Guidelines For Living Devotional

Life is full of its ups and downs, right? Good days and bad days. Times of joy and times of sorrow. Question: What would it be if there were no valleys, no shadows, no tough times? Can you picture a painting with only vivid colors, no dark contrasts, or varying shades?   Or living in a tropical paradise where every day was picture perfect? In other words, is it not the difficult that makes reaching the top meaningful and important?

Discouraged? Feel that your valley is so long and dark that you'll never make it to the next peak? Ever wonder if it's worth it? If you answer "yes," you're perfectly normal—nothing more or less. A lot of folks become Christians with wrong impressions of what the Christian life is all about. I'm never quite sure whether the confusion is the result of the rhetoric of the one who encouraged them to embark on the path of faith, or else they have unrealistic expectations of what the journey is about because they haven't read the tour book—the Bible.

When atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair was murdered in 1995, the comfortable five-bedroom home she was living in fell to her associate Oren Tyson, director of a non-profit group sponsoring atheism. But when the taxes were not paid, the authorities confiscated the house and set Tyson's belongings out on the street in cardboard boxes. Of course, he was indignant. In response, he fashioned a sign from one of the cardboard boxes which defiantly read, "Homeless Atheist, Nam Veteran, Will Wait for a Miracle."

After He had prayed all night, Jesus called twelve men to follow Him--ordinary men who were fishermen, small businessmen, and government employees. None were university graduates or professionals as we think of them today. They were men with calluses on their hands, with the smell of labor on their clothes, with dust on their sandals.

The Graeco-Roman world into which Jesus was born hardly knew what to do with the narrow strip of land on the eastern Mediterranean which was then known as Palestine. When Romans built a gymnasium and baths at Caesarea, the Jews revolted. Eventually Caesar sent his legions, who subdued the rebellion. Then politicians discreetly forged alliances with Jewish leaders whose loyalty to Rome was unquestioned.

When Jesus told the disciples that they were to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, He used a strong word, one which means to earnestly seek something, something worthy of the time and effort it takes to reach that goal.

Some 600 miles south of Cairo, on the banks of the ancient Nile, stands the ancient temple of Karnak, one of the most splendid structures of the ancient world. Across the river is the majestic valley of the Kings and the awesome tombs which were monuments to the egos of the pharaohs.

The picture is vivid: A little girl stands at the edge of the window in a burning building. It's the second floor, and to the child, the ground seems like a long way down. Below is a fireman--a big guy, standing there in his yellow garb, big hat, and black boots. With outstretched arms, he reaches for the child and yells, "It's OK to jump. I'll catch you! You'll be OK. Come on, kiddo. Jump!"

A friend who has a real hunger for God struggles with the fear that her search for God will only result in ultimate disappointment. As I read her heart cry, I thought of the words of A. W. Tozer, who wrote, "In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: …there are to be found increasing numbers of person whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself."

Facing the Knesset, or the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem is a beautiful menorah, a gift from Britain to Israel. It was created by the famed sculptor Benno Elkan and is covered with images, telling the story of Israel's long and colorful history. A menorah, which is a seven-branched candelabrum, is significant, representing the fullness of God.