Devotionals
For Such a Time as This
A Devotional to Prepare Our Hearts for a New Year
By Dr. Marcus Buckley, Ministry Director at Christian Union Vita at Cornell
"And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him." -Esther 4:12-17
Seek the Prince of Peace
Join Our 21-Day Fast
By chuck hetzler, PhD, vice president of biblical theology
Is Israel’s current war a sign of the end times? How should we, as Christians, think about the war? What can and should we do?
Christian Union is calling all American Christians to start the year with a 21-day fast, Tuesday, January 2, through Monday, January 22, 2024, to humble ourselves and seek God in light of the current events in the Middle East.
The upcoming CU National Fast is titled "Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace for All Nations." Christian Union faculty and staff will write devotionals based on Scripture, which will be sent to all signed-up participants by email each day of the fast.
Three Daily Prayers for the Holidays
Seeking the Lord in Our Busyness
By Fuji Kim, edited by Erin Conner
As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Lord's blessings at Thanksgiving, Christian Union presents this special devotional, originally published in 2021, "Three Daily Prayers for the Holidays."
Stand Firm
By Rev. Jeffrey Walsh
Ministry Director, Christian Union Lux at Yale University
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand Firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God... – Ephesians 6:13-17
"Sergeant, I forgot my rifle in my room," one team leader radioed as we drove out of the front gate of our Iraqi-based compound in March 2004. Our mission: to carry out a covert assignment with a clandestine operations team from the National Security Agency. I was surprised when our team leader realized he had forgotten his rifle. We always ensured we had all the required equipment before starting any mission. However, I suggested that he find a solution, and we continued our journey without returning. This decision would be one of my life's worst decisions. Roughly three hours later, we would meet the enemy, and two people would die due to not bearing the most essential weapon in the arsenal.
Welcoming Freshmen
Christian Union Universities' Fall Campaigns Begin
By Erin Conner
Christian Union has established undergraduate ministries at nine of America's most highly influential undergraduate institutions (and also at Harvard Law). The ministry plans and executes intensive freshman welcoming campaigns at the start of each academic year. Research indicates that the first few weeks of students’ lives, as they transition from high school to college, can be critical for establishing foundations for future success.
An Incredible, Beautiful Journey
Christian Union's National Fast Concludes
By chuck Hetlzer
Christian Union America’s most recent national fast came to an end Monday, August 14, 2023. 5,175 Christians across the nation signed up to seek God in prayer, fasting, and repentance, along with a special emphasis on taking in massive amounts of Scripture.
Shepherd the Flock of God That is Among You
A Devotional
By rev. Jeffrey walsh, ministry director, christian Union lux
So, I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:1-4
The Lion And The Lamb
The Dual Identity of Jesus
By Sheri Casali, Ministry Fellow, CU Gloria
The passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting there. And making a whip out of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade”. His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” – John 2:13-17
A Father’s Discipline
Admonishing One Another In Christ
By Don Weiss, Ministry Director, CU Gloria
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. - 1 Corinthians 4:14-15
To The Uttermost
How Jesus Keeps Us Day By Day
By Anne Kerhoulas
In the Christian life, we need Scripture that grounds us firmly in the truth of Christ and our union and communion with him. Hebrews 7:25 is one such verse that roots and establishes us in the unshakeable love of Jesus and his ongoing work of interceding on our behalf.
Repenting of Malice
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.
A Cold Day in Eden
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.
Repenting of Rivalry
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.
The Spiritual Summer Vacation: Recentering on Christ
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.
Day and Night Fast Unites 4,500 Americans to Seek God for Revival
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.
What Does it Mean to Earnestly Seek the Lord?
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.”
Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross
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
"The Most Important Habit" by Fady Ghobrial
Christian Union Gloria (Harvard College)
Christian Union Ministry Fellow, Fady Ghobrial, encourages and equips Harvard students as they seek for practical ways to improve their prayer lives.
Social Distancing from Sin
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)
Seeking Christ in Crisis
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.
