Jim Daly

Five Reasons Christian Students Should Participate in Day of Dialogue on April 14

If you ask one of the roughly 90 percent of school-aged children in the U.S. who attend public school how often they discuss sensitive topics like homosexuality, transgenderism and same-sex marriage in class, you might be surprised at how often they say it occurs.

Part of it can’t be avoided – these topics dominate the news and popular culture. But in many of our schools, the conversations are one-sided. Christian students who hold to a biblical view of sexuality often feel their perspective is shunned or disparaged.

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: homosexuality, promos, religious liberty

How to Find Common Spiritual Ground with Your Spouse

You and your spouse could probably easily count any number of ways in which you’re different from one another.

Maybe they talk too much – or not enough. One of you feels hot while the other is shivering cold. Or maybe one can’t leave early because the other is always running late.

Those sorts of dissimilarities are common. But spiritual preferences are a key area where couples often differ.

Many husbands and wives tend to expect more spiritual compatibility from each other than they should.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage

The Untold Story of Abortion

When Pat decided to have an abortion, she was convinced it was the right thing to do.

Her first marriage had ended a few years before as a teenager when her husband, also a teen, abandoned her, leaving her with a newborn son. She tried to pick up the broken pieces of her life by enrolling in college despite the responsibilities she carried as a single mom. As a student, she wrote articles for the National Organization for Women and wholeheartedly supported abortion as a woman’s right to choose.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, pro-life

Who is the Wisest Person You’ve Ever Known?

How would you define wisdom?

Merriam-Webster defines it as “accumulated philosophic or scientific learning” or the “ability to discern inner qualities and relationships.”

Yet, for Christians, wisdom is so much more.

It was Solomon who wrote that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

Just last month, Focus on the Family Board Member Rev. Dr. Ken Fentress (who is also the senior minister of the Montrose Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland) spoke to the staff about four types of wisdom the Bible teaches about, and how they translate in the workplace.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith

“God’s Not Dead 2” Inspired by Actual Court Cases

“God’s Not Dead 2,” which debuts this Friday, is the worthy sequel to 2014’s “God’s Not Dead,” one of the largest-grossing faith-based films in history.

Here’s the premise (You can read a more in-depth review of the movie on PluggedIn.com.):

High school history teacher Grace Wesley is asked a question about Jesus and His teachings by a student during class. Ms. Wesley, a devoted Christian, responds accordingly.

The fallout from Grace Wesley’s biblically-based answer is significant.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, pop culture, religious liberty

How to Teach Kids to Be Respectful

Teaching kids to be respectful isn’t always easy. Just when you think they’ve learned how they should behave in certain settings, they throw it all right out the window.

I’ll never forget the time my older son, Trent, did that. He was just a little guy at the time, maybe 4 or 5. I was out of town when my wife, Jean, called me almost in tears over Trent’s behavior. He had thrown a world class fit in the grocery line over a candy bar and refused to calm down.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, discipline, parenting

In Remembrance of Good Friday

Yesterday here at Focus, we enjoyed our Maundy Thursday chapel. It was a special time for our staff to come together and reflect on our Lord’s final hours before ascending Calvary to shed His blood on our behalf.

Today, our offices are closed in honor of the holy remembrance of Good Friday.

A few of my non-Christian readers may not understand what today represents. Even some Christians may not fully appreciate the deep, meaningful symbolism ascribed to Jesus and His sacrifice.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith

Three Ways to Teach Your Kids About God’s Grace and Good Behavior

A few weeks ago, I dedicated my blog to the subject of parenting with grace. It was based on a great conversation we had earlier this month with our broadcast guest Jeannie Cunnion, who explained the reasons why parents can’t offer their children grace if they haven’t experienced it themselves.

It was such helpful information, we recorded another program with Jeannie. This time she’ll help us rethink discipline strategies that strip our parenting of grace, rather than enhance it.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, discipline, parenting

When Holy Week & Terrorism Collide

Mobile phone video taken in the moments immediately following the terrorist attack in Brussels shows people running in a smoky airport terminal.

Dust settles on an empty stroller.

We watch a mother hug her young son, fear and worry in her eyes.

Sadly, scenes like what I’ve described above are becoming the new normal. Since June 2014, ISIS has carried out 75 attacks in 20 countries, killing at least 1,280 innocent people. While the majority of these attacks have occurred in the Middle East, ISIS is increasingly targeting the large cities and suburban areas of Europe and North America.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, news

How to Help a Friend in Trouble

Job’s friends have endured a lot of criticism through the centuries … and justifiably so.

I’m sure you recall that at the height of Job’s suffering they each, one by one, let loose a barrage of accusations about how Job’s pain and misfortune were all his fault.

Maybe they meant well. Maybe they thought they were offering Job solutions to the mysterious predicament overtaking him. “Who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, friendship