Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
Illinois voters have been hearing accusations for months now that billionaire Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker improperly pocketed tax breaks by yanking the toilets out of one of his Gold Coast mansions and declaring it uninhabitable. And they’ve been hearing Pritzker’s explanations. He said he wasn’t aware the toilets were inoperable. He said he was one of thousands of taxpayers who properly sought a property reassessment.
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.
State Rep. Tim Butler recently called for hearings into the latest sad turn of events for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation and the state-run Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum that the foundation supports.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.
Pastor Scott had talked to his congregation many times about salvation. He took a survey to see if the members had been listening. Pastor Scott asked, “Do you know that you will go to heaven when you die?”
Some replied, “Yes, I will, because I attend church.” Others believed that being good would earn them a heavenly home. But a few members stated they had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The Israelites felt that obeying the many laws the priests laid out for them would give them all they needed to live a godly life.
The Lord says: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13).
There is a similarity between Pastor Scott’s congregation and the Israelites. Many people from both groups were depending on their own good works rather than God to save them.
Challenge for Today: Stop depending on yourself and your good works, and accept the salvation Jesus Christ offers.
By Rick Warren
”All need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:24 NCV).
This is a fundamental difference between Christianity and every other religion. Christianity is the only religion that’s built on grace. Every other religion is based on works, and you can summarize them in one word: “do.” There are certain things you have do in order to gain God’s approval, to gain bliss, to gain heaven. There are always rules, regulations, and rituals—something you have to do.
On the other hand, one way you could summarize Christianity is with the word “done.” Jesus Christ has already paid the price for you on the cross. It’s done!
A guy asked me one time, “Pastor Rick, what can I do to be saved?” I said, “You’re too late!” (That kind of shocked him.) “You’re about 2,000 years too late! What needed to be done for your salvation has already been done, and you can’t do anything about it.”
Jesus Christ already did it. He paid for your salvation on the cross, and it’s now a free gift that’s offered to you. That’s why when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” He didn’t say, “I am finished,” because he wasn’t. He’s still alive today. The “it” is your salvation. The plan to provide grace for every person is finished.
Romans 3:24 says, “All need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ” (NCV).
You won’t get to heaven based on what you do. You get to heaven based on what has already been done for you by Jesus Christ.
When we really understand grace, we’ll accept it, because it is the greatest gift we’re ever going to be offered.
This is a golden age for cynics. You will rarely go wrong in assuming an absence of decency and courage in the political class. However low the bar is set, it will not be low enough.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
A logical and urgent question to ask J.B. Pritzker, Democratic candidate for governor, is “What’s your tax plan?” In fact, it’s such a basic question that we’ve asked him, and asked him. So have lots of other people. If only he’d tell voters how many more billions of dollars he wants to collect, and from whom?
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.
A Prayer for When You Don’t Measure Up
By Renee Swope
“When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” – 2 Corinthians 10:12b
Do you ever compare yourself to other women and feel like you don’t quite measure up? Maybe you feel like you’re not as smart, pretty, fun, organized or as good at _______ as they are.
It’s so easy to think that if we had more or knew more, we’d be secure. But the truth is, even people who “have it all” still struggle with feelings of insecurity. The Bible opens with the story of a woman who had everything, but it still wasn’t enough (Genesis 2).
God had established Eve’s worth as His child and the crown of His creation. He also supplied Eve with every woman’s desire: intimacy, beauty, security, significance and purpose. Yet Satan conjured up feelings of insecurity by luring Eve’s eyes off what she had and on to what she didn’t have.
The enemy’s whispers tempted Eve to try to “be” more and “have” more by seeking significance apart from God’s provision. He convinced her something was missing in her life and that the forbidden fruit would make her be “like God.” It was a foolish comparison. All comparisons are.
Comparison will always leave us feeling like we don’t measure up. We can try to do more and be more, yet it’s never enough.
So, the next time we’re tempted to use the measuring stick of comparison — let’s commit to measure UP by focusing upward on Christ and who we are in HIM!
Lord, thank You that in Christ I’m chosen, holy and dearly loved. When I’m tempted to measure myself according to the world’s standards or my foolish comparisons, help me recognize Satan’s lies, refuse his temptations and rely on Your truth about me instead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
By Rick Warren
”Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 TLB).
Lots of different barriers will hold you back from God’s plan for your life. One of the biggest categories: distractions. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the kingdom of God” (TLB).
Here are a few of the many things that could distract you from your life mission:
The expectations of other people. You’ve got to decide whom you’re going to please first in life. You can only have one number one.
Hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with these things. But if they distract you from the most important things, then you need to let go of them.
Your past. Maybe you refuse to let go of your past—whether it’s guilt or resentment or grief. But if you’re stuck in the past, you cannot get on with the present, and you certainly can’t get on with God’s future for you. Your past is past. It’s over! You need to let it go.
What do you need to let go of? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is helpful” (HCSB). What does that mean? It means this: A lot of things aren’t necessarily wrong; they’re just not necessary. Life often means choosing either “Am I going to do something good?” or “Am I going to do what’s best?”
If the Devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. He’ll get you so busy that you don’t have time for the important stuff—time alone with God, ministry, and mission.
You need to simplify your life and eliminate distractions so God can use you. Don’t try to do it all. Do what matters most!
The Ford-Kavanaugh hearing consumed most of Thursday, and unsurprisingly we learned nothing from the spectacle. Christine Ford remains unable to marshal any evidence for her claim of a sexual assault. Brett Kavanaugh continues to deny the charge adamantly and categorically, and with persuasive emotion.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
Those trying to keep Judge Brett Kavanaugh off the Supreme Court would have you believe that the women who support his confirmation by the Senate – despite unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct over three decades old – are conservative activists bent on overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. They’re wrong about me.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
