Your Daily Prayer: A prayer for the grieving heart

January 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment

A Prayer for the Grieving Heart – Your Daily Prayer – January 3, 2019

Your Daily Prayer Devotional Banner

A Prayer for the Grieving Heart
By: Jennifer O. White

“But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”  ->Romans 8:26b (NLT).

Our world has been shaken. My husband’s older brother and only sibling, Ken, dropped dead in his bathroom. We still don’t know why. While we wait on autopsy results, we shake our heads in disbelief at how someone who appeared to be the picture of health could just die so suddenly.

My husband and I, his parents, his children, extended family and many friends are all flooded with grief. We have great joy in knowing Ken is with Jesus enjoying the best days of his eternal life. We celebrate our hope of joining him there. Meanwhile we miss him greatly.

If you are experiencing a grief like this, take this prayer to a quiet place, light a candle or two, and let your soul speak to the One who always hears his children’s tears.

A Prayer for the Grieving Heart

 

You are Immanuel, God with me. Thank You for being with me now as I mourn this loss. You are the God of all Comfort and I willingly receive Your comfort now. I do not know what Your comfort will look like or feel like, but I trust it even so.

My heart is broken but You are near. My spirit is crushed, but You are my rescuer. Your Word is my hope. It revives me and comforts me in especially now. My soul faints, but you are the breath of life within me. You are my help, the One who sustains me. I am weak but You are strong. You bless those who mourn, and I trust You to bless me and my family with all that we need. You will rescue me from this dark cloud of despair because You delight in me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Filed Under: Columns

A tale of two immigrants – The tragic killing of police officer Ronil Singh

January 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment

“He’s not coming back,” said Reggie Singh.

The inconsolable brother of the late Newman, Calif., police officer Ronil Singh told journalists last week, “There’s a lot of people out there that misses him.”

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

Filed Under: Columns

Pastor Rick Warren: Feed Your Mind With God’s Word

January 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Feed Your Mind with God’s Word

by Rick Warren — January 7, 2019

8

“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NLT).

If you want a healthy mind, you must feed your mind with truth.We all know the importance of nutrition. Good food and good calories make you stronger and healthier and give you more energy. Bad calories and junk food harm your body. The same is true in your thought life. You must feed your mind not with junk or poison but with truth.

One time I had the privilege of lecturing at Oxford University, and while I was there, I was invited to go to a meeting of Oxford Analytica. This is a group you’ve likely never heard of that has enormous influence in the world. Every day around 6 a.m., the leading scholars of Oxford gather in a room to get reports from all around the world about what’s happened in the last 24 hours, from crop prices rising in China to more unrest in the Middle East. Then they make the decision about what needs to be said about it. By 11 a.m. a report has been given to groups that pay big bucks for this information, such as the CIA and major corporations.

Oxford Analytica is founded on the idea that the best leaders make the best decisions when they have the best information. Even if you are a good leader, if you don’t have the best information, you’re going to make a bad decision.

You need the best information to live the best life that God wants you to live. That information is right there in the Word of God.

The Bible says in Matthew 4:4, “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (NLT).

God wants you to make the best decisions and receive his best for your life. You do that by feeding on the Word of God throughout your day, every day.

Talk It Over

  • What is the most important part of your morning routine? Where does studying God’s Word fall in your routine?
  • How can you incorporate learning and memorizing God’s Word into your workday?
  • What are some ways you can feed on God’s Word together with your family?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

Filed Under: Columns

Editorial: Shakedown City: Employers and Chicago’s corruption tax

January 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment

The criminal complaint targeting Chicago Ald. Ed Burke reads like a cliched crime novel: Influential alderman squeezes restaurant executives to benefit his law business, delicately at first, over lunch at a private wood-paneled country club. Federal agents locate the alderman via a black Crown Victoria, his riding-around car, in the parking lot.

Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Columns

Mitt Romney chose to start his tenure as United States Senator as part of the problem.

January 3, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney is just like Hillary Clinton.  Six years later, he’s still upset that he’s not president.  So, instead of coming to Washington as a problem solver like he campaigned, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney chose to start his tenure as Utah’s junior United States Senator as part of the problem.

Here’s a link to the column at Fox News.

Filed Under: Columns

Commentary: Watch the new Madigan ad with a heap of skepticism

January 3, 2019 By Leave a Comment

In a television ad scheduled to roll out this week, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan tells viewers that Democrats “are on your side” and references the party’s support for affordable health care against the ominous backdrop of President Donald Trump.

Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Columns

Rep. Andy Biggs: Dems ought to focus on America’s security instead of worrying that Trump will get a win

January 3, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Every American watching the partial government shutdown understands that this is about more than the shutdown.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

Filed Under: Columns

Jesus Wants to Bear Your Burden with You

January 3, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Jesus Wants to Bear Your Burden with You

By Rick Warren

1

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 RSV).

I don’t know what burden you’re carrying. I don’t know what’s weighing you down. But I do know the answer to your trouble.Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 RSV).

For many years I never understood that Scripture, because I didn’t know what a yoke was. When Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you,” it sounded to me like he was going to give me something else to deal with. My burden is heavy enough already, Lord! I don’t need to take your problems on me!

Then I learned that a yoke is actually a board with two arches in it that you put over two cattle so they can pull a cart.

The value of a yoke is that it halves the load. Without a yoke, one cow’s got to pull that entire load by itself. But if you yoke up the cow with another cow, then the two animals pull the load together, and the load is half as heavy.

When Jesus says to take his yoke upon you, he’s not saying he’s going to give you his problems. Jesus doesn’t have any problems! He’s saying he’s going to share your problems. He’s going to share your load. He’s going to take your stress on himself and bear it with you.

Wow!

He uses three notable verbs in this Scripture: come, learn, and take. Jesus says, “Come to me. Team up with me. Then, learn how I do it. Take on a lighter load. This is going to reduce your stress. This is going to make it easier for you to navigate.”

When you’re yoked with Christ, you move together with him. You move in the same direction and at the same speed. And you move in the right direction and at the right speed.

Talk It Over

  • Why is it sometimes difficult to accept help from someone who wants to share your burdens and make it easier on you?
  • Do you have people in your life who are willing to do that for you? How are you offering yourself to others to help reduce their stress?
  • Jesus already knows all about your stress. Are you ready to take on his yoke? If not, what is holding you back?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

Filed Under: Columns

Pastor Rick Warren: Faith Helps You Focus Your Goals

January 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Faith Helps You Focus Your Goals

By Rick Warren

1.8K

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (Ephesians 3:20 The Message).

We know that setting goals is important because the Bible tells us that Jesus set goals. In fact, he often announced publicly what his goal was for the next phase of his ministry.So why should you set goals? Today we’re going to talk about three reasons to set goals, and tomorrow we’ll talk about three more.

  1. You need to set goals because it is a spiritual responsibility.

If you don’t have goals for your life, you have already decided to let other people run your life. When you don’t decide in advance what’s important, you’re letting other people decide. You end up wasting your life, because you haven’t clarified how you want to grow as a follower of Christ.

The Bible says that to be spiritually mature, you have to set your goals and move toward them as you keep your eyes focused on them.

“I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize . . . I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. All of us who are mature should think in this same way” (Philippians 3:12, 14-15 CEV).

  1. You need to set goals because they are statements of faith.

If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ and you set a goal, you’re saying, “I believe that God wants me to accomplish this by this time. This is what I believe God is going to do in my life.”

Goals aren’t just a statement of faith. They stretch your faith. The bigger your goal, the more your faith will be stretched. And that pleases God.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (The Message).

  1. You need to set goals because they focus your energy.

Focus is the key to an effective life. If you spread your energy out and diffuse it over a whole bunch of things, you’ll make no impact at all. But if you focus your life, it’s going to be powerful, and it will change the world.

You don’t have time to do everything. But here’s the good news: God doesn’t expect you to do everything! The key to being effective in life as a follower of Jesus is to do what matters most and forget everything else. Goals help you maintain that kind of focus.

“I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26 NCV).

Talk It Over

  • How do your goals reflect what you believe about God?
  • Does your family set goals together? Why is it important to do this as a family?
  • What things do you spend your time and energy on that may not really matter?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

Filed Under: Columns

Democrats need to stop playing games with America’s safety and fund border security now

January 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment

We need to secure our border. There have been many words spoken about the funding fight to do this, but consider these: “The bill before us would certainly do some good. It would authorize some badly needed funding for better fences and better security along our borders that should help stem some of the tide of illegal immigration in this country.”

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

Filed Under: Columns
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News