Guidelines For Living Devotional

7 Ways To Make This Year Great

Some folks measure time by years--January 1 to December 31.  Some folks keep track of it by birthdays.  Some by how long it is until they can finally draw retirement benefits and kiss work goodbye forever, or how many weeks or years stand between them and getting married or going on that long-anticipated vacation.   OK, this is the first day of the New Year, right?  Question: Did the rising of the sun appear to you any different than it did yesterday, or last week, or last year as you remember it?  Yes, I know, you were sleeping this morning and didn't happen to notice.  But you will.  Saying that this is a new year is accurate but somewhat superficial and contrived.  Tomorrow Starts Today says the title of my devotional book.  So is today simply to be a rerun of yesterday, which was a repeat of the previous day and month?

What To Do On The Last Day Of The Year

This is it, the last day of the year, and within hours a new and strange-sounding year will begin full of we have no idea what!  Hopes, dreams, beginnings and endings. It’s a bit scary!  But should it be, really?  

Learn How To Face The Future Without Fear

Have you ever asked, "Why?  Why am I concerned, yes, even a little worried, about what this new and strange year may bring to me?" Good question, and one that points out the fact that you are not alone when it comes to concern over the future. And why not? 

What Does It Mean for God To Bear Our Burdens?

The barrier that keeps us from prayer is not whether or not we think God is strong enough to help us, but whether we are humble enough to bow the knee and admit that we need help.  Many of us, however, distance ourselves from God, wondering if He is really interested in us because of who we are.  Yes, we know our imperfections better than we know God's strength and compassion.  So we feed the nagging voice of doubt and withdraw into our cave of lonely isolation.

How To Get Through The Day After

Christmas is over, at least it is for most of you.  However, in some places such as in Russia, Christmas is observed in early January.  But no matter when you celebrate Christmas, there comes a time when it is over; and when it is over, it is over.

God Is With Us!

And before you hear from my dad, this is Bonnie Sala, president of Guidelines, wishing you Merry Christmas!  Today my dad shares what is my all-time favorite Guidelines Christmas devotional.  It’s the story of two missionaries, Rudolph Bosshardt and Arnolis Hayman, who were left behind, when the communists took over China in 1949.

A Christmas Eve Broken Heart

Today is Christmas Eve, at least in most places in the world.  It's an exciting time for children who may have left cookies and milk for Santa whom they hope will come down the chimney.  For them sleep will not come easily. 

What Really Happened At Bethlehem?

"My sole purpose in going to Florence," wrote Mark Twain in his book, A Tramp Abroad, "was to see this immortal 'Moses,' and by good fortune I was just in time, for they were already preparing to remove it to a more private and better-protected place because a fashion of robbing the great galleries was prevailing in Europe at that time."  That was in 1880 but today, tourists still flock to see that giant sculpture of Moses by the master Michelangelo, which you’ll find in the Church of San Pietro.  The sculptor depicted Moses as a powerful figure with a no-nonsense, stern looking face.

How To Treat Others Who Have Toxic Beliefs

How do you respond to individuals—neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, or the people who ride the bus with you—who are involved in toxic religions? The very question makes some uneasy, yet the reality is that toxicity in our world is on the increase. When the environment becomes toxic we complain loudly, denouncing the manufacturer who mindlessly contaminates the ground water that becomes our drinking water. We expect the government to deal with toxic substances in our food.  Manufacturers recall toys that are dangerous to our children.  But when some become involved in religions that are toxic, we are unsure how to handle the situation. Do you ignore them? Denounce them? Attack them?  Or just hope they will go away?

Discover What Toxic Thinking Looks Like

Have you ever asked yourself, “What causes a criminal to think as he or she does?” What makes a person think a crooked line is straight and a straight line is crooked? Believe it or not, it is not uncommon for criminals to actually believe they are doing society a great favor by sabotaging a pipeline somewhere or embezzling large sums of money from a corporation account.  And, yes, suicide bombers undoubtedly believe that they are doing God a favor by blowing themselves up along with as many as possible considered to be enemies or infidels.