Minister's Blog

“See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!” 2 Corinthians 6:2b

Time is running out. We are confronted with the finite nature of our lives, influence, and abilities on a regular basis. This should not be something that causes a Christian to be anxious or upset. We know, serve and love a Father who is infinitely able to direct our paths and our lives in order to accomplish His purposes. We should allow the Lord to develop wisdom in our hearts when it comes to serving Him in this life. I only have so much time to share the gospel and others have a finite amount of time to hear and heed its call. 

Our lives have been paused in many areas due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus. We could allow the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty of these pauses to keep us from being faithful in our praying, giving, and going. The Great Commission has not been put on pause. The world has not quit spinning and people have not stopped slipping into eternity. Even as I write this newsletter, there are two storms in the gulf that could care less that we have been told to pause our lives due to this pandemic. There are likely people in our state that could lose their lives and spend eternity in eternal punishment.

What can we do in times like this? We can be faithful to pray. Pray for our state and nation. I am not talking primarily about the election coming up. We need to pray for souls that are continuing to languish in darkness. September 13-20 is our Week of Prayer for State Missions. We will be giving out prayer guides and posting prayer prompts on Facebook each day of that week.

We can be faithful to give. When people in our churches are hurting financially this affects giving in the churches of our convention. This negatively affects the ability of our Louisiana Baptist Convention to carry out all of our convention sponsored mission endeavors. We are currently receiving the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering. We need to dig deep to help support Louisiana Baptist Missions.

We must be faithful to go. How can we go? We are being told of the danger that threatens us. Are you going to the grocery store and the doctor? Students, are you going to school? There are a few of you who are unable to leave your home for any reason, but I bet you have a phone. Serving the Lord is often a dangerous endeavor. How much risk would you be willing to bear to share the Gospel? Would you risk the ridicule or negative opinion of others? Would you risk crossing a waiting room? Would you risk rejection in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store? Most of us have not paused all our going. Make sure you are willing and ready to share the Gospel as you go.