The Plumbline

Time has a way of slipping through our fingers without us even recognizing it has passed us by. We can fritter away time easier than anything else. To fritter means to allow something to slip away little by little, almost like the sands seeping through the hourglass. Frittering something away is not like a glass slipping from our hand and shattering on the ground because we had wet hands when we tried to hold it. In this case, we were unprepared to hold the glass securely, so it slipped and we were fully conscious of it slipping. To fritter a glass out of your hand is kind of like dozing off with a glass of water in your hand, then slowly, little by little, the glass tips ever so slightly. Then it tips a little more, and a little more. Then in the next short passage of time, the glass lays on its side, contents flowing freely from it. We can remain asleep, unaware of the contents being spilled, or the condition of our "hand" which actually "relaxed" its grip an...

Desperation is a condition in which hope has faded and what is left is a deep sense of hopelessness, a compounded by a sense of just wanting to give up on it all. These are the times when we are just crying out to God, "Hey, are you listening here???" It is our heartfelt plea for God to answer us because we need help and help seems to be escaping us. There are times I think God has allowed me to get to the place of extreme desperation - of not feeling like I could go any further. He allowed it! He put me in a place where I came smack-dab face-to-face with the inability of my own talent, inadequacy of my own strength, or insufficiency of my own resources in order that he might become my all-in-all. When we get to the place we are relying on our talent, strength, or resources in an exclusive manner, God sometimes needs to put us in the place where we will realize how futile that self-focus really can be. I call out at the top of my lungs, "God! Answer! I'll do whatever...

Have you ever blurted out to someone that you were 'starving' - perhaps having been delayed in having your lunch, or not being able to grab breakfast before your day took a huge swing into overdrive? When was the last time you said this about your soul - admitting to God that you have waited too long to take nourishment from his Word, or have been waiting for what you think is too long to receive some desired answer from him related to something that has wearied your soul? The moment we recognize our desire is the moment we look for it to be satisfied, isn't it? When it comes to our God's care and love, we don't have to starve, but we do have to have an appetite! God won't starve an honest soul, but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:3) God won't starve an honest soul - the thought provokes us to consider what it is to "starve". What is it that Solomon could have been referring to when he spoke of the "starvation...

4  An empty stable stays clean—but there is no income from an empty stable. (Proverbs 14:4 TLB) An empty stable stays clean, just as an empty house might remain neat and with things in order. An empty bottle doesn't really serve the purpose for which it was created, nor does an empty heart! Another 'empty' to consider is that of a canvas stretched tightly upon the frame. The frame gives it a 'form', yet the canvas is still just 'empty' until the artist takes up the brush and begins to add brush stroke after brush stroke of color to that 'void'. An empty canvas is rarely seen as 'empty' in the eyes of the artist - simply because he knows all the ways it is to be filled. There are times we believe 'empty' is a bad thing, but if you actually stop to think about it, 'empty' defines the object as 'not full', not that it isn't open to being filled. The canvas might be nothing more than canvas until it stretched tight...