Guidelines For Living Devotional

When the Battery of Conscience Goes Dead

Few people would deny that morality has changed in the past generation.  What our grandparents talked about in hushed tones, our parents generation did with an often troubled conscience, and our generation is doing without even thinking about the consequences of their action.  I’ve just been leafing through a file which I have kept containing letters from individuals who have had contact with me over a period of years.

Lessons You Can Learn From David

And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” Acts 13:22
 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.” I think, should Longfellow yet be among us, he would agree that few men ever left more distinct and meaningful footprints on the sands of time than the son of Jesse, a Bethlehemite who lived some 3,000 years ago. What has been David’s mark of distinction? First it is readily agreed that David was unique. He had a great heart for God and a determination to do the will of the Almighty. He was a loyal friend, generous to a fault, and--yes, flawed as a human being.

David: Failure and Forgiveness

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17
 
The world remembers its own by their greatest achievement; they remember God’s own by their greatest failure. That’s the way it has been century after century. David, a man after God’s own heart” was beloved and blessed under the most devastating of circumstances. Repeatedly Saul sought to kill him so his own son, Jonathan, David’s best friend, could be king; nonetheless, God had a different plan but David’s greatest failure left a blight on his career that demonstrated his humanity.

Confrontation in a Cave

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
Should you have the opportunity to visit Israel, I could wish nothing more exciting and fulfilling for you than to visit a little corner of the world where so much biblical history has taken place--the Jordan Valley. Jerusalem is 2700 feet above sea level, and the Dead Sea is 1200 feet below sea level. This means that in a matter of only a few hours you would descend going down a seismic fault.     

He Dared to Face a Giant

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. Deuteronomy 32:7, NIV
Long ago, the poetic bard, William Shakespeare wrote, “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will!” The overview of history confirms what he wrote. The problem, however, is that we often forget our lessons from history, or the mistakes of others and make the same mistakes that our forebears made.

Man of One Thousand Mentions

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. Ezekiel 34:23 
He is venerated by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Mentioned 16 times in the Koran, the biography of this man is longer than the narrative of any other person in the Bible, including Jesus Christ whose biography was written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Diary in the Attic

“I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:14
 
Four years after Anne Frank was born in the city of Frankfurt, Germany, Adolph Hitler came to power. Shortly thereafter, Otto Frank began to have concern for his family. You see, the Franks were Jewish, and it soon became apparent that Jews did not fit into Hitler’s grand scheme for a master race. Thinking that they were escaping the increasing hatred against the Jews, the family fled to Amsterdam.

Friendly Fire

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10
Some of God’s choicest servants are those whose names are little known on earth but will be prominently lauded in heaven. Such is a German-born missionary working among Bulgarians of Turkish descent known as Pomaks! I met Thomas when I was ministering in Bulgaria. Having heard something of this man’s fierce determination to take the Word of God to people who don’t fit into the grandiose evangelistic plans of many mission organizations, I told my host that I wanted to meet this man.

Shortcuts to Nowhere

And so you stayed in Kadesh many days--all the time you spent there. Deuteronomy 1:46
Have you ever had a conversation that went something like this: “Honey, I think you are on the wrong road. I just saw the sign back there and we missed our turn about five miles back.” The husband answers, “Now, nothing to worry about. I know a shortcut that will save us a lot of time.”

Tips for Traveling Well

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years. Deuteronomy 8:2
One lesson that smart travelers learn is that you can’t take it all with you! You usually can spot the first-time-traveler—the person who has the large bulging suitcase held together with a piece of rope or gray tape. The overweight traveler is also apt to get a shock when he or she finds out the cost of overweight luggage. Whereas airlines used to be “traveler friendly,” more likely than not they are struggling with survival and personnel is under stress, just as you are. It isn’t that the person behind the counter doesn’t like you. He’s just trying to keep his job and please his boss, too.