prophets
in every sense of the word.
By the end of 20 minutes, it was evident Shirley was very frustrated with me
and had enough.
It was probably one of the few times in her life that she
has had been in a media setting with someone who could expose her false
theology and challenge her Biblically.
In most of these cases she makes
herself sound like a true spokesman of the Lord because she can quote some
scripture, getting away with it because she is dealing with a secular press
who is Biblically illiterate.
I've got news for you, satan quoted scripture
also, and like Shirley, out of context to suit his needs and agenda!
In nearly 20 years of ministry, I have been in the presence of pure evil on too
many occasions.
I can honestly say that last Wednesday I spoke with a woman
who was not some poor confused soul,
but a true tool of satan and evil in
every sense of the word.
I love you and care about you so much.
The Phelps/Westboro hate mongers are
a classic example of how you can be correct according to God's Word about a
particular issue, but still not of God.
The Mormon cult is in perfect
alignment with the Bible on many issues, but is still a cult from the pits
of hell since their final authority is not the Bible but the Book of Mormon
and the writings of their cults founder Joey Smith.
The Muslims are in line
with God's Word on some issues, but not of God since their faith is in a
false, non-existent god they call allah and they reject faith in Jesus
Christ as the way to be saved.
Other cults, false religions, and spiritual
beliefs may believe in some things the Bible teaches, but that does not make
them of God.
Pray for the Phelps family and those who sadly follow their hate-filled teachings.
Pray that they will come to know the Lord and His grace, mercy,and hope. Pray that their influence will be limited so the damage they do is minimized.
It is incumbent that we boldly call sin what it is, warn
people of God's coming wrath, but make sure we also share His love and hope
and that through faith in Jesus Christ men can escape the eternal horrors of
hell and reside for all eternity in a mansion in Glory.
My challenge for
you today is to examine the fruit of your life often and allow the Lord to
use you to bring His Truth, love, and hope to those you meet along your
journey each day.
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller
http://www.liveprayer.com