Guidelines For Living Devotional

The Naval Institute's magazine carried the story of a battleship captain who was concerned about rough seas and fog when, quite suddenly, a bright light appeared on the horizon.

Watching the bears at the zoo is a favorite pastime in Bern, Switzerland.  John Phillips tells how that at one time there were two pits of brown bears with a male and female in each den.

"He who thinks he leads," said Benjamin Hooks, "and has no one following him is only taking a walk."

Suppose you plan a big dinner party.  You hire a caterer, bring in a decorator, plan on entertainment, and really invest some money.

When you go to your doctor for a physical, he thumps you, feels you for swelling, and otherwise pokes and prods.

The earliest record of the fabled Roman legion tells us that it consisted of about 1000 men, organized in groups of about 100 who fought in a phalanx formation.  It's a fact: the Roman fighting forces were superior to anything else that existed in ancient days.

At one time Bulstrode Whitelocke was England's ambassador to Sweden, and then, as now, life was chaotic and uncertain.

It happens almost every day.  You read a headline such as, "Truth Catches Up with Accused Storyteller," or "Top Historian Becomes Tangled in Fictions," or "Corporation Mogul Embarrassed by New Allegations," "Law School Dean Denies Plagiarism," and so forth.  It doesn't stop as our integrity seems to unravel.

How much is enough?  Have you ever pondered the question in relationship to your own lifestyle?  When John D. Rockefeller was asked how much money it would take to be satisfied, he replied, "Just a little bit more!"

"I really need that!"  How many times have you said those words this past week?  Or maybe it was your eight-year old who has been impressed by the commercials on television who says, "I really need that, Dad!"  And, of course, we quickly think of Philippians 4:19, which brings God into the process of canceling out our need with His provision. But what really constitutes a need?