Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast

A pastor once called in sick on Sunday morning so he could play golf. Standing on a long par 4, he hit the ball like never before. It soared through the air and dropped right into the cup for a hole-in-one. Peter looked down from heaven and said, “Lord, are you going to let him get away with this?” The Lord smiled and said, “Who’s he going to tell?” That’s funny until you look at what’s actually h...

I like stories. Just about the time I feel like I’ve read or seen every story, I come across another one. And this is one of the most fascinating stories I’ve ever come across—a true story about a man named C.D. “Bigboy” Blaylock, a giant of a man, 6 feet 6 inches tall, and a boxer at Louisiana State University in the early 1930s. Facing a stocky opponent from Mississippi State, he let loose with...

When world-renowned author Sir Walter Scott lay on his deathbed, he asked his son-in-law to bring him “the” book from his massive library. “Which book?” his son-in-law asked. Scott replied, “Son, there is only one book!” He meant the Bible, the most-read book in the world, with 100 million copies sold annually. Of its 31,103 verses, one stands above all others, and it’s John 3:16. Atheists, agnost...

The Christmas story never grows old. From an angel announcing to teenage Mary that she’d become pregnant with the Son of God to an angel telling Joseph he’d have a son but not by him, you’re hooked. Then myriad angels announce Jesus’ birth to minimum-wage shepherds, while great men travel 715 miles not just to see a baby, but to worship Him. The Gospels show the human perspective, but what about G...

When “Jesus Christ Superstar” debuted on Broadway in 1971, it became one of the most successful musicals on Broadway, grossing over $240 million since its inception. But Mary Magdalene sings this interesting line: “He’s a man, He’s just a man.” That’s exactly what most Americans believe. A 2020 study found that 52% of U.S. adults say Jesus was just a great teacher and nothing more. But if Jesus wa...

Which birthday is celebrated by more than two billion people in 160 countries, and generates nearly $900 billion in annual revenue? You guessed it—Jesus’! Still, despite the uniqueness of Jesus’ birthday celebration, and though nine out of ten people celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday, only one-third celebrate it as a spiritual holy day. They don’t yet realize that the real reason we celebr...

What do you think is the one ingredient that can transform an ordinary marriage into an extraordinary one? McDonald’s has its Big Mac sauce, Shake Shack has its Shack sauce, and even What-A-Burger guards its spicy ketchup recipe. These “secret sauces” give each restaurant its competitive edge. But there’s also a secret sauce to marriage that isn’t secret at all. It’s found in the word love. Now, t...

Ever wondered the secret to marriages that last 60 years? I heard about an elderly couple celebrating their diamond anniversary who shared their story: On their honeymoon at the Grand Canyon, the wife’s mule stumbled, and she said calmly to the animal, “That’s once.” When it stumbled again, she said, “That’s twice.” The third time, she got off and shot the mule right between the eyes. When her hus...

I heard a story about a daughter who wrote her dad about marrying someone she met online: “We met on eHarmony, became friends on Facebook, had long chats on WhatsApp. He proposed on Zoom.” Her dad replied, “I suggest you two get married on X, have fun on Tango, buy your kids on Amazon, and, when you get fed up with this new husband, just sell him on eBay.” There are lots of views today on what mar...

What if finding the right person to marry isn’t actually the secret to a happy marriage? Everyone wants a fairy-tale marriage, but it’s a tragedy when fairy tales turn into horror stories because we misplace our expectations. The real problem is this: Every person wanting to get married is looking for the right person, but it will do you no good to find the right person if you are not the right pe...

You may remember Frank Sinatra’s classic hit about love and marriage going together. Now, that may have been true 70 years ago, but it’s not the same today. In 1960, 59% of adults ages 18 to 29 were married compared to only 20% today. It seems our culture has become one of “hook up, shack up, and break up.” As a result, many think doing a series on marriage is a fool’s errand. But from the very be...

The most nervous I have ever been in my life was the day I was about to say the two words that I knew would change everything. Looking into the eyes of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, having known her only six months, I said, “I do.” At that moment, the word “marriage” took on a whole different meaning, from the hypothetical to the actual, from the imagined to the real, and from the abstra...

What if the most brilliant mind of the 20th century was completely wrong about the most important question in life? Albert Einstein was named “Person of the Century” by Time Magazine, and his influence is everywhere you look today— from the atomic bomb to your smartphone. But as brilliant as he was in scientific theory, he unfortunately missed it when it came to spiritual theology. Even though Ein...

Little six-year-old Nick loved church, loved the Bible, and loved Jesus. One day, his mother was walking by his bedroom and saw her son reading the Bible to the cat. She thought to herself, “Isn’t that sweet?” Well, about an hour later, she heard this terrible racket outside. She ran out the door and saw Nick trying to dunk the cat in a bucket of water. She asked, “Nick, what are you doing?!” He s...

Did you know that nearly 85% of Americans struggle with low self-esteem? I have been part of that statistic my whole life. Low self-esteem affects how productive we are at work and how we relate at home. It can even lead to violent behavior or suicide. In my years as a pastor, I’ve discovered that the root cause often lies in the trap of comparison: measuring ourselves against others who appear be...

A lady driving from Washington, DC, to Richmond had a flat tire and sat stranded by the roadside praying for help. Two cars passed by—one with a “Smile, God Loves You!” bumper sticker, the other reading “Honk If You Love Jesus!”—but both drivers moved to the far lane without stopping. Then a man in an old pickup with no bumper sticker pulled over, changed her tire, and refused payment, saying he h...

I once read this in an article in Reader’s Digest: “Primates, like bonobos, mountain gorillas and chimps often follow confrontations with friendly behavior like embracing or kissing…The only species that has so far failed to show outward signs of reconciliation is the domestic cat.”1 Unfortunately, there are more than a few cats in the church today. When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should...

I remember visiting Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta and remember the story of an American tourist who once witnessed her tenderly dressing a leper’s wounds. After a moment, he said, “Sister Teresa, I wouldn’t do what you’re doing for $10 million!” She replied, “My friend, neither would I. Neither would I!” Mother Teresa wasn’t motivated by money but by compassion. She modeled the he...

Have you ever noticed that two people can look at the same thing but see completely different things? In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy and Charlie Brown are cloud gazing when Lucy confidently identifies Mount Rushmore, Michael Jordan dunking a basketball, the state of Hawaii, and the Magic Kingdom. When she asks Charlie Brown what he sees, he says, “Well, I was going to say I saw a horsey and a du...

I remember it like yesterday: Professor Joe Master was the most intimidating instructor I ever encountered during my accounting degree. He’d call on you, and you’d better be ready. At one point, for six weeks, I was sicker than a dog. With temperatures over 102 (and eventually discovering I had pneumonia), I went to class every week, dreading whether Mr. Master would get me up in front of the clas...

What if God’s will for your life could be summed up in one word? In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul spells it out succinctly: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified ….” But what does it actually mean to be “sanctified”? In our “Lost in Translation” series, we’re dealing with big biblical words that many of us struggle to understand and apply. Sanctification is one of the most important words in...

Mike used to avoid me at neighborhood parties because he wasn’t interested in spiritual things. But when Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I visited him and shared the Gospel, and he accepted Christ. Everything about Mike radically changed from that day. If you asked what happened to him, I could tell you in one word: conversion. But what in the world is conversion? It’s a term you had be...

What if understanding one biblical word could change everything about your relationship with God? In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy fears a thunderstorm might flood the world, but Linus reassures her by explaining God’s promise to Noah and the rainbow as a guarantee. Lucy says Linus has really reassured her, and Linus says, “Sound theology has a way of doing that.” Indeed, the church desperately ne...

Have you ever wondered why money is such a persistent problem for so many of us? Both national and personal debt are at an all-time high, and most Americans don’t have reserve funds to cover a $400 emergency. Financial experts believe the solution is teaching people how to manage money, but I believe the real problem runs much deeper. After 45 years of working with all kinds of people, I’ve witnes...

I'm sure you know the running joke about fishermen exaggerating the size of their catch. But in 1959, Alfred Dean didn’t need to exaggerate when he caught a 2,664-pound great white shark in Australia, the largest fish ever caught in history. The Bible tells us about an even more unbelievable story, but in reverse—the story of a fish that caught a man. Jonah’s encounter with the great fish would ma...