Articles for tag: Love

December 21, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Joy: December 21

By Becky Ahlberg Monday, December 21 The opening line of “Joy to the World” is sometimes sung incorrectly as, “The Lord has come.” That is not the way Isaac Watts wrote it. He wrote, “The Lord is come.” Watts was not describing a past event (the birth of Jesus), but rather looking forward to a future event (the return of Jesus). This hymn text was written as a paraphrase of Psalm 98, one of several psalms considered messianic. Watts understood it to be about the reign of the Messiah. And that”s precisely what the song is about. It speaks of

December 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Two Sizes Too Small

By Jim Tune There”s been an explosive fascination with all things zombie in pop culture. The AMC series The Walking Dead has enjoyed stunning commercial success, so I wasn”t surprised to see a flood of big-screen zombie productions hitting local theaters. Most of them focus solely on gore and body counts. The 2013 zombie film Warm Bodies was unique for this weird film genre: It”s a zombie love story. I remember watching it on a transatlantic flight in the middle of the night, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. The film”s tagline more or less summarizes the plot: “He”s still

November 24, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Why Weren”t They More Thankful? (Part 2)

By Mark A. Taylor As we bustle through Thanksgiving with our eyes on Christmas, many of us Americans are counting the cost of our Christmas gift-giving. “Please bring a $25 item for the gift exchange.” “How much does your brother spend on us for Christmas?” “What will we give Sue and Bill? I can”t remember what they gave us last year.” The thread through most of this is a concern to “stay even,” a compulsion coming largely from pride (we don”t want to be seen as cheap) and selfishness (we have our own expenses, after all; we can”t let this

November 1, 2015

Christian Standard

New Baby, New Life, New Year (27 Daily Devotions)

For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. We need to refocus on what is important, and these 27 short meditations are written to help us do that. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. These daily meditations, written by Becky Ahlberg of Anaheim, California, begin on Sunday, December 6, and conclude on January 1, 2016. The four weekly themes center around the concepts of hope, peace, joy, and love. May your holidays be blessed as you celebrate

October 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Majestic Quietness

By Greg Swinney Several international students were traveling together to the Rocky Mountains for a weekend excursion during their university”s fall break. In preparation for the trip, they read travel magazines and browsed websites that described the grandeur of the mountains. Inside the church van, the international students asked their American friends about the elevation, climate, and vegetation of the Rockies. The excitement was contagious as the van motored west. As the van crested a small hill, the students got their first glimpse of the mountains in the distance. They grabbed their cameras and noisy conversations stopped. Most students were

September 23, 2015

Christian Standard

Taming the Sermon

By Jim Tune When it comes to discussions about the teachings of Jesus, especially his “hard” teachings, I”ve grown tired of the tendency to tame any revolutionary teaching that seems just too radical or too naïve or idealistic. The conversation too often goes like this: “I know that”s what Jesus said, but what he really meant was. . . .” For example, when Jesus tells us not to store up riches on earth, we repurpose it to say, “Do not get too attached to the riches that you have, in fact, stored up on earth.” We read the Sermon on

September 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Paralysis, Condescension, or Love?

By Jim Tune How do you view the world? Too often I think our churches tend to see the world only as a mess””caught up in mindless trivialization, bereft of moral values, anti-church, and anti-Christian. Indeed, it is common today for many churches to see the world as the enemy. Unfortunately, rather than feeling heartbroken about it, we feel smug and righteous as we gleefully witness its downfall. Godlessness is its own punishment! The world is only getting what it deserves! That”s what it gets for not listening to us! In this, our attitude is the antithesis of Jesus” attitude

August 26, 2015

Christian Standard

Behind My Back

By Jim Tune I wasn”t intending to eavesdrop. It just sort of happened. I had left the company of two close friends, but realized minutes later I had left a personal item behind. My friends were still talking when I returned, and they were talking about me. I wasn”t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn”t keep from listening as they discussed a very personal decision I had shared with them earlier. There was nothing mean-spirited in anything they said. I made my presence known almost immediately. I had heard enough to feel a flash of betrayal and embarrassment. When I

August 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Armed and Dangerous

By Jim Tune A few years ago, a Seeds of Compassion event in Seattle, Washington, was organized around the visit of the Dalai Lama. One of the highlights was a joint speech by the Dalai Lama and South African bishop Desmond Tutu. Both men have committed their lives to peace and nonviolence. Their humanitarian work has saved lives and made the world a safer place. Both men espouse the value of enemy love. Both are committed to the call to love their enemies just as they would love their friends. They have lived out this commitment in ways most of

July 23, 2015

Christian Standard

Sean Palmer’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Sean Palmer, lead minister of The Vine Church, Temple, Texas. ________ If N.T. Wright isn”t the world”s greatest living theologian, he”s certainly the one influencing my life and work the most. In fact, among my pastor and theologian friends, I”ve begun to call Wright “Q” because he is the source of a great deal of what is now being preached and

July 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Feeling Close

By Daniel Schantz “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David . . .” (1 Samuel 18:1). The word communion means “to share” or “to have something in common.” Although it is more than just a feeling, the feeling is rather nice. Communion is what you feel the first time you fall in love, and she loves you back. You can almost read her mind, and when she goes away, your heart breaks. Communion is what you feel in the middle of the night when your wife is trembling from a nightmare and, gently, you wake her from

July 16, 2015

Christian Standard

A Conversation with J.K. Jones

Lookout Editor Kelly Carr speaks with J.K. Jones, who led morning Bible study sessions throughout the 2015 North American Christian Convention. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation at Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, talks about his love for books and their importance in his spiritual formation. Listen to their conversation.

July 10, 2015

Christian Standard

A Good Meal

By Daniel Schantz “For this reason many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). Church services are well underway in a smalltown church of a hundred souls, when a little girl of 10 meanders down the center aisle, looking for a seat. She looks confused, as if she has never been inside a church before and she doesn”t know where to sit. Her bony shoulders are draped with a rag of a dress and her hair is matted and greasy. Her fingers and arms are gray with ground-in dirt, and she looks starved. At last she

July 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Dave’s Gone–Now What?

By Joe Boyd Popular culture shows us who we are. It”s a mirror that reflects what we are becoming. So what do we make of Fallon”s rise in the wake of Letterman”s departure? Regardless of how we feel about it, popular culture is a dynamic force that shapes the lives of most Americans. Music, sports, and entertainment are power players that inform the worldview of millions of people both inside and outside the church. It”s simply the reality of the world we live in. The job of the Christian, in my opinion, is to know the culture while understanding that

July 1, 2015

Christian Standard

You Will Receive Power

By Jim Tune Luke ends his Gospel with the promise of power from on high (Luke 24:49)””a promise quickly fulfilled with an exclamation mark in the book of Acts, as the Spirit descends on Jesus” disciples at Pentecost. Mark”s Gospel, at least in its longer form, ends with a dramatic promise of signs, of poison swallowed without harm, of snake handling and tongue speaking. So you could be forgiven for harboring expectations of dramatic spiritual ecstasies when the resurrected Christ, invested with all heavenly and earthly authority, promises his presence to the end of the age. Yet the charge Jesus

June 26, 2015

Christian Standard

Three Ways to Sing a Common Song

By Mandy Smith For many Christians, singing hymns in a group is still a meaningful experience. An a cappella version of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” can induce goose bumps, especially when those harmonies chime in on the “A-men.” While we don”t usually dissect the meaning of this practice, there are reasons why singing as a group is powerful. The simple act of singing old songs about God to God with each other reinforces three things that are central to our faith: We are devoted to God through Christ, We are devoted to him together, and We are

May 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Students Stoked about Pepperdine”s “˜Surf Chapel”

By Jennifer Johnson Three years ago, Grant Waggoner, an alumnus and employee of Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA), began mentoring a few students at the school. This “small group” shared a love of surfing, and one of the guys eventually invited his professor, Dr. Robert Shearer. “Grant and I began sharing leadership of the group,” Shearer, assistant professor of decision science, says. “Last year he got married and moved, but I”m at Zuma Beach, about 15 minutes north of the Pepperdine campus, every Wednesday morning at 7:30. This year we”ve been averaging 100 students each week.” There are no classes on

May 22, 2015

Christian Standard

To Comfort All Who Mourn (Isaiah 61:1-3)

By Neal Windham The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion (Isaiah 61:1-3). Jesus loved Isaiah. Again and again, our Lord turned to the trusted old prophet to help orient his disciples in the compassionate ways of the kingdom. For example, he began the Sermon on the Mount

May 6, 2015

Christian Standard

In All Things Love

By Jim Tune There”s a scene in Mark Twain”s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I will never forget. Huck Finn has helped hide Miss Watson”s runaway slave, Jim. But Huck was sure he was committing a grave sin in helping the fugitive. Huck had learned in Sunday school, “People that acts as I”d been acting . . . goes to everlasting fire.” Eventually Huck writes a note to Miss Watson as an act of repentance. Desperate to save his soul, he tells her where to find her runaway slave. Huck prays the “sinner”s prayer” and “gets saved.” Even though he

May 5, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Age-old

By Mark A. Taylor Let me tell you about my new best friend, Bob. Bob”s the guy from the other end of the office who paused last week beside my cubicle, festooned with “Happy Birthday” banners and a big, red “65” in the middle of the display. Bob said, “Hey, wait a minute!” I looked up from my desk and smiled. “This isn”t real, right? This is a joke, right?” He was completely sincere. This fine man couldn”t believe I was celebrating the welcome-to-Medicare birthday. I”m not sure his reaction is due principally to the fact that he doesn”t wear

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