Daly Focus Blog
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.
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.
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.
New York magazine once described Tim Keller’s founding of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City as “close to a theological suicide mission” for having the audacity “to create a strictly conservative Christian church in the heart of Sodom.”
Only Tim Keller wasn’t eager for the assignment. In fact, he turned down the invitation and attempted to recruit two other pastors for the church plant, which was born out of a wildly successful dinner ministry hosted by Nancy DeMoss, widow of Art DeMoss, a mail-order insurance mogul.
To witness for Christ, each of us must cross what Pastor Rico Tice calls our “pain line.”
That’s the barrier that keeps us from sharing about Jesus because:
We don’t know what to say.
We don’t feel we’re “good enough” to adequately represent Christianity.
We fear rejection.
We’re avoiding pain.
My wife, Jean, is the only Christian among her four siblings. When her mom passed away, Jean called for a family conference. Everybody sat down in the living room, and Jean went through a detailed explanation of the Gospel and shared what her faith meant to her.
Dr. Tim Keller’s death today marks the close of a remarkable personal ministry of a good man who lived faithfully, tirelessly, and creatively for the Lord.
His last words to his beloved wife Kathy should inspire and convict every Christian believer. According to his son Michael, as he lay dying, Tim said, “There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.” He then kissed Kathy’s forehead, laid back down – and went to Glory.
Even if you consider yourself an atheist, protecting religious freedom is still in your best interest because religious freedom is foundational to every other freedom you enjoy.
Among the freedoms our forefathers protected in the Constitution, religious freedom is first on the list. The freedom to worship – or not to worship – is ours simply because we exist. It is given to us by our Creator – that is, God himself.
That’s an important detail because if a freedom is given to us by the government then the government can also take it away.
Has reality crushed your dreams yet?
It will, you know.
Not all of them, of course. But enough. Maybe you never had children, the career you hoped for, the marriage you dreamed of, or you never attained certain goals. We all have our lists.
Author Chrystal Evans Hurst understands that struggle. Like you and me, she’s also walked the road of discontentment. In college, she didn’t handle her new-found adult freedom very well and became a teenage mom.
For my latest podcast out this week, I sat down with bestselling author and thought leader, Arthur Brooks. Arthur is president emeritus of the American Enterprise Institute.
For over an hour, we discussed a variety of topics centered around a popular topic of worldly conversation:
Happiness.
When I think of the subject matter, I think about an unforgettable trip I took to Jakarta, Indonesia, many years ago for a speaking engagement. If you’ve never been there, it has some of the worst smog of any city in the world.
According to a World Health Organization bulletin, more than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015.
Author Dr. Gregory Jantz can personally relate to those who suffer from depression. Not only is he founder of The Center: A Place of Hope, a clinic for treating depression and other mental health issues, but he has also experienced depression himself.
At one time, he struggled to get out of bed in the morning, and life seemed dull and hopeless.
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.
