Jim Daly

The Climb to Calvary – Part III

THE CLIMB TO CALVARY
Meditations on The Seven Last Words of Christ

WEDNESDAY: The Third Words

“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, ‘Woman, behold thy son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27).

We now learn that Jesus’ mother is witnessing her own son’s six-hour execution.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith

The Climb to Calvary – Part II

THE CLIMB TO CALVARY
Meditations on The Seven Last Words of Christ

Tuesday: The Second Words

“And Jesus said unto him, ‘I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:43).

A lot has been written about bad things happening to good people. But it is equally jarring for many in our world to reconcile, accept and embrace the truth of our faith that tells us in the end, good things can happen to “bad” people.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith

The Climb to Calvary – Part I

In observance of Holy Week, I have decided to use this space to offer a devotional series that I have prepared and which I have entitled:

THE CLIMB TO CALVARY

Meditations on The Seven Last Words of Christ

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MONDAY: The First Words

“Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).

In some ways, at least from a worldly perspective, these first recorded words spoken by Jesus on the cross are the most startling of all seven of His final statements captured in the Gospels.

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Seemingly Divine Occurrences on Set of THE BIBLE

Karla Dial is our talented editor of Citizen Magazine. In this month’s issue she penned a wonderful profile piece on the History Channel’s epic miniseries The Bible. Since its debut on March 3rd, over 68 million people have tuned in to watch this magnificent dramatization of God’s Word. Many of them have been people curious about Christianity. I hope they (and you!) will continue to watch this coming Sunday.

Because I’m so eager to encourage people to watch, I want to share with you a brief excerpt from Karla’s cover story in Citizen about the show.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture

Does this Video Make You Cry?

Have you seen this video?

Here is an eight-month old deaf baby’s reaction to his cochlear implant being activated:

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Thanks be to God!

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting

Have You Heard About Feminist Housewives?

A fascinating article from the Daily Mail in London landed in my in-box earlier this week. Here was the headline:

Rise of the happy housewife: How a new wave of feminists are giving up their careers to stay at home because they WANT to

The article details a growing trend among women who, though raised by two working parents, have decided they want to give their own children what they didn’t enjoy as a child:

A stay-at-home mother.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, parenting, wife

Three Ways to Change Your Child’s Negative Attitude

Has your child’s attitude soured recently?

According to our counselors here at Focus, a common motivation for a child’s negativity is simply to get attention. If you suspect this is your child’s goal, there are a few ways to teach him or her not to complain.

1. Don’t reward his negative behavior

When he starts to grumble, tell him you’re sorry he feels that way. Then go about your business.

2. Reinforce a positive outlook

If your child shows the slightest enthusiasm, give him a smile, praise him, and let him know how much you appreciate his upbeat attitude.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: discipline, kids, parenting

The Same-Sex Marriage Debate Around the World

France. Puerto Rico. Scotland. What do these nations have in common?

All of them have committed active marriage supporters who are working hard to preserve the traditional one-man, one-woman definition of marriage.

There are times when activists who favor the redefinition of marriage seem to suggest that America is simply behind the times when compared to the rest of the world.

But the facts suggest otherwise.

This past January more than 300,000 people took to Paris to protest the French president’s plan to legalize same-sex marriage.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, marriage, news

VIDEO: Jesus Comes to the History Channel

“Jesus is coming!”

This weekend, on television, that is.

So says Roma Downey, the co-executive producer of History Channel’s The Bible. “He’s the ‘leading man’ of the Bible’s grand story of God’s love for us, and he makes his entrance this week.”

She sent me a clip earlier today of Sunday’s episode and I wanted to share it with you here:

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture

Reflecting Back on College

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of engaging with a group of college students from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. As I shared in my previous blog post, our time together led to spirited, honest dialogue that I was told later inspired some students to have meaningful conversations about Jesus and Christianity.

That evening brought back to mind my own time in college. As I shared with the young people at UCCS, although I was a Christian during my undergrad days, I spent long stretches of time reading my text books, but not reading my Bible.