faith Archives

Want to Laugh?

Summer is in full swing. Like many of you, my family has already enjoyed some vacation time together. It’s been wonderful to take a break from our daily responsibilities, to relax, and to connect with one another.

We’ve traveled a little, and we’ve laughed a lot. It’s been good for the soul.

In keeping with that spirit, for today’s broadcast, we thought we’d take a break from some of the serious issues we’ve talked about over the past several weeks to enjoy a little humor from our friend, comedian Ken Davis.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, entertainment, faith July 20, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Sharing Your Faith with Non-Believers

Is your home a lighthouse?

The purpose of a lighthouse, remember, is to shine brightly through the darkness to lead people on the open water safely to shore.

It’s no accident that sort of imagery illustrates how the Christian’s life is supposed to be. I’m sure you’ll recall Matthew 5, where 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.”

That means a Christian’s home ought to shine with God’s love, grace, and presence and be inviting to the neighborhood around it.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith July 17, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Use Your Words Wisely

I’ll bet you remember the moment your life changed.

It may have been in childhood or even when you were an adult. But someone said something to you that was hurtful. That person may not have even meant for their words to sting, but they cut you deep, and that moment changed your entire perception of yourself from that point forward.

For me, it was ninth grade. I was in my high school’s weight room, getting ready for football season.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith July 16, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

We Don’t Need Nice Men

“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise” – C.S. Lewis.

It’s a popular trend these days to raise boys into “nice guys.” Men are expected to be sweet and gentle – almost feminine – in the way they interact with the people around them. But I think that mentality is putting our families at risk. We don’t need more “nice” guys. We need strong men.

First of all, let me clarify.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, husband, parenting July 13, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Video: A Beautiful Rendition of Amazing Grace

Former U.S. Secretary of State and accomplished pianist Condoleezza Rice and Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker recently teamed up to play a touching rendition of the favorite hymn “Amazing Grace.” I hope you enjoy.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, pop culture July 10, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Hope for Parents of Prodigals

Few things are as painful for a Christian parent as a child who turns away from his or her faith. And the deeper the pain, the deeper our need for hope.

Maybe that’s why the story of the prodigal son has remained one of the most beloved parables in Scripture for centuries.

The story doesn’t make promises or guarantees about “wayward” children, of course. But it does offer hope to parents in desperate need of it.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, pop culture July 9, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Same-Sex Couples at Family Gatherings: Would You Take Your Kids?

Long before the Supreme Court imposed same-sex marriage on the country, Christian parents had been dealing with the culture’s growing acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex relationships and the impact it has on their children.

We at Focus are hearing from more and more of them as they navigate these difficult waters with friends and relatives who are homosexual while also trying to model Christian behavior for their own children. Here’s a question typical of those we receive:

My sister-in-law is currently married to her partner.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, homosexuality, parenting July 8, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Authentic Christianity in Charleston

When I first blogged about the horrific shooting at Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, authorities were still piecing together what had happened. What we’ve learned since then makes the tragedy all the more awful.

The pastor and eight congregants killed on last Wednesday night were targeted because the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Dylan Roof, wanted to start a race war.

By all accounts, this young man was filled with hate. Friends say he talked of the “need for whites and blacks to be segregated,” and that “he wanted to hurt lots of people.” An online manifesto that authorities say appears to be written by Roof is laced with racism, including statements that blacks are inferior to whites.

Topics: Current Events Tags: church, faith, news, pro-life June 24, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Elisabeth Elliot Showed Me What True Conviction Looks Like

I was in my early 20s and returning from a year of college in Japan when a friend invited me to hear Elisabeth Elliot speak in Kansas City.

She lit that auditorium of more than 18,000 people on fire.

As you most likely know by now, Elliot passed away on June 14 at the age of 88. She was a heroine of the faith, one of the most influential Christian women in the 20th century.

Here was a woman the world first met in 1956 when her husband, Jim Elliot, was among the five missionaries speared to death by the Auca Indians in Ecuador.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith June 22, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: God Wrote a Book

Augustine of Hippo called the Bible “our letters from home.”

Abraham Lincoln once reflected that the Bible, “is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book.”

The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and a longtime member of our board, said, “The Bible is not a book of the month, but the Book of the Ages. It’s so majestically deep that scholars could swim and never touch the bottom.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 16, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura