Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:30-34 (Read all of Proverbs 24:30-34)
New International Version
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is lucky Chicago holds municipal elections in February, not August or early September. He’d face extraordinary scrutiny in his bid for a third term if residents were about to go to the polls amid the convulsion of summer gun violence.
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.
A stunning grand jury report issued Tuesday that said over 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused more than 1,000 children over seven decades – and accused church leaders of covering up the wrongdoing – shows a massive and indefensible moral failure of the Catholic Church in the U.S.
Here’s a link to the editorial at FOX News.
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
Romans 16:17-18 (Read all of Romans 16:17-18)
New International Version
By Rick Warren — August 10, 2018
“Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22 NLT).
But they will distract you from what God wants you to do in your life, eventually eating up your time, energy, resources, and creativity.
Shortcuts are always shortsighted. God wants you to stop being “absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective” (Colossians 3:2 The Message).
Let God’s Word “penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body” (Proverbs 4:21-22 NLT).
By Rick Warren
“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).
For instance, you can say, “I need to love my spouse more,” but that isn’t going to work. You can’t fight your way into a feeling. You must change the way you think about your spouse, about your kids, about the rest of your family. That will change the way you feel, which will then change the way you act. The Bible says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).
The battle for sin, the battle to deal with those defects in your life that you don’t like, starts in your mind. If you want to change anything in your behavior or anything in your emotions, you start with your thoughts and your attitude.
The renewal of your mind is related to the word “repentance.” I know repentance is a dirty word for a lot of people. They think it means something bad, something they don’t really want to do, something painful. They think of a guy standing on a street corner with a sign that says, “Repent! The world’s about to end!”
Repentance is about more than changing your behavior. It is about changing your mind and learning to think differently. “Repent” simply means to make a mental U-turn.
You turn from guilt to forgiveness. You turn from frustration to freedom, from darkness to light, from hatred and bitterness to love.
You may also need to change the way you think about God. He’s not mad at you; he’s mad about you! You’re deeply flawed, but you’re deeply loved.
Start with your mind, and change the way you think about your relationships, the economy, the world, and your past, present, and future. Changing the way you think will then affect your emotions and your behavior.
By Rick Warren
“You have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him” (Ephesians 4:21 NLT).
Nothing changes until you know and face the truth. And that truth is found in Jesus Christ.
Why is it necessary to learn the truth before anything can change in your life? Here’s why: Behind every self-defeating habit in your life is a lie that you believe. If you get in debt, it’s because you believed some lies like “I can spend and get away with it” or “I can always pay it back.” You might have overestimated how much you were going to make, or you believed the lie that you needed a much bigger house.
But do you? Are you sure it’s the truth? Can you prove it’s the truth? Are you absolutely certain that what you believe you’ve said about your finances is true?
What about your relationships? What about the things you say to yourself about yourself? Is the way you think about your past or about some event the truth, or is the truth what God says about it?
The Bible teaches that personal change starts with truth. It is the truth that sets you free. The apostle Paul says, “You have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him” (Ephesians 4:21 NLT). Who is the truth? It’s Jesus, and because Jesus is the truth, he will always tell you the truth. His word is the truth. The Bible is his Word, and that means the Bible is truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
What you hear on television or read in books isn’t always going to help you, because it’s not always the truth. Have you learned that? But what God tells you is always going to be the truth. God’s Word shows you how to get back to the life you were created to live, and then it shows you how to stay on God’s path.
This is why it is so important for you to have a daily quiet time in the Word of God. Nothing will change until you get the truth into your heart. As long as you build your life on a foundation of lies, misconceptions, deceptions, or half-truths, you will never change. But when you face the truth and respond to the truth, you will begin to see change in your life.
A story is supposed to have two sides, but there is only one when it comes to President Trump’s foreign policy. Most American media treat his every effort as a savage assault on a harmonious world order.
Here’s a link to the editorial at FOX News.
C I R C U M S T A N C E S
http://devotions4competitors.blogspot.com/2012/08/c-i-r-c-u-m-s-t-n-c-e-s-romans-828-what.html
Romans 8:28
What sorts of things get you down during the season? Bad performances during games? Ugly practices? Long road trips? Strained relationships on the team? Challenges in classes? Whatever the circumstance, we have a great promise related to God’s will and His provision.
In Paul’s letter to his friends in Rome at chapter 8 and verse 28, he tells them, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” According to Paul, a guy who had decades of difficult days, God’s at work in the whole process of our lives.
It says that He’s at work in all things… good things, bad things, smart things, stupid things, fun things, painful things… all things. God is at work in all these things to bring about good for you. Even in the worst, most stupid and dreadfully painful situations of life, God is at work to bring good to you.
Whether it’s a losing streak, a lost friendship, a broken family, a failing grade or whatever; God’s promise to you is the same. He’s seeking your good every day, all day. Rest in that promise today and trust Him as you compete in confidence and security.
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 (Read all of 1 John 4:19)
New International Version
