Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Chuck Swindoll

How's it going with you and the kids? Maybe that question doesn't apply to you. You may be single, or you may not have children, or you may have already raised your brood.

Are you living every day (as if it's your last) for His glory? Do you work diligently at your job and in your home (as if He isn't coming for another ten years) for His name's sake? Do you shake salt and shine the light every chance you get?

In my younger years I had a lot more answers than I do now. Things were absolutely black or white, right or wrong, yes or no, in or out—but a lot of that is beginning to change.

Not everybody gets "turned on" over management concepts, but most of us can profit from such information at home or church or school. Even as individuals we may find some of these principles coming in handy.

As our world is getting smaller, our minds seem to be following suit. Our level of selfishness is increasing by the day. Suddenly, nobody wants you to invade his or her "space."

His face was covered with a full beard. His hair fell almost to his shoulders. When he smiled, his white teeth flashed in contrast to the blanket of brown that concealed his skin. His eyes were blue, clear, and alert.

Many years ago one of my mentors told me a story I have never forgotten. A missionary was home on furlough, traveling by car from church to church.

Have you counted your blessings lately? Let me suggest one you might have overlooked. Let's be thankful for angels—those unseen guardians who work overtime, who never slumber or sleep.

Okay, folks . . . it's that time again. I'm down to two suits, one sports coat, and only a couple of pants that I can squeeze into. No more excuses. I'm tired of good intentions, secret promises to myself . . .

It was one of those days. Demands. Deadlines. Decisions. Endless interruptions mixed with a nagging headache that Tylenol wouldn't erase and positive thinking wouldn't help.

Most of us did not learn to pray in church. Nor were we taught at school . . . nor even beside our bed at night. If the truth were known, we've done more praying around the kitchen table than anywhere else on earth.

Lost in the silent solitude of recent days, I have been impressed anew with the vast handiwork of our incomprehensible God. The psalmist was correct: The heavens do indeed tell of the glory of God.

As Christians we live a life that is different—morally excellent, ethically beautiful. It's called a holy life. And God honors that. Because it's like He is. And according to Ephesians 5:1, we are to mimic God, living as He lives.

Have you ever noticed how uniquely adapted each animal is to its environment and its way of life? On land, a duck waddles along ungainly on its webbed feet. In the water, it glides along smooth as glass.

A bomb exploded in our nation some years ago. In mid-America, of all places. The fuse was lit first in the mind of Karl Menninger, but its effect was not felt until his pen detonated the blasting cap.

There was once a cricket on the loose in my former church. When things were quiet and still, his wings sang at top volume . . . like at weddings. And funerals. And during long prayers.

Francois Fenelon, a seventeenth-century Roman Catholic Frenchman, said this about prayer: "Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, its pleasures and its pain, to a dear friend."

While jogging early this morning, I found myself humming the tune Bob Hope immortalized during several wars. I can still remember his tailor-made lyrics, fitted to each occasion. He sang them to lonely soldiers.

Once a spider built a beautiful web in an old house. He kept it clean and shiny so that flies would patronize it. The minute he got a "customer" he would clean up after him so the other flies would not get suspicious.

All of us played follow-the-leader as kids. But even then, when the guide in front was too daring or foolish, we would step aside. There were definite limits on how far we would follow.