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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - JUNE 26, 2024
In this week's Intersect, read about:
White House Announces Mass-Amnesty Plan for Illegal Immigrants Married to U.S. Citizens
“The Biden administration announced on Tuesday sweeping executive action to provide legal protections to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The order, touted by the White House as an effort to ‘keep families together,’ protects the spouses of American citizens from deportation and provides them with work permits if they have lived in the country for at least a decade.” read more at National Review
THINK.
- According to WORLD News Group, noncitizens have the option of U.S. citizenship upon marrying an American. However, the noncitizen’s manner of entry into the country determines the naturalization process. By law, illegal immigrants who have lived in the country for over a year are barred from reentering for 10 years, even if they are married to a citizen. Under Biden’s plan, they can now apply for permanent residency, or a green card, without having to leave the country.
- One argument against this plan is that it expands the application of the limited authority Congress granted the government to parole some noncitizens into the United States temporarily. Joe Chatham writes that this authority has been expanded by several presidents to apply to illegal immigrants already inside the country. According to Simon Hankinson, “Biden’s new amnesty once again subverts the will of Congress by treating an alien who is paroled the same as someone who was legally admitted…” In other words, this appears to be executive overreach. The proper way would be for Congress to amend the law.
- Interestingly, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against a woman who alleged that her noncitizen husband had the right to live in the U.S. with her. Her husband’s visa was denied because of suspected gang membership. In the majority opinion, Justice Amy Barrett disagreed with “the premise that the right to bring her noncitizen spouse to the United States is an unenumerated constitutional right.” Jordan Boyd writes that while this decision doesn’t directly involve President Biden’s plan, it suggests that it “has no constitutional standing.”
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, we ask for Your help and guidance for our nation to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with You (Micah 6:8). We need you, Lord.
ACT.
Would you like to impact voter turnout in November? Join the Write Now campaign and commit to sending letters to Christians in a swing state, encouraging them to vote. We give you everything you need—from what to write, to the addresses to be mailed to—you can choose how many you’d like to do. Sign up here.
Firestorm Erupts Over Requiring Women to Sign Up for Military Draft
“Senate Democrats have added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives and complicating the chances of moving the bill on the Senate floor before Election Day.” read more at The Hill
THINK.
- The House recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual bill that funds the Department of Defense. The conservative majority in the lower chamber of Congress included provisions that support religious liberty, stop reimbursing travel expenses for abortions, and oppose LGBTQ ideology. Those provisions won’t survive the majority-liberal Senate, which will pass its version of the bill. The differences will be ironed out by a committee, most likely after the election.
- Efforts to require women to register for the Selective Service (making them eligible for the draft) were defeated in 2021 and 2022. Why is it being brought up again? “Women are doing a remarkable job in our forces today, and if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-RI).
- Andrew T. Walker pointed out back in 2016, “If a day were to ever arrive where the U.S. military depended on female combatants in order to win a war, the United States has already lost its most important battles.” He explained, “A nation relying on female combatants is a nation that has lost all trappings of male and female differentiation.” As My Faith Votes commented in 2021, we should honor those God-given differences. When autocratic countries are strengthening their alliances and 2023 saw the highest number of state-based conflicts since 1946, our instinct should be to protect women, not force them into battle.
PRAY.
Lord Jesus, thank You that while “the nations rage,” we are blessed if we take refuge in You (Psalm 2:1,12). Give wisdom to the leaders of our nation and our military; let them seek You. Give strength and courage to our service members and their families as they secure our freedoms. Help us be worthy of their sacrifice. In Your name, amen.
ACT.
God Understands is a video-based study for service members offering Scripture that connects directly to the specific issues veterans and military members deal with. Check it out and consider who may need this resource.
Louisiana Mandates Ten Commandments Be Displayed in All Public Schools
“A specified Protestant version of the Ten Commandments must be displayed in all public schools in Louisiana by January 2025, the mandate of a bill Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law June 19. Louisiana is the only state to mandate such a display since the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and solely religious a 1978 Kentucky law mandating the same. Louisiana bases its mandate on historical significance rather than religion, according to the text of the law on the legislative website, describing the commandments as ‘foundational’ to Louisiana and the U.S.” read more at Baptist Press
THINK.
- Louisiana became the first state to require public schools and universities to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Texas, South Carolina, Utah, and Oklahoma recently tried and failed to pass similar legislation. The bill (HB71) requires the commandments to be displayed in “large, easily readable font” in classrooms ranging from kindergarten to state universities. It describes the commandments as historically significant and “foundational documents of our state and national government.” The new law permits the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Declaration of Independence alongside the Ten Commandments. The displayed commandments are to be accompanied by a statement describing that the commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.” The law will go into effect in 2025 and donations, not state funds, will pay for the displays. Catholic schools are exempt from the new law.
- Critics say it violates the separation between church and state and civil liberties groups have already filed a lawsuit. I was surprised to scroll through social media and see how many Christians were opposed to the new law as well, stating concerns that it violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. That clause orders that the government will not make any law respecting an establishment of religion. Interestingly, 61 years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that for the First Amendment “to withstand the strictures (limitations) of the Establishment Clause, there must be a secular legislative purpose and a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.” It led to prayer and Bible reading in public schools being considered unconstitutional unless its use was completely neutral.
- What is Truth? That’s the question many in this post-Christian culture either can’t or won’t define. The American experiment in ordered liberty presupposes the existence of a Supreme Being who instituted a universal moral code. As the Declaration of Independence reminds us, this code is “self-evident.” The Declaration enshrined this simple yet powerful truth, that “unalienable rights,” or basic human rights, do not come as a gift from a ruling elite, such as kings and rulers, parliaments and legislatures, judges and courts; rather, natural rights come from God. The greatest tragedy is not that the Ten Commandments would be removed from public schools, courtrooms, and government buildings, but that they are disappearing from the minds, hearts, and lives of most Americans.
PRAY.
Schools are a spiritual battleground today. We strongly encourage you to download our free resource to help you prayer walk a school near you. It includes prayer prompts to help you specifically intercede for students, teachers, and parents. Include a friend, invite others from your church, or simply walk and pray alone, but let’s surround our schools with prayer.
ACT.
More Americans can name the ingredients of a McDonald’s Big Mac than can name the 10 Commandments. How about you? Download a printable version of the 10 Commandments and display it as a constant reminder to pray for His will to be done in your life, in your family, and in our nation. As Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
Massachusetts Governor Targets Crisis Pregnancy Centers Already Hit by Vandalism and Threats
“A new ad campaign by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy tells women to avoid what it terms ‘anti-abortion centers,’ calling them unsafe. A TV spot by the state of Massachusetts says, ‘Whether you need pregnancy care or abortion care, avoid anti-abortion centers. They might look like medical clinics, but (they) try to limit your medical options if pregnant. Learn more and find care you can trust.’ The governor's office says the taxpayer-funded ad campaign is supposed to help women understand their full range of options.” read more at CBN News
THINK.
- The $1 million, multi-month “smear campaign” against the nearly 30 pro-life pregnancy centers in the state will disseminate ads via social media platforms, billboards, public transportation, and radio, painting pregnancy resource centers as dangerous and fraudulent health centers that are “deceiving people who may be frightened or confused as they find themselves at a crossroads.” State officials said the campaign is the first of its kind in the U.S.
- Abortion advocates like U.S. Representative Katherine Clark have even gone so far as to claim that their efforts “will save lives,” protect women’s health and the “right to choose.” But by going after pregnancy resource centers, Massachusetts and others that follow their lead eliminate options, not expand them. According to a report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute in 2019 alone, pregnancy resource centers “served over 2 million women, men, and youth with services estimated at a value of $266 million.” Far from creating more choice, states, where activists seek to smear and shutter these centers, reduce choice and undermine women’s health.
- Two years ago this week, SCOTUS handed down the Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade. Since then, twenty-seven states have protected unborn babies based on gestational age, with abortion bans ranging from six weeks to 24 weeks (or viability) and fourteen additional states have near-total bans, with limited exceptions. These laws were impossible under Roe. However, several states now allow for essentially unfettered access to abortion, including Michigan and Ohio which enshrined the “right” to an abortion into their state constitutions. When a law enshrines a wicked and sinful custom, the effect is to smother the light of the moral law written on the heart. As Joe Rigney points out, “We must recognize the effect of 50 years of bloodguilt. It’s very difficult to restrict abortion after having so many for so long. To do so would require deep repentance—and most Americans reject that repentance. They would have to look their evil in the eye and truly turn from that evil to Christ.”
PRAY.
Father, amid the cultural pressure to misinform, confuse, and twist the truth, help us to stand firmly on Your Word. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
ACT.
“[Think Biblically] is an excellent series! The ability of Christians to overlook the obvious at times is an affliction I have wrestled with. Each video series was powerful and worked to snap me back to awareness of what our mission is as Christians. The most powerful speaker? All are great – but the moment that tore at my soul was Abby Johnson as she described witnessing an abortion through ultrasound. I will not soon forget her words or the impact. I think all Biblical Christians need to see the entire series.” -Brian
Have you watched our Think Biblically series yet? One of the sessions covers the topic of the Sanctity of Life. Get started for free right here.
My Faith Votes— is a ministry that motivates, equips, and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. An estimated 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, fail to vote in presidential elections. My Faith Votes is on a mission to change this statistic by helping Christians act on their faith and vote in every election. When we pray unceasingly for our nation, think biblically about the issues, and vote consistently in every election the impact of Christians taking action from the local to the state and federal level will be unprecedented.
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