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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

NOBTS commissions 2019 graduates for Kingdom work

By NOBTS Office of Communications NEW ORLEANS, La. - Jamie Dew, presiding over his first graduation ceremony as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, congratulated graduate candidates at a packed house at Leavell Chapel and then asked a probing question. "To what end?" Dew asked. "Why has God blessed you? What is this for?" Dew, elected president by NOBTS trustees June 3, 2019, explained that God had blessed and sustained graduate candidates through countless hours of study and sacrifices to pursue the degree. Graduation is a reason to celebrate, Dew explained, but he pressed candidates further to consider if they now hoped the degree would bring opportunity, a new platform and a name for themselves. God will bring new opportunities, Dew assured listeners, but each will be temporary. "A day is coming when your name will be forgotten," Dew reminded them. "So why labor for something that doesn't matter or count for all eternity? With that in mind, we now send you out as graduates of this institution into the harvest of our Lord. We send you now to go, in His name, to build His kingdom." Making every moment count is a lesson that has stayed with him, Dew explained, and he … [Read more...]

The word for 2020: pray bigger prayers

By Rebecca Holloway It started as the faintest whisper in my soul several months ago. Why can’t you pray for that big thing you want to happen in your ministry? Why can’t you pray to be totally delivered from that problem instead of using it as your crutch? Why can’t you pray more fervently for Evan to be healed? The whisper shocked me. Why indeed, Lord? I pray all the time. Why haven’t I prayed for these things and many more that are desires in my heart? And haven’t I actually prayed for these things? The answer that has come back to me in the waning days of 2019 is, “You pray too small.” I have journaled my prayers for years, but some days, they become rote and stale. “Give Stewart a word for Sunday.” “Forgive my sins.” “Heal Evan.” “Let Zach be a witness in his school.” “Give me opportunities to speak and lead worship.” And so on and so forth. But the Lord has shown me that mechanical, mindless prayers are not going to cut it anymore between Him and me. He wants me to pray big. He wants me to pray bold. And He wants me to pray with faith. You see, somewhere in the midst of this last decade, I stopped believing God could do what He said He could do. I have stopped trusting Him to do big things. … [Read more...]

Gives thanks today; rejoice now

By Joe McKeever JACKSON, Miss. (BP) -- Last Sunday, we sang "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!" (E. E. Hewitt, 1898) Something occurred to me. Sure, we'll "sing and shout the victory" when we see Jesus face to face. Anyone would. But He wants us to "sing and shout the victory" now, in the middle of the battle. How do we know? Scripture is loaded with this subject: -- "He giveth songs in the night" (Job 35:10). "In the night His song shall be with me -- a prayer to the God of my life" (Psalm 42:8). -- "When men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12). -- "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines; though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food; though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls -- yet, I will exult in the Lord! I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet. He … [Read more...]

Prone to wander

By Gevan Spinney “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” ‭‭James‬ ‭4:7-8‬... Not long after I was saved in 1992, I was in church one Sunday morning and the music minister said, “turn to page 15.” I was sharing the hymnal with my momma and singing about raising my Ebenezer and I thought, “that is weird”, my mind had a picture of me holding Ebenezer Scrooge over my head. Then we sang the fourth verse and it was if I had written it. I mumbled, “Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be” that is me. Then I sang, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.” As those words came off of my lips they began ring in my soul. On the outside I looked fine, my shirt was starched and ironed, I smelled of cologne, my hair was nice and neat, I smiled and said hello to those who greeted me. You couldn’t tell from the outside, but on the inside I was prone to wander. For nearly 18 years the devil had control of my life. I filled my life with people and substances that … [Read more...]