faith Archives

Government Reaffirms Religious Rights of Federal Workers

According to a newly released memorandum from the United States Office of Personnel Management, government employees do not lose their First Amendment rights when they begin their work for Uncle Sam each day.

Scott Kupor, who serves as director of the agency, offered long overdue clarity in the document, especially given some of the hostility that Christians have encountered on the job during the previous administration.

“The Federal workforce should be a welcoming place for Federal employees who practice a religious faith,” wrote Director Kupor.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith July 29, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Biological or Spiritual Beings?

Let me ask you a simple question with a complex answer: Are human beings only biological machines? Or is there something more to us, something that transcends mere flesh and blood?

Questions like that have challenged humanity for centuries, partly because we like to explain our world in clear-cut terms. We like things to be either all black or all white. No gray. But human life can’t be defined so easily. Each of us has a physical body, but we have a spiritual side as well.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith July 23, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Making Parenting Fun

I love summer. When my boys were younger, that meant camping with my family. We loved getting outdoors and parking our fifth wheel in some remote location where the sounds of nature aren’t drowned out by cars and busyness.

When there was a lake nearby, the first thing my boys would do is grab rocks to throw into the water. The bigger the better. For them, it was all about the splash. Me? I was intrigued by the ripples.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith, family July 22, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Dog Days of Marriage

Believe it or not, you can learn a lot about your marriage from a little dog named Tidbit.

He’s the ugliest dog I think I’ve ever seen. He’s a two and a half pound Yorkie Poo – a mix between a Poodle and Yorkshire Terrier. He’s 15 years old and quirky. He’s afraid to walk across tile floors and is too small to get up and down the stairs on his own. He looks bad, too.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 16, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How the Christian Worldview Inspires Uncommon Hope for Believers

We live in a broken world. It’s not a matter of if the culture will influence our children, it’s a matter of when and how. As such, it’s wise to teach them discernment from a young age. Fortunately, parents can find incredible guidance in the Christian worldview.

The question is, because the enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10), what does living as a Christian in today’s culture look like and how can we live out those principles for our families and neighborhoods?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 15, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Navigating the Obstacles of Cerebral Palsy

Tyler Sexton has been an overcomer since the day he was born. So have his parents, Lisa and Kevin.

When Tyler was born at 28 weeks, doctors immediately placed him in an incubator and rushed him by helicopter to a hospital four hours away. They told Lisa and Kevin that Tyler’s lungs could collapse, and he’d die mid-flight. Tyler survived, but a long road of physical trouble, including 16 surgeries, lay ahead.

At 18 months, Tyler was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith July 10, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Handling a Midlife Crisis

A few years ago, Levi Lusko experienced a midlife crisis that sent him spiraling downward.

A devoted husband, father, pastor, author and speaker, Levi was busy most days from early morning until he went to bed late at night. For nearly two decades, his ambition for more kept his candle burning at both ends. By 2020, Levi had flown a million and a half miles. When the pandemic hit, his activity and his ability to manage his emotions all came to a screeching halt.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith July 1, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Get in the Wheelbarrow

“Do I really believe?”

That’s not always such an easy question to answer. We say we believe in all kinds of things – from God and country to values like marriage, family, and justice. But what happens when those beliefs get challenged? Do we stand passively on the sidelines and pretend we believe? Or do we get in the wheelbarrow?

That phrase, “Get in the wheelbarrow,” is a metaphor from the mid-19th century. It sprang up around a man named The Great Blondin.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 30, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Nice? Or Kind?

When I talk to people who believe differently than I do, I often ask myself, “Am I being kind? Or am I just being nice?” There is a difference.

Nice is usually a thin veneer of kindness with nothing of substance underneath. Nice is how you act toward the barista who gets your coffee order right. Or the person waiting patiently next to you in line. Or a family member with whom you’re on good terms.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 19, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Building a Bridge to Forgiveness

Popular author and relationship expert Dr. Gary Chapman describes conscience as a five-gallon bucket strapped to our backs. Every time we do wrong against someone, we add a measure of liquid. After a few mistakes, our burden becomes heavier. After a few more, heavier still. Eventually, our conscience becomes so full, so heavy to bear, that the contents splash out in unhelpful ways, on us and everyone around us.

In Acts 24:16, the apostle Paul says of himself: “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” The phrase “take pains” can also be translated as “strive,” “train,” or “exercise.” In other words, Paul says, “I discipline myself.” To do what?

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith June 18, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura