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March 20, 2020

Repenting of Losing Our First Love

Friday, March 20, 2020“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ - Revelation 2:1-7 (ESV) In a time of uncertainty and crises, the Christian’s natural response is to seek God to make sure everything about his life is pleasing to Him. This is needed because through the years it can be easy for Christians to drift away from their full devotion to Jesus Christ. It’s striking that within a few years of the establishment of the church in the city of Ephesus, the Christians, even though commended for their rejection of heresy, had grown cool toward God. Jesus tells them plainly what they need to do, and the current American church should take heed as well.

March 19, 2020

According to Jesus, All People Must Repent

Thursday, March 19, 2020 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."  – Luke 13:1-5 (ESV) Wide-scale disasters are a reminder of the mortality of life, the coming Day of fire, and the need for everyone everywhere to repent and trust Christ. 

March 18, 2020

A 35-Year Reflection from New York City 

When my wife Marya and I arrived in New York City in 1984 I used three adjectives to describe the city. The Big Apple was broke, violent, and under-churched in many communities. The front page of the October 30, 1975, Daily News read: “Ford to City: Drop Dead” after President Ford denied federal assistance to spare New York from bankruptcy. In 1984, a decade of racial violence began when Bernard Goetz, a German, shot five unarmed African-American men on the subway. In 1994, the murder rate spiked at twenty-four hundred murders, or eight a day for a year. According to Jeffrey Burke, the NYPD chief forensic dentist, the city morgue simply ran out of room.

March 18, 2020

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14 Did you notice the word pestilence in verse 13 above? It’s not a word commonly used, but it’s a word of extraordinary current relevance. It’s still unknown whether the coronavirus COVID-19 will be simply as bad as the common flu (taking approximately 50,000 American lives each year), or something far more lethal like the Spanish Flu of 1918 (took 50-100 million lives worldwide). Most believe it will be somewhere in between, on the lower end of the spectrum. 

March 18, 2020

Wed, March 18 - Sun, April 26

Christian Union Day and Night invites you to join us in a 40-day initiative of prayer, fasting and repentance to meet the threat of the Coronavirus.Click here to join the fast.In times of crises, God desires that His people examine themselves and repent of everything displeasing to Him. We are to repent on behalf of ourselves and American Christianity which is largely self-indulgent and does not seek the Lord in holiness or wholehearted devotion. First-century Christians prayed and read the Scriptures every morning and evening, and fasted twice a week. Meanwhile, American Christians spend little energy seeking God and the church is therefore largely powerless. Most Christians don’t give at least ten percent of their income even though we are the richest country in the history of the world, and we pollute ourselves through movies and our own engagement with sexual immorality.

March 12, 2020

Pole Vaulter Pursues Christ at Cornell

Maria Siciliano, a sophomore pole vaulter on the Cornell track and field team, has a deep faith that helps her soar in competition and as a leader on campus with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Christian Union.
Maria Siciliano, a sophomore pole vaulter on the Cornell track and field team, has a deep faith that helps her soar in competition and as a leader on campus with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Christian Union. Siciliano, an English major with a concentration in literary theory and a minor in comparative literature, seeks to give God glory each time she competes. In 2019, she entered the Cornell record books with vaults during the indoor and outdoor seasons. She ranks tenth all-time indoors (11-feet-11.75 inches) and seventh all-time outdoors (12-feet-2.5 inches).

March 12, 2020
Asia Bibi, the Nigerian Elders, and the Radical Nature of Christian Forgiveness; Moving Toward Redemptive Action; The Sky's the Limit; First of All, Pray; Coronavirus and the Church: CT’s Latest News and Advice and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the righteous man runs into it and is safe.— Proverbs 18:10

March 11, 2020

Jade Thompson ’21 Leads Outreach Team

Christian Union leaders and peers reassure me of my value in ways that encourage me to assume larger roles in other organizations because I have a sense of worth and feel that my voice, input, and contributions truly matter
For Jade Thompson, co-directing a Text-4-Toasties outreach for Christian Union at Columbia this fall was just one of the many ways she has been challenged to grow as a leader. Thompson, an Economics and Sustainability major from Westchester, New York, called her involvement with Lumine, Christian Union’s ministry at Columbia, “the best part of my college experience.”

February 28, 2020

Students Warm Locust Walk with Cider Outreach

Christian Union at the University of Pennsylvania put “campus kindness” into action this fall by giving away hot cider to students on their way to class on Locust Walk, a centrally located pathway. There were no strings attached to receive the hot beverage. Yet, if students chose to sip their drink and discuss faith, leaders were there to engage. The outreach was part of the ministry’s on-going campus kindness effort, which also includes book giveaways and welcoming bags for freshmen.
Christian Union at the University of Pennsylvania put “campus kindness” into action this fall by giving away hot cider to students on their way to class on Locust Walk, a centrally located pathway. There were no strings attached to receive the hot beverage. Yet, if students chose to sip their drink and discuss faith, leaders were there to engage. The outreach was part of the ministry’s on-going campus kindness effort, which also includes book giveaways and welcoming bags for freshmen.

February 27, 2020
How Do I Jumpstart My Prayer Life?; Join Us Live, Tonight, for the 2020 Collegiate Day of Prayer; Redeeming Your 401(k); On the Self-Censorship of Conservative Students; Is It Faithful to Flee an Epidemic? What Martin Luther Teaches Us About Coronavirus and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’— Matthew 25:49

February 27, 2020

A CU New York Lunch & Learn featuring Olga Statz

On Friday, February 21, 2020, CU New York was honored to host Olga Statz*, Acting General Counsel at the City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, as the guest speaker for a Lunch & Learn. Olga began her talk on Man’s Laws but God’s Justice: Learning to Stay in Our Lane with a personal recollection of a moment early in her law career.  For the first time she felt the true responsibility expected of her as an advocate, recognizing what it meant to stand between a defendant and the full weight of the State. At this moment Olga was confronted with this underlying truth: the secret of a lawyer’s ability and power lies in process. To this point, Olga emphasized the importance of understanding our roles as professionals and as humans, of  understanding our authority in Christ and God’s authority over our lives, in understanding how to submit to Christ and to submit to the procedural standards of our justice system.

February 26, 2020

Christian Union Is Helping Moore ’20 to Thrive

While a student at Harvard Law School, Moore had a radical encounter with Jesus Christ and came away awestruck by His grace and unmerited mercy. “I came back to faith in a huge way,” he said. “It was such a powerful experience.”
  One year ago, T. Preston Moore ’20 returned to the faith of his youth after rededicating his life to Christ. The Atlanta-area native was a devout believer until his early teen years but “fell and fell and fell.” After experiencing intense spiritual hunger as a young man, “I went around looking everywhere,” he said. “Everything was vacant compared to Christ.” While a student at Harvard Law School, Moore had a radical encounter with Jesus Christ and came away awestruck by His grace and unmerited mercy. “I came back to faith in a huge way,” he said. “It was such a powerful experience.”

February 26, 2020

Carreon Is New Christian Union Ministry Fellow

A new ministry fellow at Stanford University with Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry on that campus, Carreon also serves as leader with the Veritas Forum at Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley.
   Abigail Carreon has a passion to help some of the nation’s brightest young minds explore questions of faith and grow deeper in their walk with Jesus Christ. A new ministry fellow at Stanford University with Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry on that campus, Carreon also serves as leader with the Veritas Forum at Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley. With Caritas, she leads Bible courses and mentors students with one-on-one discipleship and life coaching. In her role as Veritas Host, she focuses on organizing teams and supporting forums, discussions, and long-term projects.

February 26, 2020

Pascut Has a Passion for Mentoring 

Romanian-born Ben Pascut is quick to explain how the translation of his first name, Beniamin, involves the concept of advisory service to a king. “I really think it’s my destiny to form leaders and be an advisor to people in high places,” said Pascut, who joined Christian Union’s faculty at Brown in the summer.
Christian Union’s newest ministry fellow at Brown University likes to reflect upon how his name resonates with his divine calling. Romanian-born Ben Pascut is quick to explain how the translation of his first name, Beniamin, involves the concept of advisory service to a king. “I really think it’s my destiny to form leaders and be an advisor to people in high places,” said Pascut, who joined Christian Union’s faculty at Brown in the summer.

February 26, 2020

Strong Roots Help Sharla Moody ’22 Find Her Place at Yale

During first-year orientation (lovingly referred to as “Camp Yale”), Moody noted that she “was really homesick.” However, she soon found other students with backgrounds similar to hers, which helped ease the homesickness. Through Christian Union Lux, she was able to connect with other Christian students from rural environments. For Moody, “it was really good to have people who understood that and welcomed me immediately.”
While the rural hills of southern Ohio may seem a world away from the ivory towers of Yale University, Sharla Moody ’22 bridges the two with thoughtfulness and grace. When she came to campus as a first-year in 2018, Moody’s transition to college life was starker than that of most Yale undergraduates. Her hometown, Gallipolis, Ohio, is nestled on the northern banks of the Ohio River, facing the shores of West Virginia to the south. Gallipolis is something of a quintessential Appalachian town, home to picturesque river valley views, a charming Main Street, and about 3,500 residents. However, having experienced a slow and steady decline in its population since the 1960s, Gallipolis faces the same trials as other Appalachian towns in contemporary American life. From this quiet, tight-knit community, Moody was thrown into a loud, heterogenous, and opulent campus.  Yet, even if unconventional, Moody’s path to Yale from small-town Ohio seems providential. In her junior year of high school, she read Hillbilly Elegy – a memoir written by J. D. Vance, a Yale Law school graduate from a small town in Ohio similar to Moody’s. The book, lauded for its raw depiction of the cultural and economic decay faced by the rural, white working class, became a near-instant best-seller.

February 26, 2020

Nova’s Upperclassmen Enjoy Mentoring Roles

Lin is a member of Nova, Christian Union’s ministry at Princeton. The computer science major from Dallas, Texas, serves as a co-leader of Nova’s discipleship team, a group of upperclassmen who regularly meet with younger students to study the Bible, pray, and serve as mentors.
Andrew Lin is committed to the biblical mandate of making disciples. Lin is a member of Nova, Christian Union’s ministry at Princeton. The computer science major from Dallas, Texas, serves as a co-leader of Nova’s discipleship team, a group of upperclassmen who regularly meet with younger students to study the Bible, pray, and serve as mentors.

February 12, 2020
America's Crisis of Contempt; Set Aside Time to Draw Near to God; A Decade in Review: Marital Norms Erode; On Prayer and Providence; Marriage and Ministry and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."— Matthew 5:43-45

January 29, 2020
Carpe Diem Redeemed: Seizing the Day, Discerning the Times; This is Devotion to Prayer; A Hidden Life is a Faith-Based Masterpiece; On the Public Reading of Scripture; Soaping the Slippery Slope; When Satan Takes the High Road, We Take the Low Road and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.— 1 Timothy 4:13

January 29, 2020

Stand Firm and Take Action

Wednesday, January 29 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.- Daniel 11:32 (ESV) This passage refers to Antiochus IV who dominated Judah for a period in the 2nd century BC, forbidding Jews to worship God as the law prescribes, and desecrating the temple. All who refused were put to death. It was an incredibly difficult and dark time for those who loved the LORD and sought to be faithful to Him. America has had its ups and downs spiritually but has never seen anything like what the Jews experienced at that time, and there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen in America at some point. This is why we fast!  To seek favor, forgiveness, and blessing from God so that He will have mercy on the nation and bring increased freedom and blessing.

January 28, 2020

Resolve to be Undefiled

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.- Daniel 1:8 Daniel was just a teenager when taken as an exile to Babylon and inducted into the King’s service. He was no doubt scared and resigned to the fact that he would probably never see his homeland again. Yet his faith in God was extraordinary, even as He and his devout friends started to learn the literature of their adopted homeland and began preparation and training to serve the king in the administrative state. As the book of Daniel reveals, young Daniel would grow in skill and stature assuming a very high role in the kingdom in his later years. Yet, from the very beginning, he would not compromise his walk with the LORD.