Brokenness to Healing, Religious Freedom & Simplify

Loving others is often a way to learn about God’s love for us. God has used adoption in the lives of two influential families in the SBC to teach about His love for them and how to love others.

Paul and Michelle Chitwood adopted in 2018 and Kevin and Lynette Ezell adopted in the early 2000s.

Paul Chitwood is the president of the International Mission Board and Kevin Ezell is the president of the North American Mission Board.

We talked to both couples about the experience of adoption and how God has taught them through the process.

Sunday is Orphan and Widow Sunday across the Southern Baptist Convention.
===

Voters in Nevada and Arkansas took steps deemed contrary to and problematic for religious freedom in Nov. 8 midterm elections, while legalized marijuana passed in two of the five states that considered it.

Nevada voters added gender identity and sexual orientation to freedoms protected in the state constitution with 57.11 percent of voters approving the Equality of Rights Amendment, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske reported.

Arkansans appeared to have narrowly defeated a constitutional amendment that would have restricted the government from burdening religious freedom “even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability,” and limiting such actions to “the least restrictive means.” With 97.3 percent of the vote counted, Issue Number 3 or the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment was failing with 50.44 percent of voters opposing it, Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston reported.

Among states that sought to legalize marijuana use, Maryland and Missouri approved the measure, while it failed in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.
===

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
===

In a First Person on Baptist Press, David Jeremiah writes, “The Gospels are full of children, and the Bible teaches us to emulate the wonder, faith, fascination and simplicity of a childlike heart. We’re not to be childish in our thinking, for the Bible enjoins maturity and wisdom; but we’re to be childlike in our spirits. That means knowing how to slow down, see the world around us, be present with a sense of wonder, and be awestruck with the greatness of our Heavenly Father—and the smallness of some of His blessings.”

He goes on to say, “This means we must recover the simplicity of worship. I’m not talking about the order or rituals of the worship service you attend, but about the sense of wonder that should grip our hearts when we think of God. When people lose faith in a Creator, the creation itself simply becomes a grid to study before we die. But from the beginning, God intended for us to look into the starry skies and contemplate His greatness. He intended for us to look at the flowers of the field and contemplate His beauty. He intended for us to look at the birds of the air and contemplate His care. And He intended for us to look into His Word and contemplate His grace. Our secular world has lost the sense of wonder.”

Read the full piece and sign up for our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.