Articles for tag: Heaven

July 23, 2014

Christian Standard

Hidden in a Field

By Jim Tune In 1989, the movie Field of Dreams was a blockbuster hit. Kevin Costner played Ray Kinsella, a 37-year-old man who always played it safe. He had never done a spontaneous thing in his life until hearing a voice one day that said, “If you build it, he will come.” After hearing the phrase several more times, he asked other farmers if they heard similar voices. Eventually Ray saw a vision of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson walking out of his cornfield. In the vision, Ray”s cornfield was transformed into a baseball diamond. When he actually “builds” a baseball field,

April 16, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

A Brand-New Life

By Mark A. Taylor I bumped into our backyard neighbor at the grocery store, and the conversation went from the price of groceries to the weather to “How are your kids?” And then she told me, “We”ve been going to church.” She had visited our church once, several years ago, but she had never come back. And I always felt she was embarrassed by that. But  now she was smiling. “The girls love it, and the first Sunday my 13-year-old daughter asked if she could go back that night to youth group.” Then her expression became more earnest. “It”s really

September 27, 2013

Christian Standard

He Made It to the End, and So Can We

By David Ray One of the ultimate endurance events in all of sports is the Tour de France, a grueling, three-week, 2,200-mile race that runs throughout France. But it”s not simply the distance that creates the fierce challenge, but the towering mountains. The New York Times once compared the race to “running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks,” and likened the total mountain ascents to scaling “three Everests.” The last day of the multistaged race sees an international group of cyclists sprint toward a finish line down the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Thousands line the way to

September 13, 2013

Christian Standard

Careful on the Way Down

By David Ray Someone who”s done a  study about mountain climbing made an interesting discovery. As risk-filled as the ascent may be, more than half of all climbing fatalities occur on the way down. For example, of the fatalities that had occurred on Mount Everest””the world”s tallest mountain””about 60 percent of them happened while the climbers were descending back to base camp. Different reasons for this phenomenon have been suggested, but there is often a natural letdown that comes after any great goal has been accomplished. With adrenaline pumping and a summit in sight, climbers may master an ascent. But

June 25, 2013

Christian Standard

Better Than a Vacation

By Mark A. Taylor “It”s hard to imagine no crying and no mourning.” The statement came from a group member when our weekly Bible study was nearing the end of Revelation. We had stopped to ponder the significance of Revelation 21:3, 4: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God”s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “˜He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or

March 8, 2013

Christian Standard

His Glorious Body

By C. Robert Wetzel Glory to God in the highest! Coming to the Lord”s table is an occasion to celebrate the glory of God and the promise of our participation in his glory. Traditionally we have often sung in preparation for the Lord”s Supper, “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.” More recently it may be, “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.” But every Lord”s Day we are reminded in a special way of God”s power, majesty, and love. How extraordinary that the God who created all things should reveal himself in the person of Jesus Christ! How glorious

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

November 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Two Books about Hell

By LeRoy Lawson Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived Rob Bell New York: HarperOne, 2011 Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)  Brian Jones Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2011 In July, I met with an exciting group of campus ministers from universities around the world. These engaged and engaging young men and women never fail to challenge me with their penetrating questions about today”s leading theological issues. This time there were two issues under consideration: gay marriage (one by one the states are voting to approve it””what are

October 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for Oct. 16, 2011: Growing Old with Wisdom (Ecclesiastes 11:7″“12:14)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for October 16) is written by Daniel Schantz, professor emeritus at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri. ____________ Growing Old with Wisdom (Ecclesiastes 11:7″“12:14) By Daniel Schantz Poets present October as the melancholy season, marking the death of summer. Yet, to many of us, October is the best season of all””spangled with color, rich in harvests, invigorating in weather. Old age is like October. It does indeed signal the end of life, but it is also filled with a harvest of good things: grandchildren, retirement, honors. A number

June 21, 2011

Christian Standard

Why We Need to Listen to the Message of “Love Wins”

By Dustin Fulton There has been no shortage of controversy in Evangelical circles surrounding the release of Rob Bell”s latest book, Love Wins. One of the blogs I read hailed it as an “instant classic” (she was a self-proclaimed friend of his from college, with a picture to prove it), while others have called it “complete heresy” and labeled him a Universalist (apparently they weren”t his friends in college!). While Bell certainly didn”t shy away from publicity on this one, I think we ought to be a bit more careful of jumping on or off the bandwagon so quickly. In

May 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 22, 2011: New Order of Things (Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for May 22) is written by Melissa Wuske, an editor for F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio. ____________ New Order of Things (Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27) By Melissa Wuske My grandpa recently died after a far-too-long battle with Alzheimer”s disease. After decades as a faithful husband, father, and leader in the church, he spent the last decade or so of his life struggling to think or speak or remember. He spent the last few years unable to leave his bed on his own, unable to perform the basic daily functions that adults and

April 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Numbers Matter

By Edward Sanders While I was in school, I paid the bills by selling men”s suits. At the end of my shift, it was rather easy to see whether we had a good day selling. Every night at closing, someone would count the suits. A dozen fewer suits meant we were successful and our efforts had paid off. I no longer sell men”s suits. I work at a church. One Monday I was sitting at my computer when the attendance and offering numbers for the weekend services came through. I opened the document and tried to grasp the trend for

January 7, 2011

Christian Standard

God”s Word””the Life Shaper

(This essay is the first in a series called “The Bible, My Guide” that will appear throughout 2011. In it, Christian leaders will present testimonies about how the Bible has changed them. This essay, and all subsequent ones in this series, may be accessed by clicking on “The Bible, My Guide” in the drop down menu under “Features” on the home page.) By Marshall Hayden I didn”t understand the TV commercial the first time or two. But now every time I see it I get a warm feeling the advertiser no doubt wanted to plant in my subconscious. When we

August 18, 2010

Christian Standard

Encouraged . . . and Disturbed

  By Mark A. Taylor Holy, holy, holy, All the saints adore thee. I looked down at the floor of the convention hall, almost full with fellow-saints singing the old words, and I thought about Heaven. I glanced down my row at my wife sitting beside Pat Merold who sat beside her husband, Ben. My preacher, Tom Moll, was on the aisle in the bleachers below me; beside him were Allan Dunbar and his wife. Bob Russell was a few rows ahead of them. All around us were people I didn”t know, and they were singing too. The scene made

December 6, 2009

Christian Standard

Lessons from the Fishin” Hole

by Marcus Bigelow Last night I stopped at The Fishin” Hole in Greenville, Missouri. Greenville is a long way from most everywhere. I was looking for a friend who supposedly was eating there. I was to join him for dinner. He wasn”t there, but I decided to eat anyway, following the maxim that a full parking lot usually indicates good food. This Yankee boy walked in to find the “friendliest place in town.” Almost every table was filled. The waitresses were at a dead run. “Take any ol” table,” the cashier told me, so I sat down at one of

October 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Words of Life and Death

  by Larry W. Timm When death occurs, a minister encounters a unique and sacred duty. The deceased is someone”s loved one and God”s valuable creation; there is sanctity in both. Death erases neither. When asked to speak at a funeral service, our attitude will influence our preparation and proclamation. If we see a funeral as an interruption in our ministry instead of an expression of it, we will be poor stewards of this important opportunity. However, if we approach each funeral as a unique and sacred part of our calling, we can offer leadership and service as caring shepherds.

October 21, 2007

Tim Harlow

Heaven

It Does Get Better Than This!

A child’s blunt honesty about Heaven sparks a devotional reflection on why eternity can feel distant when life is good—and why hope grows stronger as we gain perspective, mature, and face suffering.

September 2, 2007

Christian Standard

At the Foot of the Cross

By Lee Magness You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8). There they stood at the foot of the cross, stood not kneeled, priests and scribes, their eyes squinting to slits in the noonday sun, squinting like the sightless pretending to see. They were blinded by years of looking through

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