Devotionals Archives | Page 13 of 28 | Christian Standard

July 6, 2020

Enslaved

By Stuart Powell One of the most widely known Bible stories is Israel’s exodus from Egypt. We tend to frame the exodus as the nation’s permanent liberation from enslavement. The books of Exodus and Leviticus describe Israel’s journey during their first year after leaving Egypt. In Leviticus 25, God explained his plans for the Year of Jubilee as a time when property ownership was restored to the original Jewish recipient’s family and slaves were set free. God explained his reasons for this: “For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of

June 29, 2020

Declaration

By Stuart Powell In the late 18th century, a colonist began writing a manuscript that summarized the political unrest of his time. He produced a startling declaration read aloud in a political hall in Philadelphia: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes

June 22, 2020

Christian Standard

Religion

By Jon Wren Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious” or, “I’m not into organized religion”? We’ve probably all heard it; maybe we’ve even said it! In matters of faith, there might not be a less popular word than religion. The word religion comes from Latin; it is a combination of the word re (meaning “again”) and ligamen (meaning “bond” or “connection”). Ligamen is the Latin root for the English word ligament—the connecting tissue between muscle and bone. The word religion essentially means to reconnect something that has been broken, severed, or torn apart. What a

June 14, 2020

Open for Business . . . No Laughing Matter?

By Alan Scott In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in April, I met a good friend at a restaurant because we could. We needed to. But nobody else was there. I felt fear and dread still creeping through the streets as I trekked toward our favorite eatery. A masked host seated us at properly distanced chairs outside on a patio. Apparently, innumerable state restrictions allowed restaurants to open, but with all the fun taken out. It was weird. But sitting outside in the warm sun and laughing wasn’t weird. I thought of Paul’s great theological words, “Rejoice in the

June 1, 2020

The Conqueror

By Stuart Powell Julius Caesar led his Roman troops to victory at the battle of Zela in 47 BC in what is now northern Turkey. Details of the battle are relegated to history scholars and trivia buffs. Those accounts tell of a complete and rapid victory. A well-known Latin declaration of triumph is attributed to the conqueror: “Veni, vidi, vici.” In English that translates to, “I came; I saw; I conquered.” We can write these words off as the excessive boasting of an arrogant warlord who died centuries ago. But as believers, we can reapply this proclamation of victory to

May 25, 2020

Christian Standard

Safely Across the Bridge

By Adrienne Feldmann A young family went on a summer getaway to Chicago. They spent a long day walking up and down the Magnificent Mile—the city’s premier shopping district—and honestly, the kids did not find it quite as magnificent as their parents did! As the marathon shopping session was ending, Mom and Dad realized their children were worn out, so they did what most parents of young kids do—they made a beeline for the best playground they could find. Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is a park to end all parks. Slides are everywhere. There are incredible things to climb.

May 4, 2020

His Mother Stayed Near

By Stuart Powell Many Galilean women followed Jesus during his ministry. We don’t know all they did. Some likely helped with cooking. We know others provided financial assistance for Jesus and his disciples. But one woman served Jesus more than any other: his mother, Mary. She swaddled him, nursed him, carried him, sung to him, laughed with him, and loved him throughout his life. From the day of his birth, Mary of Nazareth stayed near her oldest son. She surely stayed within earshot as he slept in the feed trough. She carried him to the temple on the day of

April 27, 2020

The Time

By Stuart Powell John’s Gospel shares a conversation that occurred the Sunday before Jesus’ crucifixion which is often overlooked in the festive inauguration of Holy Week. Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour” (John 12:23-27, New English Translation). How often had Jesus looked ahead to “the time”? Did he ever pause as he washed his feet to consider where the nails

April 20, 2020

Gatherings

By Stuart Powell When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:14-16). Jesus’ apostles gathered in the large upper room of a house in Jerusalem (vv. 11, 12) to celebrate the Passover meal, the seder, together. They were there because of the one leading the meal, their rabbi from Galilee. As each course of food was eaten, those

April 13, 2020

Redefined Perspective

By Stuart Powell How is God’s goodness displayed in COVID-19? What benefit does God intend from viruses? In “The Good that Viruses Do” from the Annual Review of Virology for 2017, two scientists [Mario Mietzsch and Mavis Agbandje-McKenna] introduced their article with this observation: If a survey were to ask nonvirologists for their opinions about viruses, the word “good” would be unlikely to arise. Instead, words such as “disease,” “infection,” “suffering,” or “life-threatening” would likely dominate, as people primarily think of viruses such as HIV, Ebola virus, Zika virus, influenza virus, or whatever new outbreak is in the news. Some

March 19, 2020

When Good Gifts Are Wrapped in Ugly Paper: How We Can Be Bright Lights in Dark Circumstances

By Jerry Harris Sometimes our greatest gifts and opportunities come wrapped in ugly paper. With our hearts and lives in distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be easy to cave in to our fears and get lost in this “lower” story. Consider Joseph in the Old Testament. He had plenty of reasons to give in to selfish emotions, but he instead chose to see his circumstances from a “higher” story point of view. This was Joseph’s attitude: “Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what

March 17, 2020

Remembering Amazing Things

By Stuart Powell Asaph son of Berechiah was a Levite musician (1 Chronicles 15:17) credited with writing Psalm 77. He lived in the time of Israel’s prosperity under Kings David and Solomon. Yet this psalm laments a time of pain in his life. The psalm begins with his petitions for help from a seemingly distant God. Asaph didn’t detail the source of his difficulty but described how he suffered most when, as he said, “my strength leaves me” (v. 3), “during the night” (v. 6), and when he felt cut off from God (v. 9). In those times, Asaph sought

March 15, 2020

Gary L. Johnson

Resurrection Sunday: A Way to Live

By Gary L. Johnson Several important American holidays are for the purpose of remembering. Memorial Day is set aside so we can remember our war dead, whereas Veterans Day is for remembering the men and women who served in our nation’s military. A grand remembrance happens every July 4 as we celebrate our nation’s independence. We have religious holidays—Christmas and Easter—to remember the birth of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. Yet, Easter is more than a holiday marked with ham dinners and Easter egg hunts. It’s more than a day to fill baskets with candy and churches with

March 15, 2020

Mary Magdalene: Go and Tell

(An eyewitness’ account*) By Ely Lozada Mary Magdalene had been watching for hours. Now, the jeering crowd was gone and only the women mourning Jesus remained at the cross together. An unfamiliar man approached them; he too had sorrow etched on his face. “I have permission to take away Jesus’ body, so that it may be laid to rest away from this terrible place.” She noticed he paid no mind to the sweat and blood around them, this man whose fine clothing surely would be soiled by this gruesome task. He spoke tenderly to Jesus’ mother as he told them

March 15, 2020

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus: Respect and Honor

(An eyewitness’ account*) By Mark E. Moore Hi, my name is Joseph, but you can call me Joe. Just to clarify, there are a lot of Joes where I come from. Surely, you’ve heard of Joseph the carpenter, the stepfather of Jesus. A lesser-known Joseph traveled with the apostle Paul on his great adventures. This Joseph is mentioned several times by my friend, the physician and historian named Luke. But Luke called him by his nickname, Barnabas. I am but one of many Joes where I come from because one of the patriarchs of my people (and my namesake) was

March 15, 2020

Guards at the Tomb: A Tale of Two Soldiers

By Ryan Rasmussen “What am I supposed to do with this money?” the soldier asked as he jiggled a bag of coins on the table. “It feels . . . tainted.” “Just enjoy it, man,” offered the second soldier. “How often does an opportunity like this come along for us? All we have to do is tell a little lie. No big deal.” But it felt like a big deal. A weight hung in the air as a strong wind pushed through the partially covered window of the dimly lit room. Two Roman soldiers sat counting their hush money. It

March 15, 2020

Vince Antonucci

The Apostle John: Transformed by Love

By Vince Antonucci Researchers tell us our identity drives our behavior. We think we make decisions based on a rational analysis of pros and cons. But far more often we make choices based on what James March called the “identity model.” March, a Stanford University professor who died in 2018, said when making a decision we essentially (and mostly subconsciously) ask ourselves three questions: Who am I? What kind of situation is this? What would someone like me do in this situation? What you do is determined by what you think of yourself. Growing up, I was quickly and consistently

March 15, 2020

The Angels: Messengers of Hope at the Empty Tomb

By John Caldwell I have a confession to make. In well over half a century of ministry, I’ve never preached about the angels as they relate to the resurrection of Christ. I have manuscripts of all my Easter sermons, but I’ve searched in vain through scores of them for any significant focus on the angels. I fear that many of us have seen angels only as “bit players” in the Easter story. In reality, however, the angels play a major role. Angels in the Bible Angels have many roles in Scripture, and they would make for an interesting study; after

March 15, 2020

Resurrection Matters: How One Desperate Moment Carved a New Life

By Rick Chromey Sometimes an entire life boils down to a single moment. For me it was a solitary night of divine deliverance and holy intervention that changed everything. It happened in the spring of 1982, about the time of Resurrection Sunday. I was a freshman in Bible college. I was also clinically depressed, struggling with sin, school, finances, family, and friends. I wallowed in selfishness, loneliness, pity, and apathy. I was a thousand miles from home, living alone in a dorm room that increasingly felt like a prison cell. For weeks I contemplated my life. Who am I? Why

March 15, 2020

Cleopas: The Journey That Forever Changed Us

(An eyewitness’ account*) By Glen Elliott To Luke, my brother in the Lord, from Cleopas. I understand you’ve been collecting eyewitness accounts about the life of Jesus. Here is mine. I live in a small town called Emmaus. I have made the journey to and from Jerusalem many times in my life. But one such journey forever changed me. Here’s what happened that Sunday. Passover Week in Jerusalem A friend and I had been in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration with others who were following one who was clearly a prophet. God had not sent a prophet to his