Jim Daly - ReFocus: Living a Life that Reflects Gods Heart

Living a Life that Reflects Gods Heart

JIM DALY WITH PAUL BATURA

To all past, present, and future heroes of the faith, who sacrifice in order to ensure that their hearts beat in sync with the heart of the One who came to show us the way our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

THE APOSTLE PAUL,
TITUS 3:1 7

The fall of the human race starts not with an action but with an attitude. Not with an act but with a sneer.

DR. TIMOTHY J. KELLER, THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO GOD (SERMON SERIES)

Christianity says that the trouble with men and women is in their heart, in their ultimate power of vision and understanding. It is not that they are partially wrong, they are all wrong; they are looking in the wrong direction, they are blinded at the most vital point. The organ that keeps them going is itself in trouble the heart. So our Lord puts this great emphasis upon first, and heart, and eye and this is just a pictorial way of saying that what the human race needs is not just to be improved a little bit here and there they need to be radically changed.

D. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES,
THE KINGDOM OF GOD

So let the reader who expects this book to be a political expos slam its covers shut right now. If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN,
THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO

Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We dont try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:12; 4:1 2 NLT

M Y EYES WERE FIXED ON THE FACES OF MY TWO SONS, THEIR eyes huge with wonder. Trent and Troy were getting their first look at the magnificent Mount Rushmore. I drank in this perfect scene my boys, ages nine and eleven, struck speechless by the immense white sculpted mountains honoring four of our nations great presidents. I had been anticipating this moment mile after mile, and now my heart swelled with gratitude gratitude for these two young men God had entrusted to Jean and me, gratitude for this great country, and gratitude to the God who had given me this moment.

My wife, Jean, and I had spent months planning this vacation and had driven our fifth wheel from Colorado Springs to the famed but desolate outpost in the scenic Black Hills of South Dakota. Even though I absolutely love my role at Focus, it was great after a particularly tough spring to finally get away from the rigorous office routine and reconnect with the boys at the start of their summer vacation. I had my smartphone in my pocket; I had made a conscious decision to stay away from work and had asked my assistant to refrain from calling me except for dire emergencies.

I moved from studying the faces of my sons to studying the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, contrasted against the crystal-clear blue sky that called my eyes heavenward.

And then my phone rang.

I looked down and recognized the number. It was the office calling, but given the remoteness of our location, the signal was weak. I attempted to answer it, only to quickly lose the call. After repeated attempts at reconnecting, I found a tiny spot where the phone held a signal. I had to almost stand on one leg and lean to one side in order to hear the caller. The news was disheartening.

Several months earlier, our Focus on the Family team had planned an event with TOMS. This corporation was founded on a novel concept: for every pair of TOMS shoes purchased, the company donates a pair to a needy child. When I first heard about what they were doing, I was intrigued. The goal isnt how much money you make but how much you help people, founder and CEO Blake Mycoskie told the New York Times in 2009. Impressive, I thought. Id love to learn more.

Blakes concept sparked an idea at Focus. We arranged to host a special event to bring attention to the work that Blake and his colleagues were doing. I believed that his story would inspire other Christians to act on their faith and help others in need. We wanted to highlight the great work of TOMS and tell our friends how they could join the mission of putting shoes on the feet of impoverished kids. We envisioned the possibility of giving away as many as a half million shoes through the program.

The night finally arrived, and I interviewed Blake in front of an audience of more than fifteen hundred guests on a summer evening in Southern California. As we left California, we were humbled by the success of the event and excited to see the response to the broadcast, which had yet to air across our radio network.

But now, standing in South Dakota, I was told that TOMS was no longer comfortable with their association with Focus. Blake had just posted a blog about Focus on the Family, and his words, read to me by our vice president of communications, Gary Schneeberger, saddened me. Earlier in the week, Blake and his company had been chastised and petitioned by homosexual advocates, demanding that he apologize for speaking at our event.

What did Blake say in his blog that incited such a strong reaction one week after the interview? He suggested that if he had known what we stood for as a ministry, he wouldnt have agreed to speak at our event. The topic was grist for the blogo-sphere, especially at sites promoting homosexual rights. I was most saddened by the level of vitriol heaped not only on Focus on the Family but also on Blake and his colleagues at TOMS by those with whom we have ideological disagreements.

A few days later, Blake and I talked on the phone. I greatly respect and appreciate him and understand the pressure exerted by people in his own organization to distance himself and TOMS from Focus. I tried my best to listen more than talk and didnt try to strong-arm him. Because we had already taped the program and had it in our possession, we had the ability to ignore Blakes wishes and air the program. In fact, given the brewing controversy, it would have generated significant publicity and ratings for Focus. But after talking with Blake, I agreed not to air the radio program. It grieved me to think of the great opportunity we had to help kids but because of the criticism of a vocal minority, we wouldnt be able to do so. Id hoped that our partnership with TOMS would be a positive experience of working with those in the business sector, yet our past efforts to be a voice of truth within our culture had alienated so many people that this opportunity to put shoes on the feet of children was squelched.