Guidelines For Living Devotional

Four Keys to Dealing with Conflict

The man who sat in the office of psychologist Ed Fish was middle‑aged and quite successful.  He began talking about his daughter's forthcoming marriage, but instead of looking forward to it, he dreaded it.  Why?  Because he did not like the man she was marrying?  Not at all!  He liked him.  "I would really like to have somebody from the family at the wedding," he wistfully remarked.

Human Clones: Why Not?

The world’s first three-parent child has been born.  A Jordanian couple used a new technique that combines the DNA of three people to create a baby boy.  The wife’s genes carry a rare genetic mutation so the nucleus of her egg was removed and replaced with that of an egg donor. An American medical team performed the procedure in Mexico.

God in Our Lives

Is there a rather universal conspiracy to keep God from public life?  Is there a marked contrast between what is actually going on in the hearts and lives of people and what is reported by the media and the secular press?

Ingredients of a Genuine Revival

Some call it revival.  Others call it a spiritual renewal, but no matter what you call it, what the Church needs today is a great move of God's Spirit as He breaks the fallow ground of our hearts and brings conviction and cleansing in the body of Christ which results in His power being manifest in our lives.

Prayer - the Key to Revival

The Miriam-Webster Dictionary attempts to define the word "revival" as "a period of renewed religious interest, an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meetings."  It describes the popular understanding of the word--canvas tent, flamboyant evangelist who works the crowd for the offering and an orchestrated attempt to touch the emotions of people.

How Spiritual Awakening Happens

 
            Pastor Thorleif Holm-Glad was walking through the empty sanctuary of Bethlehem Church in Oslo, Norway when the old caretaker of the church stopped him and soberly announced, "See these empty seats? This year there will be revival in this church!"  The pastor was startled to say the least.  Yes, he knew the church had empty seats and plenty of them.  No, not during the week when people were working but during services when the empty seats should have been filled. He also knew the caretaker was a good man, not given to exaggeration.
 

Will Christ Literally Return?

In the dome of the U.S. Capitol building is an inscription which reads, "One far‑off event towards which all creation moves." A visitor, seeing the inscription, turned to a guide and asked, "What does that mean?" Hesitating for a moment the guide replied, "I think it refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ."

Love More Powerful Than Bullets

The Chinese Communist Leader, Mao Tse Tung, who died in 1976, began his Selected Works by asking two important questions: "Who are our enemies?” and “Who are our friends?"  Mao was concerned not just with political entities that had to be faced, such as the United States and Russia.  He was even more interested in ideologies that represented power.

Who Are You Trusting?

It is called Syria today, but in ancient days it was known as Assyria. Historians often referred to the Assyrians as the Romans of ancient Asia. Their religion wasn't much different from that of the Babylonians whom they had displaced as the greatest power in the world.  They believed in many gods who supposedly directed human destiny and controlled the earth, water, storms and fire.  In their temples, they worshipped Nabu, the god of learning; Ishtar, the goddess of love and sex; and Niruta, the god of war.  But most of all, they believed in their weapons, and they used them well. 

The Strength of Your Enemy

If ever a man had reason to feel that God had let him down, that man was Hezekiah.  "Hezekiah who?" you may be saying. Hezekiah, the king of Judah who ascended the throne of David about 726 B.C. If you're a bit rusty on Old Testament history, I'll brief you.  Having replaced his father Ahaz, who had been a careless ruler, Hezekiah got his act together.  He began a great reformation. He broke down the idols Ahaz had set up.  He re‑opened the temple, and restored the service of God. He even dipped into his own funds to provide for restoration and repairs.