The Plumbline

If you stop learning, you will forget what you already know. (Proverbs 19:27) It has been a good day whenever I learn something new. Ever had to learn a lesson you just didn't want to learn? I have - too many times to count! Those are the ones that are tough to learn, but necessary if we are to grow up into strong and "survivable" creatures. I had to learn to brush my teeth, or decay would ensue. I had to learn to tie my shoes because I would trip over the laces if untied. These were probably some of the easier lessons to learn in this life - the ones I can say I have mastered. Then there are the tougher ones - like learning to keep my mouth shut at times when less words are better than more, or how to navigate risky relationship paths that need to be traversed, but which are pocked with all kinds of landmines! You know those lessons I am referring to - for you have your own. In those moments, it would be easiest to just stop learning - to say the learning would b...

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." (John C. Maxwell) Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice? (Psalm 94:20) The more we attempt to justify 'bad leadership' in any form, the more we will slip into all manner of injustice, impurity, and unwholesomeness. How is it possible for a leader to create such a mess in the lives of so many? Easy - people get behind the leader because of charisma or popularity, without even looking deeper into the integrity of the leader's heart. Unjust leaders might declare that God is on their side, but when the heart of a man has never really submitted to the authority and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is charismatic at best. As Maxwell points out, a leader with integrity will not only know the way to walk, but he will also consistently go that way, and is able to show others how to find that way themselves.  To know, one must be exposed to truth....

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. (Romans 15:2) Have you ever considered your actions in light of what others see, hear, or feel as a result of those actions? It can be kind of scary at times to see actions through the eyes of others, mostly because it can lead to us being a little too 'comparison oriented' and it can result in some issues with pride on occasion. If we just compare our actions, excluding the heart from the picture, we might think our actions are a little better than another's. We run the risk of elevating our beliefs or actions above theirs - thinking THEY have room for improvement, but we are doing just fine. This is a very dangerous precipice from which to view life! When we set out to live in such a way so as to be a 'help' to others - an example of God's goodness and grace - our heart is in the right place. Yet, it is quite easy to get a little too focused on our own goodness and forget that God's good...

I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love. (John 15:10) If following an example wasn't above Jesus, why do we think we can live independent of the examples God provides in our lives? Jesus reminded us he loved as his father loved him - he followed the example of what it was to truly love without condition - the way God loves all of us. He modeled unconditional love when he wasn't put off by the leper coming up beside him, or being touched by the woman all considered unclean and impure. He modeled that same love when he endured the beatings, was spat upon, and made his way willingly to the most brutal death you could imagine. He wasn't afraid to model - but he also wasn't afraid to follow a very solid and reliable model. Maybe the importance of modeling isn't fully understood...

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. ( Ephesians 5:1-2   NLT ) Have you ever made one of those really dumb moves where you tried to imitate something you saw, like a style someone was wearing or they way they were behaving, only to find the way you managed to pull it off just was a total fail? I have! You don't realize you are even doing it sometimes until you look back in horror or humor at what has just occurred! When I try to find a new hairstyle, I look at photos in magazines, watch people on TV who seem to have a style I admire, etc. When I ask the beautician if she can do that with my hair, inevitably she ways "no". Why? My hair won't conform to that cut. There are a lot of times when we try to "conform" to some particular way of living only to find we are not reall...