Devotionals

How Hatred Poisons Community and Steals Our Joy

By Qwynn Gross

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. – Ephesians 4:31

When time is given to fast and pray for matters relating to our nation, our families, and ourselves, it should also be a time of reflection and repentance for sin, specifically for the sin of malice.
 

The Unity of The Triune God Is Our Hope

By Chris Coppernoll

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.  – Romans 15:5-7

The temperature dropped in Eden when the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord walking in the cool of the day, and hid among the trees. By taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, they'd torn the bond with their Creator apart and hid because they knew what they'd done was wrong. The couple's act of hiding brought their sin out into plain sight. Now, there would be no more walking with God in the cool of the day, only the cold reminiscence of their innocence lost. 

Rivalry in the Body of Christ Dishonors the Lord

By Chuck Hetzler, PhD, Director, CU Day and Night

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?  – 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

All jealousy, pride, rivalry, and division must be repented of and put at the foot of the cross or Christian Unity will not be achieved. 

Rest, Solitude, and Holding Fast to God's Promises

By Anne Kerhoulas, STAFF WRITER

The semester winds down, celebrations, endings, farewells, and fatigue sweep us into the early summer days. June always felt like a surprise. The summer had arrived. But the flash flood of the semester left me cleaned out, leaves and branches in my hair, and trying to reorient myself to where I had landed. 

Participants Share Powerful Testimonies

By Chuck Hetzler, Director of CU Day & Night

God has a word for every nation. That’s why 4,500 American Christians joined Christian Union Day and Night’s fourteen-day fast on January 3-16, 2022. 

Hope for Restless Souls

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you. — Psalm 63:1

What does it mean to “earnestly” seek the Lord? According to Oxford Languages, the adverb earnestlymeans “with sincere and intense conviction; seriously.”

Three Biblical Reasons to Fast 

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler, vice president of biblical theology

Twenty-first century American Christianity is not known for self-denial. Most of the American church’s marketing mirrors the world’s. The church sells good-looks, fashion, and personal happiness. No doubt, following Jesus makes your life better, but true discipleship promises hardship and absolute surrender along the way. 

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23

Christian Union Gloria (Harvard College)

Christian Union Day and Night

by justin woyak

Editor’s Note: The following devotional was written to help Christians think about and respond biblically to the crisis of COVID-19. In March, Christian Union Day and Night organized a nationwide, 40-day initiative of prayer, fasting, and repentance to address the coronavirus pandemic, supported by daily devotionals.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 

—2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)

A Freshman’s Perspective 

by katherine wang, harvard ’23

As one who has followed the growth of COVID-19 from its beginnings to its spread across the globe, I have been consumed with worry for relatives living in hot spots, disturbed by empty shelves in grocery stores and the impact on our economy, and grieved by people ridiculing the power of prayer on my social media feeds. This pandemic seems anything but light or momentary. It is difficult to see past our afflictions when we are in the midst of them, but when I take a moment to consider this pandemic in light of eternity, I have realized three things.

‘Behold the Kindness and Severity of God’ 

by john piper 

It matters little what we think about the coronavirus. But it matters forever what God thinks. He is not silent about what He thinks. Scarcely a page in the Bible is irrelevant for this crisis.

Our voice is grass. His is granite. “The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Peter 1:24–25). His words in Scripture “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). What he says is “true, and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9). Listening to God, and believing him, is like building your house on a rock, not sand (Matthew 7:24).

Dear Friends,

​Our 40-day initiative of prayer, fasting, and repentance comes to a close today. Thank you so much for having joined me and several thousand Christians across America as we turned to the Lord with a repentant heart, asking God for mercy and healing in the face of this pandemic.

Sensing that there is still a great need for spiritual encouragement during this crisis, we will continue to send you devotional videos every day at 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern for some days to come. I hope you will find them beneficial. Though this special 40 Day initiative has ended, let's keep crying out to God in humility, and let's continue to seek Him day and night during this very trying time in our nation's history.  We are desirous that Christians and non-Christians alike repent of sins, draw near to God, and experience great outpourings of His Holy Spirit. 

Trusting Him for a Great Awakening,

Matt Bennett, Founder and CEO, Christian Union

Do the Work of an Evangelist

Chuck Hetzler, Ph.D., has a diverse background as a biblical scholar, worship leader, and pastor. He served as Christian Union’s first Teaching Fellow at Princeton University and later directed its ministry in New York City. Chuck earned his Ph.D. in New Testament from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently pastors Bethesda Grace Church in Manhattan.

Repent of Our Two Evils

Matt Bennett is founder and CEO of Christian Union, a Christian leadership development organization. A native of Houston, Texas, Matt earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Cornell University and holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He resides in New York City.

Transcript
The Book of Jeremiah has more references to the word pestilence—20 times—than any other book in the Bible. It's referenced 52 times in the Old and New Testaments, but the greatest concentration is in Jeremiah, and then secondly, Ezekiel. And so this book has a lot to say about what we're dealing with, with the coronavirus, this worldwide pandemic. And we should look to Jeremiah to see what messages God may have for us today.

Follow the Spirit's Desires

Dimas Salaberrios, Ministry Associate with Christian Union, is a dynamic teacher, speaker, and pastor. His bestselling memoir, Street God, was released in September 2015. Dimas holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary and resides in the Bronx with his wife Tiffany and three daughters.

Calm in Fire and Flood

Give Up Everything for Christ

Dimas Salaberrios, Ministry Associate with Christian Union, is a dynamic teacher, speaker, and pastor. His bestselling memoir, Street God, was released in September 2015. Dimas holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary and resides in the Bronx with his wife Tiffany and three daughters.

Are We Missing a Chance to Humble Ourselves?

Watch The Video (3:59)

Matt Bennett is founder and CEO of Christian Union, a Christian leadership development organization. A native of Houston, Texas, Matt earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Cornell University and holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He resides in New York City.

God Our Dwelling Place

Ken Fish, Founder of Orbis Ministries, is an honors graduate of Princeton University. He has also earned an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. Formerly a colleague of John Wimber, the late leader of the Vineyard Movement, Ken brings more than 30 years of academic study and practical experience to ministry.

Walk in the Spirit and Avoid Sin

Dimas Salaberrios, Ministry Associate with Christian Union, is a dynamic teacher, speaker, and pastor. His bestselling memoir, Street God, was released in September 2015. Dimas holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary and resides in the Bronx with his wife Tiffany and three daughters.

Transcript
I want to talk to you about a real important topic if you want to be a really faithful and strong follower of Jesus Christ, and I want to challenge you to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And this is a lifetime battle that we face every day of our Christian journey. Are we walking in the deeds of the flesh [or] are we walking in the deeds of the Spirit?