2 Steps To A Clear Conscience
June 3, 2020
What prompts a person to return something that was stolen years before? The influential weapon that governs our conduct is called conscience. On the fifth floor of the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington D. C. is a room which contains thousands of letters. It contains the files of the federal "Conscience Fund." This strange gift fund dates back to the year 1811 when an anonymous citizen wrote that he was "suffering the most painful pangs of conscience" because he had stolen from or defrauded the U.S. government. He eased the pain by remitting $6. In the 175 years that the fund has been in existence, $5.7 million dollars has been contributed. However, “The sincerity of some donors' repentance can be uncertain, writes Dave Philipps, “as demonstrated by a received letter reading, ‘Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax. Enclosed find a cashier's check for $1,000. If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the balance.’"[1]
[1] Philipps, Dave (April 10, 2005). "Would you tip the IRS?". The Gazette.
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Archives
Some 40 miles from Rome, strategically located between the Aegean and the Mediterranean, lay the beautiful city of Corinth. Unlike Athens, where there were family connections and traditions, Corinth was a new city with fast money and loose morals. In Paul’s day to call somebody a Corinthian was desultory or debasing—a pejorative term that made someone fighting mad.
June 2, 2020
Enough. That’s the elusive measurement so many of us chase after, hour after hour, day in and day out, year after year. Can you relate to the confession of social activist, Lynne Twist?
June 1, 2020
Question: Would you hire a contractor to build a house for you who comes up with the cheapest bid, though you have read about his being sued for cheating on materials he has used for others, substituting inferior products for the more expensive ones called for in the specifications?
May 29, 2020
Your greatest enemy, in all probability, is within. It’s the nagging doubt, the belief that you just don’t have what it takes to live the Christian life. Most of the time, we can keep the voices quiet but, especially when we are tired or discouraged or afraid, they invade our minds. Writer and speaker Elisabeth Elliott used to say, “Our enemy delights in disquieting us. Our Savior, our Helper, delights in quieting us.” The Bible says that our enemy “...the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Maybe you don’t have to be convinced that He is the enemy of your soul, yet quite often we don’t fully understand how he often defeats us by influencing our thinking.
May 28, 2020
When the 21-year-old spacecraft, Columbia, disintegrated on its reentry into Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, a new pantheon of heroes was born--men and women who knew the risks they were taking yet chose to take that chance. With that understanding of the dangers involved, each astronaut was asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding his wishes for a memorial service--who should do it, what he or she wanted said, what kind of a memorial he or she would like--should they not come back.
May 27, 2020
What a world! Surprises! This year, for a lot of us, surprises were not limited to reading about changing world events. For some of you, surprises were not always welcomed. A position opened up in your company, and you expressed an interest in it. But when your boss interviewed you, he informed you that not only had management decided not to fill that position, but that the company was eliminating your job as well. Surprise!
May 26, 2020
It was a shocking story that gripped the nation. In 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her bed in the middle of the night in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her family searched for her in vain. Nine months later she was recognized while walking down a street with her abductor.
May 25, 2020
Your telephone rings or you meet someone in the parking lot of the church and you are asked, “Have you heard about (and the name of a popular Christian leader is mentioned)? Your friend begins to relate a sordid story of moral failure and your immediate reaction is, “I never thought it could happen to that person! I just saw a feature on his leadership and accomplishments in a leading periodical. I just can’t believe he would do that!” You are shocked and stunned. Yes, you know that the best of men are but men at their best, but you always felt that this person was a cut above the moral failures that have besmirched the cause of Christ and brought shame and reproach to a broken-hearted wife and family.
May 22, 2020
The country of Turkey is 99% Muslim and if you are a Christian young person, life can be hard. At school, your loyalty to your country can be questioned; you feel excluded, explains educator Catherine Hoard. This is why every year many Christian children attend Christian camps where both they and their faith are embraced and nurtured. A child may be the only Christian in their school, but at camp they are surrounded by those who, just like them, believe in Jesus.
May 21, 2020
What do you do when you are afraid? That is the question that Andrew Brunson asks. Brunson is a soft-spoken man with a kind-looking face. He is also a man that knows something about fear. Brunson is an American pastor who was unjustly imprisoned by the Turkish government for two years, held as a political pawn on outlandish, false charges. Under three life sentences, he sometimes suffered in solitary confinement and at other times he was jammed in cells that were crowded to double capacity. Brunson was the only non-Muslim. Conditions alternated between brain-boiling hot in the summer and mind-numbing freezing cold in winter.
May 20, 2020
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In this booklet, you will find devotional readings from each of Guidelines' daily and weekly devotionals: Reset with Bonnie Sala, Guidelines for Living with Harold Sala, and Encouraging Words with Darlene Sala. Let God's Word shine in your life every day!