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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

PREVIEW (“Overflowing Peace”): Peace in God, Our Protector

By Tara Dew, special to the Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- This is the third of four excerpts Tara Dew has made available to Baptist Message readers from her newly released book, “Overflowing Peace,” a follow-up work to her best-selling book, “Overflowing Joy.” The shepherd’s rod is a protection from both the outside predators and the inward stubbornness of sheep. Likewise, God is our Protector from enemies and our own disobedience, too. God’s promise to Isaiah is reassurance for us in this: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Just as the rod was used as an extension of the shepherd’s right hand, God comforts His children with this promise: He will protect us with His righteous right hand too. Throughout Scripture, we see God protecting His people. In Genesis, God protected Adam and Eve by guarding the way to the Tree of Life so that they could not eat that fruit and live in that sinful state forever. At the end of Genesis, God protected Joseph after he had been sold into slavery and elevated him to 2nd in command over all the storehouses of Egypt. In the book of Exodus, God … [Read more...]

PREVIEW (“Overflowing Peace”): Our Shepherd is Personal

By Tara Dew, special to the Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- This is the second of four excerpts Tara Dew has made available to Baptist Message readers from her newly released book, “Overflowing Peace,” a follow-up work to her best-selling book, “Overflowing Joy.” “The LORD” (or Yahweh) is the only name in Scripture used to describe the personal relationship that God has with His people. This is His particular, covenantal name for Himself which declares how He desires to relate to His people. God desires to call His chosen people by the name of “His” own sheep who are under “His” care and in “His” pasture (Ps 95:7,100:3). Said another way, He looks at His people and considers them My sheep. But what about the other side of the relationship? How far is the personal nature of God allowed to reach? Can His people dare to say “my” toward Him in return? This is exactly why David says, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1, italics added). The intimacy goes both ways! David contrasts the greatness of Yahweh with the intimate, personal pronoun “my.” In this one sentence, we see God’s deity and transcendence contrasted with His humanity and eminence. David juxtaposes the Almighty, powerful characteristics of God, with the … [Read more...]

Rage baiting and the Christian response

Social media platforms are a breeding ground for rage-baiting. One mother posts videos of her two-year-old daughter regularly eating large portions of donuts, hamburgers and marshmallows for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe a few blueberries appear on the plate, which the child ignores. … [Read more...]

PREVIEW (“Overflowing Peace”): Our Shepherd is the LORD Almighty

By Tara Dew, special to the Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- This is the first of four excerpts Tara Dew has made available to Baptist Message readers from her newly released book, “Overflowing Peace,” a follow-up work to her best-selling book, “Overflowing Joy.” David begins Psalm 23 with “The LORD is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.” What a truth-packed verse! It is the most essential statement in the whole Psalm. If we truly believe this, then everything else will make sense. David’s first five words are: “The LORD is my Shepherd.” It is important that we understand who God is before we look at what He does or how He acts. Look at the name of God which David uses to start verse 1: “The LORD.” In our English translations of Psalm 23, it is not written “Lord” with lowercase letters. God’s name is written with all uppercase letters, “LORD.” This means that David uses a special name that God gave to Himself. It is four Hebrew consonants, and the English transliteration is YHWH, pronounced “Yahweh.” In our English Bibles, you will find it translated LORD, Yahweh, or Jehovah. Remember, names have meaning, especially in the Old Testament. We must understand the meaning of this name of God so that we can better … [Read more...]

The sacred calling of foster care

By Christy Goodwin MONROE, La. (LBM) -- It is no secret that our nation is in the middle of a foster care crisis, and Louisiana is no exception among the 50 states. Today there are approx­imately 4,300 children and youth in foster care in Lou­isiana and only 2,100 foster families -- more than twice as many children in need as there are homes for them. Moreover, when the num­bers are closely examined, the situation is even worse than it seems. Not all Louisiana foster families are “generally certi­fied,” which means they are able to host any child who enters foster care. Only 1,207 are so qualified. So, the gap between need and availabil­ity is staggering, despite the presence of so many Chris­tian homes in our state. I think most Christ-fol­lowers can agree that caring for vulnerable children is close to the heart of God. After all, James 1:27 includes orphan care, and implicitly foster care, as an essential el­ement of “pure and undefiled religion.” In fact, a Lifesong for Orphans survey in 2024 found that 31 percent of practicing Christians in the United States have seriously considered fostering. Howev­er, the same survey revealed that only 3 percent of prac­ticing Christians are foster parents. How do we bridge … [Read more...]

Sometimes the hardest people to share the Gospel with are those closest to us

Jesus leaves no ambiguity: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Not some of the world. Not the parts that feel safe. All of it. It’s a command that stretches beyond borders, cultures, and comfort. And yet the question haunts me: If we’re commissioned to reach the ends of the earth, why do so many of us refuse to reach the end of ourselves? … [Read more...]

God never forgets His children

As a follower of Christ, you can be confident that God will never leave or forsake you. He will always be with you as your guide, protector, and provider. … [Read more...]

Christian, is your light on?

Leaving a light on is still one of the most common, simplest ways to thwart potential burglars. Most thieves are lazy opportunists — they want an empty house, not a fight. A glowing living-room window, maybe a TV flickering or radio humming, screams “someone’s home.” … [Read more...]

God will do a new work in me

Happy New Year. I pray this year is filled with the blessings and favor of God. If you are like me, I am thankful for all God did in 2024, but I look forward to all God will do in 2025. Aren’t you glad you serve the God of new beginnings? Every 24 hours, He gives us a new day. Every 365 days, He gives you a new year. … [Read more...]

‘On earth peace, goodwill toward men!’

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – World War I was a gruesome conflict, introducing horrific combat weapons that had not been imagined before: flamethrowers which burned men alive where they stood; machine guns that fired 500 rounds per minute at a distance of 2,000 yards (indiscriminately cutting down infantrymen as they charged enemy positions); and mustard gas (as well as chlorine, bromine and phosgene variants) that killed and permanently disabled troops with such lethality that chemical weapons were subsequently banned by international treaty. Six months into the grueling battle along the Western Front (the nearly 440 miles of dueling trench lines that stretched from the border of Switzerland through Belgium to the North Sea) Christmas came (after an estimated one million deaths in that brief time of war), and with it a miracle of sorts. On the eve of Christmas, in the mud and muck amid the misery of war, soldiers on both sides of “no man’s land” (the territory between the opposing armies, marked by barbed wires and pocked with craters from exploded artillery shells) began to blend their voices to the tune of the carols that in times past they would have been singing with family in … [Read more...]