The Plumbline

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” ...God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. (Romans 15:1-6)  We are to live strong - robust, able to stand up to the tests of life. Strength can be mental power, physical ability, and even moral firmness. It is something developed over time - not something which comes as a matter of inheritance. You can desire to be strong, but what brings strength is the exercise of the strength you possess until you begin to ...

If we begin with God, we will surely end well!  I wonder what would happen within our days if we'd make a conscious effort to begin with God and then at the end of the day begin to recount the things of our day in the light of what he brought us through, showed us within the events, and kept us from experiencing just because of his awesome oversight?  Beginnings often differ from endings, do they not?  Some of us begin well, ending with less than stellar performance.  Others begin on a little bit of a shaky footing, but end pretty well considering how we began.  One thing I believe God wants for us is the certainty of beginning well AND the reward of ending well.  If we consider there is a whole lot of "in between" wedged in the middle of the beginning and ending, we might just get a little discouraged with the process, but the truth is, begin well and we stand a whole lot better chance of dealing with the "in between" with a different frame of reference! ...

8  Endings are better than beginnings.     Sticking to it is better than standing out. (Ecclesiastes 7:8) I think that many of us do a great job at STARTING stuff - our hobby cabinets, bookshelves, and garages give testament to that fact.  Yet, I wonder how many of us really FINISH what it is we start!  I have a very creative daughter.  In school, she would take all kinds of arts classes.  I always enjoyed seeing what it was she created.  She'd take on new projects with all the flare of creativity she could muster up, then when the project was taking too long, or something else caught her interest...it would be put aside unfinished.  Another side of this story is my tendency to read as many as five books at one time.  I will start them, put them down and take up a new one.  When the mood hits me for a little of the mystery, I pick it back up, then it gets put down for the humor of the comedy, and so on.   It shoul...