Daly Focus Blog
Bracelets as a form of fashion go back thousands of years, whether as jewelry made of gold, silver or even wood.
In recent years, though, bracelets have been used to help communicate a message or champion a particular cause.
My friend, Randy Hatcher, co-founder of Explore Your Faith, recently alerted me to a neat bracelet his organization is distributing. Here is how they describe it:
The bracelet is intended to be a relational, live, Gospel conversation starter.
What do you feel when you read this Scripture? “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38).
What about this one? “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mark 16:15).
Do verses like these about evangelism excite you? Or do they strike fear into your heart?
Author Lee Strobel is a skeptic by nature. As legal editor for the Chicago Tribune for many years, he was trained not to accept anyone’s word at face value. Every fact was confirmed by at least two sources before it was printed. They even hung a sign in their newsroom which said, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”
Lee’s skepticism eventually became cynicism … and then atheism. “If there is no God,” he reasoned, “if there is no heaven, and no ultimate accountability, then the most logical way for me to live is as a hedonist, someone who only pursues pleasure.” And that’s what he did.
The essence of our Christian faith rests on the reality of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.
Although C.S. Lewis is often credited with the succinct summary that Jesus Christ was either a liar, lunatic or Lord, it was the Scottish Christian preacher “Rabbi” John Duncan who once observed in 1859:
“Christ either [1] deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or [2] He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or [3] He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma.
I love meeting new believers in Christ. Their faith is so alive and vibrant that it bubbles over into every area of life, and they want to serve and worship Him at every opportunity.
Do you remember feeling that way?
Unfortunately, we can lose passion for our faith over time. We get busy with work, children, and household responsibilities, and the fire that once burned bright for Christ begins to fade.
If you’re wondering how to keep your passion alive or to reignite it if it’s gone dull, tune in to our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Reigniting Your Passion for Jesus.” We’re speaking with Kim Meeder, author of the book Revival Rising: Embracing His Transforming Power.
Is your home a lighthouse?
The purpose of a lighthouse is to shine brightly through the darkness so that people on the open water can make it safely to shore.
That imagery illustrates the profound nature of the Christian life. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world” and then encourages us to let our “light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.”
A Christian’s home ought to shine with God’s love and grace and be welcoming to the neighborhood around it.
Would you be able to forgive the person who shattered your life?
In a recorded message on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Journeying from Tragedy to Triumph,” Bryan Koch shares how a drunk driver turned a pleasant Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride into a horrendous tragedy for his family.
After a lovely summer afternoon drive, Bryan and his wife, Lynn were less than a mile from their home when their motorcycle was run off the road by a driver whose blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.
Give her an opportunity, and Pamela Christian will gladly tell you about the day she died.
It all began during an afternoon of tennis with girlfriends. She had been battling stomach problems all morning, a problem she dismissed as indigestion. But after a few practice swings, she started feeling short of breath and lightheaded, too much for the amount of exertion her warmup required.
In a matter of minutes, she began vomiting and collapsed to the ground.
What is God’s love language?
I’m sure your familiar with Dr. Gary Chapman’s take on the five love languages:
AffirmationActs of serviceQuality timeReceiving giftsPhysical touch
Understanding the concept helps us strengthen our relationship with our spouse and with our children by expressing love to them in the specific ways they feel that love. The five love languages are how we feel love from others as well.
Because we were created in God’s image, we each feel God’s love and presence primarily in one or two of these ways.
Earlier this week, USA Today published a provocative editorial titled, “Christian nationalism is a threat, and not just from Capitol attackers invoking Jesus.”
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), our guest on today’s broadcast, was singled out by the essayist and falsely accused of being one of those dangerous individuals who uses his faith for political purposes.
It’s true the senator is a devout believer in Jesus Christ and a strong defender of his country – but that doesn’t make him a religious nationalist – that is, someone who fuses his love of God with his country in idolatrous fashion.
Many of us cringed when we saw Christian symbols and signs inside the Capitol melee of January 6th.
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.
