Posts by Jim Oesterwind
A Worthy Walk – Part 3
Jim Oesterwind Part 1 ♦ Part 2 “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who…
Read MoreA Worthy Walk – Part 2
Jim Oesterwind Part 1 is here. “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls…
Read MoreA Worthy Walk – Part 1
Jim Oesterwind We live at a time when we need more and better examples to follow. Pure, resolute, focused, and fervent men and women who serve God with sincerity and self-denial are hard to come by. Paul was such an example. Those who knew him attested to such a life. God Himself also affirmed Paul’s…
Read MoreHolding Fast
Jim Oesterwind Hebrews 10.23-25 As a pastor, I’ve often thought that church would go so much better on Sundays if certain people stayed away. Most notably, people who feel guilty if they miss, people who feel pressured to be there, and people who go just because they have always attended. I’m convinced that these three…
Read MoreThe Testimony of Your Conscience
Jim Oesterwind No matter what you do, there will be people in your life that will use it to complain against you. You might hear about it indirectly, but sometimes it is very direct. Paul had a lot of enemies in the church at Corinth. They were very powerful and caused a lot of hurt.…
Read MoreCultivating a Life of Faith: A Man of Intolerance (Pt 9)
Jim Oesterwind Genesis 19.1-38 City officials in Couer d’Alene, Idaho passed an ordinance banning discrimination (including sexual orientation) in places of public accommodation. Those who violate the ordinance are faced with astronomical fines and jail time. Donald and Evelyn Knap are ordained ministers who run a for-profit business called The Hitching Post. The city ordinance…
Read MoreCultivating a Life of Faith (8): A Man of Intimacy
Jim Oesterwind Genesis 18.1-33 John Davis writes of his encounter with a setting very similar to the one we find in Genesis 18: As we approached the crest of the hill in the 110-degree heat, we saw the most welcome sight of the afternoon, the little black tent of our Bedouin friend, Muhammad Radin. That…
Read MoreMy Strong Refuge
Jim Oesterwind Psalm 71.3 “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually” (Psalm 71.3). Shame, escape, the plea for deliverance, refuge, rock, and fortress are all very clear indicators in this psalm. If we linger over these words, they help us to understand the background of this Psalm. All these definitive descriptors and…
Read MoreCultivating a Life of Faith (7): A Man of Daily Commitment
Jim Oesterwind Genesis 17.1-27 Our failures and setbacks in the Christian life may be reduced to this one sentence: We forget who God is and what He is able to do when it comes to keeping His promises. Genesis 17 is yet another reaffirmation of the formal covenant cut in Genesis 15 and first introduced…
Read MoreCultivating Faith: A Man of Conviction (Pt 6)
Jim Oesterwind Genesis 16.1-16 The descendants of Abraham would number as the stars are numbered in the heaven (Genesis 15). God is gracious to reveal that Abraham’s future descendants would one day come out of Egypt after about 400 years of affliction with great possessions, great numbers, and a great God. While God accomplished much…
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