What Makes Christianity Different?
August 6, 2021
For more than 70 years my father-in-law, Dr. Guy Duffield, was a Bible teacher, author, and minister. In his lifetime he wrote books on preaching, on doctrine, and on the practical Christian life. When he was well into his 80s and living in a retirement facility, a young woman from Lebanon who worked where Dr. Duffield resided met him and showed great interest in the fact that he believed that the Bible is a supernatural book.
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Suppose you are a young man whose best friend has a sister whom you have heard about but never met. Your friend describes her jet-black hair, and lovely eyes, her outgoing vivacious personality and her fun-loving disposition. The more you hear about her, the more interested you become. Week after week, he tells you about her, and you find yourself wanting to meet her. So you say, "How about introducing me to her?" And he replies, "I don't think you believe she really exists." You reply, "That's dumb; of course, I believe she exists. Remember, you showed me her picture!" Should that happen, you would begin to wonder about your friend's sanity.
August 5, 2021
Francois Mitterrand, the late president of France, was an intellectual and an atheist. Yet in the latter years of his life, he had a fascination with death and a desire to know what lies beyond the grave--something which challenged the atheism which he held to, at least philosophically. Possessed by a strange fascination with death, he visited the graves of many of France's leading citizens pondering how they lived and how they died. He once said that "he who loves death loves life."
August 4, 2021
Richard Versalle was portraying the minor role of a law clerk named Vitek in a performance at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He was age 63 and had suffered absolutely no adverse health problems. In the opera there is a beautiful and mysterious woman who wants to live forever. Her father, a chemist-magician, concocts a powerful elixir which allows her to live more than 300 years. But Versalle, portraying the law clerk, sings a line which goes, "You can only live so long." Little did anyone who attended the opera that night realize that those words— "You can only live so long" --would be the last sentence ever to come from the lips of this man whose singing had touched the hearts of thousand and thousands in his career.
August 3, 2021
"Maturity," says the Merriam‑Webster dictionary, "is the condition, or state, of being fully developed." However, the word is often used so loosely that it flaps like a kid's shirttail in the breeze. Michael Drury says, "If you are mature, you are presumed to be happy, secure, married, well‑liked and something called "adjusted." If you aren't mature, you are incorrigible, defective or warped—and heaven help you."
August 2, 2021
The French writer, Guy de Maupassant, was one of the world's greatest writers of short stories. At the same time, he was one of the world's most sad and tragic figures. As a celebrity and writer, he had it all, yet in reality, what he had didn't satisfy. Within a decade, he rose from obscurity to fame as his stories were published in newspapers and journals around the world. His name became a household word. With fame came the trappings of success: a yacht in the Mediterranean, a large house on the Norman Coast, and his luxurious flat in Paris. One biographer put it, "Critics praised him; men admired him; and women worshiped him."
July 30, 2021
"Do I have to believe in Jesus to be a Christian?" asked a young man whose Russian Jewish background had never exposed him to the Gospel. Having been raised in a home in the former Soviet Union where God was seldom if ever discussed, he had heard about Jesus but didn't really know how He would fit into Christianity. He wanted to know. How would you answer that question? There are millions of people whose backgrounds are nominally Christian who still don't understand the relationship between Jesus Christ and Christianity.
July 29, 2021
"To deny sin is bad news, indeed," wrote John Alexander. Continuing, he said, "The only good news is sin itself. Sin is the best news there is, the best news that there could be in our predicament. Because with sin, there's a way out. There's the possibility of repentance. You can't repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by your parents—you're stuck with them. But you can repent of sin. Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy, the grounds for reconciled, joyful relationships."[i]
[i] John Alexander in The Other Side, as quoted by Christianity Today, February 9, 1998.
July 28, 2021
"If our greatest need had been information," read a Christmas card I received, "God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was for forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior."
July 27, 2021
There is a three-letter word that spells the difference between happiness and misery, between freedom and bondage, and between heaven and hell. A generation or two ago, this word was commonly used in our speech, especially by the clergy. We used this word to describe wrongdoing and human failure. Then, as some words are prone to do, it gradually began to be replaced by synonyms which were more gentle and kind. That old three-letter word is sin, and in spite of the fact that most people prefer not to think of themselves as being tainted by this word, sin is good news! "And how can that be?" you might be thinking. It's simple: There is a solution to the problem of sin, an antidote which neutralizes its effect; and that is good news.
July 26, 2021
It happened frequently. The door of my office would be closed, and I'm would be quietly working or engaged in conversation with someone when suddenly the door would open, and a lean, dignified, rather tall American of German descent—then in his 90's— would come marching in, having done an "end run" around the receptionist and my assistant, much as a defensive tackle would do in breaking through the line of scrimmage in a football game. In his hand would be a magazine article or something encouraging which he wanted me to have. He stayed for only a few brief moments. Then he was gone, often reminding me of Elijah who appeared unannounced in the court of King Ahab.
July 23, 2021
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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!