Devotionals

Devotionals gathers Christian Standard articles designed to encourage daily faithfulness through Scripture, prayer, and reflection. Here you’ll find short, accessible readings that connect God’s Word to everyday life—offering wisdom for discipleship, comfort in hardship, and reminders of the hope found in Christ. These devotionals aim to help readers stay rooted in the gospel, grow in spiritual maturity, and practice consistent habits of worship and obedience.

December 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Find a Baby This Christmas

By Mark A. Taylor The producers of our church”s annual Christmas pageant accompanied one song several years ago with a video I have never forgotten. It was simple, just four minutes or so showing a tiny infant wrapped in white cloth in a cow”s feeding trough. And for the length of the video, the baby on the straw was crying””arms flailing, feet kicking, face scrunched in discomfort. I had a small part in the pageant and was there for the final week of rehearsals. One night, as the soloist came to the end of the song, the video”s soundtrack was

November 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Proclaim the Savior

By Diane Stortz I”m sure you”ve seen and heard the recent proclamations. Retailers” shelves have overflowed for weeks with wrapping paper, wreaths, and wind-up reindeer. Carols mingle with Christmas pop classics on the radio and in the grocery store. Advertisements abound online, on TV, and in magazines and newspapers. The cultural celebration of Christmas has begun! There”s another Christmas, of course””the reason for Christmas, the birth of Christ””and angels announced the wonderful event. Have you ever seen an angel or talked with one? Their first words are often, “Don”t be afraid!” The angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary, “Don”t be afraid!”

September 23, 2012

Christian Standard

Gifts that Make God Smile

By Jeff Anderson Autumn Joy toddled across the room and stood at the edge of my laptop-centered view. I was in task mode, typing away in my living room recliner. My 18-month-old daughter looked up at me, her Shirley Temple curls bouncing around her face. Then she handed me a plastic doughnut from her kitchen play set. I looked at the doughnut my toddler had just given me and then back at her again. She was waiting for a response. So I lifted the doughnut to my mouth and said with great animation, “Yummm, ymmm . . . thank you,

September 13, 2012

Christian Standard

Learning to Change

By Mark A. Taylor  Last week I found an e-mail in my inbox from a fellow who didn”t like the verbiage on the cover of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s May 20 issue. “Learning to Change” was the headline. It led to the lead article about medium-size churches: “Facing the Challenge of Change.” Throughout my ministry I”ve been advocating for change. After all, isn”t that what spiritual growth is? But this dear gentleman was upset by our praise of change. After a long rehearsal of his conversion and decision to go to Bible college in the late 1940s and a litany of his

September 7, 2012

Christian Standard

Despite?

By Jackina Stark Mama died on July 4, 2011. We almost lost her earlier that year when she went to the hospital with pneumonia. Her doctor told us pneumonia isn”t called the old person”s friend for nothing, but she was treated and released to a nursing home, where she could get rehabilitation. That didn”t go well. She had spent too many years trying to breathe, and she was tired of it. We brought her home, and almost daily she told Dad, who took such loving care of her, that she couldn”t do it anymore. Even walking across a room was

September 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Sad Good-byes, Fruitful Labor

By Mark A. Taylor Two weeks ago we heard the sad news that a member of our church, a dynamic, active physician, died. Remarkably, he had survived a brain aneurysm two weeks before that, but ultimately his system broke down, along with his family”s hope for his recovery. His funeral was Sunday, August 23; he would have turned 63 August 28. We were sharing this story with a couple who told us a mutual friend”s husband, age 57, had just been diagnosed with Stage Four esophageal cancer. Their kids were coming to visit while they waited to hear treatment options

August 29, 2012

Christian Standard

Refreshments Are Served

By Daniel Schantz “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19, New King James Version). A little girl was sitting with her mother in church, swinging her legs out and back in time with the music, and singing, “Some glad morning, when this life is o”er, I”ll fly away. . . .” Then the music slowed, and the tune changed to “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” Suddenly several men got up out of the audience, gathered at the back of the

August 27, 2012

Christian Standard

How to Obey a Simple Command

By Mark A. Taylor Over lunch with a visiting missionary friend, we spoke of the latest alerts she and her team had received from the U.S. State Department. Her particular region was not threatened””yet. But the possibility for terrorist activity was coming closer. The waitress tended to us carefully (“More water?” “Everything taste OK?”) while our guest spoke of her contingency plans in case of an emergency evacuation. Hiding places among local natives, secret rendezvous sites, and options in case the closest airport was compromised””these were the details she shared while we savored the restaurant”s service. I couldn”t help but

August 17, 2012

Christian Standard

Blessed Thirst

By Daniel Schantz “O God, you are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You . . . in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1, New King James Version).   August. Dog days, the dry month. The front yard is like a worn-out carpet from lack of rain. Shrubs and trees are motionless, their leaves layered with dust. You carry a bottle of water wherever you go; it seems to be growing to your hand. You park your car in the shade. You walk slowly, trying not to sweat. Every

July 13, 2012

Christian Standard

A Widow’s Faith

By Karen Wingate On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado bulldozed through the south side of Joplin, Missouri, demolishing a regional hospital, nine schools (including the high school and adjoining tech school), several large stores, churches, businesses, and more than 8,000 homes. Hundreds were injured, and 163 died. In the ensuing months, relief came from across the country. This is the story of just one of those efforts, as churches in 21 small western Illinois communities helped a young widow rebuild her home. As they worked, they saw God rebuild relationships and restore faith. After the violent storm subsided, Stephanie

June 25, 2012

Christian Standard

My Thorn

By Matt Rendulic Severe bipolar affective psychosis. It”s a condition I”m learning to live with. It”s a weakness I”m learning to thank God for. It”s a companion to every day of my ministry. Paul seems a bit anxious and reluctant as he starts the 12th chapter of his second letter to the Corinthian church, “This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord” (v. 1).* Then Paul begins to describe a time he was caught up into Heaven. Upon initial reading, one probably says, “Awesome! I wish

April 21, 2012

Christian Standard

The Place of Victory

By Bryce Jessup John Wooden, who died June 4, 2010, attended Shepherd of the Hills Church in the Los Angeles area. He is the only person to make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. He won 10 NCAA Championships. He was named “Coach of the Century.” Few are aware he carried a wooden cross in his pocket. He would hold it in his fingers when things didn”t go well during a game. A reporter asked him if it was a religious ritual for him, and his answer was “no.” He said that

April 14, 2012

Christian Standard

Forgiveness, Love, and Hope

By Bryce Jessup As a 20-year-old student in Bible college, I heard a sermon about the cross that I will never forget. The preacher told us the x in our English language was but a tilted t from ancient times. He went on to say that the t was one of the early symbols for the cross. His application was memorable. He said, “Isn”t it interesting that when you make a mistake with a typewriter (this was long before the computer age, but some will remember), you correct it by typing over it with a lot of x“s?” In other

April 6, 2012

Christian Standard

“I Will Save You”

By Jeff Vines The prophet Joel said it (Joel 2:32), and more than 800 years later, the apostle Paul repeated it: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Of all the enduring promises we find in Scripture, no other promise holds greater significance for both this life and the one to come. But what does salvation really mean? From what is one saved? Why is salvation something we should be concerned about? Before God”s promise of “I will save you” can become precious to us, we must understand the answers to those questions.

April 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Unexpectedly Sweet

By Mark A. Taylor A few weeks ago I reported on Christian Standard”s annual contributing editors retreat, January 11-13. But I didn”t describe a bittersweet part of our time together. One of our members had just learned about a tragic, sudden death in his church. The auto accident had happened on the other side of the country in the afternoon as we were gathering for our meeting. Our friend skipped dinner to handle phone calls and make plans to return home the next morning. Then he came to our opening session. Once our group had assembled, we asked him to

February 15, 2012

Doug Redford

In the Garden

By Doug Redford Last summer our local newspaper featured an article about urban farming in the Cincinnati area. It described how people began growing gardens in various locations throughout the city, not only as a hobby but also as a way to provide additional food. One man was rather philosophical about gardening. “I started seeing how gardening made people happy,” he said, “how it started changing the whole community, and it just took my heart.” Then he added, “In a garden, you control your own destiny.” That last statement, to use gardening language, deserves some cultivation. It brings to mind

January 7, 2012

Christian Standard

The Old Has Gone, the New Has Come!

By Victor Knowles Today is New Year”s Day, the first day of the year and the first Sunday of the year. What a good way to start the New Year! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Communion is a weekly reminder that in Christ we are a new creation. The old is gone. I remember singing a chorus in youth camp many years ago. “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone!” The crimson cup reminds us that the old has gone. Jesus

December 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Surprise to Surrender

By Tony Wood Many traditions have been lost these days, but the timeless story of the nativity is still treasured by many of us. It offers a complex mixture of humility and hope, robes and ridicule, mangers and majesty. And in this story, one theme seems to bind all its characters together””from a recently engaged servant girl to royals traveling from Persia. That theme is surprise to surrender. Young Mary sat at home, excited at the prospect of marriage, and then fell back in instant shock as an angel exploded through the door of her kitchen. The pots clattered to

December 21, 2011

Christian Standard

Bethlehem: Inspired by a Preacher”s Renewal

By Bob Russell Phillips Brooks was nearly burned out. The man many regarded as the most inspirational preacher of his time had lost his fervor and couldn”t seem to recover. He requested and was granted a sabbatical from the church and took a trip to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve in Jerusalem, he and a couple of friends mounted horses and took off riding. It was a wonderful, life-changing afternoon for him. He prayed and spent time alone with God. At dusk, when the first stars came out, he rode into the tiny village of Bethlehem. The town had

December 18, 2011

Christian Standard

One Holiday, So Many Ways to Celebrate

By Linda Mirante What about Christmas? Do we embrace it, ignore it, celebrate it, or protest against it? There are as many opinions as there are people. Just ask them. I think of Christmas as a season rather than a day. A season with the opportunity to share and show Christ to the world. A season of celebrating the birth of Jesus””who would bring us the gifts of peace, hope, joy, forgiveness, and redemption. A season filled with wonderment and anticipation. A season of love. The Christmas story as recorded in Luke 2 has been told through the years via

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link