Daly Focus Blog
Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. But, boy, is it difficult.
It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about forgiving yourself or forgiving others, forgiveness doesn’t come naturally to us. In fact, our wounds can be so deep, the struggle to forgive can only be described as “desperate.”
That’s how Duck Dynasty’s Al and Lisa Robertson describe their struggle to forgive each other after their marriage ran aground. Their wounds were too deep to heal apart from the strength and the grace of God.
How do we, as believers, live for Christ in a world that constantly puts self first? Leslie Vernick addresses this highly relevant topic in her book, How to Find Selfless Joy in a Me-First World.
Our culture makes me the highest priority. From social media posts and selfies to the aisles of bookstores that are filled with self-help books – our individualistic, American culture calls us to be the best version of ourselves to the exclusion of God and others.
However, this hyper focus on self is one of Satan’s strategies to make us believe that we are the center of our own universe.
Everybody has moments where they feel a little sad. But some people encounter depression so fierce they don’t know if they’ll ever come out of it again.
Counselors identify six things that lead us to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and helpless:
A traumatic eventStrained relationshipsSerious health problemsCrushing disappointmentUnchangeable circumstancePainful loss
Kay Warren has experienced all of those. Kay co-founded Saddleback Church with her husband, RickWarren, in California in 1979. She had been sexually abused, battled cancer and depression, and spent years trying to help her son, Matthew, battle his own depression – a battle she and Rick lost when Matthew died by suicide at the age of 27.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that it will cancel a contract with researchers who were using the tissue of babies who were electively aborted.
This is a major win and welcome news for the pro-life community. The work of investigative reporter David Daleiden, who first highlighted Planned Parenthood’s practice of using aborted preborn remains for medical research and, allegedly, profit, is finally paying off nearly four years after the story first broke.
At our current time of open hostility to people of the Christian faith, the idea of the President of the United States publicly praying across the national airwaves may strike many as a far-fetched prospect ripe for condemnation from the ACLU.
But that’s exactly what happened 75 years ago tomorrow when President Franklin Roosevelt announced America’s liberation of France in what became known as the “D-Day” invasion.
With a combined force consisting of over 156,000 soldiers (American, British and Canadian), these brave men waded into the hail of gunfire and even the steel of bayonets, resulting in the death of approximately 4,000 troops.
Across five beaches and 50 miles of coastline, Allied troops successful retook the coast of France.
Is there a secret to a happy marriage?
That’s a common question. It’s also a tough one.
On the one hand, who doesn’t want a happy marriage? Everyone walks down the aisle believing they’re committing themselves to a spouse who will fill their life with joy and fulfillment. On the other hand, when couples reach out to Focus on the Family, many are struggling because their marriage isn’t making them as happy as they thought it would.
With nearly 20,000 people jammed into New York City’s Times Square, this past Saturday’s historic “Alive from New York” ultrasound event exceeded all expectations.
Some of you may have been there. Many others may have watched.
As an event, it had it all: beautiful and inspirational music from Christian recording artists Francesca Battistelli and Phil King, passionate and compelling speeches from evangelist Alveda King, former NFL star Benjamin Watson, actress Ashley Bratcher, pro-life stalwarts Marjorie Dannenfelser and Christina Bennett, and abortion survivors Melissa Ohden, Josiah Presley and Claire Culwell – and the live 4D ultrasound of former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson’s baby.
Have you ever felt discouraged because God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers?
Pastor Mark Batterson has. He was diagnosed with asthma at age 3 and suffered life-threatening attacks for years. At age thirteen, he was rushed to the hospital and spent days in intensive care. Both he and his parents feared that he might soon take his last breath.
For 40 years, Mark never went anywhere without his inhaler and used it almost every day.
When you walked down the aisle, what was your vision for you and your spouse? Did you want a “nice” marriage?
A “friendly” marriage?
A “we get along” marriage?
Probably not.
Most couples are searching for intimacy, connection, romance, and excitement. But years into their marriage, many husbands and wives are bored. Life has settled into a routine – a rut, really – and they’re not connecting like they once did.
If you’ve reached that place in your marriage, you might be thinking, “This isn’t what I had in mind.” The good news is that’s not what the Bible says God has in mind for you, either.
Stephen Arterburn calls the negative repercussions of abortion on men our nation’s “silent shame.”
Every abortion involves a man, and there have been almost 60 million abortions since 1973. That is a breathtaking number of men who either couldn’t or wouldn’t defend their own flesh and blood.
The physiological effects of post-abortion syndrome on a man can be devastating. It can include things like depression; an inability to bond with future children; a fear of loss or more pain; shame; survival guilt; or self-punishing and self-degrading behaviors like getting into relationships that are abusive because you don’t think you deserve anything better.
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.
