Earlier this year, I decided to teach my young boys how to play chess. I had made an earlier attempt, but it was probably premature. This time around they caught the bug and now love to play on a regular basis.

At one point early in the process of learning how to play, Timothy (age five) said he wished the pieces could move any way he wanted. In other words, he didn’t want there to be any rules! I had to explain that if the pieces could move however we wanted them to, the game would always end on the first move. After all, if anything goes, the player who moved first would simply capture the opponent’s king with any piece of his choice. There would be absolutely nothing to prevent it. Interestingly, the very thing that Timothy thought would give him maximum freedom (no restrictions on how he could move his pieces) would literally make the game pointless and unplayable.

Within the confines of the rules, however, players have enormous freedom—freedom that would be literally impossible without the rules.

It’s counterintuitive, really. We want freedom. We want our own way. It’s against our nature to embrace limitations of any kind. And yet, sometimes it’s the limitations that make the good stuff possible. In the case of chess, it’s the rules—the limitations on our “freedom”—that make it one of the most fascinating games ever invented, with virtually limitless possibilities. No rules or restrictions would mean unpredictable chaos at best, and utter pointlessness at worst.

It’s not just games that benefit from rules, however. Life is like that as well. God, as our loving, gracious Creator, has given us certain rules to live by. Yes, we can break His rules, but the result will never be what we could have enjoyed had we followed His commands and principles. The limitations are an essential part of enabling us to experience the best—and most fruitful—life possible.

Take marriage as an example. One of God’s instructions for husbands is to not be bitter against our wives (Colossians 3:19). I could view that as a restriction on my freedom as a husband. After all, it’s a negative command—something God tells me not to do. Could I choose to assert my will against God’s, reject His limitations, and become bitter toward my wife? Absolutely. And if my wife and I have had an argument, it might even feel good in the short-term to nurse some bitterness. The result, however, isn’t going to be good. I’ll not only be sowing the seeds of marital disintegration if I persist in harboring the bitterness, I’ll also be sowing the seeds of my own misery. But if I choose to accept God’s limitations on my behavior, I’ll reject bitterness, choose reconciliation, and enjoy a strong marriage that becomes all God wants it to be. That’s real freedom.

Our culture thinks of freedom as the ability to do whatever we want without restrictions—just like what Timothy wanted on the chessboard. The Bible, however, gives a different perspective. We’ll either be slaves to sin, or we’ll be servants of Christ. In other words, as human beings, we’re going to serve something. The question isn’t if we’ll serve, but what (or Who) we’ll serve. Interestingly, however, Christ offers humanity true freedom, while sin leaves us in bondage.

Genuine freedom, viewed from a Biblical perspective, isn’t about living any way we want. It’s about finding freedom in Christ and living within the limitations of God’s laws and principles. Some people reject that as too limiting. In their view, Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations. What they ignore, forget, or don’t realize is that these restrictions are meant to protect us from the genuine bondage of slavery to sin.

I’m not talking about salvation. We don’t earn God’s favor by following the rules. Christ took care of the penalty for sin when He died on the cross in our place. Instead, I’m talking about experiencing the freedom that comes from living life the way our Creator intended it to be. After all, He’s the One who made it all and He knows what’s best.

Is there some area of life where you’re tempted to reject God’s limitations on your ability to live as you please? If so, realize that by rejecting God’s instructions, you’ll be choosing bondage to sin. If it doesn’t feel that way yet, give it time. The Bible does tell us that sin provides pleasure, but only for a season (Hebrews 11:25). Eventually it will leave us enslaved.

I don’t know if Timothy fully understands yet that the rules in chess not only make the game possible, but are also the very thing that makes it beautiful. It’s the same with life. God’s rules don’t rob us of our freedom—they make it possible for us to experience the genuine freedom of life the way He meant for it to be. If that’s not the best freedom possible, I don’t know what is.

IFI Fall Banquet with Franklin Graham!
We are excited to announce that at this year’s IFI banquet, our keynote speaker will be none other than Rev. Franklin Graham, President & CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Christian evangelist & missionary. This year’s event will be at the Tinley Park Convention Center on Nov. 1st.

Learn more HERE.

The more you look into the “gay but celibate” movement advancing rapidly into once theologically orthodox Christian churches, the more disheartened you become by church leaders who have been slow to counter it, or worse, are embracing it.

The conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a small but influential denomination that separated from liberal mainline Presbyterianism in the early 1970s, is at a tipping point because of Revoice, a ministry that claims to be “observing the historic Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality” but whose inaugural conference last summer included workshop titles like “Redeeming Queer Culture: An Adventure.” An ecumenical effort that’s primarily Protestant but open to Catholics, Revoice was not organized by the PCA, but Revoice leaders and supporters include pastors and others in the PCA.

While disavowing homoerotic acts, Revoice leaders sound like secular LGBT activists in portraying “gay Christians” as oppressed minorities who deserve the right to define themselves on their own terms, no matter how bizarre or disruptive to the larger Christian community. In defiance of logic, they celebrate “gay” identity and aspects of “gay” culture while promising never to engage in homoerotic sex.

Revoice conference speaker Eve Tushnet, a Catholic, has written approvingly of celibate “gay Christians” joining the festivities at homosexual pride parades. Her Twitter bio says her “hobbies include sin, confession, and ecstasy.” Even Episcopalians might find it tacky to name sin as a hobby, but apparently, it’s to be cheered as harmless fun by evangelicals if they want to appear sensitive to those struggling with homosexual attraction.

While Revoice primarily promotes “gay but celibate,” some involved in Revoice are in what they call “mixed-orientation marriages.” They are married to someone of the opposite sex, but continue to publicly identify as gay and talk openly about their persistent homosexual desires. In the world of Revoice, this is vulnerability worthy of praise. For others, it is a sickening disregard for marital vows and the respect owed one’s spouse.

Revoice held its second annual conference in early June. So far, the PCA has not disciplined PCA leaders and promoters of Revoice for their role in perversely trying to blend traditional Christian teachings with a worldly LGBT mindset. At its annual general assembly June 25-28 in Dallas, the PCA approved the Nashville Statement as a document of biblical fidelity to share as a discipleship tool. But the statement, released by an evangelical coalition in 2017 to bolster orthodoxy on sexual matters, will likely not be binding within PCA church courts. The PCA at its general assembly also approved a study committee to examine its own confessions as they pertain to sexuality. The Chicago Metro Presbytery was among those asking for a study committee.

If the words “study committee” sound familiar, that’s because the mainline denominations set up study committees when they were hit with debilitating brain fogs about their long-held beliefs related to sex, marriage, and family. They went on to approve homosexual “marriage” and help the culture usher in transgender pronouns and drag queens as children’s entertainment. It’s also noteworthy that on their way to giving full approval to homosexuality and homosexual “marriage,” mainline denominations endorsed “gay but celibate,” including among clergy.

The storm in the PCA has become especially fierce because one of its pastors has come out as a celibate “gay Christian.” Greg Johnson hosted the first Revoice conference at his St. Louis church last year but didn’t publicly wear the “gay” label himself until May when he wrote a revealing piece for Christianity Today. At the denomination’s recent general assembly, Johnson took to the floor to deliver a speech, both self-pitying and self-glorifying, in which he denounced Article 7 of the Nashville Statement, which says, “We deny that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.” Johnson, who likened people with homosexual desires to paraplegics and infertile women, said Article 7 “hurts” him. While Johnson has at times described homosexual desires as sinful, these comparisons in his speech underscore a profound lack of consistency and clarity in doing so.

Johnson’s speech was applauded by many at the general assembly and praised by others on social media. Even Denny Burk, a Southern Baptist academic critical of Revoice who overall has written commendably on sexuality from an orthodox perspective, wrote that Johnson “spoke powerfully of his own experience, and I was genuinely moved by what he said.” One thing that has slowed the gears in addressing the “gay but celibate” movement is the insistence of leaders in the evangelical world to give credit where it’s not due. Johnson’s speech was disturbing. It’s genuinely moving when someone fighting unwanted homosexual attraction, or any sinful desire, humbly seeks help at his church to walk closer with God. It’s deeply troubling when a pastor pleads at his church body’s annual meeting for recognition of a sinful identity as part of a divisive movement that threatens a denominational split.

To his credit, Burk identifies where Johnson goes wrong in his interpretation of Article 7:

Adopt means to embrace or endorse. The point of the article is simply to say that it is out of bounds to embrace an understanding of oneself or one’s sin that is at odds with God’s design in creation and redemption. This is not a controversial point, or at least it shouldn’t be among Christians.

Johnson’s own presbytery in Missouri investigated Revoice and released a report shortly before the PCA general assembly with words of caution for the “gay but celibate” ministry. But the report had sharper words for critics for supposedly making snap judgments about Revoice leaders and failing to appreciate the “nuance and complexity” of the issues they raise. The Missouri Presbytery, like the Chicago Metro Presbytery, asked for a denominational study committee. As onlookers wait to see if the PCA will take meaningful action to stamp out the contributions of its leaders to the “gay but celibate” movement, activists with Revoice and similar efforts will undoubtedly march on, pushing into more conservative churches of various affiliations to further desensitize believers to “queer” culture with a Christian spin.

Revoice conference speaker Pieter Valk, an Anglican, is the founder of EQUIP, a Nashville advocacy group whose mission is to “equip the church to better love sexual minorities.” EQUIP wants to remove any shame associated with homosexual lusts and is adamant that homosexual orientation is fixed, holding out no hope for Christians who want to be rid of homosexual desires. On the “Beliefs” page of its website, EQUIP says that “while we affirm and teach from a traditional sexual ethic, we respect all people’s right to follow their own paths.” Not exactly a robust statement of Christian orthodoxy. But it’s in keeping with what others in the “gay but celibate” movement sometimes say. They insist they are against homoerotic sex. But unlike Christians who believe such acts are categorically wrong, they make it sound like this belief is something to be subjectively determined based on the intensity of one’s religious sentiments.

EQUIP has little to say about sin and repentance, except in its shaming of the church for alleged past mistreatment of homosexuals. Its website even suggests a prayer for the church to pray in which the church repents of “destructive theology”:

Most merciful God, we, Christians, confess that we have sinned against you and LGBT+ people in our homophobia, with our destructive theology, and by treating LGBT+ people as problems – by the ways we have actively mistreated LGBT+ people, and by doing nothing to make the Church better for LGBT+ people as ourselves. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved LGBT+ people as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent that our sin has led many LGBT+ people to lose their faith or commit suicide. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that LGBT+ people may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen

Even more troubling is the participation of Revoice speakers in LOVEboldly, a Kentucky-based group that reaches out to church staff, including youth pastors, on behalf of both celibate gays and those who see nothing wrong with homoerotic acts. The group promotes “reconciliation and healing” between homosexuals and Christians with traditional beliefs.  The LOVEboldly website explains, “We are deeply persuaded that agreement with one another’s political and theological perspectives on sexuality is not essential for moving towards loving one another boldly.” Imagine if Christian marriage counselors were to partner with an organization that believes adultery and open marriages are acceptable. The sympathy Christians feel for people in difficult marriages would not be seen as justification for linking arms with advocates of views so strikingly at odds with orthodox Christian beliefs.

That the “gay but celibate” movement has made so many inroads with such a morally compromised agenda reflects the degree to which far too many conservative Christians have been emotionally manipulated to see LGBT people as victims who must be treated with special sensitivity, even if that means giving celibate “gay Christians” exemptions to biblical teachings about personal holiness. Well-meaning Christian leaders have wanted to assume that activists have good intentions when they should have been more concerned about protecting their flocks from wolves.

Revoice leaders would have you believe that if it weren’t for them, there would be no one to help Christians with homosexual desires. But that’s far from the truth. Organizations and individuals sympathetic to the challenges posed by homosexual attraction have been around for years to help such Christians. But their message of leaving “gay” identity and culture behind is one many in Revoice want to silence. At the recent Revoice conference, a speaker mocked Rosaria Butterfield, a Christian writer and former lesbian now married to a man. (After getting pushback from some at the conference, the speaker later apologized.) Butterfield is controversial among many Revoice leaders and supporters because she doesn’t believe Christians should embrace a homosexual identity. As Butterfield puts it, “How can any of us fight a sin that we don’t hate?”

The insidious “gay but celibate” movement has started to drown out voices like Butterfield’s because activists have deftly exploited the fears of Christians who don’t want to be called haters. The message of Revoice and similar efforts is tailor-made for people-pleasers who want to be Christian and LGBT-friendly in a way that might lessen cultural pressure to go along with LGBT pride and delay or make unnecessary the taking of a costly stand in defense of orthodox convictions. But going along with the drift in the church on this critical issue is cowardly and unloving. True love rejoices in the truth and the time to stand for truth is now.

IFI Fall Banquet with Franklin Graham!
We are excited to announce that at this year’s IFI banquet, our keynote speaker will be none other than Rev. Franklin Graham, President & CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Christian evangelist & missionary. This year’s event will be at the Tinley Park Convention Center on Nov. 1st.

Learn more HERE.

With a couple dozen Democrat presidential hopefuls vying to see who’s pinker, perhaps it’s time to contrast socialism with something more helpful and permanent:  The Ten Commandments.

Socialism teaches that wealth should be held in common ownership, controlled by the state. Hence, the Democrats’ constant push to have government confiscate ever more income and power.

By contrast, the Bible teaches that God owns all things and that we’re merely stewards of His creation. When we look at each of the Ten Commandments, we see that they’re directly at odds with socialism.

 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Socialism and its offshoots – communism, fascism, democratic socialism and National Socialism (Nazism) – enshrine the state above all other powers.  There is no room for God, which is why socialists are in a permanent war with the church and are bent on creating a faith-free society.

You shall make no idols.

Idols are anything that takes the place of God in the hierarchy of values.  Under socialism, sheer power over one’s fellow man is an idol. Another is building utopias – the unicorns of government because such perfect societies do not exist.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

When socialists take over a culture, it becomes depraved and perverse.  To enforce their new immoral order, socialists openly blaspheme God and particularly Jesus Christ.  Hollywood, which is famously leftist, has taken this road since Christian review boards abandoned their role in the 1960s, opening up films to any and all ways to shock audiences.

Keep the Sabbath day holy.

Sundays are no different from any other day in socialist societies.  In fact, people going to church on a Sunday are identified and often persecuted in places like communist China, where atheism is the official state religion.   Even in our market-based society, materialism – a necessary precept of socialism – has pushed respect for the Sabbath to the margins.

Honor your father and your mother.

Socialism has been at war with marriage and family since the French Revolution in 1789.  Unlike America’s revolutionaries of 1776, the Jacobins sought to wipe out Christianity and establish an all-encompassing government that supplanted the family.  Frederich Engels, co-author with Karl Marx of “The Communist Manifesto,” later wrote about the need to do away with marital fidelity and to assign children to communal rearing. He, Marx and other socialists correctly identified the family as a competing source of authority and a bulwark of the church.  Both stand in the way of collectivist regimes.

You shall not murder.

Many people misread this commandment as a broader order not to kill for any reason, which denies the moral difference between taking innocent human life and executing murderers. Socialists have long promoted abortion – the direct taking of an innocent human life – as a way to “liberate” women and men from parental responsibilities.

You shall not commit adultery.

In the 1960s, Americans became familiar with the term “free love,” but socialists have been promoting it heavily since the early 1800s.  Sex outside marriage, prostitution, pornography and abortion all militate against marriage fidelity.  Socialists deploy euphemisms like “choice” and “sex work” to cover the retreat from Biblical morality.

You shall not steal.

Socialism is grand theft. It uses the state to take earnings from productive people and redistribute it to create dependency and thus political power for those handing it out.  Slavery is 100 percent taxation – when someone else controls the fruits of one’s labor.  Socialist countries first control and then seize private property.  Marx summed up “The Communist Manifesto” in one sentence:  “Abolition of private property.”

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

This is not just about telling lies in a witness situation but also about using lies to advance one’s wellbeing. Socialism is built on a mountain of lies about human nature, which is why it eventually must resort to violence. Marx wrote that “the ends justify the means,” which means you can do or say anything as long as it advances the revolution.

You shall not covet.

Socialism’s main engine is envy, stoking resentment against others who have more, even to the point of using violence to get it.  In Genesis, Cain killed Abel out of envy for Abel achieving God’s favor.  Envy was also on display when Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they defied God, then “ye shall be as gods.”  Coveting divinity got Satan kicked out of Heaven, and it’s what he and his minions continue to peddle in a variety of forms – including pride, envy and socialism.

Of Satan, Jesus said, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

God originated life, natural marriage and love and gave us the Ten Commandments.  It shouldn’t be a mystery as to where the deceptive cake of socialism was baked.

This article was originally published at Townhall.com.

A few months ago, Barna released the results of interviews conducted with 650 Protestant and Catholic church leaders “about the factors influencing spiritual formation and development” of children. The project, done in cooperation with Cardus, yielded some interesting findings.

First, unsurprisingly, both Protestants and Catholics agree that parents/family bear the primary responsibility for the spiritual formation and development of children. More specifically, 99% of Protestant pastors and 96% of Catholic priests rank parents/family as number one. I would agree.

Also unsurprising is that both groups rate the church as having the second-greatest responsibility (92% for Protestants, 77% for Catholics). So far, so good.

“School” and “Christian community” rank at #3 and #4 respectively for both groups, and government/society brings up the rear at #5.

All of this makes sense, and it’s good to see that church leaders recognize that parents bear the primary responsibility for the spiritual formation of the next generation.

Unfortunately, things get a little murkier after that.

When asked how their church prioritizes the spiritual formation of children, 73% of Protestant pastors said they do so through Sunday school or youth classes. (For the Catholic priests, the number one method was catechism and sacramental prep classes.) Other top priorities include encouraging children to participate in the main worship service, camps and VBS, and worship services for children.

Only 20% of Protestant pastors and 17% of Catholic priests listed “training parents for spiritual conversations/training at home.”

In other words, despite the fact that church leaders overwhelmingly recognize that parents play the most important role in their children’s spiritual formation, only about one out of five churches are actively training parents to fill that role.

I’m guessing most of us could back up that data with our own experience. How many churches have you attended or pastors have you known who have made equipping parents a high priority? Sadly, it’s often not on the radar—at least not on a consistent basis.

And yet, we could certainly make the case that raising the next generation in the ways of the Lord is equal in importance to any other responsibility God has given to His people. If that’s true, then why aren’t churches and pastors taking an active role in equipping parents to do their job?

We could speculate about the reasons for this disconnect, but I wonder if it really comes down to an unbiblical mindset of delegation that has permeated the thinking of American parents.

What do I mean by that? Simply this: most parents in modern America parcel out their children’s upbringing to outsiders rather than doing it themselves.

We delegate our children’s minds to the teachers at school.

We delegate their physical development to a gym teacher or coach.

We delegate their entertainment to screens.

And we delegate their spiritual growth to a children’s worker or youth pastor at church.

Then we sit back, feeling like we’re doing a good job because we’ve got all the bases covered.

The problem, of course, is that God didn’t call parents to simply coordinate their children’s upbringing. He didn’t call us to simply make sure our kids show up at the right place at the right time so everyone else can take care of them.

Instead, He calls us to be active participants. In truth, I would suggest that He calls us to do far more than we delegate. (In fact, that’s a great question to ask in relation to your kids: are you doing more than you’re delegating? If not, it’s time to think about realigning priorities.)

And so in this context, I believe that many churches have been willing participants in this system of delegation. And even while pastors recognize that parents ought to be shouldering the primary responsibility of teaching their children, perhaps there’s a fear that they won’t—and so the church has to take up the slack. And then somewhere along the way, equipping parents gets lost in the shuffle.

Maybe there are other reasons as well. I don’t know. What I do know is that it would be an amazing thing if more churches started devoting more time and energy to equipping parents for this incredible responsibility of teaching and training the next generation.

I don’t know what the solutions are. Perhaps a good start would be more sermons on family related topics. Churches that are blessed to have parents who have successfully raised godly children could offer mentoring relationships or a parenting Bible study class. Options such as these may not be the full solution, but they would at least be a start.

In the meantime, we as parents need to take our responsibility seriously whether our churches are equipping us as actively as we’d like or not.

For those of you who have completed you’re parenting journey and you’ve successfully launched God-honoring young people into the world, perhaps you could prayerfully consider how God might want you to come alongside younger families to help, equip, and support them.

Lastly, if you’re a pastor or church leader, I would encourage you to evaluate what your church is doing to equip parents. Is that part of your vision? If not, should it be? It’s worth considering in light of the value God places on parents and children.

Raising the next generation may not take a village, but it does take parents. And speaking on behalf of Christian parents everywhere, let me just say that we can use all the help we can get! The family is under attack, and it’s time for parents, the church, and the entire Christian community to stand together for the next generation.

On the evening of June 17, 2015, at about 8:15 p.m., 21-year-old Dylann Roof pulled into the parking lot of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, SC, and casually entered the building through one of the side doors. Wednesday was Bible study night, and he quietly joined the small group of twelve. About forty-five minutes later, as everyone closed their eyes to pray, he pulled out a gun and started shooting. He then left the building as casually as he had entered it and drove away.

Fourteen hours later, Roof was apprehended without incident in Shelby, NC. Upon questioning, he flatly responded, “I did it. I killed them.”

By this time, the incident was all over the news, and in contrast to many incidents where race is injected into the discussion where it may not have been a factor, the circumstances of this crime made it a ticking bomb. Roof was an open white supremacist, and the history of Charleston is inextricably tied up with slavery. Emanuel had been the first freestanding black church in the south in a denomination started by former slaves. It was less than one year after Ferguson and a month after Baltimore, and here there were nine dead bodies, rather than just one.

Yet in the aftermath of the Charleston murders, we saw no violent protests. No riots. No images of burning cars. Why was that? Why didn’t Charleston burn?

“We forgive you.”

I think the answer to that question traces to the surviving church members themselves. Two days after the shooting, at Roof’s bond hearing, the small courtroom filled with family members, and in an unusual move, the judge invited them to speak directly to him. Here is what happened:

• Through tears, Nadine Lance Collier, who’d lost her mother Ethel, said, “I just want everyone to know [that] I forgive you. You took something very precious from me. I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you.”

• Anthony Thompson, who’d lost his wife Myra, said, “I forgive you, and my family forgives you. And we would like you to take this opportunity to repent. Repent, confess, give your life to the one who matters the most, Christ, so he can change it, can change your ways, no matter what happened to you. And you’ll be okay. Do that, and you’ll be better off than you are right now.”

• Felicia Sanders, one of three survivors of the shooting, said, “We welcomed you Wednesday night in our Bible study with open arms. You have killed some of the most beautifulest people that I know. Tywanza [her nephew and youngest of the deceased] was my hero. But as we said in Bible study, we enjoyed you. But may God have mercy on you.”

It was not a planned response. In fact, Thompson had warned them against speaking, for fear of saying something they might regret. But when the opportunity was presented, these were the messages they had for the killer.

Reactions were mixed. Lance said some people were angry with her, “but what I said, I said from the bottom of my heart…. I knew that’s what my Mom would want–not to have hatred in your heart, despite what people do to you.” Church member Melvin Graham, who’d lost his sister, said he admires those who forgave at the very beginning. “God truly worked a work in them, truly–[but] I’m a work in progress.”

And then there was Muhiyidin D’Baha (d.2018), a Black Lives Matter organizer, who shook his head dejectedly. “It was just like a nail in the coffin, man. We’re not going to be able to, to mobilize.”

“Which coffin,” we might ask, though I think the answer is clear.

Love that Overcomes

“Some people see the families’ forgiveness as submission to centuries of oppression,” said black pastor and author A.R. Bernard. “But, if we look closely, that act of forgiveness demonstrated great courage…. I don’t know of any other religious belief system besides Christianity where an innocent man hangs on a cross, suffering immeasurable pain, torment, torture. And he looks out at his accusers, and he prays a prayer, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That act… is the greatest act of love, and the greatest act of release that one could ever experience.”

Indeed. Hackneyed slogans like “Love is love,” and “Love trumps hate,” fall to the ground in the presence of these Emanuel Christians. In their deep pain, they demonstrated what love is and what it can do. Where multitudes were poised to give vent to rage, they spoke peace. Where sin abounded, they lived out over-abounding grace. They walked the walk. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” said Jesus, “for they will be called children of God.”

The story of Emanuel and its aftermath is told in Emanuel: The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting, a powerful documentary produced by Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry and South Carolina native and actress Viola Davis. It’s showing June 17 and 19. See it any way you can. Take your friends and family, too, and learn from these modern-day heroes of the faith. Click here for theaters and showtimes.

IFI Banquet Speaker Announced!
We are excited to announce that at this year’s IFI banquet, our keynote speaker will be none other than Rev. Franklin Graham, President & CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Christian evangelist & missionary. This year’s event will be at the Tinley Park Convention Center on Nov. 1st.

Learn more HERE.

Reverend Franklin Graham, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted a message on Facebook and sent an email to his social media followers requesting they dedicate Sunday, June 2, as a day of prayer for President Donald Trump. Two hundred and fifty Christian leaders quickly responded by signing the proclamation, including three former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in America) and the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.

The proclamation reads:

“We the undersigned are calling for June 2 to be a special Day of Prayer for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, that God would protect, strengthen, embolden, and direct him. We believe our nation is at a crossroads, at a dangerous precipice. The only one who can fix our country’s problems is God Himself, and we pray that God will bless our president and our nation for His glory.”

The full statement can be read on Rev. Graham’s Facebook page. Tens of thousands are expected to answer the call to pray for the president .

In an interview with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, Graham referred to Trump as “the most Christian-friendly president” in his lifetime. He noted, “I don’t think any president in modern history has come under attack day after day after day by almost all the media. That’s just never happened. And it distracts the president. It weakens our country.”

While quick to point out that his call to prayer isn’t an endorsement of Trump, Graham quoted a scripture verse that calls on Christians to pray for “kings” and all those in authority. He asked his followers to leave a comment on his Facebook page stating that they will pray for the president: “And will you share this on your social media platforms so that we can have as many people as possible praying?” he added.

Graham concluded with a quote from the Apostle Paul:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

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Illinois State lawmakers are entering into the last month of the 2019 Spring Session. They have much on their legislative agenda, including approving a budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1st. The Illinois State Constitution requires that the regular legislative session end on May 31^st.

As you know, Illinois needs strong, honest and wise leadership now more than ever. Christians in the state of Illinois must commit to praying for our state leaders, their staff, and their family as they wrestle with the tough issues of the day. So, that is our call to you today.

Illinois is not only facing a $3.2 billion budget deficit but also a staggering $134 billion pension liability. To solve these problems, many of our political leaders are looking for additional streams of revenue instead of working to cut the incredible waste, bloat and unnecessary (or immoral) government programs like the millions of dollars going to pay for Medicaid abortions, expanded and approved by the previous governor and General Assembly.

To make matters worse, our state lawmakers are considering a number of proposals that would only exacerbate the anti-family environment in our state. Please pray through the following proposals, asking God to change the hearts and minds of our state lawmakers. We do this because we are fully convinced that “with God, all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26, Mark 10:27) Please pray that all these bills fail:

• Abortion Expansion: the two extreme abortion bills that we alerted you to back in February have stalled. Praise God! However, Planned Parenthood and their allies are working overtime to jump start them.

• Legalized Marijuana: During his campaign, Gov. JB Pritzker promised to legalize recreational pot. Political pundits claim that Illinois’ FY 2020 budget desperately needs the millions of dollars in tax revenue from marijuana. However, reports from Colorado indicate that the costs far outweigh the new revenue source.

• LGBT History Mandate: HB 246 has already passed the Illinois House and is pending a vote in the Illinois Senate. This legislation will require that all students in K-12 public schools be taught about the “roles and contributions” of homosexuals and opposite-sex impersonators and that textbooks purchased include discussions of the roles and contributions of homosexuals and opposite-sex impersonators.

• Mandatory Kindergarten: SB 2075 has already passed the Illinois Senate and is pending in the Illinois House. This bill would lower the compulsory school age from 6 to 5 years of age, usurping parental rights on when to start formal education for their young children.

• Gambling Expansion: State lawmakers are betting on $200 million in revenue from licensing fees from legalized sports betting licenses. There is also a move to create more casinos in Illinois (e.g., Chicago and Rockford), to expand gambling to the Internet and on smart phones. Too many lawmakers think that this is a harmless way to supplement revenues. They don’t seem to understand how addictive gambling can be or that it has costs that could be as high as $3 to $7 for every $1 of revenue.

• More Taxes: According to the Chicago Tribune, Springfield lawmakers may consider other tax schemes to increase revenue to the state coffers: “The governor’s office wants at least $19 million from a statewide tax on plastic shopping bags, $55 million from an increase in the cigarette tax, $10 million from a new tax on e-cigarettes and $89 million from a higher tax on successful video gambling terminals.” They are also considering an increase in gasoline taxes by 19 to 25 cents per gallon. These taxes create an additional burden on working families.

• Please Pray for Springfield Leaders: Gov. JB Pritzker, Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge).

Pray that the Lord would grant them wisdom and knowledge about the issues they must vote on this month. Pray that they would be bold to do what is right according to the Word of God. Pray that the good Lord would direct their hearts to do His will on earth, as it is in heaven.

By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
~Proverbs 8:15~

A couple of weeks ago, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I found myself in our dark, dingy basement in one of my sporadic efforts to clean it out.

Our basement is one of the old-fashioned kind. Unfinished. Dimly lit. Concrete floor and cement block walls. Periodic water problems.

It’s also a mess.

Every year when I outline my goals for the months ahead, I say I’m going to clean out the basement. And every year I don’t do it. Oh, sometimes I spend a few hours down there trying to make headway against the clutter and disorganization, but it’s never enough to truly get the job done—or even stay ahead of the organizational entropy that always creeps in.

And so on this particular Saturday I was down there once again, halfheartedly trying to make progress against the mess. I gathered up some debris, carried it upstairs, and hauled it out the back door to the garbage can waiting for me by the garage.

And that’s when I discovered what a beautiful day it was.

It was far too beautiful to spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning the basement, and also too beautiful not to take the kids out for a hike somewhere.

So I finished up a few tasks then shared my idea with my wife to take the three oldest kids (6, 5, and 3) out for a walk at a local nature park. She was on board, and of course the kids loved it. So out we went.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking through the woods and playing at the creek. The kids had a wonderful time, and it always does my heart good to see them having real experiences out in the natural world. (As one passerby said when he saw them, “Kids ought to play in creeks.”)

As I think back on that Saturday afternoon, I’m reminded again of the importance of right priorities. Not only that, I’m also reminded how easily we can see what our real priorities are.

Cleaning out my basement obviously isn’t a burning priority for me. It’s been a mess for years, and even though I keep saying I’m going to clean it up, I never allocate enough time in my schedule to finish the job. Sure, the mess aggravates me, and it’s embarrassing anytime someone else has to go down there and see it, but I’m apparently not bothered enough to invest the needed time to get the job done.

And that gives us a clue about discerning our true priorities. Simply put, where are we spending our time? If the basement were a genuine priority, I’d make sure it was getting the necessary time to get the cleaning out it needs. It’s not getting my time, so it’s easy to see that—despite my words and intentions—it’s not high on my priority list.

On that particular beautiful Saturday, taking my kids out was a higher priority. And I’m glad to say that on that occasion, I think I got my priorities right. That’s not always the case, but it was that day.

The truth is, words are cheap. Good intentions are free. We can say we value our walk with God, our marriage, or our children—but are we backing up those claims by putting our time where our words are? Does our schedule match the priorities we claim?

I’m not saying that time with our kids should always win out over a home repair project, or that we should always choose extra Bible study over mowing the lawn. I’m not saying we should never work overtime or enjoy a hobby.

What I am saying is that if we look at our schedule over an extended period of time, it’s going to give us a window into our genuine priorities. We can say that our children are one of our top priorities, but if it’s been weeks since we’ve carved out intentional time with them, it might be time for a reality check. The same goes for our marriage and our walk with God.

But here’s where it gets difficult. When we choose to spend our time one way, we’re automatically choosing not to spend it in other ways. So when we say yes to working overtime, for example, we’re saying no to spending those hours with our family. That’s not always the wrong choice, but we have to look at our patterns over time.

The reality is, we all have more options for spending our time than we can possibly accommodate. And that’s why we have to make choices. If we’re not saying no to some things—even good things—in order to say yes to God, our spouse, and our children, our priorities are out of balance. We can talk all we want about how much these things matter to us, but until we’re reshaping our schedule to reflect those real priorities, it’s just that—talk.

If you were to do a priorities audit based on your schedule over the past several weeks, what would it show you? Do you like what you see? If so, great! If not, perhaps it’s time for some realignment.

In the meantime, my basement is still a mess. Maybe I should plan to spend a few hours down there next Saturday . . .

On May 4, Australian rugby star Israel Folau, who was expected to play at the World Cup this fall, will come before a three-member panel of Rugby Australia following his firing by the organization for allegedly committing “a high-level breach of the Professional Players’ Code of Conduct.” His high-level offense is this Instagram post:

Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him.
_______________

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 KJV

Accompanying his Instagram post is the image seen here on the right.

Does anyone think his “high-level breach” had anything to do with saying that unrepentant drunks, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, and idolaters will go to hell? Yeah, me neither.

Folau’s unspeakable sin is including homosexuals in a biblically-derived list of sinners whom God says will not see his kingdom. No matter that Folau’s (and St. Paul’s) hope is to save people from eternal damnation. In the eyes of the fallen world, Folau (and I guess St. Paul) is a hater.

Folau, whose contract doesn’t expire until 2022, stands to lose his salary of well over one million dollars per year. Despite the huge financial and personal costs, the Daily Mail reports he has no regrets:

When asked if the fallout has made him reconsider his comments, Folau, a devout Christian, replied: ‘Absolutely not. I’ll stand on what the Bible says.… First and foremost, I live for God now. Whatever He wants me to do, I believe His plans for me are better than whatever I can think. If that’s not to continue on playing, so be it. In saying that, obviously I love playing [rugby] and if it goes down that path, I’ll definitely miss it. But my faith in Jesus Christ is what comes first.’

Now that statement took courage, unlike the statements of athletes who announce their homoerotic attraction, which take no courage at all.

Another rugby player, Michael Leitch, posted a video on social media calling Folau a “bully,” but is he?

As I wrote last year, Random House Dictionary defines a bully as “a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.” American Heritage Dictionary defines it as “a person who is habitually cruel, esp. to smaller or weaker people.” Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a tyrannical coward who makes himself a terror to the weak.” Oxford American Dictionary defines it as “a person who uses strength or power to coerce others by fear.” The spanking new Leftist redefinition of “bully” omits all references to smaller or weaker people, coercion, and intimidation.

Bullies are those who possess cultural power and wield it against those with little or no cultural power. In Western societies like Australia and America, it is “progressives” who control government schools, academia, the arts, professional medical and mental health organizations, mainstream media, social media, and the increasingly expansive, invasive world of corporate mega-monopolies.

When “progressives” call theologically orthodox Christians ignorant, hate-filled bigots for their belief that homosexual acts are immoral, they are bullies. When a homosexual man sues an elderly florist for declining to provide custom-made floral arrangements for his anti-wedding ceremony, he’s a bully. When two lesbians force a Christian couple with five young children to choose between violating their religious beliefs or losing their livelihood, they’re bullies.

If Scripture and the historical witness of the church are true, every affirmation of homosexual desire, homosexual acts, or homosexual relationships by non-Christians, apostate Christians, or Christian heretics (also known as wolves in sheep’s clothing) constitutes a pernicious act by virtue of its road-to-hell-paving implications.

If Scripture is true, these daily affirmations grievously harm people, so should all those who proclaim that lies are truth and wickedness is righteousness lose their jobs, be fined, or be jailed?

As should be clear, the offensiveness of a claim depends centrally on whether it is true—not on whether others like to hear it. It should also be clear that neither the rugby governing board, nor the Human Rights Campaign, nor any wolf in sheep’s clothing has any proof that Scripture is false or that their moral claims are true.

And by now it should also be clear to Christians exactly where sexual revolutionaries in Western nations are leading—or pushing—us. Before long anyone who expresses conservative beliefs on sexuality will be unable to work. Anyone who does the following will be fired and fined or jailed:

• Publicly quotes Scripture passages about homosexuality or cross-dressing

• Publicly expresses the view that homosexual acts or masquerading as the opposite sex is immoral

• Uses grammatically correct pronouns rather than the “preferred” pronouns of opposite-sex passers

• Publicly expresses criticism of the legal recognition of intrinsically non-marital relationships as marriage

• Refuses to hire cross-dressing men or women

• Publicly criticizes the invasion of women’s sports by biological males

• Publicly states the reality that “transwomen” are men and “transmen” are women

“Progressives” in America issue self-serving rationalizations for their dangerous efforts to eradicate First Amendment protections for theologically orthodox Christians, asserting that speaking freely doesn’t guarantee absence of consequences. But in a world controlled by mega-monopolies, what if those consequences include an inability to earn a living? What kind of protection does the First Amendment provide for speech or religious free exercise (as distinct from freedom to worship only) if Americans who exercise those rights can’t earn a living?

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote,

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

And we learn this in Mark:

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions….”

Since everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, and since no one who follows Jesus will fail to receive persecution in this age, what might it signify that so many Christians in Western societies never experience persecution?

Christians should ask themselves now if they’re willing to take up their crosses daily to follow Christ.

They should ask themselves if—for Christ—they’re willing to be hated by the world just as Christ—for us—was willing to hated by the world.

And they should prepare themselves for the criminalization of Christianity, because it rapidly approaches.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Criminal-Christians-3.mp3

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Even many who are little disposed to viewing life’s vicissitudes symbolically found themselves wondering about the meaning of the inferno that consumed much of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during Holy Week. What does the gutting of this magnificent architectural symbol of man’s adoration of the Creator of all things beautiful signify?

What we know is that France, indeed all Western Europe, has lost its spiritual way. While man-made symbols fashioned of wood and stone remain of a once-substantive and sustaining faith, the substance of that faith is long gone, burned away by impoverished philosophies and fallen man’s appetites. All that has remained of the fervent faith that animated the early church is a burned-out shell.

Truth was replaced with truthiness. Beauty was replaced with ugliness. Love that means death to our fallen natures and much that they desire was replaced with saccharine affirmation of any and all God-denying confusion and libidinous hunger.

America—always in thrall to all things European—is sashaying benightedly after our uber-cool Parisian brothers and sisters. Recent studies have revealed the tragic irreligiosity of Americans. Is it any wonder that as we have lost our faith, marriage—the picture of Christ and the church—has been destroyed; millions of women have ordered the deaths of their own babies; children are being raised without mothers and fathers; homosexuality is celebrated; teens are being chemically sterilized and surgically mutilated; perverse men are reading stories to toddlers in our public libraries; government schools teach our little ones that in order to be compassionate, they must undress in front of opposite-sex peers; obscene language and images pollute the American landscape; and the ravenous appetite to be rendered insensate grows.

Early this week, a writer in the Chicago Tribune wrote about the symbolism of Notre Dame, saying it “symbolizes survival” and “it connects people through the centuries and… from all over the globe.” She continued, “Even the most casual tourist can’t help but feel in the presence of something far greater than a building. At Notre Dame, you’re in the presence of time itself.”

Not once did she mention the Creator of time itself. Her glaring omission neutered her lament for the calamitous destruction of Notre Dame .

Maybe we don’t deserve such symbols of beauty and creativity that have their source in God, whom we have forgotten or worse, replaced with idols. Maybe we needed a shocking event to show us that the church in Western civilizations was gutted long ago.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7: 24-27).

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/New-Recording-3.mp3

We at IFI and IFA have been humbled and blessed by the words of encouragement, prayers, and support we have received over the past two weeks from subscribers. We can’t adequately express how thankful we are for such support or describe how it has bolstered our spirits and strengthened our resolve to act and speak boldly in defense of the least among us.

We also want to express our deep appreciation to the organizations and leaders who have publicly and privately expressed their unwavering support for Illinois Family Institute, including the Thomas More Society, Illinois Conservative Union, Concerned Women for America of Illinois, Catholic Citizens of Illinois, 2^nd Vote, the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative, the Illinois chapter of Concerned Citizens for America, Freedom’s Journal Institute, Restore our Constitution, Businessmen in Christ, Nehemiah Leaders, as well as dozens of religious, political and talk-radio leaders throughout the state and nation.

The fact that we compared the evil of the baby holocaust in America to the evil of the Jewish Holocaust has the proponents of abortion expansion in Illinois on the defensive. They are desperate to change the narrative. They cannot defend their indefensible views, so they attack pro-life conservatives.

They have launched a counter-offensive, House Joint Resolution 55, which is rife with lies and rhetorical nonsense and being used to try to deny us of our First Amendment rights. While the ad hominem attacks of Leftists are not new, their increasing willingness to use government to silence dissent is both new and deeply troubling.  (More on that in a future article.)

We are not anxious. We know that what the enemy intends for evil, God can use for good (Genesis 50:20).

We are trusting God in this latest skirmish. We trust that God’s plan is better than anything we can come up with (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We don’t believe it is a coincidence that this is happening at a time when the abortion debate is raging nationally, when Leftists are revealing through radical legislative proposals their murderous intentions, and when the movie Unplanned has hit thousands of movie theaters nation-wide.

IFI’s and IFA’s Board of Directors, staff, and I are of one mind that the time is long past due for defenders of the unborn to unite in a bolder confrontation of the evil of abortion and of those who celebrate it. Proponents of this abomination should be put on the defensive!

As every decent person can see, America is edging ever closer to legalizing post-birth infanticide. All lawmakers who support abortion should be publicly condemned and their views compared to other genocidal movements that have scarred human history.

You and I cannot remain silent in the face of this evil.

Yet, at the same time we are told to love our enemies “and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28). So at this time and in this prayer alert, we are calling for prayer for those who seek to harass and intimidate us by misusing their governmental authority.

It is at times difficult to pray for our opponents, especially those who spread vicious lies about who we are and what motivates us. By extension, these unfair attacks on IFI smear all orthodox Christians. Yet we know that God changes hearts and minds (Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 21:1). God can reveal to them their sins (Psalm 146:8; John 3:3; Acts 26:18) and their need for a Savior (John 3:1-21; 2 Corinthians 7:10).

So, our prayers for these lawmakers are essential. Let’s lift up the sponsors of HJR 55 in fervent and compassionate prayer over the next two months:

State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Highwood)
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview)
State Rep. Yehiel Kalish (D-Skokie)
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove)
State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Northbrook)
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Round Lake Beach)
State Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin)
State Rep. Karina Villa (D-St. Charles)

Pray that the Lord will open their eyes to the evil of abortion.

Pray that they will turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18).

Pray that they will know the hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18).

Pray that He will open their eyes to the injustice of their attempt to quash our civil rights (Isaiah 59:14-15).

Pray too that the bloodlust and greed of Planned Parenthood and their allies is exposed (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Finally, pray that the movie Unplanned continues to do well in theaters and that its pro-life message will reach far and wide here in Illinois, in our nation, and around the world.

IFI Prayer Team

If you pray and believe that God hears and answers prayer, will you please consider joining the IFI Prayer Team? This special opt-in group receives occasional emails asking for prayer regarding public policy issues, for specific government officials and various statewide needs as the Holy Spirit may lead.

Thank you and God bless you!

I don’t know about you, but I find God’s instructions in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 both challenging and convicting. It’s in this passage that God commands parents to teach their children in His ways diligently—as we sit at home, walk along the way, rise up, lie down, and so on.

In other words, we’re basically supposed to be training our children in the ways of God all the time. It’s a constant, unending priority. If you’ve got kids, one of your primary job descriptions as a human being is to be your child’s diligent teacher.

It’s a responsibility I want to take seriously, yet I fail way too often. I feel I rarely live up to the level of diligence described in this passage.

This was brought to mind recently when I attended a homeschool convention. Listening to one of the speakers, I was reminded again that I need to do a better job training and discipling my kids. Right there, I asked God to help me become a Deuteronomy 6 Dad.

The next day was Sunday, and I had frankly forgotten about that quick prayer offered up the day before. But God, of course, hadn’t.

As my wife and I spent a few minutes in the afternoon planning the upcoming week, we heard crying from upstairs where three of our children (ages six, five, and three) were playing. I went up to discover Katherine, the three-year-old, laying on her back crying, and Timothy, the five-year-old, standing unconcernedly nearby. There had been an accident of some sort—mostly Timothy’s fault, from what I could discern—and Katherine had been hurt.

One of the qualities I want to instill in my boys is care for others—particularly those younger or weaker than themselves. So to see Timothy standing by doing nothing while his sister was crying (as a result of his carelessness no less), showed me that he hadn’t taken this lesson to heart yet.

And this was when God began to answer my prayer from the day before.

Instead of getting upset and railing at Timothy for his carelessness and thoughtlessness, I sat down and began to talk about how we should take care of others. I talked about how Jesus wants us to treat each other. We talked about the Good Samaritan and how he had shown love to the man left for dead by the road, and if God wants us to love even strangers, how much more should we love our own family?

It was one of those moments when I actually felt like I was handling this Dad role pretty well.

When I went back downstairs, I remembered my prayer from the day before. God, I felt, had just answered that prayer.

No, one good conversation with my boys about loving their sister doesn’t make me a Deuteronomy 6 Dad—not yet. But every teachable moment I seize brings me that much closer to the ideal I want to reach.

I want to keep asking God for His help in becoming a father who takes Deuteronomy 6 seriously, and I want to keep taking advantage of the teachable moments life brings my way. I also want to be ready to create teachable moments, speaking of God and His truth on a regular basis with my kids.

The truth is, if we don’t teach our children how to know, love, and serve God, who will? Yes, we hope they’ll learn these things at church, but God gave my wife and me the primary responsibility. The church is a support—not a crutch. And the fact is, if my wife and I aren’t doing our job at home, it’s unlikely the church will be able to succeed in a couple of hours a week.

Dads (and Moms, too), let’s take our responsibility seriously. Ask God to help you become a Deuteronomy 6 Dad. It’s a prayer He’d love to answer.

Then keep your eyes open for the teachable moments God will bring your way.

IFI works diligently to serve the Christian community in Illinois with email alerts, video reports, pastors’ breakfasts, special forums, worldview conferences and cultural commentaries. We do not accept government funds nor do we run those aggravating popup ads to generate funds.  We depend solely on the support of readers like you.

If you appreciate the work and ministry of IFI, please consider a tax-deductible donation to sustain our endeavors.  It does make a difference.

George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, which was published 70 years ago, portrays a totalitarian world of censorship and ubiquitous surveillance where ordinary citizens are expected to report resistors who are  then ruthlessly punished for their “thought crimes.”

Illinois State Representative Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) has introduced HB 3402, onerous legislation that might have been taken straight from the pages of 1984. After laying out a long list of virtually every conceivable profession that involves human interaction, from school employees to public health workers to homemakers—an astounding list of over 80 professions—the bill demands that any possible infraction be reported to the “Department of State Police.”

If the proposed legislation were only about reporting serious crimes, it would have the sympathy of most Americans. However, throughout the bill the ambiguous term “neglect” appears again and again, a term which can mean virtually the slightest deprivation of anything a child is deemed to “need.”  And apparently, under this legislation parents no longer decide what is right or wrong for their children.

Even more alarming, the legislation constitutes a grave threat to religious freedom. Under the guise of “openness” and “transparency,” the bill threatens to put an end to a cherished tradition that is a vital ministry of American churches: the privileged confidentiality between pastors and congregants who seek them out for counseling. It essentially destroys the ability of pastors, religious counselors, psychologists and church-based ministries to perform their duties while protecting the privacy of their parishioners.

The legislation is very clear about this:

Under no circumstances shall any person in charge of such institution, school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or other religious institution, or his designated agent to whom such notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, modification or other change in the report or the forwarding of such report to the Department (of State Police).

A provision that allows a member of the clergy to claim the privilege of confidentially was deliberately struck from the legislation.

But this 1984 house of horrors has one final attack on people of faith: It addresses prayer, notably parents who seek help from God in the healing of illness:

A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith selects and depends upon spiritual means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care may be considered neglected or abused.

Thus, praying for the healing of one’s child could be considered “abuse,” especially if one does not immediately rush the child to the doctor or hospital.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state representative to ask him/her to uphold clergy confidentiality and to oppose troublesome reporting requirements that should be outside the scope and authority of state government.

It is hoped that the good people of Illinois—those of diverse faith traditions as well as all who cherish religious freedom—will put a quick end to this blatant attack upon religion.

For up-to-the minute news, action alerts, coming events and more you can now sign up for IFI Text Alerts!

Stay in the loop by texting “IFI” to 555888 or click here: goo.gl/O0iRDc to enroll right away.

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Lessons about marriage from an early morning hunt for clean socks.

I wasn’t a happy man Monday morning.

It was one of my usual mornings to go to the gym, but I had a problem: I couldn’t find any socks. I looked in my dresser drawer. None. I rummaged through some of yesterday’s dirty laundry in the hopes that I could recycle an old pair. No luck. Finally I managed to find a fresh pair after digging through one or two baskets of clean clothes that hadn’t been put away yet.

During the ordeal (which really only lasted a few minutes), I found myself getting frustrated, even angry. I just wanted to be able to get to the gym and do my workout, and precious minutes were ticking by while I ransacked the house looking for a simple pair of socks.

And who was I angry with? My sleeping wife. I wasn’t angry because she was asleep while I was looking for socks. I was upset because if she had just done a better job of keeping up with the laundry over the weekend, there would be clean socks in my drawer and I wouldn’t have to waste time hunting for them.

In other words, I was selfishly thinking that I shouldn’t have to deal with this problem because my wife should have done a better job taking care of things.

Ouch.

Should and shouldn’t. Whenever we find these words cropping up in our internal monologue, they serve as clues that we’re dealing with (probably unhealthy) expectations. “She should have done this. I shouldn’t have to put up with that.” Expectations are often rooted in pride or an inflated sense of our own importance and are a quick route to disappointment, frustration, and anger. Unmet expectations can be a huge cause of friction in any relationship, but perhaps especially in marriage.

Getting back to yesterday morning. When I realized what I was unconsciously thinking, my anger deflated pretty quickly. The previous day had been Sunday. We had been to two church services (morning and evening), and the afternoon in between had been short. We have four kids ages six and under, so there’s no shortage of responsibilities to claim our attention.

In other words, who was I to get upset that my wife hadn’t been able to manage all of that and make sure I had clean socks in my drawer? In getting angry—albeit briefly—I had revealed the arrogance of my heart by thinking that I shouldn’t have to deal with something because my wife should have done more. God, in His grace, revealed this wrong thinking to me and I was able to move on in a better frame of mind instead of holding onto the anger and frustration.

(By the way, lest anyone reading this scold me for thinking the laundry is my wife’s job, I do try to help with it. And I didn’t spend my Sunday afternoon in front of the TV while my wife cooked dinner, did the dishes, and took care of the kids. We were both fruitfully occupied most of the afternoon—just not taking care of the laundry!)

My point in sharing all of this is threefold.

First, we all need to be aware of our expectations and manage them carefully. Expectations are tricky things, and as I noted earlier, they can cause enormous friction in our relationships. Beware of those words should and shouldn’t. I should get to do this. He shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have to put up with this. She should have treated me differently. Even if your expectations are essentially reasonable (unlike mine yesterday morning), you can’t control what others do. Fuming about unmet expectations and allowing them to ruin our day is neither profitable for us nor helpful for our relationships. We should either forgive it, or find a constructive way to communicate about it. (And if a relationship is in serious trouble, outside help may be in order.)

Second, we would all do well to pay more attention to our internal monologue.¹ We all talk to ourselves every day. Sometimes we tell ourselves the truth, but too often we don’t. My internal monologue yesterday morning, rooted in pride, was telling me that I shouldn’t have to deal with this problem. That was a lie, and the sooner we can catch ourselves in these lies and correct them with the truth, the better off we’ll be. Pay attention to what you’re telling yourself, and start replacing lies with truth!

Lastly, a word to other husbands out there. Let’s face it: most of us wouldn’t want to trade places with our wives and deal with everything they do on a daily basis (especially if you have young children!). Even if you’re a great guy and provide ample help with household tasks, chances are pretty good that your wife takes care of more things on a given day than you imagine. So let’s give them grace and not get ourselves worked up about the small stuff.

Including missing gym socks.

¹For more on this topic, see Learning to Tell Myself the Truth by William Backus. In his chapter on anger, he shares more extensively about expectations and paying attention to words such as should, ought, etc.

In the past several weeks, we’ve seen a hard progressive push toward more radical legalizations to abortion.  The state of New York recently passed a law that would permit abortions up to the moments of birth.  There have been discussions to allow the ability to have an “abortion” even moments after birth.  (Process that with me for a moment).  As a Christian husband, father and a Pastor, I am terribly saddened, disgusted and broken over the moral DNA of our culture and most of our officials in Washington.

So, what are we to do?  How can we respond?

Here are 5 ways to properly respond to the Pro-Choice Movement:

Pray

In the book of Esther, we read how the Jewish people were on the verge of annihilation by a horrific plan by Haman.  Queen Esther had a plan to stop it, but before she did anything, she called for 3 days of prayer and fasting.  This is a not battle that could be won through the means of flesh and blood.  This is a spiritual battle and we need to put on our armor.  F.B. Meyer once said, “The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” Let’s be sure to pray!

Speak up and engage

Everyone has on opinion on the matter of Abortion.  However, there is only one opinion that truly matters and that is God’s.  He has called us to be the carriers of His message of truth.  Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” We need to speak up and engage in conversations with our friends, family and those around the water cooler and be a voice for the voiceless. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Volunteer/Support Crisis-Pregnancy Centers

We are thankful for those who are on the frontlines in our community for the Pro-Life Movement.  Crisis pregnancy centers work to educate, love, and counsel pregnant women against having an abortion.  These are organizations that work with limited resources and depend on those who financially support and volunteer.  Let’s support those who are on the frontlines.

Vote

I don’t ever tell anyone who to vote for.  However, let me bring some commonsense here.  If you want to stop abortion, stop voting for those who are for abortion.  It’s that simple.  (The next election is April 2nd!)

Respond with the Gospel

Look at any study, and you will find that women with a history of abortion have higher rates of anxiety, depression, alcohol use, marijuana use, and suicidal behavior, compared to those who have not had an abortion. Despite what you see on social media, brokenness is wrapped around the one who has had an abortion.  And the best way to respond to that brokenness is with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 

No one is too dirty that Jesus can’t clean him. No one is too far for Jesus to save. Let’s choose to respond with the gospel of grace.  The Apostle Paul once said of the Gospel, “…for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

God is the author of life.  He values life and so should we.  Let’s choose to be His hands, feet and voice in our culture today.

Join us for the annual SpeakOut Illinois pro-life conference on Saturday, March 9th!