Articles for tag: Sin

October 24, 2022

Christian Standard

What to Wear?

(We first ran this Communion meditation in January 2014.) By Ronald G. Davis “What to wear? What to wear?” Millions of Americans echo that question, as seasons change, as holidays and holy days loom. “Should it be the floral print?” “Perhaps little Susie would look good in pink?” “Is it a white shirt and tie day or maybe just a striped henley?” Whatever the answer, for many that is a significant issue. Christians need not ask the question. We have other, more significant truth to ponder and celebrate. Long ago, God answered the question through the pen of Isaiah. Isaiah

November 13, 2020

Christian Standard

What Breaks God’s Heart?

The Answer May Help Us Pray More Passionately for God’s Will in Our Lives, Churches, Communities, and Nation By Dale Reeves Earlier this month, Trevor DeVage challenged our church to pray every day for a week, “God, break my heart with the things that break your heart!” That’s not a safe or easy prayer. It’s not consistent with the God-please-bless-me-and-take-care-of-my-needs-and-answer-my-prayers-the-way-I-want-you-to Christianity that many American believers have grown accustomed to. I can’t claim to know everything that breaks God’s heart, but I know one must be when I try to hide from him and go my own way—as Adam and Eve

June 29, 2020

Stuart Powell

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

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.

November 26, 2019

Christian Standard

When the Unlimited Takes on Limitations

By L. Mackenzie Consider an Olympic triathlete becoming a paraplegic or the world’s greatest scientist diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. What is more tragic than someone with so much potential suddenly becoming limited or cut off from what they were created to be? They suffer, and the world suffers with them. When something great becomes severely limited by earthly circumstances—this is tragedy. What of Jesus? He who was infinite, outside of time and space, over and above all, knowing and in control of every aspect of the universe, was born an infant child. How can the infinite take on a limited form?

September 24, 2019

Christian Standard

Happy New Year!

By Jon Wren Tonight [September 29, 2019] marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah literally means a “day of shouting or blasting of horns” by the priests. The year begins anew, and according to Jewish tradition, over the next 10 days, the people’s deeds are examined and weighed by God. The culmination of the 10-day observance is Yom Kippur. Historically, on that final day, the sinful deeds of the people were symbolically placed on a literal “scapegoat” that would be sacrificed by the priests so the sins of the past year would be

July 30, 2019

Christian Standard

On-Time Delivery

By Jon Wren Several years ago, an independent study conducted by a British research firm determined that the most efficient organization in the world was the United State Postal Service. The study found that on average, a typical Postal Service employee handles more than 268,000 pieces of a mail a year. That total amounts to almost 765 packages and letters every day! Yet despite its legendary efficiency, the typical post office still doesn’t deliver all of the mail on time . . . or sometimes at all! A 2018 report found that only 93.8 percent of all first-class mail was

July 16, 2019

Stuart Powell

A Moment

By Stuart Powell By definition, a moment is a very short span of time. The swing of a pendulum,a breath,a sigh,a yawn,a statement;all of them take only a moment. We often dismiss the moments of life as insignificant events. But sometimes such dismissals trivialize the impact those moments can have on our lives. _ _ _ A lot can happen in one moment. There was a moment when perfection and beauty were crippled by an act of pride and selfishness. It was the moment Eve stretched out her hand to receive the forbidden fruit. In a moment, the innocence of

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Misfitbit

From After Class Podcast It’s time Christians stop obsessing about fitness and start focusing on more important things in life—like sin. This is why we’ve developed an innovative, always-on-call spiritual healthcare consultant. The Misfitbit Sinful Activity Tracker is a technologically advanced wristband that monitors your morality 24/7. Its advanced voice-recognition software detects all verbal indiscretions, including, but not limited to, swearing, yelling in anger, and taking the Lord’s name in vain. The “Super Saint Setting” can also sense white lies and white curses like “darn,” “shoot,” and “heck.” Its übersensitive microphone detects when you are listening to inappropriate music, hanging

August 27, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for September 2, 2018: The ‘Not’ in the Serpent’s Tale (Genesis 3:1-15)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 9 (weeks 33–36; August 19—September 9, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Beginning with this batch of four lessons, the weekly Bible lessons are based on a scope and sequence prepared by Christian Standard Media. For more information, click here. ______ By Mark Scott  Sin is a “knotty” problem. The word not appears three times in our lesson text (Genesis 3:1, 3, and 4). The

July 24, 2018

Christian Standard

Celebrating the Victory

By Jon Wren Good sportsmanship is one of the values we try to foster in our kids. From the time they start playing Little League, we encourage them to shake hands after a game. We talk about the virtue of humility when they win and being gracious when they lose. This value is so ingrained in our culture that many professional sports leagues penalize players who display poor sportsmanship, taunt the other team, or celebrate excessively after scoring. Good sportsmanship, in many ways, is an important character trait and value to live up to. Yet, according to the apostle Paul,

July 17, 2018

Christian Standard

No More Avoiding

By Jon Wren In his later years, the playwright and poet Oscar Wilde lived in Paris, France. Wilde enjoyed life in Paris with one major exception . . . the recently constructed Eiffel Tower. Wilde considered the tower an eyesore and tried to avoid it at all costs. And yet, due to the tower’s height and central location, no matter where Wilde went, the tower was always in view. This especially annoyed him at lunchtime: He would constantly find himself sitting outside and having to look at the tower while he ate. Finally, after months of unsuccessful searching for a

November 15, 2017

Christian Standard

The Past, Our Greatest Enemy

By Charles Gerber Everything changes. If you put macaroni and cheese in a refrigerator for a month, it becomes green and fuzzy. It changes into something unhealthy and nonnutritious. But, while most food items will spoil over time, our past has no expiration date! Everyone wrestles with his past. Oscar Wilde said, “No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” But regret is sometimes the reason we try. Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer whose quest was to find the fountain of youth. Was he looking to undo his past mistakes by regaining his youth? The

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