Guidelines For Living Devotional

Story Behind the Story

There is always a story behind the story!  Whether it is the National Geographic magazine or the Bible, you have to go beyond the headline.  I'm thinking of a statement written long ago.   It's found in the Old Testament book of Chronicles where we read:  "After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah..." (2 Chronicles 32:1).  What's the story behind the headline?

How God Uses Problems

When she was 16 years of age, Elisabeth Elliot wrote in the back of her Bible the words of a prayer written by Betty Stam, who was martyred in China.  The prayer read, "Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept thy will for my life.  I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to thee to be thine forever.  Fill me and seal me with thy Holy Spirit, use me as thou wilt, send me where thou wilt, work out thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."

Facing Sexual Temptation

Question: If you were tempted, is it possible that under certain circumstances, you might not be able to resist?  It isn't a question of whether or not you could resist; it's simply that you know you possibly would not.  At that moment, your brain would shut off and feelings would take over.  You would not think about the fact what you would do could destroy your career, your marriage, your integrity.  Under certain circumstances you just don't think; you act.

He Can't Help It?

All he wanted to do was to burglarize the apartment he had broken into, so he told the court, but when he saw the sleeping victim who had shed most of her clothing on that warm summer evening, he said that he was unable to control himself.  When he was arrested and brought to court, he explained that he was suffering from a thyroid illness which made him lose control of his passions; therefore, he argued, he was not responsible.  The court, however, didn't buy that line of reasoning and found him guilty of both rape and burglary.

Expensive Love

A Cambodian man was so infuriated when he came home and found his wife gone and no lunch on the table that he set fire to the family house and burned it to the ground. The 37-year-old husband told police that he wanted to teach his wife a lesson.  The police, however, felt that he had some lessons to learn himself and detained him in the local jail where he was assured of regular meals.

The Mistake You Can't Hide

It was a hot, humid day when elevator engineers from General Electric made their way to a Hong Kong high rise.  Their task was to ensure that the elevator shafts were perfectly straight before the elevators were installed.  As they analyzed their technical data, they first thought they had made a mistake, but not so!  The whole building was leaning.  As they sounded the alarm, concern began to grow.  How dangerous was the situation, and who was to blame?

You Are a Living Canvas

Whether you are into tattoos, comb your hair, wear neatly pressed khakis, a shirt with a message on it, wear a dark business suit, or a skirt one size too small, you are making a statement as to who you are.  Jerry Adler, writing for a news magazine, says, "Human flesh has been stretched over giant discs implanted in the ear lobe, bones have been compressed into dainty deformities by foot-binding or molded into the bizarre skull shape once favored by certain Pacific Coast Indians, marked by a forehead that slopes backward at the same angle as the nose.  For that matter, bodies have been squeezed by corsets, pumped up by lifting weights, shaved by razors and highlighted by lipstick."  As  the curator of a museum wrote, "Everybody does something to their bodies to communicate who they are.  Even if just to comb their hair."

When You Are Confronted With a Catch 22 Situation

It's a catch-22 situation, one where you can't win.  That expression "catch-22" was made famous by a book by the same title, one that came out of the war experiences of Joseph Heller.  Heller was flying over France in World War 2 when shrapnel hit his plane, a B-25 bomber.  Up to that time, he had been pretty well fearless, but no longer.  He wanted out. 

You've Got Today

Your doctor tells you, "Put your house in order; you're going to die."  Then someone says, "Hold it!  You've got fifteen years to go!"  How would you feel?  Elated!  Joyful!  Thrilled beyond words!  Suddenly your life would take on new meaning.  What you thought was important pales in comparison because you were alerted for the knock of the grim reaper, and suddenly the darkness gives way to the dawn of hope.  Fifteen years is a long time.

While There's Time

Celine Dion is the Canadian superstar in the elite club of musicians who has sold over 220 million albums.  But in 2014 she stepped away from her career. 
            The first thing she did was to renew her wedding vows.  The singer's personal world had fallen apart when her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, was diagnosed with throat cancer.  Despite surgery and 38 radiation treatments, he lost his life, but the whole experience caused Celine to change her values.  You see, when death stares you in the face, what you think is important pales quickly and some of the things you didn't much prioritize suddenly become meaningful.  Thinking of losing the man she deeply loved, her platinum albums, awards, and accolades weren’t as important as cooking, sitting by the fireplace and family time.