Guidelines For Living Devotional

What Do You Really Believe?

As the pastor led his congregation in the recitation of the Apostles' Creed, that begins with the words, "I believe…" one man quietly said, "I used to believe…" and continued to mumble the words, recited by Christians for centuries.
 

When Your Life Goes Up In Flames

When fire swept through Laguna Canyon near our office one of the properties destroyed was a botanical garden containing more than two thousand varieties of plants and flowers.  Known as the Hortense Miller Garden, the place was a veritable paradise of beautiful flowers and greenery.  The fire, of course, blackened the hillside as it left its ugly scars. Disaster?  Yes!  That is what people called it, and that it was. Yet, just five months later, the hills were alive with the beauty of wild flowers which had not been seen in the area for thirty to one hundred years.
 

How to Live a Long, Healthy Life

"I believe in God…" begins the affirmation of the Apostles' Creed.  But does what you believe make much difference in how long you live, or even more pointedly, in the quality of the life you live?  It does, contends a growing body of scientific evidence.  The relationship between your belief system and your health is better documented every year.  Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of Duke University's Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health says scientists and doctors "have to confront it. They can't just say religion is irrelevant to health.  It is relevant."

The Best Way to Solve a Problem

You have a problem and it's got to be solved!  So, problem-solvers that we are by nature, we go to work on a solution.  Occasionally, all of us feel the need for reinforcement, and that's when we inform God in prayer as to how He should handle the situation.  I've discovered through trial and error, and more error than I would like to admit, that quite often my solution is at cross‑purposes with God's solution.

The Lion, the Adder, and the Dragon

The old King James text of Psalm 91 talks about the lion, the adder and the dragon and it says that you, as God's trusting child, can triumph over these adversaries.   All of the difficulties and challenges that you will ever face in life are represented by one of these three images. 

The Link Between God, Your Effort, & Success

Some called it "the Protestant work ethic!"  But it isn't, really.  It is simply the application of several phrases found in Scripture which can be paraphrased, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right; so give it your best effort!" Four times in the Bible you find a phrase that says, "whatever you do" and emphasizes a relationship between you and God.  The first is found in the Old Testament wisdom literature, specifically the book of Proverbs, mostly written by Solomon.  "Commit to the LORD whatever you do," says Proverbs 16:3, "and your plans will succeed.”  In this same context, the writer says that we as mortals make our plans, but the Almighty, not simply our scheming, determines their outcome.  That first "whatever you do" forges a link between your efforts, God, and success. Application: When you really take Him as your partner in life--whether it is business or a marriage--what some think of as luck, the Bible says is really the blessing of God.
 

What Does It Mean to Surrender to God?

Is it possible for you to embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior, but not really as your Lord?   Put it another way:  Can you take this whole business in stages, believing some things but not really becoming a radical?  "After all," you may reason, "I want to go to heaven but I don't want to get fanatical about this whole business."

How to Think About Yourself

C.S. Lewis, described as the "apostle to the skeptic," once wrote that when errors come into the world they come in pairs, as men are driven to one extreme or another.  If you stop and think about it, you will probably agree with the brilliant former professor of Medieval English.  Think of yourself more highly than you ought to and we say you are stuck on yourself–full of pride and arrogant.. On the other hand, if you constantly belittle yourself, your self‑image crumbles and you slide into debilitating depression.
 

Help For Discouraging Days

Have you had the experience of attempting something...you’ve really poured your all into it, but it’s looking like failure is imminent? All your time and effort, the late nights, the hopes and dreams. Maybe it’s a project at work.  Maybe it’s a relationship that you’re desprately trying to save right now.  Discouragement has you in it’s clutches.  This devotional is dedicated to all of you who are discouraged and feel like quitting, no matter where you are. 

How to Find Freedom From Worry

Is worry really wrong?   Who would deny that there is plenty to worry about‑‑the state of the economy, our health, the Middle East, the domestic problems including feeding the hungry (which few of us really worry about unless we are on the hungry end of the issue), and a lot of other things?  But can we help worrying any more than we can help our hair thinning out or what happens to our good looks after age 50?