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In the Shadow of His Wings
Sunday, March 22, 2020He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. - Psalm 91:1-6 (ESV)
My parents’ neighbors have chickens. Over Christmas, my dad, my twin daughters and I would walk up the street, past the ditch, and into their yard to watch the spectacle of hens chasing one another, a rooster crowing out of turn, and my daughters gasping with delight. Like most animals, chickens have a way of protecting their young, and as a mother of two-year old twins, I can relate.
Jesus Says, “Repent of Sexual Immorality”
Saturday, March 21, 2020
"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.' - Revelation 2:12-17 (ESV)
The Book of Revelation opens with John’s encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. Instead of martyrdom, John the Apostle was placed in isolated exile on the island of Patmos.
Repenting of Losing Our First Love
Friday, March 20, 2020“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ - Revelation 2:1-7 (ESV)
In a time of uncertainty and crises, the Christian’s natural response is to seek God to make sure everything about his life is pleasing to Him. This is needed because through the years it can be easy for Christians to drift away from their full devotion to Jesus Christ. It’s striking that within a few years of the establishment of the church in the city of Ephesus, the Christians, even though commended for their rejection of heresy, had grown cool toward God. Jesus tells them plainly what they need to do, and the current American church should take heed as well.
According to Jesus, All People Must Repent
Thursday, March 19, 2020There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." – Luke 13:1-5 (ESV)
Wide-scale disasters are a reminder of the mortality of life, the coming Day of fire, and the need for everyone everywhere to repent and trust Christ.
A 35-Year Reflection from New York City
by dr. mac pier
When my wife Marya and I arrived in New York City in 1984 I used three adjectives to describe the city. The Big Apple was broke, violent, and under-churched in many communities. The front page of the October 30, 1975, Daily News read: “Ford to City: Drop Dead” after President Ford denied federal assistance to spare New York from bankruptcy.
In 1984, a decade of racial violence began when Bernard Goetz, a German, shot five unarmed African-American men on the subway. In 1994, the murder rate spiked at twenty-four hundred murders, or eight a day for a year. According to Jeffrey Burke, the NYPD chief forensic dentist, the city morgue simply ran out of room.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”- 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14
Did you notice the word pestilence in verse 13 above? It’s not a word commonly used, but it’s a word of extraordinary current relevance. It’s still unknown whether the coronavirus COVID-19 will be simply as bad as the common flu (taking approximately 50,000 American lives each year), or something far more lethal like the Spanish Flu of 1918 (took 50-100 million lives worldwide). Most believe it will be somewhere in between, on the lower end of the spectrum.
Wed, March 18 - Sun, April 26
Christian Union Day and Night invites you to join us in a 40-day initiative of prayer, fasting and repentance to meet the threat of the Coronavirus.Click here to join the fast.
In times of crises, God desires that His people examine themselves and repent of everything displeasing to Him. We are to repent on behalf of ourselves and American Christianity which is largely self-indulgent and does not seek the Lord in holiness or wholehearted devotion. First-century Christians prayed and read the Scriptures every morning and evening, and fasted twice a week. Meanwhile, American Christians spend little energy seeking God and the church is therefore largely powerless. Most Christians don’t give at least ten percent of their income even though we are the richest country in the history of the world, and we pollute ourselves through movies and our own engagement with sexual immorality.
Pole Vaulter Pursues Christ at Cornell
by grace choi, cornell ’22
Maria Siciliano, a sophomore pole vaulter on the Cornell track and field team, has a deep faith that helps her soar in competition and as a leader on campus with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Christian Union.
Siciliano, an English major with a concentration in literary theory and a minor in comparative literature, seeks to give God glory each time she competes. In 2019, she entered the Cornell record books with vaults during the indoor and outdoor seasons. She ranks tenth all-time indoors (11-feet-11.75 inches) and seventh all-time outdoors (12-feet-2.5 inches).
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
— Proverbs 18:10
Jade Thompson ’21 Leads Outreach Team
by tom campisi, managing editor
For Jade Thompson, co-directing a Text-4-Toasties outreach for Christian Union at Columbia this fall was just one of the many ways she has been challenged to grow as a leader.
Thompson, an Economics and Sustainability major from Westchester, New York, called her involvement with Lumine, Christian Union’s ministry at Columbia, “the best part of my college experience.”
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