Daly Focus Blog
John Murphy was on a routine training jump at Fort Bragg when it happened.
He’d just gotten home from a deployment to Afghanistan a couple of months before. John was a proud soldier who was so eager to serve, he dropped out of a full Army ROTC scholarship at Michigan State so he could go straight into active duty.
John grew up with godly parents who loved the Lord and who loved him. But he was a nominal Christian at best.
Do you get the feeling that we’ve crossed a line in this country?
I do.
As I mentioned yesterday, the most recent outburst of bloodshed and mayhem – the tragic gunning down of twenty-six worshipers at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas – has left most of us breathless and reeling.
It’s dawning on us that, somehow or other, senseless violence has become the “new norm” in America.
Again and again celebrities, news anchors, and politicians have responded to this unthinkable situation with a familiar refrain:
“We’re sending thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.”
Most of us appreciate their sentiments.
A great Thanksgiving-related story out of Phoenix this week, where an accidental text message from a grandma to a young man who wasn’t her grandson resulted in an unlikely inter-generational friendship.
The viral tale reminded me of another story some might call happenstance… but I know was God’s providence. I first shared this entry in 2013… and I think it’s worth reposting today. Hope you enjoy… -J.D.
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She first saw the elderly gentleman at a cemetery on Thanksgiving morning.
The unprecedented presidential election of 2016 has ended and we have witnessed a watershed moment in American political history. The most optimistic of assessments were exceeded for the Republican Party, and as a result America will have a GOP-dominated White House, House and Senate, and the majority of state houses and governorships as well.
We congratulate and offer our heartfelt prayers for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence and all the winners. We pray for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and all those who were defeated.
Many of my conservative friends don’t see eye-to-eye on this year’s election, and I suspect I’m not alone.
Scroll through social media, go to churches across the country – goodness, go to a family dinner table! – and you might see good, sincere Christians with differing opinions on who to elect for president and how to think through the voting process.
For some evangelicals, it might be the first time they’ve faced this level of disagreement with their family or church community over a presidential election.
A new study puts a dollar value on faith in the United States – and it turns out religion is good for the economy. $1.2 trillion good.
Father-and-daughter researchers Brian Grim and Melissa Grim examined how much of an economic contribution religion makes in America, and provided conservative, mid-range and high estimates.
On the low end, looking only at the revenues of faith-based organizations, the figure adds up to $378 billion annually.
That’s a bigger amount than the global annual revenues of tech giants Apple and Microsoft – combined.
It’s a problem so big that some experts are calling it a public health concern. It impacts both a person’s emotional and physical wellbeing.
And while it can affect most anyone, this condition especially targets the elderly.
The problem I’m talking about?
Loneliness.
Complicating the issue of loneliness is that there’s a stigma around it. Some people might think loneliness is due to a “social weakness, or an inability to stand on one’s own,” according to a recent New York Times article on the topic.
We woke up to shocking news Sunday: a man had entered Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the early morning hours and began shooting.
When the carnage ended, 49 innocents were dead, plus the gunman. An additional 53 were wounded.
We’re now learning about the people who were murdered. There’s Edward Sotomayor, Jr., who loved wearing black hats, and 20-year-old Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, who was among the youngest of the victims.
Kimberly Morris had recently moved to Florida to help her mom and grandmother.
For 40 years the United Methodist Church has supported the Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade decision – that is, until last week.
Delegates of the country’s third-largest religious body voted 445 to 310 to repeal the official resolution supporting the case establishing a constitutional “right” to abortion during its General Conference. They also voted to sever its affiliation with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), an interfaith organization co-founded by the United Methodist Church.
Should Christians befriend members of the homosexual or transgendered community?
Should Christians engage in the political process?
If so, what hope should we place in the government for resolution to society’s problems?
Should Christians attend a friend’s same-sex wedding? What if the ceremony is for a parent’s son or daughter?
I frequently get questions like these when I travel and have an opportunity to meet you, friends of Focus on the Family. I appreciate hearing your perspective because it helps me keep a finger on the pulse of the family and the Christian community.
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.
