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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - FEBRUARY 14, 2024
Happy Valentine’s Day! Do you know the real reasons behind this annual celebration? You may be surprised!
In this week's Intersect, read about:
Special Counsel Declines to Charge Biden in Docs Probe, Cites ‘Poor Memory’
“Special counsel Robert Hur decided not to charge President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents from his time as vice president, describing Biden as ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’ In a 383-page report, Hur said his team’s yearlong investigation ‘uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,’ but concluded that the evidence was insufficient to ‘establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ This included Biden sharing his notebooks with a ghostwriter. Additionally, Hur wrote that Biden’s age and ‘significantly limited’ memory might make him sympathetic to a jury.” read more at AllSides
THINK.
- In the report, the Special Prosecutor did not exonerate Biden, but exercised prosecutorial discretion (within his authority) and said the President's age and forgetfulness was a reason he was electing not to seek an indictment.
- The President appeared at an unexpected and rare press conference Thursday evening following the release of the report to defend his mental capacity. During the press conference, however, the President committed several slip-ups, mixing up two foreign presidents and forgetting the name of a parish. The White House tried to deflect the troubling statements about the President’s mental capacity by bringing up other public figures' past confusions. Ian Sams, the White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said during a press briefing, “We are in a very pressurized political environment and when you are the first special counsel in history not to indict anybody there is pressure to criticize and to make statements that maybe you otherwise wouldn't make.”
- While Biden's classified documents case is now closed, former President Trump is still in the middle of his classified documents case. Trump was indicted last June after the DOJ accused him of mishandling presidential records by keeping them upon leaving office and then obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve them. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains that the case is politically motivated.
- What will voters do? The presidential election in November will likely be a rematch between 81-year-old Biden and GOP frontrunner Trump, 77, the two oldest men respectively to have been elected president. Both will have to answer voters' concerns over their ages and cognitive abilities. A brand new ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Sunday showed that 59% of Americans believe that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are too old to serve another term as president. A staggering 86% of Americans think Biden is too old to serve another term. What’s also interesting in the poll is that for independents, 91% felt that Biden is too old, while 71% believed the same about Trump.
PRAY.
It’s easy to read this news and feel a range of emotions. From frustration and anger to confusion and judgment. It’s a humble opportunity to let Scripture remind us of what we can do: pray (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Lord, forgive us for our lack of prayer and any ungodly attitudes regarding those You have appointed to rule and govern us. We pray for the salvation of those who are in leadership. Help us to trust in Your sovereign will, even if that plays out differently than what we think, or what makes sense to our limited understanding.
ACT.
25 million Christians who are registered to vote don’t vote in presidential elections. Just how much impact is being left on the table when that happens? A lot more than many realize. The President is responsible for over 4,000 political appointment positions, of which about 1,200 require Senate confirmation. There is a tremendous ripple effect from whom we elect to serve at the top. Become familiar with just how much impact the president has on non-elected leaders who make decisions that impact you every day.
Alejandro Mayorkas Impeached by House Over Border Crisis After Surviving Vote Last Week
“House Republicans have impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a contentious vote Tuesday evening, making the Biden administration official the first Cabinet member to be removed in nearly 150 years. The vote was the second attempt by House Republicans to impeach Mayorkas after they failed to do so last week in an embarrassing blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Lawmakers voted by a narrow margin 214-213 to approve two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who was confirmed by the Senate in February 2021 to lead the department’s 260,000 employees.” read more at The Washington Examiner
THINK.
What was the difference from last week? House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) returned from his cancer treatment, pushing the vote through. The vote succeeded 214-213, with all Republicans voting in the majority and three Republicans voting with Democrats against impeachment. Two Democrats did not vote. Mayorkas will now face a trial in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote will be needed to convict and remove him from office, which is unlikely.
The vote took place just hours after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released their border numbers from January. Although the 176,205 illegal immigrant encounters were a drop from December's all-time monthly record of over 300,000, it still set a record for January encounters.
Two of the three Republicans who joined the Democrats in voting against impeachment are not seeking reelection: Ken Buck (R-CO) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI). They join 41 other U.S. Representatives–23 Democrats and 20 Republicans–who are not running for reelection, either to seek another office or to retire from public office altogether. Almost 10% of House elections are open seats this year.
In other House news, late last night, Democrats flipped New York's 3rd Congressional District seat with Thomas Suozzi winning the special election. The seat was held by Republican George Santos before his expulsion from Congress in December. Suozzi previously represented NY-03 before he retired to launch a failed bid for governor in 2022. Once Suozzi is sworn in, the already tight Republican majority in the House will narrow to 219-213.
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, I pray that our members of Congress would seek Your wisdom, for Scripture says You give “wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:21) I also ask for wisdom and knowledge as I vote in my next election. Help me carry out my responsibility to vote while resting in the fact that You institute and remove leaders according to Your good will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ACT.
What’s at stake in this year’s primary and general elections? Everything from border security and immigration reform to parental rights, religious liberty protections, and life, to name a few. These issues will be decided by those we elect to the presidency, to all 435 seats in the House, 35 seats in the Senate, 11 governorships, 85 of 99 state legislature chambers, and tens of thousands of local seats. Want to know when your next election is? Visit My Voter Hub to find out.
'He Gets Us' Super Bowl Ad Sparks Debate Among Christians
“A Super Bowl ad from a faith-based organization is igniting a debate among Christian conservatives, who expressed concern that its intended message of unity could be misconstrued as a justification for engaging in certain sins and that it fails to communicate a biblically accurate account of Jesus. The ‘He Gets Us’ campaign, which describes itself as an effort to remind people of ‘the example that Jesus set while inviting all to explore his teachings so we can all follow his example of confounding, unconditional love,’ aired a 60-second ad during Super Bowl LVIII Sunday.” read more at The Christian Post
THINK.
- After their two ads played on Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice a flurry of comments on my social media pages about the first ad. There was a lot of confusion and criticism across the ideological spectrum. Some conservatives contended it was “woke.” Other liberal critics noted that the campaign’s progressive messages were at odds with some of its Christian funders who have supported pro-life and anti-LGBTQ causes. Still others noted the incorrect theological portrayal of “washing feet.”
- The “He Gets Us” organization is not new. In fact, we covered their story after last year’s Super Bowl ads gained attention. Since last year, the organization has changed leadership, but still falls under the influence of the Green family (who owns Hobby Lobby). According to founder David Green, the motivation behind the campaign is a desire to reshape public perception of Christians. "What we're known as, as Christians, we're known as haters," he said in a podcast interview last year. "We're beginning to be known as haters — we hate this group, we hate that group. But we're not. We are people that have the very, very best love story ever written, and we need to tell that love story. So, our idea is, let's tell the story. As a Christian, you should love everybody. Jesus loved everybody." But a further deep dive on their website reveals their theology isn’t solely based on the Bible but from input from “many others who, though not Christians, share a deep admiration for the man that Jesus was.” That is reason alone for seeking further discernment of the messaging that has gone viral.
- Are these ads for reaching the lost, or really a condemnation of Christians? While their stated goal is to show that “Jesus has represented the ultimate good that humankind is capable of aspiring to,” the messaging they put forth portrays Jesus in a way so we can be good. Jesus is represented as a worldly friend, not a risen Savior. It reminds me of my seminary days when we studied “moralistic therapeutic deism,” a belief system where the primary value is feeling good about oneself and it’s God’s “job” to take care of us. That’s not a true representation of the gospel. In these cultural times, we need to be extra vigilant in understanding biblical truth. Eternity depends on it.
PRAY.
Lord, no matter our “goodness” or “badness” we have all sinned, and the punishment for sin is death (Romans 3:23). But Your Son, Jesus, took the burden and judgment of our sin upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was then resurrected (1 Corinthians 15), proving that His payment for sin was sufficient and that He had overcome sin and death. You call us all to repent of our sins (Acts 17:30) and have faith in Christ as the full payment of our sins (1 John 2:2). Thank you, Lord!
ACT.
The gospel is about repentance, salvation and transformation! In response to the 60 second “He Gets Us” ad played at the Super Bowl, Pastor Jamie Bambrick created a powerful 60 second response video called “He Saves Us.” This is a message worth sharing
Biden Admin Warned Banks About Christian “Extremists” Who Bought Bibles
“An agency of the federal government “flagged” Bible purchases as an indication of ‘extremism’ in communications with banks following the events of January 6, 2021. ‘We now know the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP,’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,’ Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, wrote on X. ‘What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.’” read more at LifeNews.com
THINK.
- How could this kind of surveillance happen? It appears the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department, which instructed banks to flag certain purchases mentioned in the article, used its authority improperly. “FinCEN was created to stop money laundering and not to spy on Americans,” Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) told the Treasury Secretary in a committee hearing last week.
- “FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression,” Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, said in a letter sent to a former director in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department. Jordan continued, “This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental civil liberties.”
- When buying a Bible can get you flagged as an “extremist,” what should our response as Christians be? I, for one, don’t plan on stopping my Bible purchases. I also don’t plan on ceasing to apply my faith to my political involvement. I plan to follow the advice the Apostle Peter gave the church: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name…. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:15-16,19)
PRAY.
Lord Jesus, You instructed Your disciples to not fear men, but to fear God. (Matthew 10:26-30) May Your Church fear You above all else, so we honor You in all our actions, public and private.
ACT.
This weaponization of the government against people of faith is a good reason for Christians to continue to be involved in politics and protect religious liberty. I encourage you to watch our interview with Nathan Berkeley of the Religious Freedom Institute. Berkeley explains what religious freedom is, some of the threats to its flourishing in the U.S., and what we can do to support religious freedom. If you want to explore more of our interviews related to religious freedom, click here.
My Faith Votes—is a nonpartisan movement that motivates, equips and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. By partnering with national faith leaders, My Faith Votes provides resources to help Christians Pray, Think, and Act to create an America where God is honored in the public square.
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