By Rick Warren

“Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need.”
(1 Corinthians 4:7-8 The Message)

Instead of focusing so much on what we don’t have and what didn’t happen, we can be grateful for what we do have. This doesn’t come naturally to me, probably not for you either, and not even for the apostle Paul, who said, “I have learned to be content.” Being content is a learning process.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 4:7-8, “Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need” (The Message).
Envy is based on the myth that you need more to be happy. Envy always looks at others and asks, “Why them? Why did they deserve it? I deserve what they have.” But gratitude says, “Why me? Why did God give me this? I’m blessed because I don’t deserve what I have.” It totally flips our perspective.
Although we all struggle with envy, it’s hard to admit it because it’s such an ugly emotion. When you’re envious of others, you really want them to fail, because it makes you feel better that they don’t have more than you. That’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? If we could only learn to be grateful for what we have, we could begin to get rid of these feelings of envy.
It’s important to understand that envy is not having a desire or a dream or a goal. It’s good to have those. Envy is not looking forward to something or hoping that something can happen in your life or even wondering if you should have some thing. Envy is instead resenting somebody who already has what you desire or has reached a goal you have yet to obtain. Envy says you can’t be happy until you get that desire or goal. Envy is not being grateful for what you already have.
Yet the Bible tells us that we already have more than we need and far more than we deserve. Every good thing in our lives is a gift from God, and it is up to him to decide when and how he blesses us. It’s up to us to choose to be grateful and make the most of what we’ve been given.
As Ecclesiastes 6:9 says, “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else” (GNT).

Op-Ed: It’s time for Illinois lawmakers to focus on real problems

Here’s a link to the editorial at The Center Square.

We’re in the political season in the broken state of Illinois and the crooked county of Cook.

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

By Rick Warren

“If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him” (1 Corinthians 13:7 TLB).

Jesus believes in you. There is plenty of proof in the Bible!

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.’ Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20 NIV).
“Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23 NIV).
“If you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more” (Matthew 21:21 TLB).
Jesus believes you can do all these things because when you place your trust in him, his Spirit lives inside you. He also wants you to help others believe this about themselves. The apostle Paul offered this encouragement: “I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you” (Romans 1:12 NCV).
Each day you encounter people with low self-esteem. Everybody has insecurities. And many people are repeatedly playing a tape in their mind of how someone said to them long ago that they wouldn’t amount to anything.
How can people reverse that curse? You can help them start believing what Jesus says about them instead of believing what other people say.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:7, “If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him” (TLB).
That’s what God wants you to do. He wants you to show faith in others so they can believe what God says about them.
One of the best ways we do this in the church is by being part of a small group. When you have a really tough week and you’re doubting and down and discouraged, you need a group of trusted people who will believe for you. And you can do the same for them. Followers of Jesus don’t just believe in Christ. We also believe in each other.
Your faith can help grow the faith of others as you believe in them like Jesus believes in you.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

What insecurities have kept you from believing in yourself like Jesus believes in you?
Why is it important for people to see themselves the way God sees them?
How has your small group helped you believe when you thought you didn’t have enough faith?

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

The latest manufactured outrage from Democrats and the left-wing media emerges yet again from the Justice Department, an agency that lately seems more adept at producing scandal than justice.

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

Bernie Sanders is a survivor, but can he survive the orchestrated media onslaught that seems determined to bring him down?

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

After sitting on their hands and listening to arguments for a week in President Trump’s impeachment trial, senators were finally allowed to pose their own questions Wednesday. It proved to be illuminating.

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

As the Illinois primary approaches, voters haven’t seen former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb’s report on State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her handling of the Jussie Smollett case. Yet on March 17, Cook County Democrats must decide whether to nominate Foxx to a second term or choose one of her opponents, Bill Conway, Robert Fioretti or Donna More. Webb’s findings could influence that choice.

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

One favorite tactic of our “objective” media during the impeachment of President Donald Trump is to find a clip of the president’s legal experts such as Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz expressing an opinion during the 1998-99 impeachment of Bill Clinton and then show a contrast with the present day.

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