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...]
Sixty years of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
By Kelly Boggs, special to the Baptist Message DALLAS (LBM) -- “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the beloved animated television program, turns sixty this year, and it is hard to imagine that it almost did not air. Network executives thought it moved too slowly for a Christmas special. They also were convinced that the absence of a laugh track, a staple of 1960-era comedies, would be the kiss of death. To further complicate matters, the man behind the cast of animated characters insisted upon using real kids for the voiceovers, and as a result, only a couple of the children who were cast had any acting experience. However, what most concerned the executives at CBS was the religious content. The climax of the 30-minute program focused on a main character quoting Scripture, and the executive producer insisted that the Bible could not be read on network television. But the creator of what has become a Christmas classic staunchly refused to edit or otherwise water down the content. Despite network executives’ concerns, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” made its television debut on Thursday, Dec. 9, 1965. The result: More than 15 million homes tuned in and it captured nearly half of the possible audience. Indeed, the week it … [Read more...]
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