Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
It’s been two weeks since Illinois lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner began congratulating themselves for passing what they claimed was a balanced budget that spends every bit of last summer’s $5 billion tax increase.
Here’s the link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.
“I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3).
Nehemiah was a man with a vision. God had called him to lead a group of exiles in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah faced challenges. Those who opposed his task tried various tricks to distract Nehemiah and his coworkers. They tried to get him to leave and meet with them. They threatened the men doing the work—and their families. They tried to discourage the workers and make them feel ineffectual. They tried to get Nehemiah to leave the task so they could hurt him or make him stop and defend his integrity. They tried everything to get him off course. But Nehemiah saw through them and kept working.
Thought for Today: When God gives us a job to do, Satan and his cohorts will try everything to get us off track. But the key is to keep our eyes on God and keep at the task.
| Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. |
| Hebrews 12:14 (Read all of Hebrews 12:14) New International Version |
By Rick Warren
“Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them (Psalm 115:8 GW).
But we do it all the time with our careers, relationships, and bank accounts. We act as if those created things give us meaning in life.
And when we do that, we’re just setting ourselves up for failure. The Bible says, “The poor, deluded fool … trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask: ‘Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?’” (Isaiah 44:20 NLT)
Oh, yes, those idols are lies. Sadly, idols don’t just stop after they’ve disappointed us, though. Eventually, they enslave us, too.
The Bible says, “Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them” (Psalm 115:8 GW). Whatever you value the most in life, you’re going to become like. If you value money, you’ll eventually become a materialist. If you value pleasure, you’ll become a hedonist. If you value works, you’ll become a pragmatist. If you value above all else Jesus Christ, you’ll become a Christian.
So if putting something else first in our lives warps us, why do we do it?
We want a god we can control. We want to be able to manage him. If we make money our god, we feel as if we can control it. If we make other people our gods, we set out to control them. It makes us feel better.
But we can’t control God. He says, “Don’t reduce me. Don’t try to fit me into your lifestyle. Don’t try to control me.
Have you ever competed in track? Do you remember running in a race and seeing someone caught running out of his lane? Was that person disqualified? That’s what happens when one runs aimlessly.
Here’s a link to Roger Lipe’s Daily Devotion for Competitors.
| Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. |
| Psalm 34:8 (Read all of Psalm 34:8) New International Version |
By Rick Warren
“Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do” (Ephesians 5:15 Phillips).
Responsibility.
Responsibility is your ability to respond to life. It’s what makes you human — and it’s a gift from God. Much of your life hasn’t been in your control. You didn’t choose where you would be born. You didn’t choose who your parents would be. You didn’t choose how your parents would raise you. You didn’t choose the unique gifts and talents you would bring into the world.
Responsibility is how you handle everything else. God has given you the freedom to respond to what comes your way. How you respond to what life throws at you impacts your life more than any other factor.
In fact, in many ways, life is a test of how we handle responsibility. We spend only a fraction of our lives on this side of eternity. God doesn’t care about our achievements while we’re here on this earth. He cares about our character.
Our lives today are mere warm-up acts for what’s to come. God is testing your responsibility for what’s going to happen later on. God put you on this earth primarily for two reasons: to know him personally and to develop character.
In the past three to four decades, we’ve seen a steep decrease in responsibility throughout our culture. Many in our world live by the motto, “I’m not responsible for anything. It’s not my fault.”
That view is in stark contract with what the Bible says: “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do” (Ephesians 5:15 Phillips).
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you know that he is the one who gives meaning in this life. You can live responsibly because you know you’re a steward of the life you’ve been given. Responsible people make the most of the life they’ve been given.
How will you use the life you’ve been given?
Talk It Over
Illinois lawmakers are finally catching on that it is a problem when high school grads enroll in well-funded universities, meaning those outside of Illinois. The bright young people don’t come back to Illinois to energize this workforce or pay taxes.
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Belleville News Democrat.
Crowds poured into Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. In addition to the sacrifices and observances, people sought to renew friendships with those from other regions and marveled at the grand scale of the temple. At this particular Passover, a new excitement stirred the masses. Many heard the stories of incredible miracles performed by Jesus and felt He was the one who would free them from the bondage of Roman rule.
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13).
Many of the people in the crowd that welcomed Jesus that day turned against Him and joined the call for His crucifixion. However, a group of Jesus’ followers stayed true to Him. After the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and infilling of the Holy Spirit, they faithfully proclaimed the good news.
Thought for Today: Jesus wants to be welcomed as Lord and Savior by everyone.
| Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. |
| Deuteronomy 6:5 (Read all of Deuteronomy 6:5) New International Version |
