The Plumbline

 Psalm 12:6-8 reminds us, "The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land." The promises of God hold certain even when the wicked rise up and the lies of corruption abound. God's kids have nothing to fear. They have an ability to see the lies and to avoid their pull. It comes through the presence of God with them and the protection he brings. What do lies do? They bring oppression, don't they? Almost without noticing, there is a load of weight being put upon the shoulders of those who buy into those lies. They lay a weight of heaviness intended to drag down their 'devotees'. The wicked are indeed spouting those untruths in order to confuse, dupe, and lead astray. God's protection keeps us from living under the load of that weigh...

Life Hack #10: We all need advice on occasion, while we stand ready to give it on others. Sometimes it is quite welcomed, and at others it is resented and rejected because it was totally unwanted. Most advice comes with a little bit of opinion attached, but it could also be a statement of truth which is difficult to ignore. Advice is really any opinion or recommendation offered as a guide for action or conduct. We see someone about to perform a particular action or exhibit conduct which will result in harm to them or another, and our immediate response may be to offer some "advice" to not do it. Have you ever noticed that we are quick to offer advice, but sometimes quite slow to accept it? It is much easier to offer an opinion than it is to accept the recommendations of that someone on the outside looking into our lives! Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words. (Proverbs 23:9) We mull over advice in our brains, then we figure out how to...