Guidelines For Living Devotional

This Is The Cure For Loneliness

The composer Peter Tchaikovsky knew what loneliness is.  He raised the shades on the window of his heart as he wrote in a minor key, "None but the lonely heart can feel my anguish..."  There are more people today than ever before who know the anguish of the lonely heart.  In spite of the fact that more people are alive right now than have ever died from the days of Adam and Eve to the present, there are also more lonely people than ever before.  It takes more than masses of people to eliminate loneliness.

Here Is A Remedy For Your Pain

It is said, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."  Yes, and the worse malady mankind struggles with is on the rise.  We are all becoming lonelier and social scientists say, it may be a result of replacing our flesh and blood relationships with the virtual "friendships" of social media.  Replacing face to face relationships with Facebook friends or whatever, interacting with people that we may actually hardly know, real human social interaction has declined. In 1985, only 10 percent of Americans said they had no one with whom to discuss important matters, and 15 percent said they had only one such good friend. By 2004, 25 percent had nobody to talk to, and 20 percent had only one confidant.[1] Our relationships may stretch wider, but they are much more shallow.  We can be reached 24/7 but our hearts are less touchable by another real person than ever before.
 
[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/.  Accessed 5/16/16.

Why Should I Love My Neighbor?

Dr. Karl Menninger, the often-quoted authority on mental illness, said, "Love is the medicine for our sick old world."  Few would disagree!  Yet it is one thing to love the masses of the world--say, for example, China with its 1.4 billion people, and another thing to love the Chinese family who owns the local hardware store. Soren Kierkegaard wisely points out the fact that there is nothing in the Bible about loving man in the mass--only clear commands about loving individuals. 

Learn About The Father’s Love

Robert Knowles thought that he knew the formula for conveying values to children.  He told the press that he really believed a child would turn out just fine if the parents loved the child, spent plenty of time with him, involved him in wholesome activities, and helped him get a balanced education.  Quote:  "Suddenly after 17 years of dedicated effort, something happened to my fool-proof plan.  I found I was the father of a murderer."

Are All Men Created Equal?

 How much is a human life really worth?  Is the life of a youth worth more than that of an elderly person?  Is the life of a peasant equal in value, say, to that of a youth who has a college degree and has his life before him?  That question was debated in China, when an old peasant fell into a night-soil pit, and a twenty-four-year-old medical student, Zhang Hua, seeing his distress, waded into the pit to save the old man.

The Importance Of Silence and Solitude

Long before the age of jet airplanes, the Internet, or digital television, theologian Arthur Pink wrote the following: "what man despises, God esteems; and what man admires, He abominates.  The world is mad, and speed is one of the 'gods' which is now worshipped by the multitudes.  And living as we yet are in the world; God's own people are infected with its evil spirit.  Much need has each of us to beg the Lord to lay His cooling and calming hand upon the feverish 'flesh' in us.  Rush, hurry, and hustle are the terms which best describe modern activities; but 'stand', 'sit', and 'wait' are words that have a prominent place in the Scriptures." 

Stop Letting Busyness Control Your Life

Do you ever get the feeling that if you could just get everything done, cross everything off of your "to do" list, return every phone call, make every meeting, and get everything done at home, that God would be very pleased with you?  Would you, then, expect Him to sit back and say, "Good job!" much like you do when your son brings home a report card with straight A's on it?

This Is How To Pray With Confidence

That God answers prayer is seldom challenged—at least by those who believe the Bible.  But the manner by which God answers never falls into neat categories or boxes.  I'm thinking of the story which circulated on the internet about a poor woman who was desperately in need of food.  Her neighbor, an affirmed atheist, knowing of her prayers decided that it would be great sport to buy a basket of food, put it on her porch, then ring the doorbell and hide.  And this he did.  But as soon as the poor woman saw the food, she began praising and thanking God for it.

Find Your Sense Of Purpose Today

At a street meeting that was held by a Salvation Army group, a young man who was a drummer in the band reflected on his past life and how it had changed.  "Before I was converted," he said, "I used to drink a lot, but I don't drink anymore. Before I was converted, I used to swear a lot, but I don't swear anymore.  Before I was converted, I used to womanize, but I don't do that anymore."  Then, he added, "Since I was converted, about all I do is stand on this street corner and beat this old drum!"

How Do I Make Smart Choices?

When I was a youth growing up, there was a radio program called "Truth or Consequence!"  What I most remember is that dishonesty always resulted in certain consequences.