By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, California (BP) - Instead of having one slow brain, today's computers have several really fast brains that can handle tasks independently of each other. While the brain God gave us is more powerful than any computer, we only have one. And it works best when it is focused on one thing at a time. If you're a student of the Bible, you already know where we're headed: Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (NKJV). Spiritual multitasking First, let's look carefully at Jesus' words in this part of the Sermon on the Mount, then define them more closely. To give context, Jesus is talking about the practice He witnessed in Roman occupied Galilee - slavery. When He says, "No one can serve two masters," the word for serve is "douleuo," from which comes the familiar Greek word for slave - "doulos." A doulos was a bondservant, a slave, not an employee. His allegiance was to only be to one, and only one, master. Those listening to Jesus' teaching would have understood perfectly what He meant: "Being a slave is a full-time job. You owe complete allegiance … [Read more...]

By Greg Laurie "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." - Romans 8:15 My grandkids call me “Papa.” The other day one of my grandchildren said, “Uppy, Papa!” which means, “Pick me up!” How can you say no to that? It’s a term of affection. Other people can’t call me “Papa” because that term is based on my relationship with my grandchildren. Jesus said, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9 NKJV). The Bible tells us, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15 NKJV). The word Abba is more or less the Hebrew equivalent of “Papa” or “Daddy.” Don’t think of your heavenly Father as distant or disinterested. Rather, think of Him as a warm, loving Father. Perhaps the most vivid illustration of what our heavenly Father is like is found in a story Jesus told in what is called the parable of the prodigal son. Usually, this story’s emphasis is on the son, but we could just as easily call it the parable of the loving father. It’s the story of a father who had two sons. One son went astray, wrecked his … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]