faith Archives - Jim Daly

Special Message from Sadie Robertson: Don’t Let Fear Stop You From Expressing Your Faith

Sadie Robertson knows what it’s like to be afraid, especially as a student. “I went through a season in my late teens when the fear became extreme, and that’s when I realized things had to change,” she shares in her new book, Live Fearless. After overcoming that mindset through immersion in God’s Word, Sadie now has a heart for empowering thousands of other young people to boldly live out their love for Jesus in the public square.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 19, 2018 by Jim Daly

Ending the Pursuit of the Perfect Life

A study at Hewlett-Packard examined how qualified people felt they needed to be before they applied for jobs. They found that many won’t apply for a job unless their qualifications line up with the job description 100 percent. Others applied for jobs even if they were only 60 percent qualified.

Those statistics made authors Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory wonder how many good opportunities people miss out on because they’re hesitant to step out until their circumstances are perfect.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith September 18, 2018 by Jim Daly

Leading Your Child Through Emotional Milestones

According to pediatricians, babies should be lifting their heads when they’re around 4 months old and rolling over by 5 or 6 months old. They should be taking their first steps around 9 to 12 months and walking unassisted between 14 and 15 months, probably no later than 18 months.

Most parents know their children should be feeding themselves by a certain age, talking by a certain age, and hitting the right height and weight markers by certain ages.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids September 17, 2018 by Jim Daly

Being God’s Light in the World

Do you ever feel small and insignificant – like the lowly plankton, tiny organisms that drift aimlessly in the ocean with no obvious sense of purpose?

If so, Sadie Robertson of the Duck Dynasty family has an encouraging word for you. She wants you to know that even plankton is significant to God. Did you know that plankton is crucial to the world’s ecosystem? Not only are they important to the ocean’s food chain, they also produce 50 percent of the world’s oxygen.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith September 14, 2018 by Jim Daly

Is the Affirmation You Give Your Kids Hurting or Helping Them?

My friend and new Focus on the Family colleague, Dr. Meg Meeker, is a highly acclaimed pediatrician who has spent the past 30 years treating children, helping parents, and writing, teaching and speaking on numerous issues that impact the family. One of the best things I appreciate about Dr. Meg is that she’s practical and regularly addresses the issues parents and children are facing.

Today, I pose a question to her that I think every parent has asked or pondered:

Is the affirmation you give your kids hurting or helping them?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids September 12, 2018 by Jim Daly

Fake News Is Really Old News

This essay originally ran in The Christian Post.

This past Tuesday was the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of legendary ABC Radio newsman Paul Harvey. Known for his homespun and perceptive commentaries, Mr. Harvey used to say that “In times like these, it’s important to remember there have always been times like these.” He was right.

Wednesday’s anonymously authored New York Times Op-Ed featuring a supposed “senior-member” of the Trump administration decrying internal dysfunction set off an avalanche of criticism, and rightly so.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, news September 11, 2018 by Jim Daly

Seeing God’s Image in All Men

Racism is a problem in America.

That much is obvious. What isn’t so obvious is what to do about it. Nothing society has dreamed up has eradicated it. In fact, one could argue that certain movements seeking positive change have deepened the cultural divide rather than bridged it.

Inadvertently or intentionally, the underlying cultural message has often been “choose your side.” Stand against the black community or stand for the black community. Stand against the white community or stand for the white community.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith September 10, 2018 by Jim Daly

Two Lessons I Learned from Richard DeVos

How does one possibly sum up a life as full and as fruitful as businessman and philanthropist Richard DeVos, the Amway co-founder and friend and supporter of many evangelical Christian efforts and organizations, including Focus on the Family, who died yesterday at the age of 92?

“The Lord was good to me and I gotta go out and try and tell how good God is,” Mr. DeVos recently reflected. “I’d like to be remembered by enjoying the time we were given here by loving what the good Lord gave us, and we did the best we could with it.”

I was honored to spend a very small fraction of Richard DeVos’ time with him, shortly after I had become president of the ministry.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith September 7, 2018 by Jim Daly

Finding Family as a Single Adult

The Bible begins with marriage and ends with marriage.

That ought to tell us something about the importance God places on it. He’s infused it with profound meaning, both as a cultural institution and as one of the most significant relationships we can experience. It’s the bedrock of God’s design for families.

So where does that leave singles?

Throughout the Bible we’re reminded that God created us for community. No one is meant to be alone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage, relationships September 6, 2018 by Jim Daly

Being Seen By God

“What do you do?”

That’s one of the first things people ask when they’re getting to know you. Or it’s one of the first things we offer to others to describe ourselves. We define who we are by what we do.

But the “dark side” to a lifestyle ruled by opportunity, hard work, and prosperity is that we get caught in a performance trap. We believe our value and worth as people is measured solely by what we achieve, what we acquire, or what we produce.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith August 31, 2018 by Jim Daly