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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

The Lord’s biggest competition

By Joe McKeever “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and they have hewed out for themselves cisterns–broken cisterns, which can hold no water.”  Jeremiah 2:13 You make a very small god, friend. An executive with Walmart  made an observation before a group of business people recently  that has stuck with me.  “You know who our biggest competition is?”  People suggested Target, K-Mart, Best Buy, the, malls, and such. “Dollar stores,” he said.  “That’s what Walmart started out to be and they are now eating our lunch.” Well. Makes sense.  Those little stores are everywhere. You know who God’s biggest competition is in this world? It’s not Islam’s Allah. It’s not any of the big religious alternatives. Not Buddhism, Hinduism, and not animism. The biggest competition of the living God in this world is personal idolatry. Self-worship. People are worshiping themselves, their own bodies, appetites, personal needs, their wants and desires and ambitions.  Everything else is secondary.  They sacrifice everything else for their bodies, for their appearance, for their careers, for their wants. They choose cars and houses and jobs for “how this will make me … [Read more...]

McMillan cautions Louisiana Baptists to be prepared for storm season

National Hurricane Center forecasters are warning a possible tropical depression, or storm, may form in the Gulf of Mexico later this week. While it is still too early to predict the storm’s path, it is a reminder that the time to prepare is now, according to Louisiana Baptists State disaster relief Director Gibbie McMillan. “The only time it is too late is after a disaster occurs,” McMillan told the Baptist Message. “It is too late to turn the lights off when the electricity goes out. It is never too late to prepare for the unknown, and for the unexpected. Just begin now.” McMillan suggested storing one gallon of bottled water per person per day in the household, non-perishable food, cash, first aid kit, medications, a laminated copy of important documents, and phone numbers of extended family members and friends who live in other states. McMillan said a disaster plan should include a list of possible rendezvous sites near one’s home or in a neighboring state and a phone tree for making contact in case of disaster. He invited Louisiana Baptists to participate in future Disaster Relief instruction and to take advantage of online training available at louisianabaptists.org/disasterrelief. Hurricane season began June … [Read more...]