Guidelines For Living Devotional

300 Signs Pointing To Jesus

What chance is there when it comes to the laws of probability?  If you answer, "Not much!" you are right, because the laws of probability are carefully defined and calculated mathematically.  There is no real element of chance whatsoever.  For example, take a coin and toss it in the air.  If the coin is perfectly balanced, it has a one-in-two chance of coming up heads, right?  Now, what chance is there in its coming up heads twice in a row?  The odds are one in four.  Again, what chance is there of the coin coming up heads three times in a row?  If you answer, "A chance in eight," you are right, and I suspect you have given this matter some thought on previous occasions. 

Here Are Great Guidelines For Fractured Relationships

The most difficult words to say in any language are these, "I'm sorry; forgive me."  Yet what other combination of so few words brings so much healing to mankind?  "I'm sorry; forgive me"–these words make the difference between broken relationships and the healing that restores fragmented lives.

How To Combat Discouragement

Seldom does a writer really open his heart and reveal his soul, yet there are times when individuals pull up the window shades and let you see within, where their stark naked thoughts reveal struggles and conflicts that are not readily apparent.  The closest thing to an autobiographical picture of himself is what Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians.  Some have called it the "heart of Paul."  Anyone who has ever been involved in any aspect of Christian work--whether it is as a Sunday School teacher, a janitor, or a full-time worker--can relate to what Paul wrote.

3 Guidelines To Trusting God More

A century ago John Stockton wrote, "Only trust Him, only trust Him, Only trust Him now; He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now."  Yet following the advice of Stockton is not always easy.  It is easier to do it ourselves, to trust our resources, our skills, our doctors, our knowledge, even to gamble with the odds than to simply trust God.  I would like to share three simple guidelines that will help you reach beyond the ken of your own understanding and limitations and trust Him more.  Do you want to trust Him more?

Why You Need Silence In Your Life

One of the strangest of all musical compositions ever conceived was that drafted by the avant-garde American John Cage.  He wrote it in 1952 and called it “4’33”.”  It was written for any instrument or instruments, as the case may be, and each of the three movements has the instruction that it is to be rendered tacit which is Latin for “silent.”

How To Have Faith In A Dark World

"There is no such thing as darkness," said Malcolm Muggeridge, "only a failure to see."  But for a long while Muggeridge lived with a spiritual darkness so oppressing that he attempted to take his life.  But in so doing, Muggeridge did an about-face that ultimately brought him into the light of faith.  This one-time-cynic-turned-believer understood that the only thing which dispels darkness is light, and turning on the light in our lives spiritually is not always as simple as throwing a switch which immediately dispels the darkness.

The Only Ruler We Need For Truth Is The Bible

Noticing that the hair on the top of my head was somewhat thin, an acquaintance contributed the dubious bit of wisdom that it is now a proven fact that if you eat six bananas a day, you will have a full head of black hair.  “Ah, come on,” I countered.  “Nobody but a monkey eats six bananas a day.” “Have you ever seen a bald-headed monkey?” the person—now a former friend—chided, adding, “That is proof that it works!”

Discover Where Your Help Comes From

Some would call it quirks of evolution, but when you believe that God created all things, you have to think that perhaps God smiled as He made some of the little creatures and birds of the air whose designs are so specialized that they do certain things that no other creature can do, yet can't do what other birds or animals do quite easily.  Like what?  Consider the following:
            A buzzard can be placed in a pen two to three meters square, entirely open at the top, and in spite of his ability to spread his powerful wings and soar--perhaps not with eagles but certainly above the treetops--he can't get off the ground.  Why?  A buzzard has to have a running start, he needs three to five meters of runway to get airborne, and without it, the buzzard is imprisoned by only a fence.

What Does Integrity Look Like Today?

In a TV drama entitled Uprising, the plight of the Jews of Warsaw and how they resisted the forces of the Third Reich is vividly portrayed.  Some 350,000 men and women were forced like animals into the Ghetto where they were systematically annihilated.  

Why Is It Difficult To Trust God?

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "You may think that it is easy to define faith, and so it is, but it is easier still to confuse people with your definition."  Martin Luther defined faith as "a lively, reckless confidence in God."   The Quaker scholar J. Elton Trueblood said, "Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation."  In her excellent book The Secret of a Happy Christian Life, in a very practical vein, Hannah Smith wrote, "Faith is the simplest and plainest thing in the world...it is simply believing God."