Guidelines For Living Devotional

Why Are You Afraid of Getting Close to God?

Surrounding almost every major city in the world is a circle or ring of highways that facilitate the flow of traffic. Some are called beltways, others traffic rings, or whatever. They are intersected by roads which go to the very heart of the city and, of course, lead away from it in the opposite direction. They serve a function and purpose, allowing people to move back and forth without having to go through the heart of the city or going very far away from it at the same time.

Do You Pray For Your Enemies?

When Jesus confronted the crowds that came to hear him, they went away saying, "Never did anyone speak as does He!" In the message we call "The Sermon on the Mount," ten times Jesus said, "You have heard it said to the people long ago…" and then challenged that conventional wisdom saying, "But I say unto you!" Talk about someone specializing in unconventional wisdom!

What Do You Believe?

As the pastor led his congregation in the recitation of the Apostles' Creed, that begins with the words, "I believe…" one man quietly said, "I used to believe…" and continued to mumble the words, recited by Christians for centuries.

Finding Beauty In Your Pain

When fire swept through Laguna Canyon near our office one of the properties destroyed was a botanical garden containing more than two thousand varieties of plants and flowers. Known as the Hortense Miller Garden, the place was a veritable paradise of beautiful flowers and greenery. The fire, of course, blackened the hillside as it left its ugly scars. Disaster? Yes! That is what people called it, and that it was. Yet, just five months later, the hills were alive with the beauty of wild flowers, which had not been seen in the area for thirty to one hundred years.

This Is How To Live A Healthy Life

"I believe in God…" begins the affirmation of the Apostles' Creed. But does what you believe make much difference in how long you live, or even more pointedly, in the quality of the life you live? It does, contends a growing body of scientific evidence. The relationship between your belief system and your health is better documented every year. Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of Duke University's Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health says scientists and doctors "have to confront it. They can't just say religion is irrelevant to health. It is relevant."

4 Guidelines to Solve Problems

You have a problem and it's got to be solved! So, problem-solvers that we are by nature, we go to work on a solution. Occasionally, all of us feel the need for reinforcement, and that's when we inform God in prayer as to how He should handle the situation. I've discovered through trial and error, and more error than I would like to admit, that quite often my solution is at cross-purposes with God's solution.

5 Guidelines To Parenting Your Adult Children

How does a parent help an adult child? When your little boy or girl was small and fell down and hurt himself, you as the parent picked up your child and fussed over him smothering the scratched knee with kisses and love. Your loving care climaxed with the application of a Band-Aid put on with all the tenderness of a mother's love. But, what do you do when you have an adult son or daughter whose heart is breaking, and you desperately wish you could give him or her the same comfort you did when your child was four years old?

God Rewards Your Faithful Service

Some called it "the Protestant work ethic!" But it isn't, really. It is simply the application of several phrases found in Scripture which can be paraphrased, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right; so give it your best effort!" Four times in the Bible you find a phrase that says, "whatever you do" and emphasizes a relationship between you and God. The first is found in the Old Testament wisdom literature, specifically the book of Proverbs, mostly written by Solomon. "Commit to the LORD whatever you do," says Proverbs 16:3, "and your plans will succeed." In this same context, the writer says that we as mortals make our plans, but the Almighty, not simply our scheming, determines their outcome. That first "whatever you do" forges a link between your efforts, God, and success. Application: When you really take Him as your partner in life--whether it is business or a marriage--what some think of as luck, the Bible says is really the blessing of God.

How To Embrace Christ As Your Savior

Is it possible for you to embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior, but not really as your Lord?   Put it another way: Can you take this whole business in stages, believing some things but not really becoming a radical? "After all," you may reason, "I want to go to heaven but I don't want to get fanatical about this whole business."

Do we really have the right to question the Almighty?

He is loved and venerated by Jews, Muslims, and by Christians. Though he lived over 4,000 years ago, his life is a refreshing study of what it means to live and walk by faith. Here was a man at the season of life when people are thinking of retirement, but God called him and said, "Abraham, I want you to follow me into a strange land which I will eventually give to you as an inheritance.