faith Archives

Discovering Your Spiritual Temperament

How do you connect with God?

Is your faith inspired by beautiful art? Worship music? Serving others? Confronting evil in society? Some people love cathedrals or worshiping outside. Others prefer the comfort of their home church.

Although most of us have been taught one approach to spiritual growth – daily “quiet time,” Bible study, prayer, and weekly church attendance – we all have different personalities, likes and dislikes, and spiritual giftings, each of which bring a unique perspective to our understanding of the person of Jesus and the salvation He brings to the world.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 24, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Filling Your Marriage with Joy

How big is your marriage’s “joy gap”?

Dr. Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey, authors of the book The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages, describe a “joy gap” as the length of time between moments of joy. If you apply that unit of measurement to your marriage, how long has it been? Days? Weeks? Months?

Your joy gap can be especially lengthy if you’re waiting for your circumstances to change on their own, for your spouse to make you joyful, or for God to zap you with joy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage October 21, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Unveiling Preborn Life: Overcoming Betrayal and Broken Relationships

Dr. Bill Lile is known as the “Pro Life Doc.” He is an active OB/GYN in private practice and a national speaker who unveils both the horrors of abortion and the magnificence of preborn human life.

He is joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly for an important and sobering conversation about the atrocity of abortion and why Christians should continue to stand strong for life.

Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”The battle for life is as intense as ever because pro-abortion activists spin narratives that pro-life supporters protect preborn babies at the expense of women and girls.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, pro-life October 17, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding Hope for Your Desperate Marriage

You can’t change your spouse. So what do you do if your marriage is in a desperate place?

Many couples believe there are just two choices:

Stay and be miserable for the rest of your life.

Get out while you can and hope to find happiness somewhere down the line.

Dr. Gary Chapman says there’s a third option: With God’s help and with godly counsel from others, positively influence your marriage by creating possibilities for your spouse to change his or her behavior.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage October 15, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Sharing God’s Light Through Art

We recorded the latest edition of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly in a different kind of studio. Instead of microphones and recording consoles, we were surrounded by more easels, paint brushes, and canvases in one place than I’ve ever seen.

The studio belongs to Morgan Weistling, who has been an artist since he was old enough to hold a crayon. He has studied under some of the most legendary illustrators and artists of the last century.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith October 11, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Clergy Appreciation

October is Clergy Appreciation Month, and Sunday, October 13 is Clergy Appreciation Day. This celebration is an opportunity to honor the approximately 50,000 ministers, priests, rabbis, and chaplains across the United States.

Most members of the clergy aren’t well-known. They don’t speak to large audiences on TV or podcasts, or minister to huge congregations. The average pastor shepherds a church of fewer than 100 people – and most have to hold down a second job to pay the bills.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 9, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Shouting the Worth of Every Person

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

That saying means we feel most comfortable around people who look like us, talk like us, and think like us. Though natural, that tendency often costs us the opportunity to learn from and build relationships with people who hold different perspectives than we do.

Diversity is rooted in God’s character more than we often imagine. He creates human beings in His image, so every person is God’s image-bearer. Each person gives us a unique opportunity to know God more fully and to better appreciate what it means to be fully human.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 7, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Understanding the Importance of Voting

I don’t believe I’m overstating things when I say that the upcoming election is the most important in recent memory. There is a lot at stake!

In America, we’re blessed with a government that, Abraham Lincoln said, is “of the people, by the people, and, for the people.” But our system of government is only effective when citizens participate in the election process and vote. Christians especially have a responsibility to vote for candidates who uphold biblical values.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith September 30, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Pot of Stew

Critics of the Bible say it’s outdated and irrelevant to modern society. Allow me to share just one example of why that’s not true.

Genesis 25 tells the story of two brothers, Jacob and Esau. Esau, the firstborn, was entitled to his family’s inheritance, a responsibility that required strong character and wisdom. Unfortunately, he had neither. That becomes clear when Esau returns home after a long day of hunting. He’s so hungry that he begs his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 25, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Supporting Your Kids when Life is Tough

One of the most heartbreaking letters to Focus on the Family I’ve read was from a grown woman who recounted her parents’ divorce when she was a little girl. Her dad told her, “Your mom and I aren’t capable of being together, so I’m leaving. But I’ll always be there for you. I’ll see you on weekends. I’ll see you on your birthday.”

She never saw her dad again.

That father made a lot of promises to his daughter and never kept one.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 24, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura