Not going down that rabbit hole again

Isn’t it obvious that conspirators lose out, while the thoughtful win love and trust? (Proverbs 14:22)

Some of the most 'obvious' things in life can be the most 'elusive' to us. Stop for a moment to consider what 'obvious' really means - available, accessible, discernable. Now, why is it that the stuff that is so easily available, quickly accessible, and totally discernable is hard for us to actually get our minds around? I think it might be that the enemy of our souls just doesn't want us to get hold of this stuff that God provides because he knows just how powerful it will be in our hands!

The thoughtful win love and trust. The mind is the starting point for all action - we have established that already in our studies together. If we want to know where we are headed, we need only look as far as our most dominant thoughts. Whatever it is we think the most upon is the direction our actions will be taken. Every now and again I think some thoughts that take me down a rabbit hole of doubt, worry, or just plain depression. If I don't want to go down that rabbit hole I need to change that thought pattern quickly. Seems obvious, doesn't it? Yet, some of the most 'obvious' stuff to us can be the most 'elusive'.

What is a conspirator and why did God warn us about the losses they would experience? It is someone who spends a great deal of time and energy plotting, looking for ways to betray others, and in truth, it is someone who ends up being a backstabber. No wonder they 'lose out' in life - their pathway is down a pretty ugly rabbit hole! The thoughtful are considerate of others - through deliberate choices. Don't miss that one - if we want to avoid the ugly rabbit hole, we make deliberate choices to stay out of the field where the rabbit dwells!

The most 'obvious' stuff in life should be the most transparent to us, but we sometimes miss what is right there in front of our faces. We trip over the obvious sometimes! Why? We refuse to see it. We refuse to acknowledge it. It is indisputable, but we refuse to acknowledge it. This is why we find ourselves struggling with our choices sometimes - we think truth has to be hard or elusive - surely truth could not be staring us right in the face. God doesn't make it hard to learn of his love or grace - it is right out there for us to see. He doesn't make it hard for us to know right from wrong - in fact, he gives us a conscience and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us so it can become 'obvious' to us.

We might think God's truths are 'elusive', but in truth they are quite 'obvious'. They are accessible, discernable, indisputable, palpable, and unmistakable. We don't need more than an open mind, yielded heart, and intent spirit to discover them. We do need a willing heart to embrace them. Will begins in the mind, so we need to set our minds in a different way of thinking sometimes - so the most dominant thoughts we are thinking are those that point us in the right direction. Maybe this is why God spends so much time training us to take control of our thoughts! Just sayin!

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant. In that day and time, a very taboo thing. We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God. Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated. We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar. The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish. Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,

The Plumbline

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