Guidelines For Living Devotional

The One Thing That Never Changes

Everything changes, yet nothing changes! Culture and civilization undergo tremendous changes, yet we who are part of that changing scene actually change so little.  I mean, bottom line, human nature doesn't really change.  Our struggles, our heart cries, our needs, our temptations all seem to repeat themselves generation after generation like repetitious themes in a third-rate play when the only thing that really changes is the scenic backdrop in the theater.

When Less is More

How much stuff is enough?  Have you ever pondered the question in relation to your own lifestyle?  "It is not the rich man only who is under the dominion of things," wrote George MacDonald, the man who greatly influenced C. S. Lewis. "They too," he contended, "are slaves who having no money are unhappy from it."
            "How much do you really need to be satisfied?"  Has the media convinced us, on a retina display screen, that to be satisfied we must have far more than we actually need?  And, of course, we think we could be really happy with just that one more thing.

This is the Way

The American humorist, Mark Twain, wrote, "Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."  I wonder what old Twain would have said had he been alive today.  Never before has the consumer been confronted with so many choices.

When Shame is Right

Do you ever find yourself asking, "Why do I feel as I do?"  Sometimes there are answers, but more often than not, we don't really understand the complex feelings and emotions that make us feel the way we do.

When Shame is Wrong

When Ashley was growing up and displeased her father, she was told, "You'll never amount to anything.  You've got bad blood in you" (referring to her mother's side of the family).  The message got through, and as a little girl, Ashley felt like something was very wrong with her, something which she didn't understand.  Nonetheless it made her feel very inadequate and inferior.

Becoming a New Person

While Socrates became famous for his saying "Know Thyself!" the man who was born some 400 years later, Jesus Christ, lived the admonition, “Give thyself!"  There is a great deal of difference between knowing yourself and giving yourself.

Knowing Yourself

In his day, Socrates was both loved and hated.  Those who listened to him as he spoke in the agora or marketplace usually applauded the manner in which he took on the leadership of his day.  His pungent, cutting remarks, however, were not greatly appreciated by the city fathers whose hypocrisy and fraud were often the subjects of his salty comments.

Running Well

In the classic movie Chariots of Fire, the competitive Oxford athlete, Harold Abrams, watches his arch rival, Eric Liddell, run and is afraid that he cannot outrun him in a contest.  He's sitting in the bleachers after the crowd has left, alone and dejected, his head buried in his hands when his girlfriend sits down to console him.  "If I can't win, I won't run," he cries. And she replies, "If you don't run, you can't win!"

When Victory Escapes You

He rowed alone across the Pacific Ocean 8,990 miles but fell short of his goal by 33 miles.  Peter Bird attempted to become the first man to single‑handedly row from San Francisco in the United States across the Pacific.  He almost succeeded, but approaching the east coast of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Bird encountered stormy weather and choppy seas.  He was looking for a passage through the coral.  Actually he was within one nautical mile of the reef when he had to radio for help fearing that he could not make it.

Blessing of the Fish

In the Upper Room Jesus told His disciples what was about to happen. They were at a Passover meal, and as part of that celebration Jesus took a loaf of bread and broke it: "This is my body," He told them. Then He took the cup and said, "This is my blood… which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24).