If watching the college admissions scandal unfold makes you feel uneasy about young people’s adulting journeys, you’re not alone. Research studies and kitchen table conversations nationwide highlight that teenagers in the U.S. – both those applying to top-tier colleges as well as those making other educational and vocational decisions – face choices and challenges those of us over 30 didn’t encounter until our mid-20s.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

A Prayer for Revival – Your Daily Prayer

A Prayer for Revival
Debbie Przybylski
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. – Matthew 24:44
We live in serious times. We need to cry out fervently to God, asking Him to revive His Church worldwide. We need to be in intensive prayer, asking God to move in our cities and nations. Studying the characteristics of revival will help us prepare both personally and corporately for a great move of God in His Church. Understanding the deep need to prepare our own hearts for revival and learning how to cooperate with God as He pours into the earth will keep us from hindering the move of God as it comes. The key phrase of the Welsh revival in 1904 was, “Bend the Church and save the world.”
· Spiritual preparation
· Conviction of sin
· God-consciousness
“There was nothing humanly speaking, to account for what happened. Quite suddenly, upon one and another came an overwhelming sense of the reality and awfulness of His Presence and of eternal things. Life, death and eternity seemed suddenly laid bare.” – Winkie Pratney

May God prepare each one of us personally to pay the price for revival—the price of fervent prayer and allowing Him to work deeply in our lives. Let us ask Him to make us conscious of His Presence and learn to abide in Him moment by moment. Pray that He will convict us of even the smallest sin in our life. Press on in prayer and fasting for revival in the nations. A worldwide end-times revival is going to be a glorious thing, but it will be costly.
We lived on a book exhibition ship for years. In some countries, thousands of visitors came on board daily. Long hours of hard work consumed our full attention. Are we ready for the demands of revival? God must prepare us, His Church, personally and corporately for the self-sacrifice that revival entails. May we not draw back but prepare to lay hold of this glorious end-time outpouring of God with all our hearts as the radiant Bride of Christ who is willing to sacrifice all so that people might be saved.
Pray with me for revival:
Lord, thank You for the work You have been doing and the work You continue to do in this world. Make us conscious of Your presence, help us learn to abide in You moment by moment. Convict us of even the smallest sins, and help us turn toward you in joyful obedience. Lord, revive the nations to Your gospel truth. Help us not draw back but rather fight the good fight of faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Are Your Friends Led by the World or the Word?
by Rick Warren

“Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools” (Proverbs 13:20 CEV).

One of the things that causes people to miss God’s plan is peer pressure. Most of us know what that was like as a kid or teenager, but that pressure actually continues into adulthood. There’s plenty of bad advice floating around out there, and too often we feel pressured to follow it.

Proverbs 13:20 says, “Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools” (CEV). You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re running with the turkeys, so choose your friends wisely. If you keep company with wise friends, you’re going to become wise.
We all worry about air pollution and water pollution. Have you ever worried about mind pollution? If you want to follow God’s direction, make sure your advice is from the right source.
The Bible says in 1 John 3:7, “Do not let anyone lead you the wrong way! Christ is righteous. So to be like Christ a person must do what is right” (NCV).
The difference in a thermometer and a thermostat is that a thermometer reflects the temperature of the environment and a thermostat sets the temperature of the environment. Every day, you’re faced with a decision: Are you going to be a thermostat or a thermometer?
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

Who are the people who have the most influence on you?
Do you think God wants you to be friends with unbelievers? Why or why not?
How can a person who is quieter or less outspoken than others help set the temperature of his or her environment?

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

A five-letter word should sink Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new tax plan: trust.

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

I was shocked to read that Stanford University had fired head varsity sailing coach John Vandemoer in the wake of a federal investigation into shady college admissions practices nationwide. Authorities allege that Vandemoer accepted more than $600,000 in donations to the sailing program in exchange for agreeing to falsely designate two Stanford applicants as elite sailors he was recruiting for his team.

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

The college admissions bribery scandal disclosed by federal prosecutors touched off national outrage on the juicy topics of elite education, privilege and celebrity criminal allegations. Wealthy, well-known parents are accused of paying to open “side doors” for their children to enter schools including Yale, Stanford and Georgetown.

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

It is the rare Republican today who hasn’t been called a racist or a bigot, particularly if he or she is running for office. From candidates for city council to presidential hopefuls, Republicans across the nation are perpetually put on the defensive, as if they have to prove that they’re not racists.

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

A five-letter word should sink Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new tax plan: trust.

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

I grew up in a blue-collar family and earned admission to an Ivy League university based on good grades and high test scores. So I was outraged to learn Tuesday of an alleged college admissions scam under which rich parents are accused of paying a total of about $25 million in bribes to fraudulently get their students admitted to some of America’s top universities.

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

You’ve Got to Let Yourself Grieve
by Rick Warren

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed” (Psalm 34:18 NCV).

Every change we experience in life includes loss, because you give up something old to get something new. And there’s no loss without pain, and there is no pain without grief.

Grief is not bad. It’s the way we get through the transitions of life. What is bad is unprocessed grief. If you don’t grieve, you get stuck emotionally, and you spend the rest of your life reacting to something that happened a long time ago. That’s unhealthy!
Sometimes the only appropriate, logical response to life is grief—the losses, disappointments, sin, and suffering in the world. God doesn’t expect you to be happy all the time. In fact, God wants you to be intentional in your grief. Grief is a choice. Not everything that’s helpful and healthy feels good. You’ve got to let yourself mourn losses so you can receive God’s blessing.
There’s no hurt you can experience that Jesus doesn’t understand. He’s experienced all of the loneliness, all of the betrayal, and all of the rejection that we can possibly experience. And the good news is he came to heal our hearts.
When you are sad, God draws you close to himself. Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed” (NCV). When you grieve, you may feel like God is a million miles away. But what you feel and what’s real are not always the same. God is not a million miles away. In fact, he’s never been any closer: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3 NIV).
Let God restore your soul by doing three things:
Trust the Good Shepherd to forgive your sins. Romans 3:23-24 says, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins” (CEV).
Release your offenders, and focus on the future. Your soul cannot be restored until you let go of resentment. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice . . . forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV).
Team up with Jesus to carry your load. When you’re yoked up with Jesus, you don’t have to bear your burden alone: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT).
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

Is there a loss that you have failed to grieve? How has it affected you physically, emotionally, and spiritually?
What does it mean to have your soul restored?
Why do you think God often feels far away when we are at our lowest point? What do you think he wants you to do when you feel like that?

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