The Plumbline

Woody Allen always quipped, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." So true, isn't it? We plan one thing but find something totally different unfolding. Some fool-heartedly believe we are the makers of our own destiny. We are indeed the 'makers' of our own consequences, but are we really the makers of our own destiny? Plans change as life happens. Life choices bring either good, or not so good consequences. A consequence is just the outcome or 'output' of something that was 'input' earlier. You've likely heard the saying, "Garbage in - Garbage out". Nothing could be truer about the plans we conceive and then try to bring to fruition without God's oversight and intervention. If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness. (Proverbs 14:22) Plan to do evil - lose it all in the end. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will come eventua...

Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing. (Oscar Wilde) Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep, and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him! (Psalm 95:1-7) To truly 'experience' God, we have to come to him. We have to abandon our own pursuits in pursuit of him. There is much to be said about abandonment, but suffice it to say, we have to lay down if we are ever to pick up, give away if we are to get back, let go if we are to ever be held again. Life requires experience - it is riddled from birth to death with a plethora of...

There is something to be said about being prepared, but even the best preparations sometimes don’t bring the results we once hoped to realize. The benefits of preparation are that we have a plan for where we are going or what we are doing, the resources are laid aside or are immediately available, and we have a pretty good idea of what we’d like to see as the outcome. The downside to preparation is that our plans don’t always work out as we imagined, there are times the resources are just not sufficient for the things we are facing, and the outcome doesn’t always “match” what we imagined. God never discourages us from preparing or planning – he just reminds us that we need to rely upon him to guide us to the outcome which is best for us, even if it might not be the one we imagined! T herefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Hebrews 7:25 NLT I got a call from my grandson last n...

Wisdom has a couple of companions "in residence" with him - Good Judgment, Knowledge, and Planning.  All three make the best "roommates" for Wisdom.  If we want to have a "full house", we want all of these "in residence" within!  Get Good Judgment, Knowledge, Planning and Wisdom inside of you and you will find you make decisions a little differently - these "residents" create a culture quite different from what might be the "norm" in your life right now. I am Wisdom. I live with Good Judgment. I am at home with Knowledge and Planning. (Proverbs 8:12 ERV) Wisdom is not a thing, he is a person - Christ Jesus.  All wisdom comes from God because God is the embodiment of wisdom.  Wisdom is the applied knowledge we amass over the years - to have both in residence in your life suggests you are in a position of learning on a continual basis - not just to amass knowledge, but to figure out how it applies to the daily decision...

We all have desired or intended results to every action we take in life.  Even setting the alarm before bed is an action intended to awaken us at a particular time to afford us the opportunity to be up, dressed, and engaged in some activity.  Some of our "aims" in life are little rote - like setting the alarm to awaken in the morning.  Others are a little spontaneous - such as when someone calls and asks if you want to hang out a while.  You manage to drop a few things you have going and make plans with the individual because you enjoy the relationship and want to get together.  Still other "plans" or "aims" in life are a little more formalized, take a little longer to accomplish, and serve a specific purpose - as when we make a savings plan or choose to live by a budget.  I don't consult anyone when I set the alarm - because I "own" that activity for my life.  I do consult someone when I want to change my investments to have them perform a ...

To love learning is to embrace discipline - for apart from living a disciplined life, learning can never occur.  To "learn" means we will gain knowledge, understanding of something, or to gain a skill.   It comes by study, instruction, and experience.  Some might call this "coming to realize" - to hear and then come to really know.  Either way you look at it, it comes by discipline.  No lesson is easily embraced if there is a fear or hatred of discipline.  If we recognize our heavenly Father's discipline is ALWAYS done in love, we will no longer fear it, but embrace it as a way of being embraced by love. If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it— how shortsighted to refuse correction!   A good person basks in the delight of   God ,   and he wants nothing to do with devious schemers.   You can’t find firm footing in a swamp,   but life rooted in God stands firm...    The thinking of principled people...