Daly Focus Blog
Last night’s Democrat-led Senate filibuster of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill that would make it illegal to abort a baby after 20 weeks, is an egregious and cowardly case of radical ideological politics coming at the expense of innocent life.
The Senate needed 60 votes in order to advance the bill. In the end, 51 senators voted for it and 46 against. Three Democrats crossed the aisle to support life – Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Bob Casey Jr.
Several colleagues and I were in Washington D.C. last week for our Evangelicals for Life Conference along with the annual March for Life.
A few observations:
Last week’s massive March for Life rally on the Mall unfolded in familiar fashion. Just before noon, pro-life stalwarts from every state convened to stand in solidarity, many of them carrying signs declaring life as the better choice. It was the 45th consecutive gathering and the longest-running demonstration of its kind.
Nobody yet knows why a 15-year-old student opened fire today in Benton, Kentucky, at Marshall County High School.
The latest reports suggest this morning’s horror resulted in the death of two 15-year-old students, one boy and one girl, along with more than a dozen wounded students.
Over the years, school shootings have become an all-too-familiar tragedy.
At an afternoon press conference, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin remarked, “These children belong to this community, and to specific families in this community.
From the White House:
Today, we focus our attention on the love and protection each person, born and unborn, deserves regardless of disability, gender, appearance, or ethnicity. Much of the greatest suffering in our Nation’s history — and, indeed, our planet’s history — has been the result of disgracefully misguided attempts to dehumanize whole classes of people based on these immutable characteristics. We cannot let this shameful history repeat itself in new forms, and we must be particularly vigilant to safeguard the most vulnerable lives among us.
Two-hundred and thirty-two years ago yesterday – January 16, 1786 – the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, legislation ensuring that no citizen would have to choose between their personal faith and the law of the land.
Prior to the American Revolution, Baptists were being harassed and arrested for worshipping in their own homes. Pastors were even being incarcerated.
It was amid this atmosphere that led Thomas Jefferson to pen, in part:
“All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”
Over two centuries later these foundational principles, which are enshrined in the First Amendment, are now tenuous and under assault.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we want to share with you a powerful message about building racial harmony in our communities by my dear friend and brother in Christ, Carey Casey.
Carey lived through the real-life story captured in the movie Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington as an African-American high school football coach who must overcome significant challenges after he’s hired to coach the school’s first racially integrated team. The Titans overcame tremendous adversity, worked through their racial differences, and won the state championship.
Parents often discipline in terms of behavior modification:
“No backtalk.”
“Say please and thank you.”
“Stop picking on your brother” (with two boys, Jean and I have said that one a lot over the years).
“Put away your backpack.”
Outward behavior is an important part of raising children of character. But it’s only one side of the coin. The other is developing their inner motivation.
The root word of discipline is “disciple.” As disciples of Christ, we follow His teachings outwardly because our hearts are being transformed from within.
Focus on the Family and The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) are once again co-hosting Evangelicals for Life, the only major prolife conference for evangelicals in conjunction with the March for Life, the flagship pro-life event.
The Evangelicals for Life event debuted in 2016, and was designed to help invigorate the evangelical pro-life community to greater service and involvement in the pro-life cause.
This year’s event will take place on Jan. 18–20 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.
I didn’t have a dog (no pun intended, Georgia fans) in last night’s national championship college football game, but an exclamation point was put on the dramatic finish when Alabama’s winning quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, spoke with the press following the overtime victory.
“My parents would be mad, so excuse me,” he began, “but first and foremost I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with Him, all things are possible and that’s what happened tonight.”
When asked what the victory meant to him, he talked about being overwhelmed by the win but also went on to say,
“All glory goes to God.
According to billionaire Richard Branson, the secret to making and keeping your New Year’s resolutions is a pen and piece of paper.
“It’s time to get your New Year’s resolutions down on paper,” he recently wrote. “The simple act of writing it down will help you stick to it. Share your goals with your family and friends but ultimately it’s down to you to make your resolution happen in 2018.”
Goal-setting can be very effective, but as we head off into an uncharted new year, I want to ask you a related question, but with a twist:
What if you made a commitment this year to STOP doing so many things?
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
