The wind is howling and our windows shaking as I sit and write this column. We have jumped from polar vortex to dangerously high winds that seem to be knocking power out of many Midwestern communities. The power of Mother Nature is awesome. As long as the roof doesn’t blow off and the winds rip my laptop from my hands, I should be able to finish this, the ninth column of 2019.

Here’s a link to the column at the Southern Illinoisan.

With no warning, an Illinois community learned this week it is losing almost 1,400 jobs.

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

A Prayer for Restlessness – Your Daily Prayer

A Prayer for Restlessness
By Gwen Smith
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(Exodus 33:14)
R.E.S.T. {Reflect. Engage. Surrender. Trust.}

ENGAGE
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV)
The apostle Paul instructed us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, ESV)
Most importantly, we must engage with the grace of God through Jesus Christ, which comes from the confession of our sin. “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2, NLT)
SURRENDER
The best example of surrendering to God’s will is in Jesus. The night he was betrayed Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” (Mark 14:36, NLT)
Here’s the beauty of surrender: when you lay down your mess, your hands are then free to pick up God’s rest. Because the One who captures us in surrender is the One who sets us free. And in the surrender, you are empowered to trust Him more.
TRUST
Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about this.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? … So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matthew 6:31-32)
Friend, your heavenly Father knows that your job is stressing you out, that your marriage is hanging by thread, that you are bogged down with health challenges, that you are grieving that loss, that your finances are upside down… He knows the longings of your heart. He. Knows. What. You. Need.
What would happen if every morning you woke up and decided to R.E.S.T.? What if you determined each day to choose to trust God for what you need because you know that He knows what you need? Can you imagine living with that kind of faith? That is exactly what the Lord is inviting you into. His rest.

Lord, I really want to get this one! Please help me to turn to You in all circumstances – in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Give me the strength to surrender my will to Yours, and guard my heart and mind with the peace as I choose to trust You with my struggles today.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

By Rick Warren

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).

When you are worried, don’t repress it, suppress it, or deny it. Confess it. If you try to push down worries, you’re going to get sick. It’s like taking a can of soda, shaking it up, and then putting it in the freezer. It’s going to explode!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).
What is the peace that passes understanding? It’s when you’re at peace but you have no logical, rational reason for it. You just lost your job but somehow you’re at peace about it. Why? The Lord is your shepherd. You just heard the dreaded word “cancer” from the doctor. For some reason, you have peace about the situation. Why? The Lord is your shepherd. Just keep giving your worries to him. He can handle it.
If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. Meditation is simply focusing on one thought over and over. So take the skills you use when you worry, and instead meditate on God’s Word. Start with a small portion of Scripture. First, read the passage slowly, perhaps out loud a few times, placing emphasis on different words or phrases. Second, reflect on the truth of the text. Third, respond to God in light of what you’ve just read. This may be quietly or out loud. Fourth, rest in the Word of God, listening for what God has to say through the Scripture.
Would you rather have your worries or God’s Word running through your head? Do something about it today: Confess your worry, and then fill your mind with God’s truth found in the Bible.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

When you pray to God about your worries, do you get specific? If not, what difference do you think it would make if you did?
Read Psalm 23, and then practice the ideas on meditating from today’s devotional. What new insights do you gain?
Philippians 4:7 says that God’s peace “will guard” your heart and mind. What do you think that means?

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

Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his inaugural budget address Wednesday.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

Change is coming to Illinois — a higher minimum wage first, soon to be followed by the legalization of marijuana.

Here’s a link to the editorial.

A Prayer for Faith and Understanding – Your Daily Prayer – February 15, 2019

A Prayer for Faith and Understanding
By Dick Woodward

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” – John 20:29
As we ponder the definition of faith we hear it said that believing is seeing. “When I see it I’ll believe it” is the way some would put it. In the verse quoted above David clearly writes that we believe first and then our believing leads us to the seeing of what we believe.

Biblical faith always has an unseen object. According to other Scriptures there will always be evidence that the unseen object of our faith exists, but when our faith is biblical faith the object of that faith will be unseen (Hebrews 11:6). Seeing does not lead to believing because we already have the object of our faith when we see, but believing does lead to seeing according to David and other authors of the Bible.
A rural pastor told his people that when they invited him home for dinner after church he was always hoping they would have southern fried chicken. If he had no reason to believe that would be the menu he could only hope there would be chicken for dinner. But when he came into their home if he smelled chicken and if he saw from the living room chicken gravy on the dining room table, those things were the evidence of the object he could not see. He could now believe there was chicken in the kitchen and he would have it for dinner.
David tells us that after the believing that leads to seeing, all we have to do is wait on the Lord until we see the object of our faith. Are you believing God for something you cannot yet see?

Dear Lord, we cannot see you but we trust that you are there. We trust that you hold the world in the palm of your hand. Help us to live every day with this perspective. Help us to understand that faith is found in the small actions of kindness we make. When we comfort the grieving, when give help to the homeless, we are declaring your victory. Amen.

The Amazing Grace of God
by Rick Warren — February 18, 2019

“[God] knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT).

Your failures don’t surprise God. He expects them. He knows what we’re made of—because he created us.

The Bible says, “[God] knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14 GNT).
God won’t stop loving you when you mess up. The central message of the Bible is this: God doesn’t love you because of who you are or what you’ve done but because of who he is and what he has done. God made you. He loves you. It’s settled. You can’t make God love you more. You can’t make God love you less. He loves you just as much on your bad days as he does on your good days. His love is not performance-based.
The Bible has a word for this: grace. And it’s absolutely amazing. God looks at you and says, “I choose to love you. And you can’t make me stop loving you.” Even when we’re ridiculously bad, God won’t stop loving us. It truly is amazing grace. When you realize his grace, you can relax about your failures—and have the confidence to take more risks.
You may have gone to God multiple times for forgiveness on the same issue. Maybe you’re not sure you deserve his love and grace. (You can settle that now. You don’t.) And you’re convinced that God has grown tired of your constant efforts at change. (He hasn’t.)
God never tires of a conversation with you. He’s never too busy. No matter how many times you go to him for forgiveness, he’ll be waiting with open arms.
You may have grown up in a home where conditional love was the norm. Your parents’ affections may have been based on your academic, athletic, or social successes. When you failed in one of those areas, you felt the loss of your family’s love.
You can relax. That’s not how God deals with you.
The Bible says, “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV).
The Christian life isn’t a mistake-free life, but it can be a guilt-free life. God understands your failures—and he loves you anyway.
That’s God’s amazing grace!
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

How does it make you feel to realize that God loves you in spite of your failures?
How does the realization of God’s response to your mistakes and failures affect the way you deal with other people’s mistakes and failures?
With whom can you share the Good News of God’s amazing grace?

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

Cook County property tax bills are due March 1, and don’t skip the fine print. Or the aspirin.

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

A Prayer for When You are Battle Weary – Your Daily Prayer – February 12, 2019

A Prayer for When You are Battle Weary
By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you. – 2 Chronicles 20:17
Do you feel the tension that seems to permeate the air of this world lately? Things just feel heavy. Hearts are hurting. People are discouraged and dissatisfied. It seems as if this whole world is worn down from struggles and it would be so very easy to just give in to the pull of weariness and discontent.

In the middle of the strife and struggles, we can start to feel overwhelmed, worn, and just plain weary. When these feelings come, and they linger far past their welcome, what can we do to keep our heads up? How do we remain hopeful when things just seem so difficult?
Maybe a good place to start is to look at someone else who was weary in the battle and see how they overcame it. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat is facing a multitude that has come against him. He’s going to have to fight his enemies. However, when he seeks God’s battle plan, he sees that it is a little different than the one he might have been considering.
Maybe like Jehoshaphat, God’s plan to overcome our battles looks a little different than ours.

Battle weary friend, we do not need to be overcome by the strife and the difficulties that surround us. Let’s give up our battle plan with all of the fear, worry, discouragement, wobbliness, and struggling that it brings and follow God’s plan instead. We can embrace the peace, hope, and assurance He offers. After all, His record for victory is pretty solid.
Let’s Pray:
Lord, I admit, I am weary. Life is going a million miles an hour and I am just trying to hang on. I am tired and I am afraid when I look to the future and think about all that is coming. Lord, I know You want me to trust You through this. I know You want me to surrender this weariness to You. I surrender now. Fill me with Your strength. Fill me with Your presence. Help me find moments today of rest and rejuvenation. Thank You that You never abandon us in the midst of the battle. Thank you for your everlasting faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.