Guidelines For Living Devotional

Changed Lives

Terry Wedel: Guidelines International Ministries is celebrating its 55th anniversary. All this week, we have been hearing about the many celebrations that are found throughout the gospel.  We’ve looked back at the spiritual pillars that have defined Guidelines since it was founded in 1963 and we’ve heard how we will be building upon them in the future. Guidelines founder, Dr. Harold Sala, has been telling us about his latest collection of Guidelines devotionals and Guidelines president Bonnie Sala has shared how the Community Radio Initiative is coming alongside first-generation churches to bring the voice of Jesus, to what we call “deaf areas” of the world. And today, we’ll be hearing about how, since its beginning, Guidelines has been dedicated to transforming lives with the message of hope and love of Jesus. Dr. Sala, I know it’s hard, but can you give us one example - that is special to you?

Talking to you…for 55 years!

Terry Wedel: This week Guidelines International Ministries is celebrating its 55th Anniversary of transforming lives with the love and hope of Jesus. Today we have with us the person who founded Guidelines back in 1963 - Dr. Harold Sala. He is releasing a new book called Guidelines for Living but, Dr. Sala, this is not the first time you have had a book with this title.

Bringing the Voice of Jesus

 
Terry Wedel: This week Guidelines International Ministries celebrates its 55th anniversary and today, we welcome Guidelines president, Bonnie Sala. Bonnie, for much of its history, Guidelines has, for the most part, aimed its programming at a few major countries but now, Guidelines is also involved in what you are calling “Community Radio” – give us an example of what that means.
 

Looking Backward and Forward

 
Terry Wedel: As Guidelines celebrates its 55th anniversary, we welcome Guidelines president Bonnie Sala and Guidelines founder Dr. Harold Sala. Dr. Sala, what would you say are the qualities of this ministry that have endured over the past 55 years?

Let's Celebrate

The tale of Babette’s Feast, by the Danish writer, Isak Dinesen, centers on two sisters who have spent their lives in a remote, tiny village on the Western coast of Denmark, in the late 1880s.  It’s a somber, Protestant community that had been led by their late father who was the village pastor.  In their youth, there had been impassioned suitors for both the girls, men who had been passing through the community, but all were rejected by their pious father.  The women had given up hope of ever leaving their isolated home where they lived quiet lives of cold, gray thrift and efficiency.  Their faith was one of joyless duty.

Love Your Neighbor

Dr. Karl Menninger, the often quoted authority on mental illness, said, "Love is the medicine for our sick old world."  Few would disagree!  Yet it is one thing to love the masses of the world--say, for example, China with its 1.4 billion people, and another thing to love the Chinese family who owns the local hardware store. Soren Kierkegaard wisely points out the fact that there is nothing in the Bible about loving man in the mass--only clear commands about loving individuals. 

Father of a Murderer

Robert Knowles thought that he knew the formula for conveying values to children.  He told the press that he really believed a child would turn out just fine if the parents loved the child, spent plenty of time with him, involved him in wholesome activities, and helped him get a balanced education.  Quote:  "Suddenly after 17 years of dedicated effort, something happened to my fool-proof plan.  I found I was the father of a murderer."

All Men Created Equal?

 How much is a human life really worth?  Is the life of a youth worth more than that of an elderly person?  Is the life of a peasant equal in value, say, to that of a youth who has a college degree and has his life before him?  That question was debated in China, when an old peasant fell into a night‑soil pit, and a twenty‑four‑year‑old medical student, Zhang Hua, seeing his distress, waded into the pit to save the old man.

Seeking Quietness

Long before the age of jet airplanes, the Internet, or digital television, theologian Arthur Pink wrote the following:  “what man despises, God esteems; and what man admires, He abominates.  The world is mad, and speed is one of the ‘gods’ which is now worshipped by the multitudes.  And living as we yet are in the world, God’s own people are infected with its evil spirit.  Much need has each of us to beg the Lord to lay His cooling and calming hand upon the feverish ‘flesh’ in us.  Rush, hurry, and hustle are the terms which best describe modern activities; but ‘stand’, ‘sit’, and ‘wait’ are words that have a prominent place in the Scriptures.” 

In Bondage to Busyness

Do you ever get the feeling that if you could just get everything done, cross everything off of your “to do” list, return every phone call, make every meeting, and get everything done at home, that God would be very pleased with you?  Would you, then, expect Him to sit back and say, “Good job!” much like you do when your son brings home a report card with straight A’s on it?