Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
President Trump continued his criticism of NATO Tuesday before he headed to Europe for a meeting of leaders of the 29-nation alliance Wednesday, trading barbed tweets with European Council President Donald Tusk. The testy exchange was further evidence that the president is right when he says that NATO – created in 1949 – has become obsolete.
Here’s a link to the editorial at FOX News.
Nicknames are nothing new—especially in the city of Antioch during Roman rule. Antioch was known for giving nicknames to people groups. For example, they coined the name Herodians for the followers of Herod and Vitellians for the followers of Vitellius. The people of Antioch used nicknames to mock and show disrespect. The followers of Christ shared their new faith at every opportunity, so they were given the nickname Christians.
For a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26).
Being identified with Christ was an honor for the new believers. These new Christians worked hard to be positive reflections of the Christ they served. As modern Christians, we too need to be conscious of how we reflect Christ. A poor representation of Christ can be eternally damaging to those seeking God’s love.
Prayer Suggestion: Lord, help me to properly reflect Your love to the world around me.
CARTERVILLE — Interim athletic director Jerry Kill has hired Liz Jarnigan, an associate athletic director at the Air Force Academy, as SIU’s new senior woman administrator.
Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.
By Rick Warren
“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8 NLT).
Do you want to be one of those people? We don’t talk a lot these days about being pure in heart, but we do use the word integrity. To have integrity does not mean you are perfect, because if it did, none of us would have it!
So, what does it mean to have integrity?
Integrity is wholeness.
A lot of people think of their life like a pie, and the different parts of their life are the pieces of the pie. This slice of the pie is my career. This is my work life. This is my spiritual life. Then this is my family life. That one is my social life. Then over here is my secret life — my compulsions, addictions, and the things nobody else knows about.
If you segment your life like that, you lack integrity, because your life is not a whole. Integrity means you’re the same person with everybody, in your speech, actions, and motives, no matter which part of life you’re dealing with.
Integrity is authenticity.
In ancient Greek culture, actors were referred to as hypocrites because they pretended to be someone else. It’s where we get the word hypocrite.
When you wear masks so that you appear one way in front of some people and another way for others, it shows a lack of authenticity. God wants you to be exactly who he made you to be, no matter who is watching.
Integrity is uncorrupted motivation.
It means you do the right thing, and you do it for the right reason. You have unmixed motivation and pure motives. You’re sincere and straightforward in every area of your life and with all people. You pray to talk to God and not to impress other people.
We’re interested in image, but God is interested in integrity. We’re interested in reputation, but God is interested in character. Reputation is what everybody thinks you are. Integrity is what you really are. Reputation is what you are in public. Integrity is what you are when you’re all alone with God.
“The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity” (Proverbs 11:20 NLT).
One year ago last Friday, lawmakers overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto, passing a $36.5 billion budget that took an additional $5 billion from taxpayers and ended a more than two-year standoff between the freshman governor demanding pro-business reforms and Democrats in the General Assembly, who passed a budget with the help of a handful of defecting Republicans.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said that while there needs to be improvement to trading agreements, he told the visiting Japanese ambassador he’s taken concerns of a trade war directly to the White House.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Franklin County law enforcement officials are seeking information and the whereabouts of three juveniles who escaped from the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center, according to a Nixle report from Franklin County.
Here’s a link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.
The Giants’ switch in starting pitchers caused manager Joe Maddon to change Anthony Rizzo’s day off from Wednesday to Tuesday night, but that didn’t affect Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
CHICAGO –For those who had wondered about the effort of Cardinals right fielder Dexter Fowler, including a prominent front office executive, it must be reported that Fowler was seen jogging while running the bases Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Here’s a link to the story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Monday night, President Trump announced Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement late last month.
Here’s a link to the editorial at FOX News.
