Daly Focus Blog
Jesus is your redeemer.
I hope you believe that.
Christians say that they do. That is what good Christian theology teaches, after all. But do we believe it?
Let’s face it, some days the hill we’re climbing can seem so steep we lose hope that we can survive to the top. Life is hard. Jesus told us it would be. In John 16:33 says, “In this world, you will have trouble.” But he also offered hope to the suffering through His suffering on the cross.
On today’s Focus on the Family Broadcast we’re hearing from Laurie Coombs, who has an amazing story of forgiveness.
Luke 6:27-28 says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you” (ESV). For me, and for many of you, that verse is one of the most convicting in all of Scripture. It’s hard to live up to God’s standard in this area. In fact, without His Spirit and character enabling you, I’d say it’s impossible to achieve that depth of forgiveness.
The agonizing 18-day ordeal and successful 3-day rescue of 12 school-age boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has captivated the world’s attention. In fact, there is news out today that corporate executives are already negotiating book and movie rights to the story. You can be sure that both will be blockbusters, maybe even by next summer.
Throughout the nearly three-week ordeal, both social and traditional media were replete with calls for prayer – for the boys, their coach and the Navy Seals who ultimately coordinated and assisted in their dramatic rescue.
In set 16 of the That the World May Know series, titled “Cultures in Conflict,” Bible teacher Ray Vander Laan leads viewers on a journey with the Apostle Paul as he preaches in Athens, Greece on Mars Hill and founds the church in Corinth.
Along the way, Ray highlights Paul’s tremendous ability to share God’s truth in a way the culture of his day could understand.
In Corinth, for example, one of the most important structures was a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing.
Week ending July 3rd:
Growing Kids with Character (by Hettie Brittz)
Parenting Your Powerful Child (by Kevin Leman)
Happily Ever After (by Ginger Kolbaba)
Unoffendable (by Brant Hansen)
Kingdom Marriage (by Tony Evans)
Doing Good Is Simple (by Chris Marlow)
Raising Kingdom Kids (by Tony Evans)
Making Happy (by Les & Leslie Parrott)
Through the Eyes of a Lion (by Levi Lusko)
The Children’s Illustrated Bible (by Selina Hastings)
ESV Economy Bible
A Lifelong Love (by Gary Thomas)
Miracle in Shreveport (by David & Jason Benham)
Enjoy!
There are 150 million orphans in the world.
Every six seconds a child dies because they don’t have access to food or water.
What are you going to do about it?
That’s a daunting question, isn’t it? The scale of poverty in the world is so overwhelming that we feel paralyzed … and do nothing.
Chris Marlow is a former pastor who founded the organization Help One Now, a ministry that helps local leaders care for orphans and vulnerable families and works to break the cycle of extreme poverty in places like Haiti, Peru, and Africa.
Luis Palau is one of the most well-known evangelists in the world. And yet, for many years, while he stood in front of stadiums of people and witnessed thousands respond to his call to receive Jesus, his own heart was aching for his son, Andrew, who had turned away from God.
Luis and his wife, Patricia, saw him moving in the wrong direction, and they did everything within their power to guide him back. But there came a point, Andrew says, “where I had wandered so far away from God that all they could do was have faith.
Do the headlines and circumstances of the world sometimes get you down? Do they irritate and frustrate you? From the border debate to the ongoing political wrangling on various other issues, we exasperate easily, don’t we?
My friend Dr. Tim Keller, the former senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, once preached a sermon on “The Christian’s Happiness.” He used Romans 8:28-30 as the basis for his message.
I think his three main takeaway points will encourage anyone regardless of where they find themselves emotionally.
Why are we so easily offended?
That’s even a problem for Christians who believe in the fruit of the Spirit. Why do we get so upset about the guy that cuts us off on the highway? Why are we so easily irritated when something doesn’t go our way, or when we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve? And why do we deserve something in the first place?
There are different levels of anger. Sometimes it’s the result of feeling threatened.
My dad had a bad habit of breaking his promises. So when I was 11, and our trip to a Dodgers baseball game almost fell through, I thought for sure it would be just one more disappointment in a long line of them.
We were running late that day, and we just barely missed the bus to the stadium. Honestly, I figured my dad would do what he had always done in circumstances like that: offer a weak apology and take us home.
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.
