Guidelines For Living Devotional

How to Free Yourself from Bitterness

When Terry Anderson was taken captive by a guerilla group, little did he realize that he would be enduring what no one should ever be subjected to.  Anderson, age 40 at the time, had been the chief Middle-East correspondent for the Associated Press.   Soon after he was taken captive, he was given a Bible by his Shiite Muslim captors, and for the duration of his four-and-a-half-years of captivity, he drew strength and hope from the pages of this grand old book. 
 

Learn What to Do with Your Anger

Everybody these days is subject to stress.  Whether you live in Manila, Tokyo, or Los Angeles, you live at a faster pace than at any time in history.  It's the traffic, the pressures and stress of life, along with family stress that can cause you to reach the boiling point, and when that happens, you explode.  You can refine the expression and say that you are just "letting off steam," but any way you look at it, anger has the best of you.  When your temper gets out of hand, you are embarrassed and feel disappointed with yourself because you know you have hurt others. Looking at it from a selfish viewpoint, you not only hurt others, but you hurt yourself and your future as well.
 

Help in a Crisis

There are times when I wish everybody would get it together and do the same thing everywhere--like pass an international law that all the water faucets in all the world would be standardized--hot water on the left, cold on the right.  Red for hot and blue for cold, and that all of them would turn on and off the same way. Do any color combination the United Nations wants. Just do the same thing everywhere.

What Makes Religions Toxic?

Almost any major city of the world today is shrouded in a pallor of smog and pollution that stings your eyes, makes your lungs ache, and negatively affects your health. When something pure is polluted by that which is harmful, it is said to be toxic. And that label can aptly be applied to religion as well as a variety of other things.

The Secret to Unshakable Faith

The difference between an oak and a bonsai--apart from their size--is the root system.  Whereas the bonsai may be interesting, perhaps even curiously captivating, it is the oak that has strength which endures the test of time and is there after the fire, the drought, and the storm.

Learn How to Rest in God

The Dead Sea is five times saltier than ocean water; and consequently, it's almost impossible for someone to drown in it.  A certain visitor to the area, not knowing this, fell off a pier into the water and wildly began to flail his arms and legs because he couldn't swim.
 

What is Consecration?

There's a bit of doggerel which says, "Three moves are as good as a fire," and anyone who has packed his possessions more than twice in a given year mumbles to himself, saying things such as, "What in the world am I keeping this for?"  Nonetheless, you keep that old stuff--just in case you might need it some day.

Discover the Most Important Thing in Your Teens Life

Ask any teen: What’s the biggest influence in your life and you might expect them to answer “friends” or “social media!”  And the parents of those teens might tell you the same thing. It is true, in cultures throughout the world, cellphones and internet connectivity are radically changing the fabric of a teen’s life. 

4 Guidelines for a Regret-Free Life

On his sickbed prior to his death, the British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said, “If you do not wish to be full of regrets when you are forced to lie still, work while you can. If you desire to make a sickbed as soft as it can be, do not stuff it with mournful reflections that you wasted time when you were in health and strength.”  I suppose it is only natural that when you get to the place Spurgeon described that you have some regrets.  You can no longer climb that mountain or swim the lagoon.  Neither can you jump stairs two at a time or run and leap across the meadow.

What Does it Mean to Deny Yourself

"Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'" (Luke 9:23).  Who was this one to make such a bold statement? He's identified in history as Jesus of Nazareth, but Nazareth was merely the place where He grew up.  One day, Jesus put the question to His disciples, saying, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (Matt. 16:13). Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16).