The Plumbline

But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows. (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 NLT) Virgil reminds us, "Time passes irrevocably". There is no 'getting back' what has passed. We might want to regain what has been lost, but once time passes it is impossible to regain it once again. This is why we must hunker down and get the most from each day we walk with Jesus. We aren't going to pass this way again! A person might live a long life, but will that life be filled with the blessings and grace of God? To live long, prosper much, and 'get places' in this lifetime might bring some sense of 'fulfillment' to some, but to the one deeply in love with Jesus, the only 'places' they want to explore are those filled with his presence. The more we see the wicked prospering on ...

“Fools die because they refuse to follow wisdom. They are content to follow their foolish ways, and that will destroy them. But those who listen to me will live in safety and comfort. They will have nothing to fear.” (Proverbs 1:32-33) The old song, "Fools rush in", admits that some can be so blinded by something or someone, all reasonable thought flies out the door. One of the lines in the song actually says, "Though I see the danger there, if there's a chance for me, then I don't care..." It goes without saying that we rush into danger more times than not simply because we failed to exercise wisdom in those moments. How can we get to the place where we 'don't rush in'? We learn to listen to God's voice! God-given wisdom far exceeds human wisdom, but somehow, we think it is okay to just trudge right on into those moments we will come to regret later on. We refuse to listen to his wisdom and find ourselves treading on thin ice. Another line f...

If you would test the character of anything, you only need to enquire whether that thing leads you to God or away from God. (Watchman Nee) Whenever I bring enemy soldiers to fight against a country, the people choose someone to be a watchman. If this guard sees enemy soldiers coming, he blows the trumpet and warns the people. If people hear the warning but ignore it, the enemy will capture them and take them away as prisoners. They will be responsible for their own death. They heard the trumpet, but they ignored the warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had paid attention to the warning, they could have saved their own lives. (Ezekial 33:2-5) Most believers wouldn't think of themselves as 'watchmen' in the sense of being chosen to guard against enemy intrusion, but nothing could be further from the truth. We are all called to be 'watchers' - eyes attentive to what is happening around us, minds open to hearing from God, and hearts willing to ...

People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges their reason for doing it. (Proverbs 16:2) "Either I will find a way, or I will make one." (Philip Sidney) We all have those moments when we just "feel" like doing something is the right thing to do, so we just go ahead with our plans. There are even times when we kind of suspect there might be a little "issue" with what we are doing, but then we go ahead anyway. Whenever we just move without fully thinking it through, or getting God's perspective on the matter, we are usually pretty disappointed with the results! There are times when we have duped ourselves into believing our actions are fully "justified" by the actions of another. It is like we are saying, "Well, he did this, so I did that" - thinking our actions are "made all right" because of the actions of another. If they don't think about the outcome of their actions that is one thing, but we have ...

Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. (Amos 5:14-15) We all face the enemy, but he doesn't always use the same attack for each of us. His attacks are all aimed at the same thing - getting us to turn our backs on righteousness. James 4:7 reminds us to "...humble ourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from us." Amos tells us to actually run from evil - either way, we are supposed to put some distance between us and our enemy! It is this 'distance' that can give us the time to regain right perspective in the midst of the battle. Without the 'distance', we could be overcome by the chaos of the attack! How do we 'create distance' in our lives? If we are always livi...

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. (Ephesians 5:15-17) How can we 'be careful' in our living? The most important thing is to not live like the fools do. What exactly makes for 'foolish behavior'? Any behavior that reveals a total lack of sense, especially when we compare that behavior and its outcome with the scripture. Perhaps this is why God reminds us to put some thought into our behavior. We need to consider our actions - ill-considered actions usually result in poorer results. What we use to 'consider' our actions is important, though. We need the wisdom that comes from the scriptures and the guidance of God's Spirit within us - without that we are flying solo! To understand what God wants us to do, there are some key things we must incorporate in our daily living: 1. Pray about it - ...

Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (Proverbs 15:23) If you have ever found yourself wishing you could 'pull back' those words you just spoke, beginning to see and feel their impact even before the other person does, you are not in that boat alone! We all do it on occasion - words sort of 'fall out' of our mouths and then 'whammy', the discord begins. It is a real battle - one won not with words, but with the Spirit of God within. Have you ever spoken 'ingenuine' words? Some might call them words of flattery or insincere praise. As you may have discovered, those 'ingenuine words' don't last very long or get you very far in life. They might be okay for a while, but before long, others will look for proof that you mean what you say.  Yehuda Berg reminds us, "Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of ...

Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. (Theodore Roosevelt) For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. ...Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11) How do we use our time? Is it wisely, or a little too frivolously? Colossians 4:5 reminds us to make 'wise use of our time' - influencing all those who are 'outsiders' to the faith. Grace isn't something this world is accustomed to receiving, so when we reveal grace in and through our lives, we are being a positive influence on this hurting world. James reminds us we don't know what tomorrow will bring, so we had best be doing what God asks of us today, for none of us is assured a tomorrow. For everything there is a season. What season is upon you right now? I think God wants us to learn to take every activity, submit...

It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.  (Thomas Sowell) Since we are God’s children, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make from gold, silver, or rock. In the past, people did not understand God, and he ignored this. But now, God tells all people in the world to change their hearts and lives. (Acts 17:29-30) God may let us get away with some things for a while, just because we really don't know any better. Let him begin to unfold the Word of God and his principles on how to live upright lives for a bit and he begins to ask for some change. Why? We are no longer ignorant - we know what is expected. Sometimes it does take quite a bit of knowledge to show us just how ignorant we have become - not because we are 'dumb', but because we have been influenced to ignore those things for so long. For a long time, God's people may go along, living as they want, then the day comes when they realize what t...

Have you ever engaged in one of those moments where you just go on and on bragging about one of your recent escapades? It is as though we have no sense of awareness of just how we sound when we recount the stuff we have engaged in. In fact, some of us even appear to have a sense of pride with acknowledging our insane folly! Now, I am not one to "parade" my folly in public on a common basis, but I have to admit - I have done it. Truth be told, I have a hard enough time admitting to my failure in private without having to flaunt it for the world to see! Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation. (Proverbs 14:9) What it is we do with our "guilt" when our escapades have been less than honorable? The fool makes fun of the guilt or remorse they feel. Try as we might, we really cannot rid ourselves of the sense of guilt with simply laughing it away or making light of it in our social circles. If we dismiss our guilt long enough, we b...