By Waylon Bailey Prayer is at the heart of our Christian faith. In Scripture, we find many examples of prayer including and culminating with Jesus’ model prayer (the Lord’s Prayer). We also find exhortations to pray, and we find different aspects of prayer. One of the great passages about prayer is Paul’s writing to the Ephesians. In this passage, Paul described prayer as essential to our living faithfully. As we pray urgently, fervently, and constantly, we equip ourselves for the onslaught that we receive from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Paul wrote these powerful words as encouragement for God’s people to pray. “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to  proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20). Here are some takeaways about prayer from this passage of Scripture. First, prayer should be more “all” and less “some.” Notice that Paul uses “all” four times in Ephesians 6:18. We pray at all times with all prayer with all … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever "Comfort one another." (I Thessalonians 4:18) A lady who read our blog commented that when she was widowed, her church did not minister to her.  And no, she said, “I did not seek counsel from my pastor.  I sought help from the Bible and the Lord alone.” I’m thinking she was saying that somewhat pridefully. I may be reading it wrong. I replied, “God never intended you and me to handle life’s burdens ‘from the Bible and the Lord alone.’ That’s why He put us in a church when He saved us.” We have to give the pastors and leaders a chance to help us. We should let them know we are in crisis. Then, it’s their responsibility to respond appropriately. But if they do not know, they will do nothing and you will suffer needlessly. I repeat: The Lord intends us to help each other handle these critical passages in life. He does not intend us to life our lives in isolation, just reading our Bible and trying to get sustenance from the Lord. He gives help through His people as well as by the Holy Spirit. And often, it’s through His people that the Holy Spirit ministers best. “Love one another.” “Comfort one another.” “Encourage one another.” Have you read that in Scripture? It’s all through the New … [Read more...]

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptist Missions and Ministry Team Leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – Acts 28 describes the Apostle Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome as a sort of home confinement with a live-in guard and that for “two whole years” he was “able to welcome all who came to see him.” One of the “all” who was with him during much of that time was Timothy, who already was a recognized evangelist and overseer among the churches in Europe and Asia Minor, but he still was growing in spiritual maturity under the tutelage of Paul. They first met on Paul’s second missionary journey and throughout the following 14 years, or so, Timothy progressed in leadership and was sent by Paul to be his representative to Corinth and later to Thessalonica. Finally, Paul sent Timothy to Philippi and told the church there, “I have no one else like him” (Philippians 2:20), acknowledging his extensive personal investment in developing Timothy to serve as a leader. Indeed, Timothy’s path of leadership growth is a prime example of how leaders are developed over time through the passing along of wisdom from leader to follower combined with situational opportunities that allow a follower to test and develop his or her own skills. This time-honored … [Read more...]

By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- Dotting the landscape of the rural communities north of Charlotte, N.C., are dozens of the most high-tech companies in the automotive industry. First, there are the home facilities of NASCAR's elite racing teams. Then there are the shops of smaller companies that support those teams by making and servicing the vast inventory of parts and tools needed to build and race a modern stock car. The NASCAR team shops are tens of thousands of square feet of space kept in eat-off-the-floor states of cleanliness. There are rooms and racks full of parts and tools. But NASCAR races are held all over the country. So how do the teams get the cars -- and the vast inventory of parts and tools needed to service them -- to the racetracks several dozen times each racing season? Answer: the hauler. A NASCAR hauler is an 18-wheel behemoth that serves as a traveling shop for the NASCAR teams. The cab has room for two drivers who swap five-hour shifts as the trucks roll non-stop to the tracks. And the trailers are as spotless and well-organized as the shops which send them out every week. Open the back doors of a hauler and you see two levels. In the upper level are two race cars -- the primary car … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn Near the end of the Old Testament, we read the prophecies of Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah. Read together, these three Old Testament Prophets challenge us to think about our national enemies as we once again commemorate the tragedy of 2001 that will forever be called “9-11.” Amos, like all other prophets, prophesied of the coming judgment against Israel and Judah.  Amos’ message of judgment starts against the enemies of Israel and gets increasingly tighter until the message “zeroes” in on Israel. The significance of this progression is that judgment is certain. The opportunity for repentance has passed.  However, there is the hint that Israel could have avoided judgment if they would have heeded God’s seriousness toward sin. Likewise, the message for America today is “We must learn from the mistakes of our enemies.” Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. We know very little about Obadiah or the exact perspective from which he wrote. We do understand that his prophecy targeted Edom—an enemy of Israel. Obadiah’s preaching was likely a message to encourage Israel during the days of exile or immediately following exile. His preaching would have pointed to God’s judgment against Israel’s enemies. As we … [Read more...]