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Testimonies from the January 2024 CU National Fast
By matt bennett, founder and president of christian union
By God’s grace, thousands of lives have been powerfully impacted! Nearly 8,000 of us completed a 21-day fast to start the new year focused on the Prince of Peace for the nations, and we praise God for His grace and mercy towards us.
Through history, the people of God have fasted, prayed, repented, and sought the Lord wholeheartedly when they desire the Lord’s healing and grace poured out in their own lives or in the lives of their community. Remember Ezra, who led his people in fasting and prayer for God’s protection from enemies amidst rising war and evil, declaring, “we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty (Ezra 8:23).”
When Christians devotedly seek the Lord through fasting, the Lord loves to pour out his blessing, his power, and his spirit.
Practical Teachings on Supernatural Healing in the Church Today
By Anne Kerhoulas (2022), UPDATED and revised by erin conner (2024)
The gospels depict a supernatural world in which demons are cast out, the dead are raised, and the sick are healed. But for many Christians today, the world of the Bible seems to have little to no bearing on our present-day world—we see the demonic as fantasy and believe that healings and miracles are either impossible or due to human achievement, not to the power of the One who brought all things into existence.
"Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace for All Nations" CU National Fast 2024 Devotional
By grace ann arvey, director of christian union america
"'Say to them, As I live,' declares the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?'" – Ezekiel 33:11
Praying Before Reading Scripture
By Julie Weber (2016), Updated & revised by erin conner (2024)
The intake of Scripture and the practice of prayer are both spiritual disciplines Christians are called to engage in daily and diligently. Should we ever combine the two and pray about our Bible reading?
Writer Kristen Wetherell, in "Unlocking the Bible," suggests that we can and should pray before we begin our study of the Bible.
She writes, "Reading the Bible before praying is like putting the cart before the horse. The proverbial horse is the Holy Spirit of God, who empowers and enlightens our Bible reading as we mine the depths of his Word. The proverbial cart makes up our willing eyes and hungry hearts, the Spirit-led choice to crack open our Bibles and pursue his everlasting truth. The cart must be pulled by the horse; our efforts to read must be motivated and helped by God’s grace and power. Christians come to God’s Word willing and hungry because he first made us willing and hungry to receive—but only he can enable us to receive. This is why we ask for help before we start reading."
Alumni Spotlight: Kenneth Jasko, '78, Chair of CU Nova Alumni Board
By Erin Conner
The CU Nova Board is a team of Princeton Christian alumni who desire to see the Gospel of Christ shine brightly at Princeton University and who seek sweeping spiritual transformation for its students, staff, and faculty. Kenneth Jasko, '78, Mike Vincent, '10, Vince Naman, '82, Edward (Ted) Duffield, '58, Tiffany Agyarko, '23, and Betsy Salazar, '10, currently serve on the Board and are committed to furthering the development of programs focused on alumni, as well as furthering the following objectives: advancing God's work at Princeton University, transitioning graduates well, and developing Christian leaders to influence our nation for God's glory, helping to bring revival.
Ken Jasko, the Board's Chair, invites all interested Princeton alumni to join this movement.
Columbia Students Emboldened for Christ
By erin conner, writer and communications associate
Craig Holliday and Viviana Hinojosa, the Ministry Director and the Women's Ministry Fellow at Christian Union Lumine, loaded up a bus full of 33 Columbia University students and took them on a trip an hour north of New York City to the Warwick Conference Center for their '23 fall conference. This incredible time of fellowship, worship, Scripture reading, and prayer was built around the theme "Marvelous Light," based on 1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (ESV).
"Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace for All Nations" CU National Fast 2024 Devotional
By matt bennett, founder and president of christian union
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." -1 Timothy 2:1-4
A Note of Gratitude from One Student Leader at Yale
By yoska guta, '25, christian union lux
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. -Romans 12: 4-6 (NIV)
The last two years that I’ve spent with Christian Union (CU) Lux at Yale have been a blessing to me. Through this Christian community, I’ve not only grown in my personal walk with God, but I’ve also seen and experienced what it truly means to be in the Body of Christ. I’m tremendously grateful for and blessed by the way God has brought this group of people together and shaped each of us to form one body, each member belonging to all the others for the benefit of each other and for the glory of God.
Christian Union America Devotional
By michael Racine, writer and ministry fellow at christian union lux at yale
People have a lot of different theories about when and how the various books of the Bible came into being. Nonbelievers especially may prefer to distance the written record from actual eyewitnesses to the events depicted—questioning authorship and positing late dates of composition—because, naturally, it is easier to sidestep the demands the Bible places on us if we can be persuaded that it is an unreliable witness. As the serpent proved in the garden of Eden, it’s a short and easy route from Did God really say…? to dismissing God’s words outright (Gen 3:1–6).
Following the Word, Not the World in the New Year
By Erin Conner
Joy and suffering can coexist. The Apostle Paul's example, along with many other godly leaders in Scripture, illuminates that when one surrenders a worldly mindset for a godly one, he or she can indeed experience the joy of the Lord, even in the midst of sorrow. This life-giving principle is a timely one to recall during the holidays, when a palpable expectation exists for everything to be abundantly joyous and when many people are carrying a heavy sorrow in their hearts. "When Your Heart Goes Dark," a recent article in Desiring God written by Greg Morse, powerfully explores how a Christian can have hope and joy in suffering. The antidote is to fix one's thoughts on God, for it is the thought-life of man that dictates the state of our soul.
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