The Plumbline

All our words and acts are passing in review before God. (Ellen G. White) Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. (James 2:12-13) Expectation is a mindset that creates a sense of anticipation, is it not? When you invest your money in a fund, you anticipate a return. When you tell your teen to be home by curfew, you expect a timely return by that curfew end. What do we expect from each other? Those expectations create a mindset within that actually builds anticipation of some 'return'. We expect someone to be kind - revealed through kind words and deeds. This mindset is based on a form of hope. We could expect someone to act harshly, based on a set of expectations we have created about that person created from some character traits they exhibit. We have created a mindset based upon what we have observed. Because our

  The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in  God  protects you from that. (Proverbs 29:25) How many of us are subject to human opinion? If you don't think you are, ask yourself if you go to the 4 or 5 star items on that online store, reading the reviews of the products you are considering. If you do, you are subject to human opinion - reviews are actually a form of offering one's opinion of a product, service, or place. We all rely upon human opinion just a little bit - even if it is to swerve right as we are going down the road as we have seen the three drivers in front of us do already. We don't know why we are swerving, but based upon what we have seen, we respond similarly. That is the bad thing about human opinion - we respond similarly based upon what another thinks or feels. If you have ever read mixed reviews of a product, you know how conflicted you can be in reading them. You know some absolutely love the product, while it totally disappointed others or simp

I am going to ask some 'telling' questions, but unless you post a comment in this blog, I will never know your answer. God will, but I won't! Ever pass a little gas in public, only to quickly walk away, looking as nonchalant and "innocent" as possible? Or maybe hit the snooze button one too many times, then blame your tardiness on being "caught in traffic"? Or perhaps a deadline passes without your work being finished and you excuse it away with just how "busy" you have been? It is silly how we try to "cover up" our little "misgivings" with all kinds of make-shift "screens", isn't it? As I was reading the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden this morning, I had the revelation of this "cover up" concept being a pretty OLD way of dealing with our short-comings! Covering things up has been around a long, long time! We continue to rely upon cover-ups as a means of d

One of my friends posted a little saying today which I wanted to share with all my lady friends (and guy friends who might just benefit from this, as well): "What a lovely gift to give a friend...to never expect her to be perfect." (Proverbs 31 Ministries) It made me think about how many things it is we do in life which we think someone else actually expects us to do, wanting so desperately to please them and not allow things to get in the way of our relationship. We might just do this a little more often than we admit - simply because it has become such a way of living for us, it might not be easily recognized at first. Maybe we need to actually stop long enough to ask, What expectations have I imposed upon another , and What is it I want from them ? We might just be surprised what emerges when we stop to think what it is we "require" of another in relationship! Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’