Daly Focus Blog
The final week of the year can often be a time of reflection as we look back across the last twelve months and ponder what the Lord may have planned for us in the New Year.
With just 6 days left in 2018, at a time when the stock market is riding like a roller coaster and nerves are frayed on a variety of levels, I want to share a touching prayer with you and one that can help frame your goals and plans for 2019.
By now, you’ve already seen It’s a Wonderful Life two or three times (and if not Jimmy Stewart and the gang, then maybe Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, or A Christmas Story and Ralphie’s quest for a Red Rider BB gun in spite of every warning that he’d shoot his eye out).
That’s why on a special edition of our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Reflecting on Christmas Memories,” we’re sharing Christmas stories that you’ve not heard before.
Why are we so easily offended?
That’s even a problem for Christians who believe in the fruit of the Spirit. Why do we get so upset about the guy that cuts us off on the highway? Why are we so easily irritated when something doesn’t go our way, or when we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve? And why do we deserve something in the first place?
There are different levels of anger. Sometimes it’s the result of feeling threatened.
What’s the most thoughtful Christmas present you’ve ever received?
Technology gifts tend to top the “most popular” lists these days. From iPhones to iPads, video games to flat screen television sets, holiday giving can be an inordinately expensive undertaking – if you’re so inclined to follow current trends. According to Gallup, the average American will spend $885 on gifts this year, and a third will shell out more than a $1000.
At the risk of dating myself, Christmas gift-giving looked a lot different back when I was a child.
Author Amy Carroll remembers the moment God’s love for her broke through the condemnation that the pursuit of perfection had left hanging over her like a dark cloud.
It happened on a trip to India where she was speaking at a women’s conference. To help the attendees visualize God’s love, the women participated in mock weddings, where they walked down the aisle as brides and imagined Jesus waiting for them as their groom.
One of the last women to participate was a 90-year-old woman.
In set 16 of the That the World May Know series, titled “Cultures in Conflict,” Bible teacher Ray Vander Laan leads viewers on a journey with the Apostle Paul as he preaches in Athens, Greece on Mars Hill and founds the church in Corinth.
Along the way, Ray highlights Paul’s tremendous ability to share God’s truth in a way the culture of his day could understand.
In Corinth, for example, one of the most important structures was a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing.
Focus on the Family is pleased to learn that an important new law protecting the rights of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East has been signed into law by President Trump.
The law, known as the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018, authorizes the State Department to provide humanitarian assistance to religious minorities who have been the targets of genocide in those countries. It also authorizes assistance to any entities that criminally prosecute those suspected of committing genocide, wars against humanity or war crimes in Iraq and Syria.
Christmas is one of the most special times of the year. That’s partly because of the lights, the decorations, the parties, and the presents that we exchange.
But those things can also distract us from the true meaning of Christmas. On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Embracing the Reality of Christmas,” we’ll hear from author Al Andrews as he shares a dramatic reading called “A Walk One Winter Night.”
It’s about a Christian man who feels Christmas has become just another holiday, more of a burden than a blessing.
Marriage is central to what we do here at Focus on the Family.
We believe that marriage is the foundation of the family. We also believe that God’s design for marriage is a relationship where both husband and wife are committed to loving and caring for one another for a lifetime.
The problem is, men and women are selfish creatures, and their selfishness comes out in all kinds of unhealthy ways. One of the most devastating aberrations is an affair.
A few years ago, Newsweek Magazine made a heartbreaking observation in the form of a paradoxical question. Speaking of El Paso County, Colorado, home of Focus on the Family and over a hundred other Christian ministries, they asked:
How is it possible that one of the top five places to live in the country also suffers from one of the worst teen suicide rates?
According to the most recent information, 49 youth under the age of 18 died by suicide between 2014 – 2017 in El Paso County.
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.
