Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
The news that Brett Kavanaugh had a new accuser landed with a thud on Sunday night. That she had told her story to the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow certainly seemed like the death knell for the Kavanaugh nomination.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
Unbelievably, tellingly, Gov. Bruce Rauner had a “Chris Kennedy moment” after Thursday evening’s gubernatorial debate at the NBC Tower.
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune
A Prayer for Your Child’s Future Spouse
By Kristin@DaySpring.com
What if we joined together as a body and committed to pray for the most influential people of our children’s future? Here are three Scriptures and prayers that we can pray together:
Pray for them to develop a strong personal relationship with Jesus.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB
Father, thank You for wooing me to Your heart, just as a husband woos his bride. I pray that my child’s spouse will sense your unconditional love for them and realize their need for You at a young age. Make them a person after Your own heart. Put people in their life who will share the good news of the Gospel with them and model for them what a life led by Christ looks like. Give them the desire to follow You and the courage to say yes to You all the days of their life. May their relationship with You grow stronger day-by-day. Help them to trust You wholeheartedly and to always put You first, even after marriage. Amen.
Pray for them to be able to resist temptation so they can stay pure for their spouse.
“God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 CSB
Father, thank you for the intricate way you have knitted us together in our mother’s womb. You made every part of us with the ability to relate to You and to others. Help my child’s spouse to keep their entire self pure—their body, their mind, and their spirit—as a gift to my child in marriage. Put peers in their lives who value purity and will hold them accountable. Give them role models who are living a life that honors You and honors their spouse. Help them to learn how to rely on You to resist temptation. Show them the way out when it seems too hard to say no. Amen.
Pray for them to experience His redeeming love.
“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 CSB
Father, thank you for creating us with the capacity to love deeply. We know that relationships begin with the feeling of love, but we know that relationships only flourish by acting in love. You showed us the greatest act of love by sending Jesus to die for the our sins. I pray that my child’s spouse is experiencing Your great love at this very moment. Help them to receive Your redeeming love in a very personal way. Give them a heart that is full of love and ready and willing to forgive the mistakes that will happen their marriage. Show them what it looks like for love to win. Amen.
What a gift we can give to our children by praying for their spouse before we ever meet them.
Editor’s Note: Content taken from the article, 3 Prayers for Your Child’s Future Spouse, written by Kristin@DaySpring.com. You can read the piece in full here. All rights reserved.
By Rick Warren —
“[Christ’s] body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole Body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT).
The Bible says, “[Christ’s] body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole Body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT).
My job as a pastor is to make sure the people in my church grow. It’s the job of all of our pastors, leaders, Bible study teachers, and small group leaders. In fact, the Bible says this about these people: “Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ . . . until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard” (Ephesians 4:12-13 GW). At Saddleback Church, we are always thinking about this. “How can we help them grow, Lord?”
The Bible has a word for this growth. It’s called discipleship. Discipleship is the process of growth from a spiritual baby to a spiritual adult. It means you’re maturing in your faith. You’re getting stronger. You’re developing some muscle.
So how can you grow as a disciple?
The Bible tells us in Acts 2 how disciples grew in the first church: “Those who believed . . . were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. . . . They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness” (Acts 2:41-42, 46 NLT/TLB).
First you believe. Then you get baptized. And it’s important that you choose a church family and participate in large group worship and small group fellowship. Learn from your leaders in the church. Learn from your peers. Commit to growing spiritually as a disciple and a member of the body of Christ.
In a nation where every major issue ends up in the Supreme Court, it only makes sense a nomination to that court has turned into political combat. And the media love it.
Here’s a link the editorial at Fox News.
Federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh was on the Republican-smoothed glide path to becoming Justice Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court. Then his confirmation process was upended by a sexual assault allegation dating to his junior year of high school. The issue now is how to handle a serious accusation about a long-ago incident in a politically charged atmosphere.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Chicago Tribune.
By Rick Warren
”[Christ’s] love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center” (2 Corinthians 5:14 The Message).
God didn’t put you on Earth to live a self-centered life. His purpose for you is to build your life with him at the core. You were planned for God’s pleasure. He made you to love you, and he wants you to love him back. God says, “I want to be the hub of your heart. I want to be the focus of your attention. I want to be the center of your life. I want to be the axis of your existence.”
The Bible says, “[Christ’s] love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center” (2 Corinthians 5:14 The Message).
How can you tell when Christ is at the center of your life? You stop worrying. Philippians 4:7 says, “It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (The Message). There’s a word for this: worship. Whenever you focus your life on God, that’s called worship. And worship is the antidote for worry. If you want to worry less, worship more.
When are we supposed to worship? The Bible says, “You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship” (Leviticus 23:3 CEV). God says, “Once a week I want you to come together with other believers to refocus, recalibrate, and re-center your life on me.”
Where are you supposed to do it? Acts 2:46 tells us, “They worshiped together regularly at the Temple” (TLB). For us, that means to gather at our local church—wherever that may happen to be.
Can you see that God meant for you to be a part of a church family? When you are, it helps you focus and center your life on God so that you can fulfill his purpose for you.
A Prayer for Meekness
By Mark Altrogge
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
To be meek is to be gentle, humble, lowly.
“The meek are the ‘gentle’… those who do not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agendas in their own strength, but who will nonetheless inherit the earth because they trust in God to direct the outcome of events.” ESV Study Bible notes:
The first reason we should be meek is because Jesus is.
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. Matthew 11:29
I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ 2 Corinthians 10:1
If God, the infinitely great and all-powerful one, is gentle and meek, how much more should we be!
Meekness shapes the way we relate to our Christian brothers and sisters
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3
We’re not to fight and scrape, intimidate or pressure our brothers and sisters to get our way. Rather we should relate to one another with complete – “ALL” – humility and gentleness.
Meekness changes our speech
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
The way to impart life is with a gentle tongue. Anger won’t produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20). Anger may intimidate others to do what we want, but it won’t change their hearts.
Meekness affects the way we correct opponents
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth 2 Timothy 2:24-25
We can’t persuade anyone by getting in their face. Yelling “murderer!” at a pro-choice person won’t win them to our side. Calling someone who differs with you an idiot won’t persuade them you are right. When we correct opponents, we must realize we can’t change them. Only God can grant repentance. So all we need do is gently submit our correction then trust God to change their heart.
Meekness affects the way we treat people ensnared in sin
We’re tempted to judge those trapped in sin. “How could you possibly do that? I would never do that!” But the Bible tells us we should restore sinners gently:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1
We are gentle when we help others who fall because we remember our own spiritual bankruptcy and sins. Each of us is capable of any sin. Remembering this will go along way to helping us restore others gently.
The world says the assert yourself. Put yourself forward. Grab. Fight. The Bible says be meek and you will inherit the earth. When we inherit something we don’t work for it but receive it as a gift. God gives the meek everything they need. Those who are meek find deep contentment and joy.
And someday we will inherit the new earth.
Father, we pray today that you would draw us into meekness. We pray that you would soften our hearts, that you would remind us of the gift of gentleness, that you would show us through Jesus how to live in love day by day. We pray that you would forgive us of our sins and open our eyes and hearts to forgiveness for others in our lives. We ask that you would help us to guard our speech, that the words we say would be life-giving and glorifying to you. We are so grateful for your refining fire in our lives. In your holy name, Amen.
Editor’s note: This article can be read in full on BibleStudyTools.com here. Prayer added by Rachel Dawson, design editor for Crosswalk.com.
Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination remains in suspended animation Thursday. Thanks, as you well know, to allegations that he assaulted a psychology professor called Christine Blasey Ford some 36 years ago while both of them were still in high school.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
By Jim Muir
I like to look at what I do in this space as small ‘portraits’ of life through my eyes. Today’s ‘portrait’ involves fading summer, a lifelong love affair and ‘travelin’ on.’
Let me explain.
I’m asked to speak at various venues on a regular basis, a list that in the past year has included sports banquets at a half dozen high schools, a junior high and high school graduation and various civic groups. It’s something I enjoy.
Recently, I experienced a ‘first’ – I was asked to speak at a birthday party for 100-year-old Stella (Burzynski) Stewart, of Benton. I hold the Stewart family in high regard and I saw the request as an honor and a challenge so I readily accepted the invitation.
Stella is one of 12 children of immigrant parents and grew up in Rend City, an area located northwest of Benton, near Valier. Stella raised eight children and still lives alone. To say Stella is a remarkable lady who has lived a remarkable life would be an understatement.
When I arrived at the party at the Benton Kiwanis Hall I knew many people there and I sort of just mixed and mingled and visited – something I do very well. The person I spent the most time talking with that day was Ruth Grammer, Stella’s 88-year-old ‘younger’ sister.
Ruth was married to former Grand Ole Opry star Billy Grammer, who passed away in 2011. Billy also grew up in Rend City, one of 13 children, and achieved stardom in 1958 with his million-seller Top 5 hit, “Gotta Travel On.” Ruth and Billy were married 65 years.
On an afternoon when reminiscing was the main theme I listened as Ruth told me about graduating high school at age 16 and traveling alone 900 miles to Washington, D.C. for her first job. She said it was the most excited and scared she has ever been in her life. I heard about Billy borrowing $50 from Verbal Rea, who ran the relief office in Valier, to hitchhike to Virginia for a job possibility with nationally known disc jockey Connie B. Gay, who had a live radio show at WARL Radio in Arlington, Va.
You could still see the pride in Ruth’s eyes when she finished the story by telling me that Billy beat out 150 other guitarists and won the audition and a spot on the national radio show. She talked and recalled Billy’s success in country music that led to appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand,” “Bill Anderson’s Backstage Opry,” “Hee Haw” and others. He also worked as a front man musician for the likes of Patsy Cline, Grandpa Jones, Charlie Pride, Louis Armstrong, George Jones and Ernest Tubb.
I did more listening than talking but thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Ruth.
Last Sunday morning, the day before Labor Day, Ruth did what she has done every Sunday morning for virtually her entire life – she headed to Rend City Baptist Church – the church she attended as a child, the church where she married the love of her life way back in 1944. During the service, and without a sound, Ruth simply slumped over in the pew and passed away – suffering a massive heart attack. Much like a cowboy dying with his boots on, Ruth passing away at the church she loved and that had been such a huge part of her life seemed proper and fitting to me.
After I heard about Ruth passing away I spent a good deal of time recalling our conversation only eight days earlier. The single thing that stood out to me was that she really missed Billy every single day. As she had told me the weekend before she died, she missed talking to him, she missed holding his hand, she missed listening to him ‘make a guitar talk’ … she just missed him.
“Oh, how I wish I could sit and watch him play guitar again,” is one poignant comment that stuck with me.
Through the wonders of modern technology I went to YouTube and found a recording of Billy Grammer performing “Gotta Travel On.”
I watched the black and white video and I was struck by the irony in the chorus of the song and the timing of Ruth’s death. The chorus goes like this:
I’ve laid around and played around
This old town too long
Summer’s almost gone
Yes, winter’s comin’ on
I’ve laid around and played around
This old town too long
And I feel like I gotta travel on
While fall does not officially begin until September 23, I’ve always thought of Labor Day weekend as the unofficial end of summer. And on Labor Day weekend 2015, with summer almost gone and winter comin’ on, Ruth Grammer traveled on and crossed the threshold from this life to the next one. And I believe her beloved Billy, probably with guitar in hand, was there waiting for her. What a reunion that must have been!
While there was a sense of sadness for me that Ruth had passed and the world had lost such a remarkable woman, there was a greater sense of joy because she is reunited with the love of her life. And of course I have to believe there’s a lot of pickin’ and grinnin’ and hand-holdin’ going on.
RIP Ruth and Happy Travels!
