Guidelines For Living Devotional

Here Is Why God Is Just

For just a few moments, let's suppose.  Let's suppose that a certain judge in your city faces an indigent who was accused of a crime, and that this unfortunate individual had only a court-appointed attorney.  Furthermore, the defendant has a surly disposition—the kind that, just by looking at the person, you "know" he committed the crime.  Sure enough, in almost record time, the judge says, "Guilty!" as he slams down his gavel and pronounces a harsh sentence.

Is God Really All Good?

When you look at a piece of furniture and see the beautiful graining in the wood, you are aware that the variation of the graining is simply the polished surface of the whole.  It is only the exterior that you see.  When it comes to God, His essential attributes or characteristics are somewhat like the grain of a beautiful piece of wood with its intertwined veins, which blend together and glow with a deep radiance and beauty.  When it comes to seeing God, we only see a very small part, yet because we are human and strive to understand God in terms of human relationships or behavior, we talk about his qualities which we call attributes. 

The Only Omniscient God

In his book, God Works the Night Shift, Ron Mehl recalls the first game of the basketball season when his Bible school team played the smartest kids in the league, the Cal Tech squad.  “Cal Tech may not have been the most talented basketball team in our league,” says Ron, adding, “but they were the smartest.”

This Is Why God Never Changes

In a chaotic world that is constantly changing, nothing can be more comforting than to know there is a God who never changes and to have a secure relationship with Him. Change always seems to be threatening to us—whether it is encountered by a child who graduates from elementary school where he has been the king of the hill and has to go to a school where older children intimidate the new arrivals, or the aged pensioner who has to leave the home where she has lived for 80 years to take up residence in a care facility.

What Does It Mean That God Is Eternal?

Shortly before his death, A. W. Tozer wrote the following: “In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct ‘interpretations’ of truth.  They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water.”

What Does God Look Like?

It's an old story but one that bears repeating. A little girl was drawing a picture with bold strokes in bright colors when her teacher, viewing the work of art that had engrossed the child, said, "Tell me about your picture." The little girl responds, "I'm drawing a picture of God!"

What Are The Attributes Of God?

In 1889, a dam broke on the South Fork Reservoir, some 12 miles east of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in a valley of the Allegheny Mountains. Raging waters surged down the valley and swept over the town, taking 25 lives and causing some $50 million in damages, a considerable amount for those days.

Understanding The Signs of Suicide

"Dear Dr. Sala," begins a letter from a very discouraged friend of Guidelines, who neither gave his full name nor an address.  Jason tells about a broken home and the heartache he has experienced as his dreams and hopes fell apart.  He says, "Many times before I left, I cried to God and begged him to save my marriage.  What happened?  Where was He?  Why didn't he knock some sense into us?"  He described his ordeal as a long valley through which he was walking and then, thinking about taking his life, asked, "How long are valleys supposed to last?  Would you address the subject of suicide?"

8 Questions And Answers To Coping with Anxiety

One of the reasons we tend to worry is that life can quickly get out of control.  Someone you care about, someone you love, isn't listening, isn't responding, or just doesn't get it.  Say, for example, you are responsible for someone or something, and your best effort isn't enough.  You can't walk away from the situation.  Quitting isn't an option.  It may be a teen, an aged parent who depends on you for help, or a family business which seems to be going the wrong way.

How To Keep Moving Forward

The most difficult time of your Christian experience is when the sky seems to fall in and your world comes apart.  No, you don’t deserve it.  No, you are not being punished.  No, God hasn’t closed the door on you and shut off phone service, and certainly He hasn’t picked you out to see if you can withstand the punishment Job endured.  But just the same, when you are hurting—whether it is from the loss of a baby or when you become a victim of pain and sorrow—you feel alone and often feel estranged from God.