‘Family Research Organization’: Married Households Are Racist

A leftist group is pushing the theory that the two-parent home represents ‘family privilege’ and creates barriers to equal opportunity, when in reality such families are proven to be better for kids.

Despite its name, the National Council on Family Relations is looking to destroy American families. It claims that the nuclear family – consisting of father, mother, and children – is merely an extension of white supremacy. NCFR has joined with critical race theorists and Black Lives Matter in this outright attack on the foundational values and norms of American culture.

NCFR has a wide reach. Founded in 1938, the organization publishes three journals, including the Journal of Marriage and Family, which the organization touts as “the leading research journal in the family field.” The group’s lamentable views on marriage will influence hundreds of marriage and family therapists and researchers across the nation.

NCFR’s members come from more than 35 countries and all 50 states, and work as teachers, program developers, and counselors, according to the organization’s website. It has thousands of active members, who participate in focus groups, discussion, and networking. NCFR has 10 state and regional-level affiliates and 26 student chapters at universities.

NCFR also produces research for lawmakers. In its most recent 2020 annual report, NCFR lists as its first “program highlight” its “racial justice resources.”

The Nuclear Family As ‘Family Privilege’

In an announcement for a webinar that premiered in May, titled “Toward Dismantling Family Privilege and White Supremacy in Family Science,” the organization offers continuing education credits for its members to learn that the field of “Family Science” is “struggling” with “how it privileges certain types of families over others.” NCFR introduces its webinar as follows:

Like White privilege, family privilege is an unacknowledged and unearned benefit instantiated in U.S. laws, policies, and practices and bestowed upon traditional or ‘standard’ nuclear families to the disadvantage of non-traditional configured family systems (e.g., sole-parent families, unmarried committed partners rearing children together, grandparents raising grandchildren). Family privilege is defined as the benefits, often invisible and unacknowledged, that one receives by belonging to family systems long upheld in society as superior to all others. It serves to advantage certain family forms over others and is typically bestowed upon White, traditional nuclear families.

According to NCFR, the nuclear family is now a vehicle of “family privilege” – yet another new term – and white supremacy, a “structure” that no longer is viewed as one that nurtures young children, provides them with stability and security, and prepares them for successful and emotionally sound adulthood.

Instead, NCFR now says the family of mom, dad, and kids has mistakenly been upheld as “superior to all others” and “creates systemic barriers to equal opportunity and justice for all families.”

Teaching the Dismantling of ‘Family Privilege’

In NCFR’s webinar, attendees “will examine, recognize, and learn how to dismantle the manifestations of family privilege in our social systems by using an intersectional framework developed by critical feminist and race scholars.” Webinar attendees are expected to learn how to “define family privilege, White supremacy, and apply a critical intersectional framework that can be used in one’s work.”

NCFR is essentially stating everything they have taught about family science in the past was a lie, because the organization failed to recognize “family privilege” throughout all these decades, and now must acknowledge its guilt. After only a 90-minute webinar, attendees are expected to have the ability to:

Dismantle family privilege in Family Science scholarship, teaching, practice, and policymaking;

Recognize family privilege and White supremacy in research, practitioner, and policy settings;

Reduce the ways in which family privilege manifests in Family Science and in society.

Data Shows This Is All a Dangerous Lie

Ironically, critical race theory (CRT) is a tool of the same left that has created a populace within the black community that is dependent upon the government for survival. Even though published data confirms that two-parent families – including black two-parent families – dramatically reduces poverty, childhood abuse, and many other social ills, NCFR is now asserting our two-parent American families, white and black, represent systemic racism and “family privilege.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.3 million children – 1 in 4 – live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. Research that has not been tainted by CRT has shown children raised in fatherless homes have a four times greater risk of poverty, seven times greater risk of becoming pregnant as a teen, and are two times as likely to be obese and to drop out of high school.

Additionally, traditional research has shown children raised without a father are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems, to face abuse and neglect, to abuse drugs and alcohol, to commit crimes, and to go to prison.

The black community is missing out on the opportunities our country has to offer, and it is not because of systemic racism or white privilege. It’s because, since the 1960s, the culture has declined from approximately 80 percent two-parent families to 80 percent fatherless homes without one national initiative to reverse the trend.

It is time to address the real issues that drive racial disparities, while helping to move the country toward a post-racial America.

By 

Kendall Qualls is the president of TakeCharge, which strives to unite Americans regardless of background and to inspire black and other minority communities to take charge of their own lives and not to rely on government and politicians for prosperity. He has been married for 35 years and has five children.

Source: ‘Family Research Organization’: Married Households Are Racist

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – The Blessings of Inadequacy

2 Corinthians 4:7-15

Most of us assume that feelings of inadequacy are enemies to be subdued, but God uses our weaknesses to display His glory. Even though we love feeling confident and bold, this kind of self-reliance is the opposite of humility. Despite all his great knowledge and varied gifts, Paul knew he was not sufficient for the tasks the Lord had called him to accomplish. When he spoke of his ministry, the apostle said, “I also labor, striving according to [Christ’s] power which works mightily within me” (Col. 1:29).

Inadequacy reveals where we lack ability and drives us to dependence upon the Lord. He works in our weakness to accomplish His purposes in and through us. Therefore, we shouldn’t surrender to our failings by letting them hinder us from even trying to serve the Lord. Nor should we try to pump up our self-confidence with pep talks and self-affirmation. Instead, our inadequacies are designed to humble us so we’ll turn to the Lord for strength.

When we depend on Him in humility, “the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:7). Then all the praise and glory go to Him.

Bible in One Year: Mark 6-7

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Our Daily Bread — God’s Plans for You

Bible in a Year:

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 37:3–7

For six years, Agnes tried to make herself the “perfect minister’s wife,” modeling herself after her adored mother-in-law (also a pastor’s wife). She thought that in this role she couldn’t also be a writer and painter, but in burying her creativity she became depressed and contemplated suicide. Only the help of a neighboring pastor moved her out of the darkness as he prayed with her and assigned her two hours of writing each morning. This awakened her to what she called her “sealed orders”—the calling God had given her. She wrote, “For me to be really myself—my complete self—every . . . flow of creativity that God had given me had to find its channel.”

Later, she pointed to one of David’s songs that expressed how she found her calling: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). As she committed her way to God, trusting Him to lead and guide her (v. 5), He made a way for her not only to write and paint but to help others to better communicate with Him.

God has a set of “sealed orders” for each of us, not only that we’ll know we’re His beloved children but understand the unique ways we can serve Him through our gifts and passions. He’ll lead us as we trust and delight in Him.

By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How does Agnes’ story of living someone else’s life resonate with you? What has God put in your “sealed orders”?

Creator God, You’ve made me in Your image. Help me to know and embrace my calling that I might better love and serve You.

Explore how your identity is rooted in Christ.

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Grace to You; John MacArthur – Trusting God’s Word

“The law of the Lord is perfect. . . . The commandment of the Lord is pure. . . . The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:7-9).

God’s Word is infallible.

Infallibility refers to the truth of Scripture as a whole, whereas inerrancy focuses on the accuracy of every single word. Like inerrancy, infallibility is grounded in the character of God. God cannot lie and does not change (1 Sam. 15:29). He is thoroughly consistent in everything He does, and His Word reflects those characteristics. The psalmist wrote, “The sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Ps. 119:160). Paul said, “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12).

Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the law or the prophets (sections of the Old Testament) but to fulfill them. He promised that everything in Scripture will be fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18). John 10:35 declares that the authority of Scripture “cannot be broken.” It is binding and cannot be destroyed, abolished, or done away with. God’s Word is indestructible, authoritative, and infallible.

On a practical level, infallibility means that you can trust the Bible. It will never deceive you or give you counsel that will later prove to be erroneous. That was the confidence of the psalmist when he wrote, “Establish Thy word to Thy servant, as that which produces reverence for Thee. Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Thine ordinances are good. Behold, I long for Thy precepts; revive me through Thy righteousness. May Thy lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord, Thy salvation according to Thy word; so I shall have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Thy word. And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I wait for Thine ordinances. So I will keep Thy law continually, forever and ever. And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Thy precepts. I will also speak of Thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be ashamed. And I shall delight in Thy commandments, which I love” (Ps. 119:38-47).

Suggestions for Prayer

Praise God that His Word is utterly trustworthy.

For Further Study

Memorize Psalm 119:165 as a reminder of the infallibility of God’s Word.

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Joyce Meyer – A Home for God’s Spirit

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts!

— Ephesians 3:17 (AMPC)

If you are born again, you hopefully know that Jesus lives on the inside of you through the power of the Holy Spirit. The question is, is God comfortable in you? Does He feel at home within you? Even though the Spirit of God lives within you, other things live in you too—such as fear, anger, jealousy, or murmuring and complaining. God once gave me an illustration of what it is like for Him to live in a heart where murmuring, complaining, and discord reside. Suppose you go to a friend’s house and your friend says, “Oh, come on in. I’ll get you a cup of coffee. Get comfortable and make yourself at home.” Then, your friend begins yelling at her husband and the two of them rant and rave and carry on right in front of you. How comfortable would you be in the presence of such strife?

If we want to be a comfortable “home” for the Spirit of the Lord, we must give up things that cause us to forget about His presence or are offensive to Him. We must stop grumbling, allowing strife and unrest inside us, or harboring unforgiveness. Instead, we need to make sure our inner lives are engaged in things that please and honor God’s presence. Our mouths should be full of praise and thanksgiving. We should wake up every day and say in our hearts, “Good morning, Lord. I want you to feel at home and be comfortable in me today.” We all need to take inventory of what goes in our hearts because they are the dwelling place of God. When we examine our inner lives, we are looking at holy ground where God has chosen to make His home. Let’s commit to making Him comfortable in us.

Prayer Starter: Father, please show me what needs to go so that You feel as comfortable as possible living inside my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg –Who Can Endure?

But who can endure the day of his coming . . . ?

Malachi 3:2

Christ’s first coming was without external pomp or display of power, and yet in truth there were few who could endure its test. Herod and all Jerusalem with him were stirred at the news of the wondrous birth. Those who supposed themselves to be waiting for Him showed the fallacy of their professions by rejecting Him when He came. His life on earth was like a winnowing fan that sifted the great heap of religious profession, and only a few could survive the process.

But what will His second coming be? What sinner can endure to think of it? “He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.”1 In Gethsemane when He said to the soldiers, “I am he,” they fell backward. What will happen to His enemies when He will reveal Himself more fully as the “I Am”?

His death shook earth and darkened heaven. What will be the dreadful splendor of that day when as the living Savior He will summon the living and the dead before Him? O that the terrors of the Lord would persuade men to forsake their sins and kiss the Son in case He is angry!

Though a lamb, He is still the lion of the tribe of Judah, tearing the prey in pieces; and though He does not break the bruised reed, yet He will break His enemies with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel. None of His foes shall stand before the tempest of His wrath or hide themselves from the sweeping hail of His indignation.

But His beloved blood-washed people look for His appearing with joy; in this living hope they live without fear. To them He sits as a refiner even now, and when He has tested them they shall come forth as gold. Let us examine ourselves this morning and make our calling and election sure, so that the coming of the Lord may not be the cause of fearful expectations. O for grace to discard all hypocrisy, and to be found of Him sincere and without rebuke on the day of His appearing.

1) Isaiah 11:4

Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Is Light

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

When John says, “God is light,” what does he mean? Is he saying that God is like a giant flashlight? Or maybe God is like the sun?

In the Bible, darkness is often used to describe sin. Hell is said to be a very dark place because God’s glory is not present there. If sin is like darkness, then God is like light – because God is pure and holy.

Have you ever noticed how darkness and light cannot be in a room at the same time? Here is an example:

Matt was with his dad at an Atlanta Braves baseball game. As the fifth inning was coming to a close, the sun was going down and the sky began to grow darker. Suddenly, all the huge stadium lights flashed on and flooded everything with brilliant light. The stadium that once had become dimmer and darker was now just as bright as it would have been in the middle of a sunny day! What happened? The light drove away the darkness. Whenever light fills someplace, there is no more room for darkness.

Light and darkness are like God and sin. God will not stay in the same place as sin. That means when you choose to keep sin in your life, God will not fellowship with you. You may be close in one sense to God (He is present everywhere), but in a spiritual sense, you remove yourself far away from God when you sin against Him willfully. That is why John writes to Christians, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (See 1 John 1:6.) You can say that you are walking with God all you want. But your actions will tell the real story.

Praise the Lord – the opposite is also true! When you are walking with God and choosing to please Him, there will be no room for sin in your life. Remember that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all! You should walk with God closely so that sin does not have a chance to creep into your life.

One night, Matt’s family was driving in Australia with a missionary pastor. The pastor turned off the highway and began driving very slowly, turning off his headlights. Then he said, “Watch this!” Suddenly, he turned the headlights back on. They were on a golf course. There, blinking in the bright light, were dozens of kangaroos that had been grazing on the course. The kangaroos stared at Matt, and Matt stared back in wonder. Then they slowly hopped away. Unless the headlights had been turned on, Matt would not have even known that the kangaroos were around!

Many times, the “light” of God’s Word will show us things that we need to change. When that happens, we need to draw near to God in humble repentance. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God is light!

My Response:
» Is there any “darkness” (sin) in my life that I need to get out?
» Why should I be thankful that God is light?

Denison Forum – “Woman awakes to a hole in her roof and a space rock on her pillow”

Ruth Hamilton was asleep in her bed when she was awakened by the sound of a crash through her ceiling and the sensation of debris on her face. “I just jumped up and turned on the light, I couldn’t figure out what the heck had happened,” she said.

The British Columbia resident called 911. A police officer arrived; after exploring their options and examining the hole in her ceiling and a black rock on her pillow, the two decided that a meteorite had come through her roof.

Others in the area had seen a bright light in the sky that exploded and caused some booms. Ruth, however, experienced personally what others only observed. She says her experience has given her a new perspective: “Life is precious and it could be gone at any moment, even when you think you are safe and secure in your bed.

“I hope I never take it for granted again.”

Why is Squid Game so popular?

There are many “meteors” in today’s news, from a bow-and-arrow rampage in Norway now being treated as an apparent terrorist attack, to a high-rise fire in Taiwan that left at least forty-six dead and dozens injured, to reports that US drug overdose deaths reached a new high in the twelve-month period concluding in March 2021.

It is therefore unsurprising that a survival drama called Squid Game is now Netflix’s biggest hit ever. Associated Press explains that the show is “about desperate adults competing in deadly children’s games for a chance to escape severe debt.” The drama’s enormous popularity is clearly a sign of the times.

On a planet where Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), and “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), we can expect to face tribulation (John 16:33), trials (1 Peter 4:12), and temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). This week we’ve discussed Satan’s nefarious strategies and the urgency of turning our temptations and challenges immediately into prayers for God’s strength and victory.

Today, let’s focus on the paradoxical fact that the more initiative we take in attacking the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18), the more empowered against the enemy we become.

What St. Francis never said

You are undoubtedly familiar with the “spiritual armor” Paul describes in Ephesians 6:10–18: the “belt of truth,” the “breastplate of righteousness,” “shoes for your feet” composed of the “gospel of peace,” the “shield of faith,” the “helmet of salvation,” and the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Notice that this “armor” covers the front of warriors as they go into battle. If they flee from the conflict, there is no protection for the back.

You and I will experience the power of God to the degree that we fulfill the purpose of God (cf. Acts 1:8). When Jesus’ seventy-two disciples went on an evangelistic mission, they “returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’” (Luke 10:17). He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (v. 18).

Here we discover a clear reason why more Christians are not more empowered to stand boldly for Christ in an anti-Christian culture. If we step into the river, our faith positions us to experience God’s miraculous provision (Joshua 3:14–17). If we march around Jericho, God will bring down its walls (Joshua 6). If we stand boldly for our Lord, we will be filled with his Spirit (Acts 4:8).

Ours is a day of declining commitment to evangelism, fueled in part by a growing belief that sharing the gospel is wrong in a culture that elevates tolerance above all other values. But the “passive congeniality” that is unwilling to speak of Jesus in everyday conversation is not enough.

We often hear the advice, “Preach the gospel at all times—when necessary, use words” attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. In fact, he never spoke these words and usually did the opposite. His first biographer, writing just three years after his death, reported that Francis “sometimes preached in up to five villages a day, often outdoors. In the country, Francis often spoke from a bale of straw or a granary doorway. In town, he would climb on a box or up steps in a public building. He preached to . . . any who gathered to hear the strange but fiery little preacher from Assisi.”

Why a teenager is running for the school board

A teenager in Florida is running for his local school board “to give a voice to the voiceless.” An eighteen-year-old cookbook author is donating all of her author proceeds to a non-profit fighting childhood hunger; if her first print run sells out, she hopes to provide kids with about seven hundred thousand meals.

When last did you take a risk to serve your Lord? Here’s how:

  1. Agree to do anything your Father calls you to do (Luke 6:46).
  2. Ask him for your kingdom assignment today: the people you are to influence and the work you are to do for his glory and our good (Romans 12:2).
  3. Submit to the power of his Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
  4. Step out in obedient faith (Hebrews 11:1).
  5. Trust the results to God’s sovereignty and eternal purpose (Psalm 37:5Philippians 1:6).

My mentor when I pastored in Atlanta taught me this life motto: “Attempt something so great for God, it’s doomed to failure unless God be in it.”

What will you attempt for God today?

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