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...]

By Joe McKeever “I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you….” (from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Opening theme)  “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). This verse is quoted in the New Testament in Matthew 5:43 and 19:19; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14 and James 2:8.  Mr. Fred Rogers, who left us in 2003, is back in the news these days. Books and articles, television specials and a couple of movies remind us just how special this good man was. Anyone who reads Mr. Rogers’ words or dwells on his life for even a few minutes comes away thinking more about being a good neighbor. My wife and I saw the movie “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Thursday of this week.  There were perhaps 25 or 30 others in the theater, most of them seniors.  This was not the Tom Hanks movie on Mr. Rogers which I had expected, but is more of a documentary or biopic, I think they call it.  The Hanks movie will be out soon, we’re told, and is not so much a biography as a story about Rogers’ interview with a magazine writer. A couple of observations about Mr. Rogers from the movie we just saw.  One, the man truly was almost too good to be true.  As a … [Read more...]

By Rick Warren “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8 NLT). As you strive to build a life based on values that last, it’s important to establish and maintain integrity. The Bible says in Matthew 5:8, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (NLT).To “see God” means to experience the presence of God. Believers who have a pure heart get to feel the power of God. They get to know the purpose of God for their lives. They get to live in the peace of God. They experience the pardon of God. Do you want to be one of those people? We don’t talk a lot these days about being pure in heart, but we do use the word integrity. To have integrity does not mean you are perfect, because if it did, none of us would have it! So, what does it mean to have integrity? Integrity is wholeness. A lot of people think of their life like a pie, and the different parts of their life are the pieces of the pie. This slice of the pie is my career. This is my work life. This is my spiritual life. Then this is my family life. That one is my social life. Then over here is my secret life — my compulsions, addictions, and the things nobody else knows about. If you segment your life … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn I find myself thinking and praying for multiple friends today who are going through a hard time. One of the difficulties of being a pastor is to help people through difficult seasons of their life. Usually, there is no advice to give or anything to say that will really change the circumstances. At the same time, saying something like, “Just trust God,” seems so hollow and void of real compassion. And yet, is there any better answer to all of our problems than the answer that Christ gives? Jesus said to Paul and He says to us, “My grace is sufficient for you.” I always think of this passage in hard times. I hope it blesses those today who need to hear it again. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. 8Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am … [Read more...]