Utah's Hope

Dr. Stanley uses the life of Saul to illustrate what happens when we choose to ignore God and go our own way.

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Today, we address the challenges that military families go through. Heather Gray Blalock joins Jim Daly to share about how she and her kids got through her husband's passing, after he died in combat. Then, Danny and John will offer encouragement to military families with children.

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Chad Williams shares his experience of training to become a Navy SEAL, only to have his mentor killed in the line of duty in Iraq. When Chad graduated the incredibly grueling SEAL training, he was faced with depression and emptiness as he contemplated his future, and became lost in drunkenness. Hear how he found a new lease on life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

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When life moves quickly, it’s easy to make financial decisions on the fly and lose sight of the habits that build long-term faithfulness. God, however, calls us not to hurried living but wise stewardship. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rob West talks about how to stay financially faithful even in a full and demanding season of life. Then, it’s on to your calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live . . . biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. That’s weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.

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Bird's Singing, Shame, Jesus-Good Life, Honorary Doctorate


BONUS CONTENT: Love Your Enemies

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"God wants to change us. It's about who we're becoming."

"We're always avoiding the big, good questions."

"This day is a miracle."

Corrie ten Boom once said, “If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.”

That’s a sobering thought, especially in a world where many of us feel like life is moving faster than we can keep up. Deadlines, family responsibilities, bills, errands, emails, appointments, and unexpected needs can make every day feel like a sprint. And when life moves that fast, it’s easy to make financial decisions on the fly.

We don’t always neglect stewardship out of carelessness. Sometimes, we neglect it because we’re tired. We stop paying attention. We spend reactively instead of prayerfully. We put off conversations we need to have. We ignore creeping lifestyle inflation. We delay generosity until things “settle down.”

Before long, the pace of life begins shaping our financial decisions more than the wisdom of God does.

Busyness can be more spiritually dangerous than it first appears because it doesn’t always oppose faithfulness with rebellion. Sometimes it opposes faithfulness with distraction.

Jesus warned about this in Luke 8, when He described the seed that fell among the thorns. He said it was choked by “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14). In other words, ordinary life can become so crowded that it chokes out what truly matters.

We can spend hours worrying, scrolling, comparing, impulse buying, chasing the next opportunity, or reacting to every headline while neglecting the simple habits that build faithful stewardship: planning, giving, saving, communicating, and trusting God.

Jesus highlights a similar tension in Luke 10. Martha is working hard, serving diligently, and doing good things. But Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening. Jesus gently says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:41–42).

Martha wasn’t doing something sinful. She was doing something useful. But even useful things can become disordered things when they crowd out what matters most. That applies to stewardship, too.

It’s possible to work hard, earn income, pay bills, and stay active, yet slowly lose sight of the heart of stewardship: trusting God, aligning our resources with His priorities, and handling money with wisdom and intentionality.

Stewardship is never just about transactions. It’s about worship.

Every dollar we earn, spend, save, or give becomes an opportunity to express what we believe about God. Do we trust Him? Do we believe He is our provider? Do we see money as ours to control—or His to manage?

That’s why financial faithfulness requires more than good intentions. It requires margin—not just margin in your bank account, but margin in your soul.

Dallas Willard once said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” That certainly has implications for our finances as well. Hurry can lead to impulse spending, neglected planning, avoidable debt, forgotten generosity, and anxiety-driven decisions. When our lives are hurried, our money often becomes hurried, too.

So what does it look like to remain financially faithful in a busy season?

Proverbs 27:23 says, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds.”

In an agrarian society, a person’s wealth was often tied up in flocks and herds. To know their condition meant slowing down enough to count them, care for them, and manage them wisely.

Today, your “flock” may be your bank account, budget, bills, giving plan, savings, or debt. Awareness is often the first step toward wisdom. You can’t faithfully steward what you never stop to notice.

If generosity, saving, debt reduction, or wise planning matter to you, don’t leave them to chance.

Put them on the calendar.

Stepdad: It can be a role full of landmines--and at the same time, a role vital and unsung. Author Gil Stuart offers ideas to do it wholeheartedly and all-in within the complexities of your blended family.

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