Posts Tagged ‘Growth’
Holding 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 MoreRevitalizing Personal Worship
Through Quieting the Noisy Soul Jim Berg Shawna can’t seem to “click off” at nights, and her mind races nonstop replaying the events of the day. Fran was released from another job because of low productivity. She obsesses about cleanliness and orderliness to such a degree that she can never finish a job. Bob just…
Read MoreSweet Fruit From A Thorny Tree
Charles Spurgeon At times when our heavenly Father weighs out to us a portion of wormwood and gall in the form of bloody pain, we very naturally ask the reason why. Human nature at times asks the question in petulance and gets no answer. Faith asks with bated breath and gains a gracious reply. Our…
Read MoreReading FrontLine
Don Johnson As readers of our site are aware, one of the ministries of the FBFI is our bimonthly publication, FrontLine magazine. We regularly post from its archives here on Proclaim & Defend. We hope these articles are a blessing to you in your spiritual life. In today’s post, I’d like to say a word…
Read MoreThe Growing Christian
William Edward Biederwolf If you are sighing today for the ‘‘joy which once you knew when first you found the Lord,” it can only be because you have not been a growing Christian. Conversion is just the beginning of what God can do for a human soul. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they…
Read MoreAnemia in Fundamentalism
John Brock Fundamental Christian colleges are challenged with what seems to be an increasing trend in carnality and worldliness in the current generation. Historically the manifestations of carnality were revealed in superficial worldly conformity (immodesty, fleshly music, or careless social behavior). Such manifestations presented challenges, but the environment of many of the fundamental Christian colleges…
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 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 (5): A Man of Patience
Jim Oesterwind Genesis 15.1-21 Have you ever struggled with what you know to be the promise of God, but it doesn’t seem to be a present reality? As Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. said, “No doubt the trouble is with you!” God provided Abraham with a great promise in Genesis 12, but he was struggling with…
Read MoreCultivating Faith (4): A Man of Courage (Genesis 14.1-16)
Jim Oesterwind The Courage of a Rescuer (Genesis 14.1-16) Every Adventure Story Has a Villain (14.1-11) Every good adventure story has a villain, a victim, and the courage of a victor. There is also a catalyst, circumstance and/or event that sets everything in motion. Look beyond the names that are difficult to pronounce in the…
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