By Waylon Bailey Prayer is central to our faith. In fact, prayer seems to be a common practice of all peoples. Prayer is important because it’s essential to getting in touch with God. Even many atheists admit to praying in difficult times. If prayer is so necessary and important, are there ways we harm our times of prayer? Are there ways we should not pray? Let me give you three ways you should consider changing about how you pray. First, don’t pray negatively. In itself, prayer is a positive practice. It is a way of getting in touch with God and letting Him have control over our lives. This is, of course, a positive event. How do we make it negative? We do so by emphasizing what we don’t want to do rather than what we want to do. For example, let’s suppose you need to be more patient. You might pray, “Lord, help me not to be impatient and frustrated today.” That’s a negative prayer. A positive prayer might be like this, “Lord, help me today as I struggle with the difficulties of life. Help me to show the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Let me live in patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control.” A positive prayer emphasizes what we want to do rather than what we don’t want to do. Second, … [Read more...]
Clarity
By Jeff Iorg Ashley Judd, entertainer and activist, did us all a good service with her passionate speech at the recent Women’s March in Washington, D.C. The diatribe, most of it quoting a poem written by another woman and shared with her permission, was filled with vitriol toward men, personal attacks on President Trump, and vulgar references to female genitalia and feminine hygiene. Ms. Judd’s hateful spewing of leftist dogma served us by clarifying – making crystal clear – the state of American feminism. Women have legitimate needs which should be represented to governing authorities and addressed by legal means. It’s doubtful Ms. Judd has much awareness of those needs – not as a celebrity living a privileged life. My mother was an independent, hard-working, self-sufficient woman who held our family together. My wife is cut from the same cloth. I have a daughter and three grand-daughters, so women’s issues matter to me. Women deserve every opportunity for success but Ms. Judd’s version of their concerns doesn’t resonate with reality. Men and women would both enthusiastically promote women’s causes if American feminist leaders would focus on real issues oppressing women today. Toward that end, here are three ways women … [Read more...]
BILLY GRAHAM: Don’t lose sight
By Billy Graham ..when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem... - Luke 2:45 We might as well face it, strife has even infiltrated our church life. It is true enough that the Church is now the Church militant. But, as such, its warfare ought to be that of dedication to revealed truth and divine holiness, and not intramural bickering and carnal disputes. We read in the second chapter of Luke that Joseph and Mary lost Jesus one day. Where did they lose Him? They lost Him in the most unlikely place in all the world-the Temple. I have seen many people lose Jesus right in the church. I have seen them lose Him in a dispute about who was to be choir director, who was to play the organ, who was to be an elder, or who was to be the minister. Yes, because we are human, though Christian, it is easy to lose sight of Jesus right in the temple! Prayer for the day Don't let me lose sight of You, Lord, in the complex logistics of everyday life. … [Read more...]
A New Vision for an Old Dream
How to pray for Donald J. Trump
By Waylon Bailey Today at 12:00 EST Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America. This is always history making. It is especially so this year. America is the envy of the world for a reason. Let us be a people who pray for our country and its leaders. How should we pray today for President Trump and for America? First, we should pray for the blessings of God on all who lead. “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved ad to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Second, we should pray for revival and righteousness in America and in our lives. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” (Proverbs 14:34). “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, and my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear … [Read more...]
STEVE HORN: A Prayer for Inauguration Day
By Steve Horn, pastor, First Baptist Lafayette I am sure that since today is Inauguration Day, more articles will come your way than you can possibly read. Well, here is one more. I will try to keep it short. Back in December, I had the privilege of praying as the Louisiana Electoral College formally cast their votes. 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 as President Trump takes office 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. (Zechariah 11:7) We pray for God’s wisdom to rest both on President Trump and Vice-President Pence. We pray in the spirit of 1 Timothy 2 that they might lead us in such a way … [Read more...]
Franklin Graham: Pray for Our New President
Louisiana’s Perkins: What President-elect Trump can do about religious freedom
JEFFRESS: God is in control of everything that happens
By Robert Jeffress, pastor, First Baptist Dallas, Texas The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. --Proverbs 16:9 If you have made a big mistake or bad choice, perhaps you have asked some of the following questions about God’s role in your failure: If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then did His plan for me include my failure? If my failure was part of God’s sovereign plan, then how can God hold me responsible? If God’s script for my life has already been written, then does it matter what I do? These questions have profound implications for understanding how we can have a second act in life. What is God’s role in our past mistakes? This week, we will look at the relationship between God’s sovereignty and our choices. The most foundational principle is this: God is in control of everything that happens. God’s sovereignty means that God is in charge of everything that happens in His universe. In Isaiah 45:6, God says, “There is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.” God has no competition in this universe. There is nobody He is trying to wrestle control of this universe from. Many people accept the sovereignty of God in theory, but they have a hard time … [Read more...]
STEVE HORN: Making public worship a high priority in 2017
By Steve Horn, pastor, First Baptist Lafayette I guess it is possible to maintain a vibrant spirit-filled, Christ-honoring, God-abiding spiritual walk without maintaining a relationship with a local church, but I have never met anyone who did. I’ve known some who have tried, but I have never known anyone who succeeded. I’ve met some who said they were going to succeed, but I have never known anyone who did. The local church, including ours, with all of her problems and at times hypocrisy and inconsistencies, is still the best way to help you in every other area of life. Maintaining a growing relationship with Christ when we are connected to the church will never be easy, but I maintain it is nearly impossible to maintain that relationship without the Church. So, as we begin this new year, I urge you to commit yourself anew to Christ and anew to the Church. I urge you as a sign of your commitment to pledge your faithfulness to the “assembling of ourselves together” each week. Notice in the Hebrews 10 passage the high priority of worship. Our Condition Before Salvation—The first thing that ought to compel us to worship is our condition before our salvation in Christ. The context of Hebrews gives several ideas to … [Read more...]
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