Jim Daly

Lift High the [Bladensburg] Cross: Supreme Court Decision is a Win!

There is welcome news today from the Supreme Court.

A 94-year-old war memorial in Bladensburg County, Maryland, can remain in place, despite the demands of the American Humanist Association to tear it down.

Also known as the “Peace Cross,” the memorial was commissioned and built by the American Legion and mothers of the 49 local men killed serving this country in World War I.

Originally built on private land, the 40-foot-tall structure and the land upon which it rests were taken over by the local government 50 years ago for roadway expansion needs.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: faith, government, supreme court

Grasping the Power of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. But, boy, is it difficult.

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about forgiving yourself or forgiving others, forgiveness doesn’t come naturally to us. In fact, our wounds can be so deep, the struggle to forgive can only be described as “desperate.”

That’s how Duck Dynasty’s Al and Lisa Robertson describe their struggle to forgive each other after their marriage ran aground. Their wounds were too deep to heal apart from the strength and the grace of God.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, forgieness, marriage

Living for Christ in a Me-First World

How do we, as believers, live for Christ in a world that constantly puts self first? Leslie Vernick addresses this highly relevant topic in her book, How to Find Selfless Joy in a Me-First World.

Our culture makes me the highest priority. From social media posts and selfies to the aisles of bookstores that are filled with self-help books – our individualistic, American culture calls us to be the best version of ourselves to the exclusion of God and others.

However, this hyper focus on self is one of Satan’s strategies to make us believe that we are the center of our own universe.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith

Learning and Teaching Godly Manhood

Many of the problems in the church, in our families, and in society could be solved if men were spiritually and emotionally mature – that is, if they were able to meaningfully connect with their God, their wives, and their children.

Men’s ministries often focus on a man’s outward behavior but ignore the deeper influences. Men shouldn’t be coddled like little boys, they should be challenged as men. A man needs another man to step into his life and to challenge him to mature from the little boy he was into the man God is calling him to be.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, manhood

Creating a No-Regrets Marriage

King Artaxerxes commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah and his men set to work with trowels in one hand and with swords in the other, defending against enemies on all sides (Neh. 4:17).

In many ways, married couples face a similar challenge. With one hand, they’re building their marriage, their children, and their careers. With the other, they’re wielding the sword of the Word of God and defending their families against a culture that’s increasingly hostile.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, spouse

How Do You Forgive Evil?

Forgiveness is never easy, but how do you forgive evil?

For Polly Sheppard and Reverend Anthony Thompson, that question is no mere hypothetical. Polly was a member of a weekly Bible study led by Anthony’s wife, Myra, at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

On the evening of June 17, 2015, 12 members of Myra’s group came together for study. A few minutes in, they welcomed a young white man who unexpectedly came into the church.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, evil, forgiveness

The Supreme Court and the Bladensburg Cross: What’s at Stake

The last few weeks of June traditionally feature a slew of Supreme Court decisions, often high-profile and controversial ones that mark the end of the current term.

This year promises to be no different as court-watchers anticipate rulings that include such questions as the constitutionality of asking a person’s citizenship on the 2020 U.S. Census as well as the legality of gerrymandering, the practice of drawing congressional boundaries that favor one party over the other.

As of today, the High Court has issued decisions in 45 of the 69 cases it has heard this term, thus leaving 24 pending decisions expected by the end of the month.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events

Navigating the Challenges Teens Face

Social media. Cyberbullying. Peer pressure. Drug and alcohol abuse. Pornography. Depression. Suicide.

Parenting teenagers is not for the faint of heart.

Moms and dads play a critical role in guiding their children through the challenges that arise in the teen years. Their mission is not to protect their children from every adversity, but to train them to develop the faith and strength of character that will carry them through it.

A helpful goal is to parent your teenager toward becoming a responsible adult rather than toward short-term obedience.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home

Finding Hope Again

Everybody has moments where they feel a little sad. But some people encounter depression so fierce they don’t know if they’ll ever come out of it again.

Counselors identify six things that lead us to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and helpless:

A traumatic eventStrained relationshipsSerious health problemsCrushing disappointmentUnchangeable circumstancePainful loss

Kay Warren has experienced all of those. Kay co-founded Saddleback Church with her husband, RickWarren, in California in 1979. She had been sexually abused, battled cancer and depression, and spent years trying to help her son, Matthew, battle his own depression – a battle she and Rick lost when Matthew died by suicide at the age of 27.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: depression, faith, hope

Trump Administration Delivers Pro-Life Victory

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that it will cancel a contract with researchers who were using the tissue of babies who were electively aborted.

This is a major win and welcome news for the pro-life community. The work of investigative reporter David Daleiden, who first highlighted Planned Parenthood’s practice of using aborted preborn remains for medical research and, allegedly, profit, is finally paying off nearly four years after the story first broke.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: abortion, faith, pro-life