The Plumbline

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. (Herman Hesse) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14) Too many times we hold onto our mistakes, focusing all our thought and attention on them instead of what Christ wants to do with them. He actually wants to use them as a catapult to move us forward, not anchor us to the past. God is always doing something new - reminding us to forget what lies in the past and focus on the new (Isaiah 43:18-19). God is making a way forward, but we have to step out into it if we are to ever ...

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) How many times do we launch into life's daily activities, then come up against something that kind of bewilders us? It is likely at least once in a while for all of us, but sometimes this happens quite frequently - especially when life seems to be throwing you curve ball after curve ball. Sadly, I think a great many of us attempt to muddle through in our own effort, only stopping to ask for help from God when we get things so messed up that we cannot figure our own way out! We reveal a lot about ourselves by doing so - a lot about our pridefulness, stubbornness, and self-focus! If we don't know what ...

True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. (Proverbs 22:4) True humility - this suggests to me there might just be a form of humility which is not genuine or real at all. It is that type of humility where one "pretends" to be submissive to the will of another, but really there is a little (or a lot) of resistance going on. It is like the age-old adage of us sitting down on the outside but standing up on the inside! Humility is often thought of as being modest or a little bit inferior to another. Humility is really a spirit of deference. It is the respectful and courteous regard of others in our lives - the willingness to take the back seat or to play second fiddle, so to speak. It is the condition of no longer pretending but being real with each other. A truly humble person is not afraid to be themselves around others or God. There are a lot of ways we don't show our humility. One of the most evident is when we say we know everything the...

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. (George Bernard Shaw) How are you doing on that 'mistake' count? I could fill journals! Mistakes are a part of life - good or bad judgment is the only thing that contributes to mistake making - right timing combined with bad judgment can make for an equally messed up outcome. There are lots and lots of checks and balances that are in play every day to keep us from 'messing up', but you and I both know we don't always follow the rules or maintain a perfect balance! Mistakes aren't always bad, though. Yes, they can be costly, but the 'expense' of making a mistake is actually one way of saying we just had an investment made into our 'learning'! For a good man may fall seven times and get back up again, but the wicked will stumble around and fall into misfortune. (Proverbs 24:17) Scripture doesn't tell us a good man won't fall (fail) - it...

While most mistakes we make are not those that result in a permanent riff in a relationship with another, there is a tendency for us to recall the past ones made when the individual keeps making the same ones, isn't there? Most of the time, we do our best to not make the same mistake again, but if you have ever made the same one more than once, you know just how frightfully hard it can be to seek forgiveness, much less give it! Rarely do we look as mistakes as 'permanent' because we allow 'do-overs' in life. Wasn't the key labeled backspace on the keyboard really a way of allowing us to retype those misspelled words, or completely eliminate a thought we did not want to continue with in those written words? We all have those 'backspace' moments - those times when we know we have made mistakes, but we need to the grace of God to wipe them out so we can start over again. Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends. (Proverbs 17:9...

He does not punish us for all our sins;   he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.   For his unfailing love toward those who fear him   is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.   He has removed our sins as far from us   as the east is from the west.   The  Lord  is like a father to his children,   tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  For he knows how weak we are;   he remembers we are only dust. (Psalm 103:10-14 NLT) It is indeed good news to know that God doesn't deal with out sin in a harsh or unkind way! Some of us have a negative view of what our heavenly father is like because their earthly father wasn't all that great - others recount the wonderful kindness of their earthly fathers and have no problem relating to God as kind and just. The truth is that God doesn't abandon us, he sees us through, no matter how "misbehaved" we may be, and he isn't going to let us outrun his mercy! Think on ...

T.D. Jakes described his "mistakes" as the framework for his life's greatest miracles. I'd have to agree on that one, for all of life's mistakes are just missteps - opportunities to have done one thing, but choosing instead to do another. It might take some "redoing" of the steps, but mistakes can actually become the ground upon which God does his greatest work of growing us. We may not see mistakes in quite the same way at times - simply because we get down on ourselves and discount the value of these missed steps. It might not be until God actually begins to recreate the steps we had taken that we see the moment we took that wrong step. That moment in time is not what God brings to our memory so he can beat us up about those mistakes, but he does so in order to help us avoid that same trap the next time. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The eyes of...

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep . (Scott Adams) When you see your reflection in the mirror, which mistakes do you actually see in that reflected image? When others see you, what mistakes do they observe? If Christ has become the center of your life, it is likely that what others see in us are those mistakes interwoven into the fiber of what we call "character" - displays of God's grace. These are the ones upon which God has applied a great big coating of grace until the mistake isn't prominent anymore, but his grace shines through.  As a result, they can now become prominent displays of his goodness and graciousness, not so much as flaws in our character, but as evidence of how God can use even what we see as the "worst" to become something of beauty and purpose in our lives. I have been pretty "creative" with my life at times, making some big mistakes, but God has always been faithful to let me s...

" A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether. " (Roy H. Williams)  Are you smart, or wise?  According to Mr. Williams, we are wise if we learn from the mistakes of others!  I don't think he is far off in his statement.  Some of us are content making our own mistakes, essentially learning "the hard way".  I don't know about you, but it stands to reason if I can learn from YOUR mistake, I am much better off! Words spoken  wisely  result in much good,   and working with your hands pays a large reward.   Fools follow their own directions and think they are right,   but wise people listen  intently  to advice.  (Proverbs 12:14-15 VOICE) Not all of us are "content" to learn from what others have experienced, lived through, and perhaps "survived".  We just have to go and do it ourselves, bel...

My daughter writes a blog about crafting.  As part of her blog, she takes numerous photos, posting the "how-to" images for those who might like to make something she has created.  It is a tremendous blog.  A few years ago when she undertook this endeavor, she began the process of posting these photos without realizing how much "space" they would occupy in her storage, the advantages to various forms of "naming" the photos, etc.  She didn't know what she didn't know.  Ever been there?  I think we all have.  Yesterday, she posted something about the hours and hours of work it was taking to "archive" her posts / photos and the necessary work of renaming some of them in order to aid in those interested in "searching" for various projects.  Obviously, she was frustrated with the "re-investment" of time this was taking - time which could have been spent engaging in other creative work.  I quickly messaged her back a short an...