In Defense of the Christian Faith

In honor of Veteran's Day, Chad Williams, a former Navy SEAL, is offering his book, SEAL of God  (ebook format),   FREE of charge on amazon ! You may remember that I did a review of this book a few months back. It is an excellent read, and I highly recommend that you go download yourself copy. You can read my full review of the book here . And if you want a taste of what the book is about, you can listen to this interview with Chad done by The Poached Egg .

I first learned of Chad Williams when I watched him debate an atheist during one of his street preaching events. Later, I found him through Ray Comfort’s ministry; he was always the one who would bring up the apologetics-related topics on their show, On The Box . Needless-to-say, I loved it! So when I heard that he was writing a book, I knew I had to read it. That book, SEAL of God , is an excellent read. It is the testimony of former Navy SEAL, Chad Williams, chronicling his life from before he met Christ to his unexpected encounter with Him, and his experiences in BUD/S SEAL training. The book begins with stories from Chad’s “wild” side in his younger years. Always the adventure seeker, Chad chased every dream he had, and he was always in search of the next “thrill.” It was obvious that he was searching for something, though at the time, he didn’t know what that was. He finally decided that becoming a SEAL was the way to fill the void. A former Navy SEAL, Scott Helvenston, to...

When I first heard that October Baby was coming to theaters, I knew it was a movie that I had to see. But if you’re like me, and were unable to make it to the theater to see it, you will be happy to know that release date for the DVD is September 11. Recently, I finally had the chance to watch this highly anticipated film, and here are my thoughts… The story behind October Baby is loosely based on the true story of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen . It is the story of nineteen-year-old Hannah Lawson who finds out that her personal struggles and physical sickness are the result of being an abortion survivor. Here is the film’s synopsis: As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience. After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah's difficult birth. This revelation is nothin...

I first heard about Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced "cha-vi-jin") a few year ago when I was introduced to the, then, new pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian church ; I had been watching their show "The Coral Ridge Hour" (now "Truth In Action Ministries") every Saturday night and I enjoyed hearing what founder Dr. D. James Kennedy had to say. I particularly enjoyed his take on Christian apologetics. When Dr. Kennedy passed away, I heard that there was a new pastor coming in, but that there was some schism in the church over his "newer" approach to things as he began to merge his church with Coral Ridge's. In the book "Jesus + Nothing = Everything," pastor Tullian takes you on his spiritual journey into the Word of God; the book is an exposé of the book of Colossians, the portion of the Bible that God used to set this pastor free from the bondage that threatened to keep him hostage during that troubling time in his life. The ma...

For today's Inspiring Story on this Friday apologetics finds weekend, I am posting Lee Strobel's testimony. There have been some skeptics who claim that Lee is in it for the money, but when you consider his lifestyle prior to his conversion to Christianity and his background as a journalist, it is pretty easy to tell that this guy is genuine. I highly recommend his "Case" books (and in my opinion, he certainly makes a good "case" for Christianity). Lee has also recently come out with a new book titled "The Ambition: A Novel." You can visit his website here .

Welcome to this weeks Inspiring Story, where every other week, the DCF blog shares a story to inspire you in your walk with God. Today, I wanted to present a fascinating story of a man who was raised from the dead. In today's world, many atheists claim that because no one has every risen from the dead, the Resurrection of Jesus did not really happen. Of course, they claim that if evidence of people being raised from the dead were documented and presented to them, they would believe it (and we do have that in the four Gospel accounts, by the way).  Since we are approaching Easter --the day when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus -- that objection may be raised by someone you know. Therefore, I wanted to share the story of Daniel -- a documentary on one man who was miraculously raised from the dead. This is actually a six part documentary on his story, so I strongly advise that you go here to watch the whole thing . Please do not let the time allotment stop you from ...

Welcome to another addition of Inspiring Story, where the goal is to provide you with a testimony that will encourage you, build up your faith, and demonstrate the power of God. He does exist, and He makes it perfectly clear, many times in our day-to-day lives. Today, I would like to share a few testimonies that I came across randomly (actually, that's not true -- I believe that the Lord led me to them as I was searching for a story this week), but they blessed me so much that I just had to share with my readers. This is the testimony of what God is doing through Heidi Baker and her ministry, Iris Ministries, in Mosambique, Africa. The first, is an interview that CBN did with Heidi. I was deeply encouraged by this one... And here is an amazing testimony of blind eyes seeing: "...One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.... Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and [yet] he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heare...

It's about time this blog saw another Inspiring Story . (Last time, I missed it due to a day trip I took to PA; so I decided to wait until the next time it rolled around to post...) Here is a story that I saw a while back on CBN, and  I've been wanting to share it for a while. This is the amazing testimony of Clint and Penny Bragg and the one thing that nearly tore their marriage apart -- for 11 years. I hope you all enjoy! Join me March 19-21 for the next installment of Inspiring Story, sharing testimonies of God's faithfulness through which He reveals Himself to us on a daily basis.

I read this story yesterday at the Baptist Press and I just had to share it for today's Inspiring Story. The names have been changed (by the authors) for privacy and protection. Enjoy! --------  No one notices the young Chinese woman silently crying in the back pew. It's the only place she finds solace from her deep depression and fear of death. She's not even sure why she sits in this church every afternoon; her communist education and Buddhist religion teach against a belief in God. Yet something keeps drawing Lily Wang here. She pulls a Bible from the pew. It's not in her native Mandarin, but she flips it open anyway. She learned to read a little Thai after moving to Thailand a few years ago to teach school, but she hasn't learned enough to really understand this. So many questions cloud her mind that she finally musters enough courage to speak to a man carrying the same book. He brushes past the petite woman and goes about his business. The rejection ...

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade case which legalized abortion in America. I have never really talked about abortion on this blog before, but today, I make an exception. I believe that abortion is wrong; the Bible says that life is precious -- it is sacred. Too many women have been lied to when they walk into an abortion clinic. They are told that it is just a harmless procedure, and that "it's just a fetus." Excuse me, but "fetus" is Latin for "baby"; yet abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood are making millions of American tax dollars off of this lie! But often, the women who enter such clinics are scared, and they think that having an abortion will alleviate all of their problems. However, the psychological effects of such an action are enormous, as any woman who has experienced an abortion will tell you. That being said, I also believe that if any woman reading this has had an abortion (or is contemplating having one), there...

It's time for another Inspiring Story. This week, I'd like to share Saad's story. "Saad" is a fifteen-year-old Pakistani who now resides in Florida. For the first few years of his life, he resided in Pakistan -- a predominately Muslim country -- with his Muslim family, until their move to the United States in 1997. The next decade brought with it many changes such as adjusting to American society, making new friends, and watching his mother battle breast cancer. All of these things prompted various emotions and questions that Saad had no answers for. April 16, 2010 is a day that Saad will never forget. He describes it as follows: The world was marked between AD and BC, and now it would mark on April 16th, the most important day of my life. I wonder if I hadn't done anything on that day, would my life be as crazy as it is now? Who knows? Anyways, it was a chat on Facebook, and I just thought I'd talk to Robert for a second. I wish I could have copy and ...

It's time for another Inspiring Story everyone! Feel free to share your stories using the linky tool below. I found today's story when I was looking for the story behind a beautiful, yet powerful hymn. Here is what I found: -------------------- "Take My Life": Frances Ridley Havergal   by Amos R. Wells Frances Ridley Havergal wrote so many helpful books, and lived a life so earnest and devoted, that she has had a very deep influence over the hearts of Christians. Of all her poems, the one before us meant the most to her, and has meant the most to the world. Miss Havergal was born in Astley, England, December 14, 1836. Her father was an Episcopal clergyman, a skilful composer of music, and himself a hymn-writer. She was baptized by another hymn writer, Rev. John Cawood, who wrote "Hark! what mean those holy voices?" She became also a brilliant singer and piano-player, and a glittering career in society was open before her. But she considered all he...

The other day, I listened to an amazing audio of Holly Ordway and Steven Notman, two former atheists, sharing their testimony of their journeys out of atheism. The audio is approximately 50 minutes, but if you want to quick scoop, you can watch this video. I also recommend that you check out their blogs - Holly's is here , and Steven's is here .

Okay, so I know that I'm a bit late in putting this up, but I promised you all that I was going to have a special Inspiring Story for Thanksgiving. I went through many videos, trying to find just the perfect one, and while it isn't specifically "thanksgiving-ish," I wanted to post it for you all because it is very inspiring. It's a testimony by a Latin Soul Artist named Martin Cantu. The quality isn't the greatest, but the story is awesome! Enjoy! The thought that comes to mind when I hear testimonies like these is just how thankful I am to God for all that He is doing around the world. Sometimes, we get stuck in "our own little worlds," and we fail to see that other people have real needs, too. God is filling that need in amazing ways... let's be the tool -- like Joyce was in this case --through which He does it! Happy Thanksgiving! Do you have a story that you'd like to share? Leave me a comment or link up here: Powered by Linky Too...

Today, I'd like to share a message by Mark Cahill that I found to be very inspiring, yet challenging to us as Christians. It's called "Lukewarm - NO MORE!" It is an hour long, but I encourage you to at least listen while you do other things if you can't give it your undivided attention; it will be an hour well spent! Special thanks to Alice for pointing me to it! :)

I almost forgot... It's time for another Inspiring Story * . This one comes from Mini Missions Magazine . Enjoy! ----------- During the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in 1960, missionaries Matt and Lora Higgens were returning one night to Nairobi through the heart of Mau Mau territory, where Kenyans and missionaries alike had been killed and dismembered. Seventeen miles outside of Nairobi their Land Rover stopped. Higgens tried to repair the car in the dark, but could not restart it. They spent the night in the car, but claimed Psalm 4:8: "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." In the morning they were able to repair the car. A few weeks later the Higgenses returned to America on furlough. They reported that the night before they left Nairobi, a local pastor had visited them. He told how a member of the Mau Mau had confessed that he and three others had crept up to the car to kill the Higgenses, but when they saw the sixteen m...

A few months ago, I received a free book entitled Clay In the Potter’s Hand , courtesy of Christian Aid . This book details the life of Dorothy Sun, a Chinese Christian in Communist China during the reign of Mao Tzedong. It chronicles her life before, during, and after the Communist takeover of China. I found Dorothy’s autobiography to be a remarkable account of what life is like for Christians in China – then, and now. The book is divided into three parts. In Part one, entitled “Chosen,” Dorothy talks about how God chose her and how her parents influenced her. Dorothy was born to devout Christians David Chang and Miriam Nieh. Her father served in various diplomatic capacities; initiated a Christian newspaper; and founded Self-Governing, Self-Supporting, and Self-Propagating Indigenous Evangelism in China (also known as Three-Self), enabling him to be involved in the indigenous house church movement in China. He also wrote a book on the Christian meanings of the Chinese character...

Well, it's time for another Inspiring Story! If you would like to participate in this meme, check the rules and details , and be sure to link up! This week, I'd like to share another testimony from The Jesus Film Project... God is certainly using that ministry in amazing ways. This one comes from the August newsletter. God Reveals Himself to an Arab man Tameem, as I will call him, sensed that something was deeply wrong. He lived in a closed nation, wasn't satisfied spiritually, and could not find peace. Thus began his search for God. First, he went to his local religous leader, asking: "Who is the true God? How can I find peace?" The leader replied, "I cannot help you. To know the secrets of our religion you must first become a 'monk' like me." Tameem went to his community's house of prayer where he bowed on the floor and prayed earnestly. He felt and experienced nothing. His subsequent attempts to find peace all failed. That's w...

This week for Something Beautiful , I wanted to talk about something, or rather, someone, who is very special to me. I have previously talked about creationist Dr. Kent Hovind, highlighting what a man of God he is and what a great work that he is doing for the Lord. For those of you who don't know, Dr. Hovind is a young-earth creationist who teaches the truth about creation and exposes the lies of evolution. You can find out more about him and his ministry here . (For those of you who hold a grudge against him, please see my comment policy above and disclaimer here .) My post has gained quite a bit of attention ; so today, I'd like to show you some of the work of Creation Science Evangelism in action. As many of you know, I recently received a comment from Paul Dublin, Dr. Hovind's son-in-law. I wanted to share it, because I believe it reflects the heart behind their ministry, Creation Science Evangelism Good afternoon, my name is Paul Dublin. I am the son in law to...

Welcome to the Inspiring Story link party! If this is your first time participating, be sure to check out the rules and detail for this meme here . To kick off the now bi-weekly meme, I would like to share an amazing story that I found via Mini Missions Magazine . This is a testimony from P.G. Vargis, of Indian Evangelical Team . I found it to be truly inspiring, and it also poses quite a challenge to us as Christians. Be sure to let me know what you think! ------------ THE TRAIN CAME BACK In the early 70’s when we were pioneer missionaries in Katra, in the Himalayan Mountains of Kashmir it was a hard and difficult life, often filled with hunger and poverty. One day I was returning to Katra with an orphan boy. Our train arrived in Delhi railway station at about 3:00 PM and I was to catch the train (Jhelum Express) to Jammu from Delhi at 9:00 PM, and then go by bus from Jammu to Katra, our mission station. After the train arrived in Delhi , I took things easy since there ...