On April 24, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson strode up to a ramshackle house in Inez, Kentucky, and announced to the invited reporters that, “I have called for a national war on poverty. Our objective: total victory.” That war consumed well over $20 trillion, yet poverty rates (as measured by the government) barely budged. Even that shack in Inez, Kentucky, looks about the same now as it did 55 years ago.

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

The late English journalist Auberon Waugh, a sardonic conservative, once wrote, “It is the kindest thing one can possibly say of a politician that he changed nothing.” We wouldn’t endorse that sentiment on all matters. But it certainly applies to the General Assembly’s current deliberations on legalizing recreational marijuana.

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

A Prayer for True Love
By Marjorie Jackson
“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 (NASB)
God’s love for you and me is passionate, pure and beyond anything we’ve ever experienced, accepting us as we are. Our good, our sins, our past and our flaws are all bare before His eyes, yet being the perfect Gentleman and Father He is, He washes, changes, teaches and grows us tenderly. He reminds us of our worth and beauty as His daughters. He wants to forgive, bless and take care of us. He loves us with unconditional agape love.

Good news: His love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) We can love like that, too — not in our own strength or willpower, but by the Holy Spirit perfecting God’s love in our hearts. (1 John 4:12) The deeper we know God and His arduous, purposeful love for us and for others, the easier we can love others as an act of loving obedience to God.
1 John 4:20 tells it like it is: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (NASB)

Of course. How can we defy God’s command to love the people He has placed in our lives and still claim to love Him? Our obedience to God’s Word comes from our love and reverence for Him who gave His all so we could keep on giving and loving like He has done for us.
It is only when we love God first and foremost that we can reach our full potential in loving others as friends, sisters, daughters, wives and mothers. As we grow in our love for God and in our knowledge of His love, we begin to change. We begin to see and love others differently.
In reality, true love happens when the stars don’t align, sparks dim and butterflies fly away. Love happens when we sacrifice, knowing we’ll get nothing in return. We are patient, kind, never envious or boastful, modeling 1 Corinthians 13 in our hearts and with our behavior without expecting payback or accolade. We lay down our lives in love.
Today’s key verse, 1 John 4:8 says, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I hope you find true love. I hope you and I grow so close to God that we naturally begin to “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5b, NASB). May you and I so overflow with God’s love that it runs up and over onto everyone we meet. His love will never fail, because God Himself is true love, and God never fails.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving me long before I ever loved You. Affirm Your love to me so I may know it well and pour it out on those around me. You are good, and Your love is perfect. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

By Rick Warren

“For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them” (2 Timothy 1:7 TLB).

If you want to connect with someone, you’ve got to be willing to take the first step. This often requires courage. Why? Because it’s fear that disconnects human beings. When we’re full of fear and anxiety, we don’t get close to others. In fact, we back off. We’re afraid of being rejected, manipulated, vulnerable, hurt, used. All of these fears cause us to stay disconnected in life.

This fear is as old as humanity itself. When Adam and Eve sinned and God came looking for Adam, Adam said, “I was afraid, and I hid.” People have been doing that ever since. We’re afraid, so we hide. We hide our true selves. We don’t let people know what we’re really like, because if we do and they don’t like us, we face rejection. And so we pretend.
Fear does three terrible things to relationships:
Fear makes us defensive. When people point out weaknesses, we retaliate and defend ourselves.
Fear keeps us distant. We don’t let people get close to us. We withdraw. We hide our emotions.
Fear makes us demanding. The more insecure we are, the more we attempt to control things. We try to have the last word in a relationship. We seek to dominate.
So where do you get the courage to take the first step to connect with someone and go to a deeper level of intimacy?
You get it from God’s Spirit in your life. The Bible says, “For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them” (2 Timothy 1:7 TLB).
How do you know when you’re filled with God’s Spirit? You’re more courageous in your relationships. You love people. You enjoy being with them. You’re not afraid of them, because God’s Spirit is in your life. The Bible says that “God is love” and “Love casts out all fear.” The more of God you have in your life, the less fear you’re going to have.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

What relationship in your life needs to go deeper? Pray, and ask God for the courage to take the first step toward growth with that person today.
What evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work do you see in your relationship?
What new habit could help you get closer to Jesus?

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

Parents, teachers and other school choice advocates are roaming the halls of the state Capitol building during the final weeks of session, talking to any lawmaker who will listen about how the Invest in Kids scholarship program is helping put students in schools that allow them to thrive.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

J.B. Pritzker announced his run for governor of Illinois more than two years ago.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

A recent Monmouth University poll shows that 70 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire – the state where the first presidential primary is held – plan to back President Trump in 2020.

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

If You Want to Know What to Do, Just Ask
by Rick Warren — May 15, 2019

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you . . . But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you” (James 1:5-6 TLB).

Since God thought up the whole idea of relationships between men and women, parents and children, and friends, doesn’t it make sense to go him for direction when you have a problem?

As today’s verse says, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you” (James 1:5 TLB).
Why do we have to ask before he answers? Because our relationship with God begins with faith. He doesn’t force things on us. He invites us into a relationship with him. So we ask.
Now I have to say, too many times I forget to ask. If you’re like me, you’re just rushing through your day doing this, doing that, assuming it’s going to be okay. But you need to just stop once in a while and say, “God, I ask you, what is your direction?” He will gladly tell you.
And how does he tell you? An answer will usually come through one of two main ways: through people that are following him and through his Word. Get together with a few people who you know seek after God, and ask them for their opinion. Look in their eyes, and get an honest answer. And, turn to God’s Word. Ask him, “God, what do you have to say about this?”
Some people think God is not interested in our relationships. After all, he’s got a universe to keep going. But he is interested. He made you! The Bible says, “But be sure in deciding these matters that you are living as God intended, marrying or not marrying in accordance with God’s direction and help, and accepting whatever situation God has put you into” (1 Corinthians 7:17).
I understand the hurts that can exist in some relationships, but the incredible promise of God’s Word is that he can bring beauty into any relationship—not perfection, but he can bring beauty. Both people in the relationship have to agree, and it will take some struggle to get there. But to give up is nowhere in the plan or purpose of God. That’s why you have to go to him for direction and guidance.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

What do you need to do to make sure you have time every day to spend with God so that you don’t forget to seek his direction?
How can you develop the kind of friendships with other Christians that will help you seek and follow God’s guidance?
Why does it make a difference that you believe God can restore beauty to your relationship?

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

America needs a true opposition party. Instead, it has a crazed resistance movement stuck in 2016. Consider the ­evidence.

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

A Prayer for Choosing Life – Your Daily Prayer – May 11

A Prayer for Choosing Life
By Pastor Jack Graham
“You have been my guide since I was first formed… from my mother’s womb you are my God” (Psalm 22:10-11).
Several years ago, I read an article about a very well-known couple in our city who were expecting a baby. The problem, however, was that around the time of finding out she was pregnant, the wife also was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her liver.

Strong chemotherapy was needed, which the baby wouldn’t survive. So the couple had a decision to make. They could either abort the baby and begin treating the cancer. Or, the mom could carry the baby to term without chemo, but risk the cancer spreading.
A strong faith guided them through these stormy waters. And the two decided not to abort the baby. The wife was quoted as saying, “This baby was a gift to me. It wasn’t my right to deny this gift.” And praise the Lord, she was also treated for cancer after delivery and made a full recovery!
Across our nation and our world today, there are tough choices women and their families are facing. But in all circumstances, the greater choice is the sanctity of life. That’s because to deny a living baby the right to be born is not anyone’s call but God’s.

Choose life, even in the toughest circumstances, and trust God to bring healing and grace to even the toughest situation.

Dear Lord, help us to promote the sanctity of life. May our words and deeds show everyone in our community that they are loved. Teach us to value every human life. When we look at a person, give us your eyes so we may see your son or daughter. Amen.