Guidelines For Living Devotional

Nearly 3,000 years ago the psalmist, David, wrote, "I praise Thee because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous is Thy workmanship as my soul is well aware" (Psalm 139:14).  But just how wonderfully made man really is has come to light only in the past century as science has began to unlock the secrets of the human body.  The human body, according to medical science, contains 37 trillion cells that reproduce themselves every seven years.  Each one of the 37 trillion cells performs 10,000 different chemical functions, according to the late Dr. Ralph Byron of the City of Hope Cancer Clinic, yet all of them just work together to produce a healthy body.

Have you ever cried out, "Lord, I just can't handle this!"?  Maybe you have never said those words audibly, but you have felt that way in your heart.  Eventually it happens to everyone.  I have suggested some guidelines that can help you when you feel like crying out, "Lord, I can't handle this."  Guideline #1:  Strengthen your faith by going to the Word of God, which cannot fail.  Guideline #2:  When your faith is challenged, refuse to relinquish what you know to be true.  Guideline #3:  When your faith is challenged, turn to the Lord, but do not turn on the Lord.

Henrietta Mears, an outstanding Christian leader whose life inspired thousands of men and women, used to say that a college student who gave up his faith had not lost his or her faith.  She contended that the person never had any faith to begin with.  Life has a way of challenging the foundation of your faith, whether it is by circumstance or factors over which you have no control, and you cry, "Lord, I just can't handle this!"  When your heart cries out in pain, there are some things you must do to undergo spiritual rehabilitation.

What do you do when your faith is tested?  Do you blame God and run the other way?  Or do you begin spiritual rehabilitation and look beyond the immediate challenge for strength and help which you do not possess?  I suggest that the first thing to do when your faith is challenged is to turn to the pages of God's Word and identify with people who have problems such as you have, and have found an answer.  But do not stop there.

Eventually your faith will be challenged, no matter how strong or how weak it is.  It may be challenged by an agnostic professor; or perhaps more likely it will be challenged by the trials of life.  Sooner or later something happens and your heart cries out, "Lord, I just cannot handle this."  It may be a child's illness, or a marriage that turns sour, or a business deal which has not gone well.

Today is the first day of the year, and to be honest with you, it's almost a bit scary staring another year in the face. Looking behind we think, "What happened to the good intentions and resolutions we made a year ago—ones which we have not only failed in attaining but can't even remember what they were?"

Another year is history, and the firm but often unseen hand of God has written another chapter in the history of mankind.  Like the knots in a sailor's rope, or the trickle of sand through the hourglass, or the fenceposts along the highway, the coming of a new year is a marker in your life, in everyone's life.  Interested in making this coming year better than the one past?  Then today's three guidelines are just for you.  Three phases: forget, remember, and press on.

I did something I rarely do: I wrote a letter to God about the year that is upon us.  I suspect some of my thoughts may mirror yours as well.  Listen in.

Michael Landon was a regular in the Sala household for many years.  Every Sunday night after church, we headed for MacDonalds and then raced home in time for the program, Bonanza.  Landon, who died in his prime, once said, "Whatever you want to do, do it now.  There are only so many tomorrows."  He’s right.

Christmas is over, at least it is for most of you.  However, in some places such as in Russia, Christmas is observed in early January.  But no matter when you celebrate Christmas, there comes a time when it is over; and when it is over, it is over.