Rules for Christian Living

"... Holding on to faith and a good conscience" (1 Timothy 1:19); "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Philippians 3:12).

William Booth (1829-1912) left an established church to become an evangelist to the poor. He eventually founded the Salvation Army because the churches would not accept his slum converts. Because of his work with the poor and downcast, General Booth eventually formulated these rules for Christian living:

1. Consider your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and treat it with reverence and care.

2. Keep your mind active. Stimulate it with thoughts of others that lead to doing something.

3. Take time to be holy with daily Bible reading and prayer.

4. Support the church of your faith.

5. Cultivate the presence of God. He wants to enter your life and will as far as you let him.

6. Take God into the details of your life. You naturally call upon him in trouble and for the bigger things.

7. Pray for this troubled world and the leaders who hold the destinies of the varied nations.

8. Have a thankful spirit for the blessings of God: country, home, friends, and numerous other blessings.

9. Work as if everything depended upon work, and pray as if everything depended upon prayer.

10. Think of death not as something to be dreaded, but as a great and new experience where loved ones are met and ambitions realized.

A daily reading of these rules would improve our life considerably!