Series: Communion Meditations

April 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Unified Anthem

By Halee Wood Queen’s song “We Will Rock You” became a worldwide sensation in the 1970s and remains popular. Even in recent years, it is still often played in many professional sports leagues. It is a stadium anthem! When the song is broadcast on stadium speakers, even the most reserved fans engage. The song delivers this message to the opponent: “There is a battle ahead; we are prepared, and we will prevail.” The song unites every fan—all races and all generations. Even those scattered folks who support the opposing team must sit on their hands while this song plays so

March 26, 2019

Christian Standard

The Radical Request

By Halee Wood During Jesus’ early ministry, many of his followers were ecstatic. Who wouldn’t have been? The vibe, the miracles, the fact that he was hanging out with sinners. Some of these people had been made to feel like complete failures by the legalistic Pharisees, yet Jesus was loving, healing, and spending time with them! Jesus eventually began to say radical things that made many people feel seriously uncomfortable. In John 6, he said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. . . . For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real

March 19, 2019

Christian Standard

Benefits of the Family Meal

By Halee Wood Close your eyes and picture a family dinner. A “June Cleaver” mom is in an apron and pearls, “Ward” in a sweater and tie. The children’s hands are washed and their hair combed. The savory aroma of a home-cooked meal fills the air. Everyone, including the family dog, listens intently to what is being said. Is this what dinner looks like at your house? In real-life families dinner can be messy—there might be cooking and dining mishaps, arguing and complaining among family members, and other things competing for our attention. Though a sit-down meal as a family

March 12, 2019

Christian Standard

Addicted to the New

By Randy Gordon This Wednesday is the first day of spring [in the northern hemisphere], a season we celebrate the newness of life all around us. We’re addicted to the new. That’s just the world we live in. We love the new iPhone. We love new cars (and if we can’t afford a new car, we buy a used car and a “new car smell” air freshener). We love new fashion, new books, new songs . . . new, new, new. Marketing strives to convince us that the newest version of anything—everything—is better than the previous version. It offers more

March 5, 2019

Christian Standard

Spiritual MRI

By Halee Wood  Have you ever had an MRI? An MRI produces detailed pictures of internal body structures. It can assist in diagnosing many things we never want to face: aneurysms, inner ear issues, spinal cord injuries, cancerous tumors, and more. A prescribed MRI makes us cringe because we don’t want anything “bad” exposed, though all the while, in our gut we already know something is wrong or we would not have sought the help of a physician. An MRI can diagnose, but it cannot cure. The physician is who leads you through the healing process. The apostle Paul once

February 26, 2019

Stuart Powell

Remembering Jesus: Bread, Cup, and Fellowship of Believers

By Stuart Powell When Christians gather to partake of the bread and the cup, we have one key focus: remembering Jesus. Our Lord instructed his followers to do this. “Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19, New English Translation). Most of us celebrate Communion in a comfortable, modern building, but have you considered how our setting compares to those of earlier generations? Paul offers a clue to this in his second letter to

February 19, 2019

Stuart Powell

Displaying our Testimony

By Stuart Powell Testifying to Jesus’ influence on our lives is an important part of the Christian faith. As we grow in our faith, we should have more to say about Jesus. His influence first affects our attitudes about living. Jesus replaces our impure inner desires by teaching us to live holy. When we grant the Holy Spirit permission, he also changes how we view other people. Jesus’ influence eventually enables us to sacrificially love those whom we formerly opposed. God teaches us to welcome all who are different. He leads us to fast for those who abuse us. Jesus’

February 12, 2019

Christian Standard

Presidents’ Day

By Ronald G. Davis  The presidents of the United States of America have represented the best among us. And the worst. For every president—whether moral, immoral, or amoral—has sinned. None has been perfect in policy nor in person. The wisest and the most foolish, the politest and the rudest, the honorable and the dishonorable, all are sinners. Oh, many have been men of prayer and public worship, but none has been the perfect example of righteousness and noble behavior. It is appropriate that we express honor to those to whom honor is due. Peter spoke for the Spirit when he

February 5, 2019

Christian Standard

To Love

By Ronald G. Davis  The word valentine speaks to us of love. And to love is to be the most like God we can be. Let me repeat that: to love is to be the most like God we can be. For God is love. The disciple who most sensed the love of God wrote to early Christians and to us, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8) and “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (4:7). In his image, we want the very best for all those

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

One Thing

By L. Mackenzie 
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). Jesus commented that only God is good and then recited several commandments, to which the man replied, “All these I have kept since I was a boy” (v. 20). Jesus told that “rich young ruler” he still lacked one thing if he wanted a heavenly inheritance. Darn, that one thing! And it was a big thing. The man knew it. Romans 3 says no

January 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Meaning of the Cross

By Randy Gordon What does the cross mean to you? The question is simple enough, but I fear few of us give it much thought. Maybe it’s because we see the cross in so many places. We see it on necklaces, bracelets, and pendants. We see it painted on the sides of train cars. We see it on the roadside after terrible auto accidents. We might even hang it on the wall of our home. Christians have embraced the cross, but in Jesus’ day, the cross represented capital punishment. In fact, execution on a cross was the Romans’ primary form

January 15, 2019

Christian Standard

The Measure of a Man: Where Does He Stand?

By L. Mackenzie Martin Luther King famously said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” King could have passed into history largely unnoticed had he not stepped into the spotlight to become the foremost voice of the modern American civil rights movement in the turbulent 1950s and ’60s. He was known for his powerful speeches of hope and perpetual message of nonviolence. He stood tall against the forces of bigotry, hatred, and darkness. Though he endured immense hostility, King did not grow

January 8, 2019

Christian Standard

Can Dry Bones Live Again?

By Ronald G. Davis  Old Doc Richardson, of my Appalachian hometown, kept a human skeleton on display in his office. Carefully wired together and suspended from a metal stand, that skeleton clinked and clanked at the slightest touch of my small-child hand. It was eerie. It was also obvious to my unsophisticated mind: Whoever’s bones these were would never come to life again. Those bones were dead and dry. In Ezekiel 37, when God led Ezekiel back and forth across a field filled with bones, he asked the prophet a simple question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” Now

January 1, 2019

Christian Standard

How Far?

By L. Mackenzie In churches around the world, people celebrate Epiphany, when magi came to Bethlehem to worship baby Jesus. Elaborate feasts, complete with king cakes, paper crowns, caroling, winter swimming, and house blessings mark this festival each year as the end of the Christmas season for many. When we strip away all the traditions, the heart of the Epiphany story shares a future picture of God’s manifestation to the Gentile world through his Son Jesus. It’s the story of men being drawn toward a heavenly King. “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your

December 25, 2018

Christian Standard

Traveling by Starlight

(This Communion Meditation originally appeared online in December 2012.)   By Lee Magness For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16, 17). About AD 110 in the ancient city of Antioch, a revered Christian leader named Ignatius wrote these words: A star shone forth in the heaven above all the stars; and its light was unutterable, and its strangeness caused

December 18, 2018

Christian Standard

A Mirror in the Manger

(This Communion Meditation originally appeared in our issue from December 26, 2004.)   By Lee Magness But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4, 5). The scene is a sparse hill in ancient Judea, not far from Jerusalem. Nearby is a cave. Jesus wears one meager garment. Mary watches, wondering what it all means. A man stands by, not the father of Jesus, but the one who will care for her. Beneath Jesus are

December 11, 2018

Christian Standard

A Second Coming

(This Communion Meditation originally appeared online in December 2012.)   By Lee Magness So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David. . . . He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child (Luke 2:4, 5). As the time approached for him to be taken up, . . . Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). They journeyed to Judea—Joseph closing his shop, Mary pregnant, too pregnant for such a taxing trip. To Bethlehem, with its

December 4, 2018

Christian Standard

A Sign and a Prediction, Both Fulfilled

(This Communion meditation originally appeared in our December 1, 1998, edition.)   By Kent Fillinger The year was 734 BC. King Ahaz of Judah was under attack by the countries of Syria and Ephraim, which were trying to dethrone him. In order to encourage King Ahaz, God told King Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. When the ruler asked, God said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, New International Version). “Immanuel” means “God with us.” This

November 27, 2018

Christian Standard

Redemption Drawing Near

(This Communion meditation originally appeared on our website in December 2011. Advent is this coming Sunday, Dec. 2.)   By Robert F. Hull Jr. Millions of Christians around the world celebrate this coming Sunday as the beginning of Advent, the first of four Sundays of preparation for the grand festival of light we know as Christmas. No matter how often we have observed Advent, for many of us the first Sunday still comes as a shock, for its focus is on the second coming of Jesus, not the first: People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on

November 20, 2018

Christian Standard

A Special Name for Today

(For use Sunday, November 25) By Lena Wood Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, a day of exceptional online bargains. Nowadays you can do all your Christmas shopping from home, sitting on the couch in your robe, having coffee and scrambled eggs. No more “shop ’til you drop”; now you have the option to “plop and shop.” After buying presents for loved ones on Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday lets you enjoy another kind of generosity that carries no expectation of material return, a chance to experience a deep principle: Giving is better than receiving. So, what should we call today, the day

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