By Rick Warren “It is the LORD who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 GNT). You say, “I want to trust God, but I don’t hear him.” You don’t hear God when your mind is filled with a thousand other distractions. To hear God, you’ve got to get near God. You have to get alone with God and be quiet. The Bible says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV). That means sit down and stay quiet. That’s how you hear God and get near God. You have to sit alone and just be quiet with your Bible and say, “God, is there anything you want to say to me?” You read God’s Word, and you talk to him about what’s on your heart. God says he will give you the wisdom you need to recognize his voice and follow through on what he says: “It is the LORD who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 GNT). Pray this today: “God, I want to listen to you, not the voices of doubt. I want to get close to you and get to know you better. I want to hear you, and I promise to then obey you. I want to be one of the people that you can use and bless.” Rick Warren is founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. The church recently celebrated the 50,000th … [Read more...]
Sen. John Kennedy defends religious freedom by protecting Maryland’s Bladensburg peace cross
By US Senator John Kennedy There are certain things that deserve respect and appreciation, and a memorial dedicated to those who died fighting for our country is one of those things. The Bladensburg peace cross in Prince County, Md., is a 100-year-old memorial that honors 49 local men who died in World War I. Unfortunately, an unreasonable progressive organization is taking legal action to tear the cross down. Members of this far-left organization believe the memorial is a violation of the First Amendment because it’s shaped like a cross and sits on public property. They plan to argue their case to the Supreme Court. To me, their argument is both ridiculous and offensive. They are showing a blatant disrespect for men who fought and died defending our constitutional rights. That’s why I joined a group of 109 members of Congress, including six of my Republican colleagues in the Louisiana delegation, in submitting a letter - called an amicus brief - to the Supreme Court. This memorial is not an infringement of freedom of religion. It is a symbolic monument to those who fought in World War I. The First Amendment forbids the establishment of a national religion, but it also discourages hostility toward a particular … [Read more...]
An encouraging word about the church
By Steve Horn But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39 NIV) In case you haven’t heard, many people, including some who claim to be Christians, are rather down these days on the church. But, we have an encouraging word about the church from someone who was definitely not a believer in Jesus. His name was Gamaliel, and he was a respected Pharisee and teacher of the law. The Book of Acts reveals the story about the history of the early church. Starting with a small group in the beginning of Acts, the book ends with the Gospel being preached throughout the world. Luke, the author, gave repeated summary accounts of how many were being added to the church. The early days of this Gospel progress and church expansion is the context of Gamaliel’s assessment: “But if it is from God.” We now have two thousand years of testimony that the church is “of God.” What does this mean for us who are part of the church? We cannot be silent regarding the life-changing message of Jesus. This is the church’s mandate. Indeed as Peter and the other apostles declared to those who tried to shut them up, “We must obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29) We … [Read more...]
Why the Lord gives us appetizers of heaven
By Joe McKeever Often, as we serve Him on earth, the Lord gives us these little glimpses of Heaven, special moments when we know “the Lord is in this place!” Pastor Perry Sanders decided to witness to his seatmate on a plane bound for Richmond. “Do you know the Lord?” he asked the elderly gentleman. “I sure do!” the man said. “I’d love to hear about it,” said Perry. The man said, “Years ago, I was traveling the highways of South Carolina in sales. As lost and miserable as it’s possible to get. And one day I picked up a hitchhiking college student. He told me about Jesus and led me to the Lord.” Perry said, “Sir, do you recall where you let that student out?” “Yes sir. He got out in Bamberg, South Carolina.” Perry Sanders, longtime pastor of Lafayette’s First Baptist Church, said to him, “Sir, I’m that boy. I was a student at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC and always tried to share my faith with anyone giving me a ride to my parents’ home in Bamberg.” A little foretaste of Heaven. In Heaven, they ‘re going to be coming up to you: “Do you remember that time you witnessed? Preached a sermon? Prayed a prayer? Gave an offering? Wrote a note?” And God used it. So, He lets that happen just a little in this … [Read more...]
A leader in hiding
By Rebecca Holloway Are you a leader in hiding? A story: Samuel was dedicated to the Lord as a boy and served Him faithfully his whole life. He was the last judge in Israel and a prophet, and the Bible says that the Lord was with him and no word of his ever fell to the ground (I Samuel 3:19). Samuel was leading Israel at a particularly dark time in their history. The glory of the Lord had departed from Israel and the ark of the Lord had been captured by the Philistines. Under Samuel’s leadership, the ark was returned to Israel and the Philistines had been subdued. But as Samuel grew in age, Israel began to cry out for a king. Samuel was against this idea, but the Lord told him to go ahead and do it. After all, they were not rejecting Samuel. They were rejecting the Lord as their King. The Lord told Samuel exactly who He had selected as king, and Samuel found him and almost immediately anointed him as king. His name was Saul, son of Kish. He had “the look.” He was tall, ruddy, and handsome, as the Bible describes him. After he was selected by Samuel, Saul right away began prophesying, and all that the Lord said he would do, he began to do without any delay. But when Samuel called all of Israel together to officially … [Read more...]
Be the change agent
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. -1 John 5:4 I don’t know what it’s like in your house, but my wife and I always disagree about the temperature of the room. Cathe likes it warm, and I like it cool. Sometimes I find myself breaking out in a sweat, so I’ll walk over to the thermostat and see that it’s set at 78. Then I’ll ask Cathe why she set it that high. “I was cold,” she says. So I return it to an appropriate setting, like 70. She likes it warmer. I want it cooler. We go back to the thermostat again and again, because it controls the warmth or coolness of the room. Unlike a thermometer, which goes up and down with the temperature, a thermostat influences its surroundings. A thermostat controls the temperature around it. With that in mind, are you a thermostat or a thermometer? Let me put it another way: Are you changing the culture, or is the culture changing you? Are you changing the world, or is the world changing you? The Bible tells us the stories of great men and women who served God and, in effect, changed their world. These people were not perfect. In fact, they were far from it. They failed often. But they had faith in a … [Read more...]
Forced abortion advertising is not informed consent
By Jeff Landry, Louisiana Attorney General EDITOR’S NOTE: Attorney General Jeff Landry has been a faithful ally of Louisiana Baptists and members of other faith communities on religious liberty matters and pro-life issues, as well as other moral concerns. He felt strongly about the recently decided U.S. Supreme Court case of National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Berry. This was a case in which he joined 22 other attorneys general to successfully urge the overturning of an onerous California law that compelled Christian-run pregnancy care centers to promote state-provided abortions. He subsequently wrote an editorial which he has shared with the Baptist Message. Since the Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand in 1973, Louisiana has consistently led the way in passing legislation to protect mothers and the innocent human lives in their wombs. In fact, we are one of only four states with a “trigger law” that would ban abortion immediately if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. Louisiana also requires abortion clinics to follow common-sense health and safety regulations, and we mandate inspections there to ensure women are not being put at further health risks. Additionally, our State limits the use of … [Read more...]
Perspective is important
By Stewart Holloway I’m almost three years into my forties and already, I’ve experience some “wonderful” milestones: I purchased life insurance because I may kick the bucket. The church purchased key man insurance on me. Again, because I may kick the bucket. But now I wonder, “If the church finances are tight and the deacons invite me to supper, do I go?” I’ve been prescribed cholesterol medicine and made dietary adjustments. My wife harasses me about finding gray hairs and hair that isn’t supposed to be in places. Last week, I added a new milestone – I got bifocals. I’m beginning my second week of invisible line bi-focals today. So far, they’ve been a great help. But, BUT, the bifocal stories are true! For years when I heard people tell of their bifocal experiences, I’d laugh and think, “What a nut! They can’t take that much getting used to!” Oh, yes, yes, they can! Last week, I was getting something out of a cabinet behind my assistant’s desk. As I closed the door, I looked through the wrong part of my glasses. The entire cabinet wobbled. I braced myself for it to fall. When it didn’t fall, I shook it to test it. The cabinet did not move. My assistant died laughing. Later in the week, I was visiting a … [Read more...]
There are no independent churches and no self-sufficient Christians
By Joe McKeever “I planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase” (I Corinthians 3:6). “Even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities” (Philippians 4:16). I have no patience with signs in front of church buildings that read “Independent (whatever) Church.” There is no such thing as an independent church. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we need each other. Some more than others. The believer or the church that believes he/she/it is independent and has no need of all those others is going against everything Scripture teaches and contradicting what they see happening all around them every day. Every church depends on the power company for the lights and a/c, on the water works for water in the building, on the sewerage department, on the streets department and on the guy who cuts the grass and the lady who cleans the toilets. They depend on the Bible, on the Holy Spirit, on those who brought the Gospel to them, and they depend on each other to be faithful. The pastor depends on the congregation to attend and serve and give and pray. Everyone depends on the preacher to lead well. An independent Christian is a contradiction in terms. An oxymoron. There is no such … [Read more...]
Are You Prepared When Your Moment Comes?
Daniel Poncedeleon pitched a no-hitter last night for seven innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in his Major League debut. Unfortunately, because of needing to pinch hit for him and because of a high pitch count, his manager made the most difficult decision to take him out of the game. More unfortunately, the Cardinals’ designated “closer” Bud Norris gave up a couple of runs in that last inning and the Cardinals lost 2-1. But, here’s the real story. Not only was this Poncedeleon’s first ever game to pitch in the Major Leagues, he is fortunate that he ever got the chance to pitch. Last season while playing for the AAA Minor League team of the Cardinals, a batted ball struck Poncedeleon in the head causing a serious injury. His Major League start last night was the celebration after surgery, days of clinging to life in the ICU, and months of rehabilitation. As a baseball fan, his story is a great one. But, as a Christian, there is more to the story. Last night after the game, the anchor of ESPN did a live interview with Poncedeleon. The second question was, “How is your life different since being hit in the head with the line drive.” Poncedeleon is a pitcher, but as a Christian, he hit a home run. “Honestly,” he did … [Read more...]
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