The Plumbline

Have you ever said the wrong thing at the wrong time? Maybe you actually said the right thing, but at the wrong time. Either way, the 'thing' you said was not taken well, or it was completely ignored. Why? The 'wisdom' it takes to say only what needs to be said, in the right timing is an 'art'. It might not come easily to some, but it can be learned at the feet of Jesus. We just need to spend enough time with him to see how what he notices, when he chooses to speak, and the words he chooses when he speaks. Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (Proverbs 15:23) While I am not an expert on this subject by any means, I have learned there are just times when someone will not hear what you are saying no matter how many different ways you attempt to say it. The heart just isn't in 'receiver' mode. They aren't open to hearing, so even if the timing might be right and the word you bring is pretty spot ...

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:5) I used to pray a whole lot of 'open-ended' prayers. I would just ask God to move - not really all that specific in my requests. I found it didn't lead to a very deep relationship between us. Think about it - if you had a close friend and never talked about anything but the weather or the stock market trends, would your relationship grow any deeper? Not likely. You might be 'up to speed' on current issues, but never really learn what the other needs. There is something about being transparent with each other that helps us develop that depth.  This kind of depth requires an ability to put th...

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" (Matthew 7:7-8) I know it is sometimes pretty hard to admit our true need, but try as we might to 'skirt the truth', the first step to seeing that need met could just be our admittance of that need. There are times we go all around the issue when we talk with our Lord, trying to get it out without really having to say what it is we are looking for in our meeting with him. We seem to want our need met, but we aren't being direct about what that specific need really is. This is one reason I cringe when someone says they have an unspoken prayer request. God ...

I have found people have a harder and harder time communicating with each other these days unless it is done in some sort of emoji, tweet, or text message. We just don't interact face-to-face all that much anymore. The smartphones have given us access to our 'friends' 24-hours a day - pinging away with each newly composed message, cute video feed, or stunning social media post we receive. God isn't a 'social media' kind of guy, though. He really hasn't changed from his original plan of face-to-face interaction! It is called prayer and very few of us really 'get' how prayer works any longer because we have forgotten how it works to really share - to speak, listen, restate a conversation, mull things over together, and get down to the heart of the matter - all while being connected and vulnerable face-to-face. God keeps his distance from the wicked; he closely attends to the prayers of God-loyal people. (Proverbs 15:29) There are times when we feel tha...

When trouble surrounded me, I cried out to the Eternal; He answered me and brought me to a wide, open space. The Eternal is with me, so I will not be afraid of anything.  If God is on my side,  how can anyone hurt me? ( Psalm 118:5-6   VOICE ) Too many times we think "IF trouble ever surrounds me, then I will cry out...", but in reality, it is "WHEN trouble does surround me, I better be crying out!"  A lot of times we think we won't have those troubles someone else has, but we certainly will have troubles all our own. They may not be identical to what someone else is going through, but they will come - opposition will soon wage an attack and we had better stand ready! Soldiers will tell you the hardest time to withstand an attack is when you are just finished with the one that just came and is finally over. You are exhausted, with all too real memories still in the forefront of your brain of all the awful stuff you've just come through. Trust me on this o...

I fear we go through our days and weeks without much communication anymore - real, genuine, heartfelt communication between two individuals struggling to make it through the day-to-day stuff they each face.  In fact, we pull out our phones at the dinner table to check for instant messages, read the latest posts on social media sites, and evaluate the latest stuff trending on YouTube.  We've lost the art of sharing - of just being real with each other - discussing the regular stuff of life and just listening to each other.  I don't expect my best friend to correct me each time we talk together, but there have been times when she just puts in a word here or there which actually help to get me out of my funk, turn my attitude around from one of "self-whatever" to one of really thinking things through from the other person's perspective, or just helping me to decide if I want to buy the new counter tops or not.  Sometimes her words encourage me; at other times they k...

It is so easy to burn out on things these days - probably because we have sensory overload from all the things coming at us in the course of the day.  I was privileged to spend a week away with my best friend again this week and we went to Orlando (the first time for both of us). Of course, when in Rome, you do as the Romans do, so off we went to explore the Disney attractions.  Can I just say that if you want sensory overload, spend about two hours in one of these parks and just watch what happens to you in terms of how uneasy you begin to feel.  With the constant stream of people pushing and pressing against you, music of all manner blaring from one set of speakers as you transition to the next, and smells pulling at each of your nostrils, you will soon realize sensory overload. If we continued doing this long enough, we'd either get so overloaded we'd just burn out, or we'd become so dulled by the sensory input we'd miss out on stuff all around us. The same is true i...

Listen while I build my case, God, the most honest prayer you'll ever hear...  (Psalm 17:1 MSG) Prayer is a powerful thing, but often an overlooked blessing in our lives. We might think we are paying attention to God and trusting him to be the Lord of every area of our lives, but I have to ask you how often you actually find yourselves laying out your case before God on a frequent basis?  I think we don't build our case as often as we might really need to.  In fact, many of us have little to no time spent in prayer until we find ourselves at the end of our rope and like we don't know what to do.  This is a sad truth, but true nonetheless. Prayer isn't designed to be a "thing" we do, but a life we live.  In other words, it is an ongoing conversation with God as freely as we speak with the closest of our friends or companions in this life on this earth.  I think this is why we sometimes struggle with prayer so much - because we have made it a "thing...

Have you ever given anyone an "opening" to just all out tell you anything they wanted?  I have - a word of warning here - it is not always what you might want to hear!!!  Sometimes you learn things about yourself - other times you learn things about the other person - and sometimes you learn things about other people not even involved in the conversation!  Imagine being in the most "open" and "sharing" of relationships with someone.  I like to call this a relationship with transparency and intimacy - the freedom to share your heart.  You want to share things which you might not want to share with other people, right?  I think God gives an open door to each of us to enter into this type of relationship with him.  We can come boldly into his presence, sit right down and "unload" even the deepest and darkest of secrets - all with the confidence of knowing he will take what we say only as far as OUR relationship!  It stays there because he knows the ...

20  Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,     And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.     Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.     Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide. (Ecclesiastes 10:20 The Message) During World War II posters hung in theaters, grocers, and around town where everyone could see them, announcing the message that "Loose lips sink ships".  The idea was that you might never know who your true enemy is - even a slight "dropping" of a little information here or there could mean tragedy in the battle being fought.  The exact meaning was that "unguarded" talk could cost lives!   Mom taught me that "if you cannot say something good about someone, don't say anything at all."  Ummm...truth is, if I had heeded that message, I'd have said a WHOLE lot less in life!  The fact is, it is easy to get caug...

21-22 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill." (Matthew 5:21-22) 3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! (James 3:3-5) Words matter - what we think should not always be spoken!  There is no greater struggle than to learn to control one's speech.  It is so very easy to just blurt out words that are thoughtlessly spoken - it is quite another thing to "mop up" the aftermat...

19  The more talk, the less truth;    the wise measure their words.   20  The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;    the blabber of the wicked is worthless.   21  The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,    but chatterboxes die of an empty heart. (Proverbs 10:19-21) The Book of Proverbs is filled with all kinds of wisdom about our communication - what gets said and what should remain unsaid.  There is more set in motion by one word than most of us realize.  The three verses above give us some insight into the choices we make with our words.   The more talk, the less truth - in other words, the more we have to say, the greater chances are that we will embellish what is truth within the statement with things that may not be entirely true.  When we "add words" that really don't "belong" in the discussion, we are simply trying to "enhance" the truth.  There is simplicity i...

18  If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.  (Proverbs 29:18  The Message Bible) This same passage can be translated: " Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;   but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction."  (NIV)  The idea is that we are often people that seem to require being "in the know" as it applies to what is coming next in our lives.  As we well know, this seldom happens.  W e plan and prepare, but often the best of plans becomes nonsensical when dealing with the things that present themselves at our doorstep demanding our attention and energies.  This passage considers the idea of "revelation".  For us to understand the passage, we must understand that word. First, revelation carries the idea of disclosing something that had otherwise or previously been hidden.  It is common in church cir...