Author: Texas Gospel

The Power of Perseverance in Tough Times

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FLOYD ROGERS

Do you have perseverance in your life? Perseverance means staying strong when life gets hard. It’s easy to feel upset or to complain when things don’t go our way, but perseverance refuses to quit. It keeps moving forward, even when the path is rough.

When you face disappointments — like missing out on a job promotion — you have two choices. You can give up, walk away, and let frustration take over, or you can keep working and trusting that better things are ahead. A person who chooses perseverance shows strength of character. They don’t back down because of trouble.

Those who live faithfully and seek God’s guidance will discover His true purpose for their lives. God gives direction and strength in ways people might never expect. But it’s important to have good intentions and a pure heart along the way. Through this process, God shapes perseverance within us, and that perseverance builds character, which leads to hope.

And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

Romans 5:3-4

Health battles affect the Jordan Family Band

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DAVID INGRAM SR

The following was sent to Daywind Records, and we are forwarding it on to you:

From The Jordan Family Band:

Heather Rose and Hutch Jordan of The Jordan Family Band are walking through an unexpected storm right now. Heather is currently in the hospital battling sepsis and a severe infection. She’s still running high fevers and remains in intensive care as her body fights to stabilize. This is a very serious and uncertain time. While there are signs of improvement, she’s now facing surgery in the coming days.

She will be out of work for an unknown amount of time. As a hairstylist, she carries much of their weekly income, and missing even a few days is significant.

Between hospital bills, time away from work, and caring for their little girl, the weight is heavy. We believe God will make a way, but if you feel led to be part of that provision, we’ve set up a fundraiser to ease the burden. This is so stressful in so many ways.

Above all, please keep praying. We’re trusting God to carry them through with healing, strength, and every need met.

THIS IS A LINK to a Go FundMe for Heather Rose.

Mark Bishop tells the story of Lazarus with inspired songwriting

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS MUSIC

Southern Gospel music favorite Mark Bishop is so widely acclaimed for his singing that it’s easy to overlook the depth of his songwriting. Yet as his new Sonlite Records single, “Now Lazarus Can Sing” shows, he’s a conscientious and inspired craftsman whose unique way of looking at things has led to powerful affirmations of faith and salvation.

“I was watching the news as someone was being ushered through a bunch of shouting reporters, trying to get information from him,” Bishop recalls. “His people led him to a waiting car where he jumped in, and they took off. My songwriter brain kicked in, and for some reason I began to wonder about the story of Lazarus and the questions people would have lined up for hours to ask him.

“He had seen it. And he was standing right here in front of them. How could you not ask him what it was like? I’m sure what he saw was beyond description.”

Mark Bishop shares the story behind how he wrote “Now Lazarus Can Sing.”
With these thoughts in mind, Bishop has created a compelling vehicle that, in a profoundly Biblical way, embodies — by illuminating through down-to-earth dialogue rather than proclaiming in grand turns of speech — the miraculous story of Lazarus:

Have you seen Lazarus since that day?
Something about him has changed.
You know the day that I’m talking ’bout.
The day Jesus called out his name.

I spoke to him just the other day.
At the market I pulled him aside.
Can you remember the things you saw?
He put his hand on my shoulder and cried.

So I talked to his sister Martha.
“Martha, what’s he said to you?”
She said “he looks out of the window and smiles,
That his worrying days are all through.”

And even as the music swells and subsides, Bishop’s distinctive voice keeps the listener focused on the essentials, framed in a way that only he could have created.

“Just as important as what he saw… what about how he felt? He was a recipient of perfect love. He lost all of his worry… his doubt… his regrets… everything negative.

“He was no doubt the most changed man in the history of the world.

“And maybe,” the singer-songwriter concludes, “… just maybe… he brought back some other traits… a little bit of residue from heaven. That’s what this song is about; how heaven rubbed off on Lazarus.”

Jesus Unites Jews and Gentiles

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AMY TURNER

When Jesus gave His life, He removed the division that once separated Jews and Gentiles. This division was caused by the law, which acted like a wall, keeping the two groups apart. But through His death, Jesus fulfilled the law and took away its power to judge. By doing this, He brought both groups together and created something new—a united body, His church.

Ephesians 2:15 explains that Jesus ended the hostility caused by the law, making one new man out of two, and in this way, brought peace. This peace is not only between people, but also between us and God.

As believers, we must remember this unity, especially when we disagree on matters that are not essential to our faith. The church is meant to be a place of peace, not conflict. Christ made us one people through His sacrifice, and we should live in a way that reflects that peace.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.

Romans 12:18

James says God doesn’t tempt, but Matthew says the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted; what’s going on here?

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DAVID INGRAM, SR.

James 1:13 tells us that “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But Matthew 4:1 says Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Do these scriptures contradict?

The answer is no, though at first glance it might seem like they do. Let’s unpack them carefully in context.

James 1:13 (NASB) says: “No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

This verse is speaking about the nature of God Himself — that He is perfectly holy, incapable of being enticed by evil, and that He does not actively tempt people to sin. The Greek word here can mean to test, to tempt, or to entice to sin, but context determines the nuance. In James, the emphasis is on temptation with an evil intent, to cause someone to stumble.

Matthew 4:1 (NASB) says: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

Here, it says Jesus was led by the Spirit into a situation where temptation would occur — but notice, it is the devil who tempts, not God. The Holy Spirit’s role was to bring Jesus into the wilderness for a period of testing as part of His messianic mission, but not to entice Him to sin. It was a proving ground, much like how God allowed Job to be tested by Satan in the Old Testament — not to cause sin, but to reveal character and fulfill a divine purpose.

And though Jesus is fully divine, He was also fully human. Hebrews 4:15 (NASB) — “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.”