Your Voice

Alabama Baptist ‘treasure’ seeks help to continue mission

By President W. Mark Tew
Judson College

Greetings from Judson College, the only college for women in Alabama, the only college for women related to Southern Baptists and the only evangelical Christian women’s college in America.

Judson is your Alabama Baptist treasure!

I first thank you for the way many of you supported Judson College during its December 2020 fund drive. Gifts and commitments exceeded $1.5 million.

Due to your largesse, 26 seniors will graduate April 30 and commence into their God-directed “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that [they] should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

For future generations of Judson women, I ask for your support.

First, pray that God will work mightily in their lives. One of my greatest joys is welcoming our students to campus and sharing with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. I tell them, “We don’t deserve it, and we can’t earn it, but we can receive the free gift of salvation.”

By leading our students in a sinner’s prayer, at least two things happen.

Some pray to receive Christ for the first time. Others see an adult using his career as an opportunity to share the good news about Jesus Christ.

Second, I ask that you tithe to your local church. When we return to God a tenth of our monthly income, we acknowledge our gratitude for and dependence on God’s constant provision. Tithing to an Alabama Baptist church that participates in the Cooperative Program makes possible the state convention’s generous support of Judson and all your Baptist ministries.

Third, and only after you tithe to the work of God’s ministry through your church, Judson asks for your eleventh percent.

The principle of sowing and reaping is presented clearly by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9.

• We reap only if we sow. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (v. 7).
• We reap what we sow. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (v. 6).
• We reap more than we sow. “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness (v. 10).

Consider making or renewing your commitment to biblical tithing and ask God if you should share your eleventh percent with Judson.

I close with one final word on sowing and reaping. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).

Perspectives on gambling 

On the odds of winning:

Gamblers share an optimism about beating the odds. In reality, beating a casino’s odds falls somewhere between tough and impossible.

Taking all forms of casino gambling into account, spending $100 an hour in the gaming house results in an average loss of $5 per hour. …

The odds of winning at slots are 35:2. In fact, these are the worst odds in the casino. The odds of winning the top prize are as high as 1:33,554,000.

At blackjack, gamblers lose 75% of the time. Winning bets seldom make up for the amount lost on previous bets. …

People are more likely to sight a UFO than to win the lottery. They are also more likely to die of a flesh-eating disease, get hit by lightning or die in a car accident.

Kevin Johnston
“Who’s really winning at the slots?”
moneywise.com

On the addictiveness of casino games:

A significant portion of casino revenue now comes from a small percentage of customers, most of them likely addicts, playing machines that are designed explicitly to lull them into a trancelike state that the industry refers to as “continuous gaming productivity.”

John Rosengren
“How casinos enable gambling addicts”
The Atlantic, Dec. 2016

On false hope:

The entire idea of gambling is about the same as false advertising. The belief is that you can gamble and win more than you lose. But the truth is that most gamblers lose more than they win.

Michael Stevens
gamblingsites.org/blog

Letters to the Editor

I am Rose Morgan, a junior at Judson College from Brewton, Alabama. I have a double major in business and religion. My mom, Sharon Morgan, is an alumna, class of 1993.

I’ve always been on the campus of Judson and loved it, but I never thought I would go here until I came my senior year and fell in love.

I remember saying, “Mom, this is my home; this is where I want to be.”

We had Hockey Day on March 6 and that’s my favorite tradition ever, being able to meet alumae and my mom’s classmates.

I have made so many friends here at Judson. I’ve enjoyed the experience so much.

I am influenced spiritually here. We have a student led ministry called Engage that meets on Monday nights plus other Bible studies.

We also have chapel on Tuesdays. I love chapel. I try not to miss it.

I really enjoy meeting other people and learning about their faith and helping them grow their faith. That’s very important to me and why I love religion and why I am majoring in it. It’s part of my testimony.

Rose Morgan, Junior
Brewton, Ala.

Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes.

Robert Lowry
Hymn writer, “Christ Arose! (Low in the Grave He Lay)”

The fear nots of the Bible signify one of our greatest sources of comfort. If you’re feeling worried, anxious, afraid or insecure about something today, claim one of these verses:

• Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God — my God — will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you (1 Chronicles 28:20).
• Do not fret — it only causes harm (Ps. 37:8).
• Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God (Isa. 41:10).
• Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock (Isa. 44:8).
• Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows (Matt. 10:31).

We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but one thing is guaranteed — God’s overarching care for His children. We can be assured of His presence and His promises. In a world where nothing seems certain and unchangeable, He is our constant companion.

David Jeremiah
Pastor and author

Since the coming of Christ, racial and ethnic barriers are set aside. We can and should love our country and its distinctives and be proud of its accomplishments. But if we can be proud of its accomplishments, we must also be ashamed for its sins and failures to live up to its ideals.

Every nation — made up of sinners — will have great moral wrongdoing and evil in its past. To hide or minimize that past is to take a major step toward idolatry and to reject God’s righteous judgment on our sins.

Tim Keller
Pastor and author

From the Twitterverse

@sPeytonHill
“The man who attempts Christianity without the church shoots himself in the foot, shoots his children in the leg and shoots his grandchildren in the heart.” — @RevKevDeYoung

@JackieHillPerry
There are people in our local churches that have more godliness than half of the “famous” Christians we look to. It’s observable too because we can get beyond what they say and get close to who they really are. That’s the essence of authentic discipleship and that’s what we need.

@rayortlund
“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). God doesn’t match our sin with His grace. He over-matches our sin with His surplus grace. Let’s stop groveling before our sins — those pathetic losers! Let’s believe Romans 5:20, get up and follow Christ today!

@richardblackaby
God always has a better version of you available. Let Him take you there! (Eph. 4:24)

@SamAllberry
When Isaiah sees a vision of God, he doesn’t cry “Wow!” but “Woe!” God doesn’t overwhelm us with how brilliantly like us he is, but with how disastrously unlike him we are.

@Rgallaty
Prayer must become the most important activity in your life.

@ricklance
Thankful for Alabama Baptists’ missional generosity in giving through the Cooperative Program and to the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering. Extraordinary faithfulness in 2020 marked our support for missions and ministries in Alabama, across the U.S. and around the world. PTL

@pastorbrady
Every Christ follower mentioned in the New Testament belonged to a church. We cannot be fully mature followers of Christ without the community of the church.

@MattSmethurst
Jesus said, “All men will hate you because of me,” not “All men will hate you because of you.” Small, but significant, difference. It’s one thing if we’re rejected because we’re Christians. It’s another if we’re rejected because we’re jerks.

Give to Judson

To make a financial commitment for the 2021–2022 academic year, go to judson.edu/commit.

You also can mail your gift to:

Judson College
Office of Development
302 Bibb Street
Marion, AL 36756.

Commitments must be made by April 2.