faith Archives

Supreme Court Reaffirms Founders’ Commitment to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

Advocates of religious freedom and conscience exhaled this week as a majority of justices affirmed the constitutional rights of every American to practice and preserve their faith beyond the doors of a traditional church.

Friday’s 6-3 decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, authored by Justice Gorsuch, wasn’t just a win for Lorie Smith, it was also a victory for anyone who supports free speech protected by the First Amendment.

On Thursday, a unanimous court held that Gerald Groff, a former United States postal worker and an evangelical Christian, who had been told he needed to work on Sundays, was entitled to religious accommodations.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith June 30, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Creating Mayberry

At some point, we’ve all wished that we could live in a place like Mayberry, the small North Carolina town from the Andy Griffith Show. And why not? We’d have neighbors like Barney Fife, Floyd the Barber, and Aunt Bea. Imagine waking up every day in a community where everyone was sweet and thoughtful to each other and where things rarely got out of hand. Even Otis*, Mayberry’s town drunk, was entrusted with his own key to the jail so he could let himself in and out every night.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, family June 29, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

To Flourish and Thrive

The sexual revolution that began in the 1960s has taught us more about the need for good boundaries than any other time in history.

When the birth control pill first became available, the response was a cultural pendulum swing labelled “free love” where men and women were encouraged to cast off all moral restraint. Boundaries that once governed sexual promiscuity essentially vanished.

The sexual revolution assured us that we could do whatever we wanted with whomever we wanted whenever we wanted with no consequences.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 28, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cultivating a Healthy Life as a Single

If you thread two keys onto a single key ring, is either key more complete after it is joined with the other?

No.

And neither will you be if you’re single and hoping to be married one day.

“Singlehood” is often synonymous with “incomplete.” But Adam and Eve weren’t created as a couple. God created Adam first, as a single, an individual. He was given a purpose in God’s creation prior to Eve becoming his wife.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family June 27, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What to Do When Your Job Is Killing You

Drs. Gary Chapman and Paul White say toxic jobs and dangerous jobs are similar. Each are stressful, take place in difficult environments, and likely include dysfunctional colleagues who undermine you and the organization.

Brutal bosses. Soul-crushing cultures. Poisonous people. If you personally haven’t experienced workplace trauma, you may be surprised by how many of your friends and colleagues have. According to a Gallup report, seven out of ten American workers either “go through the motions” or flat-out hate their jobs.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 16, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Believing in the Hope of Heaven

Lee Strobel was an investigative journalist and an atheist who set out to disprove Christianity. Instead, he discovered that the evidence for Christ’s resurrection is “strong, persuasive, powerful, and based on a solid foundation of historical truth.”

In the summer of 2011, Lee woke up in the emergency room after his wife Leslie found him unconscious on the bedroom floor. The doctor told him, “You were one step away from a coma and two steps away from death.” Lee was diagnosed with an unusual medical condition called hyponatremia – a severe drop in blood sodium level that caused his brain to swell.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 14, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Something Significant

One of the most significant ministries over the course of Focus on the Family’s nearly 50-year history is Adventures in Odyssey, a radio drama for children (check here for more information). Each episode presents a great moral lesson about family and faith in an entertaining way.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast, we’re sharing an Odyssey program called “Something Significant,” which features the character Trent DeWhite, who wants to do something big for God.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith June 13, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

My Last Interview with Dr. Tim Keller

The death last month of Dr. Tim Keller has left a void for many of us who appreciated this good man’s historic ministry.

As it turned out, I had the privilege of being one of the last people to interview Tim, just outside his apartment on Roosevelt Island in New York City. We talked about his book on forgiveness: Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?

As I’ve recently written, forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith June 7, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are Your Five Core Needs Being Met

To experience wholeness, five desires of our hearts must be met:

Security. Who can I trust?

Identity. Who am I?

Belonging. Who wants me?

Purpose. Why am I alive?

Competence. What do I do well?

Each of those are listed in their correct order, by the way. If you feel secure, you’re more likely to discover the deepest passions and strengths of your identity. Out of those, you’ll discover your purpose and develop competence.

Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith May 30, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Understanding the Goodness of God’s Word

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast with our guest author Wendy Speake, “Understanding the Goodness of God’s Word,” we’re discussing the topic of “feasting.” Not on food but on Scripture.

She’s written a great book called The 40-Day Feast: Taste and See the Goodness of God’s Word about how to ingest and savor the Bible and understand God more deeply.

The idea of feasting originated in the Garden of Eden. Before God made humans, he created the food to sustain them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith May 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura