The FAQs: President Trump’s Executive Order on Immigrants and Refugees
This executive order notes that the “visa-issuance process plays a crucial role in detecting individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States.” It also adds that since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, “numerous foreign-born individuals” who were admitted to the country on a visa “have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes.” The intent of the executive order is thus to “prevent the admission of foreign nationals who intend to exploit United States immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
Build the wall? Bar refugees? Christians debate Trump’s orders
The Christian Chronicle invited them and others to share their perspectives on how to balance a desire to show compassion to immigrants and refugees with a concern for national security. The responses below have been edited for length and clarity.
Major Neglect of Ascension and Enthronement
The next time you discuss, meditate on, or teach about the heart of the gospel, I recommend you follow Luke’s guidance and keep the ascension-enthronement in the core of your New Testament theology, along with the Cross and Empty Tomb. When you reach into Scripture to have a message from God on which faith can rest, I encourage you to avoid a truncated message that puts the ascension-enthronement on the periphery rather than at the center of God’s redemptive work.
Everything may have a reason.
But that reason is not always God.
- The reason may be my poor choice.
- The reason may be the poor choice of someone else.
- The reason could very well be the influence of Satan in the world.
- And perhaps, the reason could be God’s work in the world, after all “every good and every perfect gift is from above.”
The Christian & Culture: Three Ways to Engage with Your Neighbor
Let me list three simple and biblical ways to wisely engage with our neighbors and our culture, regardless of how difficult an issue may be.
- Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
- Practice the Golden Rule
- Be Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Anger
James has a lot to say about words and the use of the tongue and he doesn’t cut any corners about it.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. – James 1:26
Ouch.
Do Children Have a Financial Obligation Toward Their Parents?
We assume that parents should raise their children to be independent and that children should then be free of further obligation, especially when it comes to finances. As Christians, we need to look beyond philosophy and look instead to the Bible for our guidance.
5 Practical Ways Church Leaders Can Make a Difference
Church leaders sometimes wonder if they are really making a difference. Elders, ministers, and influencers in a variety of roles may wonder, “Am I really making a kingdom difference in my congregation?” Others may even feel discouraged wondering if their service, as a part of a congregation, really matters.
Remember that we serve by faith, understanding that we might not necessarily see, or be aware of the difference we are making. By faith, however, we believe that God uses our lives beyond our awareness and even beyond our time on the earth.
There used to be 4 billion American chestnut trees, but they all disappeared
Finding a mature American chestnut in the wild is so rare today that discoveries are reported in the national press. The trees are “technically extinct,” according to The American Chestnut Foundation. The blight that killed them off still lives in the wild and they rarely grow big enough to flower and seed, typically remaining saplings until they die. Essentially, the giant trees were reduced to shrubs by the 1950s.