March 24, 2020
A Simple Admission
The following is a blog post written by Ana Yee for a personal student blog. Ana is a junior at Harvard College and serves on the student executive team of HCFA, the ministry Christian Union resources at Harvard. This article is used here by permission. It was just two weeks ago that I got home from a busy day of class and meetings– to my roommate cancelling a huge conference she had planned for months because of the spreading coronavirus. That was the first big cancellation that made the illness feel like a more immediate threat. It was also what made me realize that my long-awaited summer plans– to go back to Ethiopia– might be compromised. At that point, the possibility seemed small. And now, just fifteen days later, everything has changed. In the course of a week I applied to domestic summer opportunities, packed up all of my stuff, moved off campus, and said goodbye to beloved friends, teachers, and spaces. Some of those goodbyes were temporary; others were more permanent, like the ones to seniors who would not be returning in the Fall. I called off my plans for Ethiopia and took a job in Colorado. COVID-19 went from being a distant, abstract figment on the news to a very near, very disruptive threat. Social distancing became the new norm and everything has been canceled. It’s wild how everything changed so fast.March 23, 2020
Return to God in Disaster
Monday, March 23, 2020 The situation seems impossible. The effects would be immediately felt by the people of the region and the consequences would be far-reaching. There was no escaping, and no way to hide from the devastating results. This is not referring to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, but instead to the Jewish people living in the Persian Empire circa 450 B.C. A legal decree went out stating that the Jewish people would be destroyed and their homes plundered. How could they be saved? When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. - Esther 4:1-3 (ESV)March 22, 2020
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.March 21, 2020
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.
March 20, 2020
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.March 19, 2020
According to Jesus, All People Must Repent
Thursday, March 19, 2020 There 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.March 18, 2020
A 35-Year Reflection from New York City
March 18, 2020
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.March 18, 2020
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.March 12, 2020
Pole Vaulter Pursues Christ at Cornell
March 12, 2020
Asia Bibi, the Nigerian Elders, and the Radical Nature of Christian Forgiveness; Moving Toward Redemptive Action; The Sky's the Limit; First of All, Pray; Coronavirus and the Church: CT’s Latest News and Advice and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the righteous man runs into it and is safe.— Proverbs 18:10
March 11, 2020
Jade Thompson ’21 Leads Outreach Team
February 28, 2020
Students Warm Locust Walk with Cider Outreach
February 27, 2020
How Do I Jumpstart My Prayer Life?; Join Us Live, Tonight, for the 2020 Collegiate Day of Prayer; Redeeming Your 401(k); On the Self-Censorship of Conservative Students; Is It Faithful to Flee an Epidemic? What Martin Luther Teaches Us About Coronavirus and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’— Matthew 25:49
February 27, 2020
A CU New York Lunch & Learn featuring Olga Statz
On Friday, February 21, 2020, CU New York was honored to host Olga Statz*, Acting General Counsel at the City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, as the guest speaker for a Lunch & Learn. Olga began her talk on Man’s Laws but God’s Justice: Learning to Stay in Our Lane with a personal recollection of a moment early in her law career. For the first time she felt the true responsibility expected of her as an advocate, recognizing what it meant to stand between a defendant and the full weight of the State. At this moment Olga was confronted with this underlying truth: the secret of a lawyer’s ability and power lies in process. To this point, Olga emphasized the importance of understanding our roles as professionals and as humans, of understanding our authority in Christ and God’s authority over our lives, in understanding how to submit to Christ and to submit to the procedural standards of our justice system.February 26, 2020
Christian Union Is Helping Moore ’20 to Thrive
February 26, 2020
Carreon Is New Christian Union Ministry Fellow
February 26, 2020
Pascut Has a Passion for Mentoring
February 26, 2020
Strong Roots Help Sharla Moody ’22 Find Her Place at Yale
February 26, 2020
Nova’s Upperclassmen Enjoy Mentoring Roles
