Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

Many people have a view of the Christian life that is excessively idealistic. They think it should be one uninterrupted series of mountaintop experiences. They read Christian books and magazines and hear personal testimonies of dramatic events and conclude that this is all of life. In their dream-world, there are no problems, heartaches, trials and perplexities. There is no hard work, no daily routine, no monotony. All is Cloud 9. When they don't find their life fitting this pattern, they...

You've heard the expression, "A devil at home, a saint abroad." It describes the horrible tendency to be gracious and outgoing to those in the outside world and yet be harsh and unkind at home.

This is a failing that is not confined to any particular class of people. Young people have to guard against it. It's so easy to be a TV personality with one's peers, yet be a terror to one's parents. Husbands may maintain a charming front with their business associates, then when they come...

The work of the Lord is so important, pressing, sublime and awebegetting that a curse rests upon anyone who does it negligently. The God who wants and deserves the best cannot bear with sloth, delays, halfheartedness, or slipshod methods. When we think of the tremendous issues involved, we are not surprised.

During the latter part of 1968 a young Christian in Prague, Czechoslovakia witnessed to another young Czech named Jan Palach. There seemed to be a genuine interest on Jan's part,...

Did you ever stop to wonder why a baseball game is more exciting to most people than a prayer meeting? Yet comparative attendance records prove that it is so.

Or we might ask, "Why is the Presidency of the United States more appealing than overseership in an assembly?" Parents don't say to their sons, "Eat your food and some day you may be an elder." No, they say, "Clean your plate and some day you may grow up to be President."

Why is a successful career in business more...

If a young believer learns this lesson early in his Christian life, he will save himself from a world of trouble later on. The Bible teaches that there is NO GOOD THING in our old, evil un-regenerate nature. The flesh is absolutely no good. It is not improved one iota at the time of conversion. It is not improved by a lifetime of consistent Christian living. In fact, God is not trying to improve it. He has condemned it to death at the Cross and wants us to keep it in the place of...

Everyone of us has a subtle desire for numbers and a tendency to judge success by statistics. There is a measure of reproach connected with small groups whereas large crowds command attention and respect. What should our attitude be in this area?

Large numbers should not be despised if they are the fruit of the Holy Spirit's work. This was the case at Pentecost when about 3,000 souls were swept into the kingdom of God.

We should rejoice in large numbers when they mean glory for...

This verse enshrines the important truth that the work of the Lord is not carried on by human ingenuity and strength but by the Holy Spirit.

We see it in the capture of Jericho. It was not the armed might of Israel that caused the walls to fall down. The Lord was the One who delivered the city into their hands when the priests blew the trumpets seven times.

If it had depended on a huge army, Gideon would never have defeated the Midianites, because his army had been thinned down...

One of the most deep-seated frailties of fallen humanity is the persistent tendency to judge according to appearance. We judge a person according to his looks. We judge a used car by its body. We judge a book by its cover. No matter how often we are disappointed and disillusioned, we stubbornly refuse to learn that "all is not gold that glitters."

In his book Hide or Seek, Dr. James Dobson says that physical beauty is the most highly valued personal...

To esteem others better than self is unnatural; fallen human nature rebels at such a blow to its ego. It is humanly impossible; we do not have the power in ourselves to live such an otherworldly life. But it is divinely feasible; the indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to efface self in order that others might be honored.

Gideon illustrates our text. After his three hundred men had defeated the Midianites, he called for the men of Ephraim to add the final blow. They cut off the escape...

New Year's resolutions are good but fragile, that is, easily broken. New Year's prayers are better; they ascend to the throne of God and set answering wheels in motion. As we come to the beginning of another year, we would do well to make the following prayer requests our own:

Lord Jesus, I rededicate myself afresh to You today. I want you to take my life this coming year and use it for Your glory. "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee."

I pray that You will keep...