By Bill Britt HAUGHTON, La. – Of all people, the Apostle Paul could have legitimately complained about the circumstances that he endured throughout his life. When we look back to the beginning of Paul’s journey as a believer, we see that he received a message from the Lord that illuminated the path he was about to embark on. Luke wrote the account of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts. Paul had been known as Saul until the time of his encounter with Jesus. We know that Saul had been persecuting the church, and he truly believed that he was doing God a favor. You can read about the amazing life change that brought Saul to become Paul in Acts 9. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that can change the heart of any man or woman. Saul was given a message from God through a man named Ananias. This is that message. Saul would become a great man of God and would preach the Gospel to the Gentiles as well as to the children of Israel. He would preach to both royalty and the common man. However, he would suffer many things for the sake of Jesus (The Lord has never watered down the cost of following him.) Paul heard the command of the Lord and knew it would not be easy. In light of this revelation from the Lord, he set out on … [Read more...]

By Laura Holeman Trahan, special to the Baptist Message DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (LBM) -- In the Bible, the Hebrew word “ruach” is translated as wind, breath and spirit, interchangeably. How ever one chooses to interpret it, God was undeniably hovering over our family this past Independence Day holiday in the form of “ruachַ” to guide us safely through a storm. In the hustle of church activities, work, summer sports, camps, trips, and more, summer in this season of life with two adolescent kids is not quite as free and easy as is often advertised. Consequently, when we realized all four of us were free on the same days of July 3 and 4, we decided to relive some of our best family memories of primitive camping on one of the many TVA-owned islands on Douglas Lake. Excited by the possibility of disconnecting from the outside world and connecting with each other, we loaded our four kayaks with camping gear and launched our boats across the street from our house. After paddling a mere 100 feet from shore, the blue sky turned black, and a heavy downpour drenched us for roughly five minutes. We could not communicate in the storm, and my husband and the kids continued to paddle forward while I turned back to the shore. When the rain … [Read more...]

By Mike Holloway WEST MONROE, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist congregations get to celebrate being part of some wonderful ministries around the world. By giving through the Cooperative Program, we are part of God’s work around the globe. But sometimes smaller congregations also wish they could do overseas missions “on their own,” too. However, it’s often difficult to do because of modest resources. Still, we learned at Ouachita Baptist Church that even with our moderately sized membership we could make a direct impact to the ends of the earth. Three years ago, we were contacted on Facebook by an interpreter in Zambia who had assisted me during a week of evangelism there nearly two decades earlier. Edward Mulenga was now the pastor of “Word of Truth Ministries,” but the congregation had no building. Still, he simply asked us to partner with his church in prayer. And we did. Through that commitment, God began to move us to help these fellow believers, half a world away. It was a step of faith for several reasons. About 200 worshipers regularly gather each week in our West Monroe facilities. But 2020 was punctuated with COVID stay-at-home mandates. Also, we were engaged in a focused effort to pay off our … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - Since I was four years old, this time of the year has meant “Back to School.” I have either been in school, Linett’s been teaching school, I’ve been teaching, or our boys have been in school. Many years, more than one of us were involved in school at some level. We’re still “going back to school” with Dru. This is a time ripe for prayer. Let me encourage us to be praying about all things “back to school.” Pray for our teachers—What a mission field they have! Pray for our students—Pray for their physical safety and spiritual safety. Pray for our Baptist College, Louisiana Christian University—Dr. Brewer has indicated to me his desire to adopt our language of a “culture of evangelism.” I have the opportunity to speak to this effect at both student orientation and a faculty meeting. Pray indeed for a “culture of evangelism” to exist at LCU. Pray for our BCM’s—You know the importance of engaging new students and reengaging returning students in the early days of this new semester. Pray for our churches—Back to school time is prime time in the life of the local church. Ministries that have been put on pause for the summer are starting again. Pastors have been waiting to get through the summer to … [Read more...]