All posts tagged: Pressure

7 Tested Ways to develop Endurance

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For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ NLT Some of the greatest athletes of our time, never would have made it without a certain level of endurance. Not only physical, but also, as we have seen in recent years, mental toughness. Some of our heroes and heroes of faith would never have made it, had it not been for a certain level of tenacity, spiritual endurance developed along the way. Endurance is like a muscle.  It grows with a proper use of exercise or training and it shrinks for the lack of the same. Endurance is not only “the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity, but it is also the ability to improve. It is not a matter of if our faith will come under immense testing and trial, but a matter of when. During these times, there are seven thing we can do to keep our edge and win in the battle.  Look with …

How to resist and defeat Cultural Pressures

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We are exposed on every side to cultural pressures. Between the two temptations of escapism and conformism, the latter is more common—that is, accommodation to the prevailing culture. We are exposed to cultural pressures incompatible with the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which, nevertheless, are demanding from us a capitulation that we are not prepared to give. And if we do capitulate to the pressures of society around us, then we compromise our integrity, we blunt our testimony, and we suffocate our spiritual life. What are the pressures of our culture to which we are forbidden to conform? What are the contemporary trends which threaten to envelop and engulf the church and against which we need to be on guard? I have selected three. I’m sure there are many more we could discuss, but these three are very important. First there is the challenge of pluralism: the church is called to be a community of truth. Second there is the challenge of materialism: the church is called to be a community of pilgrimage. Third there is the challenge of moral relativism: the …

How life’s pressure affects Good Judgment

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Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 I am confident that every one of us know the story of how Abraham and Sarah were desperate to have children. Even though they had a promise from God there was always an inexplicable delayed either by God or some unforeseen circumstance. Like you and I, these giants of faith did the very same thing we do when we are under pressure. They decided to take matters into their own hands. I have seen it happen over and over – couples with a horrible marriage, people dealing with illness or the loss of a family member or friend – when people come under pressure they always try to take matters into their own hands. As we see with Abraham and Sarah – it never works – it always backfires. So the word of God proposes a different and sometimes difficult approach. As difficult as things might …