By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- In the movie "On the Waterfront," Terry Malloy was a dockworker who had been a promising young prizefighter until a mob-connected union boss instructed him to deliberately lose a fight he could have won. Later Terry found his own life in danger and was in anguish about having thrown the fight. "You don't understand," he said to his brother. "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." In throwing the fight, Terry had thrown away his career, his future and, most of all, his self-respect. The late W.A. Criswell once preached a sermon on Demas. In Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24, Criswell pointed out, Demas was working alongside the apostle Paul in Rome. But years later Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:10 that "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." Demas could have been somebody. But he wasn't willing to let loose of the world. 'Remember Lot's wife’ The Bible has many stories of men and women who could have been somebody. Instead they became half hearted followers, half-committed disciples, people who started down the road but looked back. They weren't willing to choose the right … [Read more...]

By Jeff Ginn A good start doesn’t guarantee a good finish. I learned that lesson by running distance events in high school. The runners that sprinted the first couple of hundred yards and gained an early lead were not necessarily (nor even likely) to be the ones that finished the race well. This is illustrated well by a couple of world-class milers. The first man ever to run the mile in less than four minutes was Roger Bannister. He did so in 1954. Later that same year, a second runner accomplished the same feat and set a new world record. His name was John Landy. Soon enough those two runners met in a long-awaited duel. It was dubbed the “Miracle Mile.” 100 million people listened via radio to see who would win their match. At the gun, Landy had a strong start. In fact, he led the race until the final curve. Because of the way the sun was set in the sky, he could clearly see his shadow and Bannister’s shadow on the track. He estimated that he was some 10 to 15 yards in the lead. To confirm this, he turned his head to gauge Bannister's position. Bannister took that opportunity to pass him on his blind side. In doing so, he edged out a victory over Landy. A sculpture of the race-deciding moment stands today near the … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn In our church, First Baptist Church, Lafayette, we have each week a prayer focus called This One Thing. We encourage our entire church to be focused on this one thing of prayer for an entire week. This week, we have asked our church, in the spirit of Presidents’ Day on Monday, to pray for President Trump and Vice-President Pence. Back in December 2016, I had the unique privilege of offering a prayer just before the Louisiana Electoral College formally cast their votes for President. I want to share with you the content of my prayer that day in hopes that you might join me in praying along these lines for President Trump today. Heavenly Father, As the Psalmist declared, “Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God.” (Psalm 20:7) We give You thanks today as we should do in all things. We give You thanks for grace upon our nation. We give You thanks for the opportunity to participate in an election. We give You thanks for the election of Donald Trump. And now, oh God, we pray in the spirit of the prophet of old, Zechariah. We pray for favor and union. We pray for unity in our nation and we pray for the favor of God to rest on our nation. … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn I read somewhere this week that our society suffers from “inextinguishable discontent.” We are on a perpetual quest for more or better. We want a better job, a better boss, a better wage, or a better retirement plan. We want a better marriage or a better spouse. We want a better car, a better house, and a better wardrobe. Some of us just want a better golf swing. And, we live for “what’s next.” We find ourselves wishing for next weekend, or our next vacation, or our next phase of life. All the while in this quest for better and next, we miss today. We miss now. And we miss contentment. And, we learn from Paul that this is not the life worthy of the call of Christ. Consider the text. In comparison, though, Paul addressed the Philippians that he had learned the “secret to contentment.” Just as is the case with joy, true contentment is found in Christ. Joy and contentment seem to run on parallel tracks. Since Paul used that word, “learned,” we ask the question of the text, “What had he learned? The Connection Between Circumstances and Contentment Here’s the simple lesson: There really is no connection between circumstances and contentment. Look at the phrases of this text: whatever circumstances (v. 11); … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Happy Valentine’s Day! When I think of Valentine’s Day, I often think of a number of passages of Scripture, passages which speak of the love of God and the love of a man and a woman. Of all of these passages, my favorite is 1 Corinthians 13. This wasn’t written for a marriage although it fits marriage beautifully. It was written for the church. It was written about how believers relate to one another. Love is patient and is kind; love does not envy. Love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not irritable, does not keep a record of wrongs; does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. The next phrase may be the best of all, “Love never fails.” It doesn’t mean that love is never defeated. Rather, it means that love doesn’t quit. Love can be counted on. It won’t quit, and it won’t give up. The word for love is the Greek word, Agape. Agape is not a feeling; it is an action. It always seeks the absolute best for another person. When we love as God loves, we look for the needs of others. We seek to do to others as we want done to us. We love … [Read more...]