The Plumbline

H.G. Wells said, "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." Those words may seem rather simple, as we all know the 'action' of 'standing up' once you have fallen down is a little more difficult than we might imagine. I have fallen more than a couple of times in my lifetime, banging up my knees or elbows, but when I was younger, I bounced back from those falls a whole lot quicker than I do in my sixth decade of life! Just because we are 'growing up in Christ' doesn't mean we won't fall, and it certainly doesn't mean a fall will result in us getting up 'easier' just because we 'know Jesus' a little better than we did in our earlier years of following him. Sometimes we just need to cry out for help to get up! It isn't a bad thing to admit we need help, although some may think it is a sign of weakness to admit it.  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 b...

Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces. (Proverbs 24:15-16) H.G. Wells tells us, "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." There are times when we fall down more than we stand. We try something and fail. We try again and fail in a different way. Standing might just be harder than we thought! If you haven't figured it out yet, we don't always fall by our own doing. There are times when the external influences exert more pull than the internal. What is amazing though is that a child of God is seldom 'down' for long. There is something within them that calls them to 'rise again' and face whatever tripped them up with a fresh look and a new determination. Satan my try to get the best of us, but he doesn't stand a chance against God's goodness and gra...

Life Hack #28: Ever trip up or stumble over something you thought would give you 'no trouble' in life? I have! God keeps a special eye on his people - not letting them stay down too long if they trip up or stumble. This should give most of us (if not all of us) a whole lot of encouragement each time we find ourselves with skinned knees and a wounded bit of pride! We might find ourselves "tripped up" because of things of our own doing - like willful disobedience, compromise, and outright wrong choices. At other times, we find there has been someone in our path who purposefully sticks their foot out in hopes we will stumble and fall. I think there are those who relish the idea of creating a little bit of havoc in the lives of others. A word of warning to these folks - God won't let us stay down long - his hand is already outstretched even before the foot crosses our path to trip us up! Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. ...

Do you have anyone who really 'stands up for you' through thick and thin? In good times and bad - they are just THERE. I know the power of a good friend - a close friend who is there through thick and thin, but I also know the supreme power of a God who is ALWAYS there for me. How about you? Do you know that supreme power - the amazing grace of God? What or who will stand up FOR you and WITH you when all manner of wickedness comes against you? When evil comes from all sides, who will be there? If you are a follower of Christ, having said 'yes' to Jesus, you know the answer to that one. Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up. (Psalm 94:18-19) When all manner of evil or wickedness seems to be unleashed around y...

In the same way, I urge you who are younger: accept the authority of the elders. And everyone, clothe yourselves with humility toward each other. God stands against the proud, but he gives favor to the humble. (I Peter 5:5) If you have ever looked at someone and thought how miserable their life must be, you may just be right. I often think some people want to walk a different road than they are traveling. Their way is complicated with all kinds of relationship issues, their daily path riddled with things which have spun out of control, and their way forward is just plain hard for them to understand, much less walk. When I look upon these individuals, my heart breaks. Their choices have resulted in more hardship and "heart-hurt" than anyone would want to face. Yet, they often refuse the very advice they need to get them out of the place they are in! If you have ever encountered an individual like this, then you probably have tried to give them some "good advice",...

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.  (Ralph Waldo Emerson) Back in the day, Hasbro toy company introduced a simple little toy in the shape similar to an egg referred to as a "Weeble". There were firemen and doctor Weebles - dogs, cats, kids, and other barn animals - families and townsfolk alike. Small villages of these things could keep young children amused for hours. The whole 'draw' for these things was their marketing jingle - Weebles Wobble, but they don't fall down. Sure it would tilt from side to side, but it would 'right' itself rather quickly, making it quite easy for little hands to set up those townsfolk and barn critters. They were created with a very specific way of maintaining equilibrium - gravity causing it to return to an upright position without any real effort. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have such a center of equilibrium that we always came out 'righted' every tim...

I know people who walk around the wet floor signs - faithfully! I guess I am just a little less cautious because there are times I find myself plowing ahead, looking at the floor, observing for wet spots. Why is there such a difference? Perhaps those who go around believe the signs mean what they say! I might actually think they may have been there a while and just don't apply any longer because the floor 'looks dry'! Why do they place their trust in them? Maybe it is because they have nearly fallen in the past and have learned a very valuable lesson. You never know - the one who points out the sign may have insights beyond your own! So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it's still God's Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out ...

Have you ever tripped over your own feet? Worse yet, have you done it in public? How'd that leave you feeling? Kind of goofy and a little embarrassed, if you are at all like me! Your immediate response might be to poke a little fun at yourself for being so clumsy, but inside you are kicking yourself for not paying closer attention and you are dealing with utter humiliation. Imagine the 'trip up' was not a literal one of falling over your own two feet, but of a more spiritual and emotional nature. You 'slip into' a bad thought pattern and then begin to act upon those thoughts. You are way past tired and begin to respond to others in a curt and unreasonable manner. You get mildly distracted by something that should hold your attention for all that long, but when you finally realize you are distracted, you are already way too far into the 'fall' that you cannot stop yourself. Been there - done that - dealt with the humiliation of it! If I keep my eyes on God, I...

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!    Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. (Ephesians 5:16-17 MSG) Have you ever navigated through some place where you had to really watch your step? There have been times when I have to navigate landmines in the yard of a friend that would have caused a pretty uncomfortable odor to follow me around if I had of step into them. I have had to watch very carefully while traversing switchback trails down into the Grand Canyon, all the while watching for erosion and lose rocks. I have also had to stay upright on very slippery icy patches while trying to stay focused on getting to the destination I had in mind. When we are "watching our steps" it is pretty hard to see what is around us, though. We miss some of the beauty we all desire to take in along our journey all because our focus is at foot level! Equally important is this idea...

I have a question for us today - how long does it take to fall? Answer: Not long at all! While on vacation, I missed that the roadway had a rather uneven spot because I was too busy taking in the lake, birds, and scenery to notice about a two and one-half inch drop off in the concrete roadway where the concrete had become uneven. You guessed it - I biffed it big time! Down I went and up I popped - sore, skinned up, bruised, but too proud to stay down for long. When we fall, we don't want anyone around us to notice that we fell, right? We want to recover as quickly as possible, so that no one really "sees" that we have fallen. You guessed it - my fall was not only observed - the couple called out asking if I was okay or needed any first aid. Obviously they could see my rather skinned up forearm and the blood beginning to form in droplets within those jagged scrapes. As much as we might want to fall "unnoticed", every fall we take in life is observed by someone - ...

When I said, “My foot is slipping!” Your unfailing love, O Eternal One, held me up. When anxiety overtakes me  and worries are many,  Your comfort lightens my soul.  (Psalm 94:18-19 VOICE)     Martin Luther King said, " The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. "  We have a moment of success and feel like we are standing on the top of the world - as though nothing could "undo" the feeling we are riding high on for that moment in time.  We also all know just how fleeting "riding" on success can be - for nothing soars forever - all things must return to ground level!  Comfort and convenience can be the enemies of challenge and controversy as much as the other way around.  We don't want to move when we are comfortable, much less find ourselves in a position in which we might actually feel the footing going out from underneath ourselve...

Toby Mac is a Christian artist, but he also has some pretty profound posts which appear periodically on my Facebook feed. This weekend one came across I'd like to share: "Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." I once heard it said a stepping stone is a great thing until it becomes the thing we stumble over. Someone once told me it is pretty doggone hard to actually fall down until you are willing to get up. In other words, you cannot just sit there and actually get anywhere - sometimes it takes a few stumbles, downright falls, and a hand to help you up to get you to the next destination in life! Two are better than one because a good return comes when two work together.  If one of them falls, the other can help him up. But who will help the pitiful person who falls down alone?  In the same way, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm. But how will the one who sleeps alone stay warm against the nig...

God keeps a special eye on his people - not letting them stay down too long if they trip up or stumble.  This should give most of us (if not all of us) a whole lot of encouragement each time we find ourselves with skinned knees and a wounded bit of pride!  Sometimes, we find ourselves "tripped up" because of things of our own doing - like willful disobedience, compromise, and outright wrong choices.  At other times, we find there has been someone in our path who purposefully sticks their foot out in hopes we will stumble and fall. Now, that may seem a bit harsh to state, but I think there are those who relish the idea of creating a little bit of havoc in the lives of others.  A word of warning to these folks - God won't let us stay down long - his hand is already outstretched even before the foot crosses our path to trip us up! Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;   don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up,   Go...

If you have ever watched one of those game shows in which they allow a player to "call a friend" or "use a lifeline", you probably associate this maneuver as being their last-ditch hope for the possibility to move forward or to remain active in the game.  As they opt for this, they get "outside" help to solve a problem bigger than their ability to solve on their own.  This is the purpose of a lifeline - rescue.  A person who knits will tell you a totally different meaning of the term lifeline, though.  In the process of knitting a complex pattern, the knitter may actually insert a "spare thread" of yarn through an entire row of knitting.  This "lifeline" is not actually "knit into" the project and can easily be removed when the knitter is finished.  The purpose of the lifeline is to give a place to which you may return if you make a mistake beyond that point.  If you are attempting a complex pattern just above a whole lot of ...

If you have ever tripped over what seemed like "nothing but air", you have probably felt pretty silly!  If you would have tripped over a known hazard, such as an uneven crack in a sidewalk, a cord in your path, or even your own shoelace, you'd have felt half as silly.  I used to laugh each time I saw the introduction to the Dick Van Dyke show, when he'd enter the living room, run into the ottoman and roll head-over-heals as he connected with it.  The illusion presented was of him not knowing it was there, but the lack of "reality" of ALWAYS landing on his feet each and every time he did this was absolutely unbelievable!  I am sure it took him a little practice to manage this maneuver.  No matter how good our reflexes might be, we cannot escape a "fall" once in a while!  We might escape the fall the first time, or the second, but eventually our senses become dulled to the constant "tripping hazard" and we will eventually "submit...

I caught a post from a friend the other night which grabbed my attention and with which I identified with a little more than I would like to admit at times.  Her frustration came through in the post - not because she was ranting at something others had posted, but because she found herself having reached a point of "failure" in her life.  What came through loud and clear in the post was the fact she has been this route before!  There was something so honest in her post - the ability to admit she was at the end of her rope - traveling an all too familiar path right into the compromise she knew would lead to this exact place of disappointment.  Wow!  Been there, done that, bought the shirt, and wore it out!  Somehow, I felt directed to this passage this morning as I awoke with this friend on my mind and others who also might be at the place of having fallen just one more time.  I hope you will take heart as you read this with me. But I need something...

Calamity:  a great misfortune or disaster; adversity; misery.  There was a 20th century American Baptist pastor, Harry Emerson Fosdick, who penned these words:  "He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood.  He who faces no calamity will need no courage.  Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles."  The idea of the "best" in human character being produced in the times (or fields) of calamity or trouble might just catch your attention here.  In fact, it speaks very loudly to me - for the character which speaks the "loudest" is that which had endured the disaster, held strong through the misfortune and loss, dug in during times of adversity, and withheld the desire to give up in the midst of misery. For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.  (Proverbs 24:16 AMP) He also penned these words:  "Lif...

Earlier this week, as is our custom after lunch, my friend and I took off for our twenty minute walk.  We headed out on our all-to-familiar path, unaware of what the next turn would result in for one of us.  Within seconds, I realized the ground and I were going to connect.  I stumbled, not sure on what, but quicker than I could correct my misstep, the reality began to connect - I was going to have a painful connection with the ground!  Yep, I fell!  Not gracefully, mind you, but into the stones, first onto my hands, and making connection shortly thereafter with my shoulder and hip.  No idea how, but I'd fallen! Two are better than one,  because they have a good return for their labor:   If either of them falls down,  one can help the other up.  B ut pity anyone who falls  and has no one to help them up.  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV) As quickly as I recognized my predicament, I also realized something pretty awesome - a hand r...