Midwest
Illinois pastor and author urges others amid today's evil, 'Make America love again'
Verses from the First Letter of John are believed to have been written by John the apostle.
They offer key lessons about love, the “remedy for evil,” Pastor James Ward of Illinois told Fox News Digital in remarks this week.
Ward is pastor of INSIGHT Church near Chicago and the author of the book “Zero Victim: Overcoming Injustice With a New Attitude.”
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The purpose of John’s messaging is to “combat certain false ideas, especially about Jesus — and to deepen the spiritual and social awareness of the Christian community,” noted Biblegateway, a Christian website.
Ward shared his reflections on three relevant Bible passages.
These three are from the First Letter of John:
- “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another” (1 John 4:11).
- “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
- “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 John 4:16).
“Evil is real,” Ward told Fox News Digital.
“Whether you consider yourself to be religious or non-religious, the reports we hear every day concerning violence is disheartening to us all,” said Pastor Ward. “That’s because evil is not a religious problem, it’s a human problem.”
“The Bible clearly explains the origin and nature of evil, and the remedy for evil, which is love.”
Evil has the power to both unify and divide people, said Ward, noting that “we can easily unify concerning the existence of evil, while remaining divided concerning how we should respond to it.”
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He said, “I believe it’s time to call the American people back to individual responsibility to love, and to call our attention back to God’s Word,” he said. “The Bible clearly explains the origin and nature of evil, and the remedy for evil, which is love.”
The verses found in the First Letter of John “reveal three actions we can all take to allow God to work through us to stop the force of evil and demonstrate His love,” he said.
‘Believe in love’
The first of these, he says, is to “believe in love.”
“Just before a plane takes off, the flight attendants advise the passengers to secure their oxygen mask first before helping others in the event of an emergency,” said Ward.
Similarly, he said, a person “must first know that God is love and believe the love that God has for you.”
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Only then, after believing in the love God has for someone, are people able to share this love with others.
‘Be loved’
The next is a reminder to “be loved,” said Ward.
“It’s not enough to just know that God is love and believe God’s love. You must receive God’s love personally and permit yourself to be loved by God,” he said.
Evil, Ward said, has the ability to make a person feel as though they are “unlovable and not worth loving.”
“We often struggle to receive God’s forgiveness and to forgive ourselves,” he said.
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It is important to remember that God sent His Son, Jesus, to the world “to die for our sins and permanently defeat evil as proof of His love for us,” said Ward.
‘Be a lover’
The third reminder from these verses, said Ward, is to “be a lover.”
“After you believe God’s love and allow yourself to be loved by God, you will be adequately equipped to be a lover of other people,” he said.
“There is so little love in the world today because many people have not believed and received God’s love for themselves.”
“Love,” he said, can be defined as “total giving.”
“However, you cannot give what you don’t have. I believe that there is so little love in the world today because many people have not believed and received God’s love for themselves.”
With the amount of evil currently existing in the world, “I call upon the American people to do our part,” Ward told Fox News Digital.
“Let’s make America love again,” he said.
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North Dakota
Golis: On the road where the bison and the antelope play
“When you get to the four mailboxes, turn left and go six miles …” — Directions from a Montana rancher
MEDORA, North Dakota
Back in March, I worried a shortage of electric vehicle chargers would keep us from visiting North Dakota. But here we are in Medora, the town that bumps up against Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
OK, so we cheated. We drove our EV to Missoula, Montana, and then rented a gas-powered car to take us into the far reaches of northeastern Montana and then to neighboring North Dakota.
You can drive a long way in northeastern Montana and parts of North Dakota without seeing another person, much less an electric vehicle charging station. (In EV sales, North Dakota ranks second to last among the states.)
So, yeah, we cheated.
The (many) miles of wheat fields, beef cattle, wide-open prairie and the eroded formations that came to be called badlands and river breaks remind us that eastern Montana won’t be confused with the parts of Montana defined by big mountains and big trees.
Eastern Montana is beautiful, too, but it is different.
And there’s a lot happening, including celebrations of Lewis and Clark, the retelling of injustices committed against Native Americans, dinosaur museums, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the Missouri Breaks and the American Prairie Reserve, an ambitious conservation project that aims to “re-wild” large sections of the prairie. (Some ranchers are not fans.)
We began in Fort Benton, hard on the Missouri River. It happens to be the oldest town in Montana, and before the transcontinental railroad, it was the last stop for Missouri River commerce. The statue overlooking the river honors Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea for their contributions to the exploration of the West. Historian Stephen Ambrose wrote of their “undaunted courage,” and that seems about right. They came through these parts in 1805, 41 years before the founding of Fort Benton.
East of Big Sandy and south of Havre (pronounced have-er), we ventured into the confusion of unmarked gravel roads that pass through the Bear’s Paw Mountains and link to some sizable ranches. (The 66,000 acres of the IX Ranch were recently listed for $66 million.)
We drove 60 miles of bumpy roads, and we might still be wandering this picturesque landscape, save for the kindness of strangers.
“When you get to the four mailboxes, turn left and go 6 miles,” explained the rancher who has lived on this land for 51 years. “Then turn right at the old stage cabin.”
He seemed bemused that these city folks would be wanting to explore an area with fewer road signs than pronghorn antelope and pheasant.
“If you get lost, just ask someone for help,” counseled a grocery store clerk in Big Sandy, “you’ll find nice people out there.”
She was right. The grocery store clerk, the hotel clerk who called his hunting guide brother (not once but twice), the guy who happened to come by for a grocery store coffee, the squirrel hunters with their own relief map, the rancher who spent his life on this land — all were kind and generous with their time, eager to save us from the embarrassment of being lost.
Or more lost.
Back on Highway 2, known locally as the Hi-Line, we came to the “Middle of Nowhere,” the title now claimed by the citizens of Glasgow, Montana.
Using data gathered by researchers at Oxford University, the Washington Post sought to identify cities of more than 1,000 people found to be the farthest distance from cities of 75,000 or more people, and Glasgow was the winner.
Some cities might have bridled at being described as the Middle of Nowhere, but Glasgow — on Highway 2, not far from the Canadian border — put up signs celebrating its newly won recognition.
Like other towns along Highway 2, Glasgow (pop. 3,192) feels like its own world. To the west, it’s 69 miles to Malta (pop. 1,868), and to the east, 49 miles to Wolf Point (pop. 2,578).
We drove south from Glasgow to what is still the largest earthen dam in the country. Fort Peck Dam and Fort Peck Lake are astonishing in their scale. The dam is 4 miles long. The lakeshore is longer than the California coast. The dam contains 48 times as much water as Warm Springs Dam. At the height of the Depression, this Works Progress Administration project employed 10,500 people here.
Montanans are exercised right now about a run-up in property taxes. We even saw a sign blaming the conservative Republican governor, Greg Gianforte.
Ohio
Springboro hosts 2024 Ohio Women's Open
SPRINGBORO, OHIO (WKEF/WRGT) – For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Women’s Open was held in 2024, and at a new home. After many years at a course in Northwest Ohio, Springboro’s Heatherwoode Golf Club will be the site for the foreseeable future.
Canton native Madison Reemsnyder, who completed her sophomore season at Xavier University, won the title with a 2-over two-round score of 144 (71-73). She started the second round Saturday with several consecutive birdies, and was able to stay in the lead throughout the remainder of her round.
Miamisburg’s Molly Skapik finished tied for second at +3, earning honors as the Low Professional in the tournament. Both Skapik and Reemsnyder say they are happy with how the event was put together, and that Heatherwoode will continue to host in the future.
South Dakota
Dakota Valley edges Brandon Valley, Yankton drops pitcher's duel to Blair in Lewis & Clark pool play finale
YANKTON, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Pool play came to a close at the 22nd annual Lewis & Clark Legion Baseball Classic with some tight ballgames across the four host sites on Saturday.
Click on the video viewer for highlights from:
-Dakota Valley’s 8-7 victory over Brandon Valley
-Blair (NE) winning a 1-0 pitcher’s duel over Yankton
Semifinals for the tournament tomorrow at Riverside Field in Yankton are set. Yankton Pool champion Blair (NE) will face Hartington Pool champion Sioux Falls West in the first semifinal at 11:00 AM. Following that Crofton Pool champion Sioux Falls East will take on Vermillion Pool champion Lincoln SE at 1:00 PM.
The winner of the two semifinal games will square off at 3:30 PM for the Lewis & Clark Classic championship.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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