The Plumbline

Oswald Chambers reminded us, "The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone." Perhaps a good start to our new year would be to look at the things we have labeled as 'important' in our lives but are really not all that important after all. When we begin to look at some of the stuff that has consumed our time, talent, energies, and finances, we might just conclude these have been a bit too focused on one thing at the exclusion of perhaps a myriad of other things. The most beneficial thing we can do at times is to evaluate where our priorities have 'drifted'. I use the term 'drifted' because we usually don't even realize we have been investing so much into something that isn't really all that good for our lives in the first place. ...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on...

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (James 4:8-10) There will be times when we don't feel all that close to God. It isn't because he has left us, or withdrawn from us, but that we have let something come between us. We get all wrapped up in stuff that takes our focus off of this relationship, or we follow some compromise that makes us feel totally yucky in the end. If we want to feel that closeness again, it may require some 'adjustments' on our part. We need to unclutter our lives, confess our compromise, or a combo of both. Divided loyalty probably causes us more issues in our daily lives than anything else. It is that battle the Apostle ...

But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.” (Genesis 19:4-8) The sad story of Lot's compromises continues. Having taken in the two angels God had sent to warn him to leave Sodom before judgment came down on the township, the men of the town now demand to have their way with the 'men he had taken in'. The men of the town did not recognize them as angels, did not know of their purpose in being within their township, and were intent on committi...

"Are you serious?" Whenever someone poses this question, they may not really be seeking the truth about your level of trustworthiness or your desire to commit to something. In fact, they might just be saying this to exclaim some message of surprise - like they could not possibly imagine what we just did or said as even remotely possible! There is another saying: "Let's get serious now." This one is often spoken as a word or two of admonishment designed to get us focused (refocused) on what is at hand. I can see the difference in these two 'serious' questions, but there are times when all it want to answer is the "are you serious" one and definitely not the "let's get serious now" one. Why? One doesn't require more than a sharing of superfluous info while the other requires me to do something with the info I have. Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God. Ponder the rock from ...

Ghandi said, "Action expresses priorities." That being the case, what are your actions revealing about your priorities? Who do they say is "Number One" in your life? What do your actions reveal about your purpose and intent in life - focus, determination, and commitment? Right now I am planning on another fishing trip with my BFF, so I am pretty intent on getting the tackle box and rods all ready, gearing up for what we hope will prove to be a successful week of relaxation and angling. Mind you, it is more than five weeks away yet, but I am getting focused on it anyway! I also want to make some time to take my grand boys out into the great outdoors to do some fishing and just hanging with each other - so I am being purposeful about how to plan that since I need to do it at a time when someone is available to be with mom. I need renewal - so I take occasional periods of respite from care giving. I need to pour into the lives of these young men whatever wisdom they wi...

We sometimes get into a pickle and then wonder how on earth we got ourselves where we stand at the moment, right?  What we do in those moments is "look back".  We are trying to figure out what brought us to this point - because we really don't know where we "slipped up".  Truth be told, we do this more often than we'd like to admit - finding ourselves "looking back" for that moment in time when we made the choice to go one way when we were being beckoned another.  Probably one of the most telling things we will discover is not some "point" where we slipped up, but in what it was we allowed "into" our lives at that point.  We allowed something to invade our lives which actually "ran interference" with the truths we knew to be true, or the choices we knew to be right.  When a football team assigns someone to "run interference" they are asking that individual or group of individuals to divert the attention of th...

I remember hearing my pastor teach about what we model vs. what we say. It goes without saying, we often model something different from what we say. The "modeling" we "do" is sometimes louder than the "modeling" we give in the form of advice, shared knowledge, etc.  Wisdom is the application of knowledge - wisdom is "modeled" knowledge.  If you have ever begun a project like spring cleaning your junk cabinet or drawer, you will appreciate this illustration. When you clean the first cabinet, rearranging all the stuff which haphazardly finds its way into the shelves over the course of the year, changing the shelf paper to freshen up the look, and close the first cabinet door, you soon remember there are twenty or so other cabinets which need to receive all the stuff you took out of the first which did not belong!  You go onto the second one, not just content to put the stuff in there in no particular order, but you undertake the same venture with t...

Did you ever stop to consider what worship is?  In the simplest of terms, most of us would think of worship as something we do, rather than as something we set into action or motion in our lives.  Let me explain – when we truly live a lifestyle of “worship”, we are setting things in motion in our lives - our lives take on the meaning for which they were designed.  Most would agree, the best purpose for a created object is to be used as it was designed!  For many, worship is associated with song and quiet moments.  For me, worship is a lifestyle - for every word, action, and thought has the potential of being worship!  Worship involves the heart, mind, and soul - it is all-encompassing. In fact, scripture compares worship to love. Love  God , your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!  (Deuteronomy 6:5 MSG) In the truest sense, worship defines who is in control - it answers the ques...

Spend:  To use up, consume or exhaust.  The other night, I heard something in a movie I was watching which caught my attention.  The actress was being asked how she wanted to spend her life.  She made some mention of using the term "spend your life" as though life was a commodity of sorts.  In just that one fleeting moment in the movie, I began to take pause to consider the idea of "spending our life" and how we actually do this.  In fact, I began to see the idea of "using up" or "exhausting" our "resources" much quicker than we might actually imagine.  We treat life as though it has endless renewable resources, but I wonder if we ever realize the source of those resources?   Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  (Matthew 6:33 MSG) As I considered this idea of "spending our lives" in some pursuit or another, ...

Sometimes we come across a quote which just grabs us.  Such is the case when I came across this one today:   "Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever." (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)  I may not have originated these words, but they are something which really reflects my heart.  I live for today - because God never assures me I will have tomorrow here on this earth.  I learn for an eternity - because God has assured me I will learn at his feet for all of eternity.  There are certain things worth learning - such things make us stronger, giving us depth and breadth which would otherwise be undiscovered in our lives. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Chris...

There is a pretty familiar question which we hear many times a week, if not everyday:  "Are you serious?"  Whenever someone poses this question, they may not really be seeking the truth about your level of trustworthiness or your desire to commit to something.  In fact, they might just be saying this to exclaim some message of surprise - like they could not possibly imagine what we just did or said as even remotely possible!  There is another saying:  "Let's get serious now."  This one is often spoken as a word or two of admonishment  designed to get us focused (refocused) on what is at hand.   Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.   Ponder the rock from which you were cut,  the quarry from which you were dug.  (Isaiah 51:1 The Message) When you are serious about something, there is a process which occurs.  First, there is conscious thought - you focus your capacity for under...

32-36  "So, my dear friends, listen carefully;    those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;    don't squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,    awake and ready for me each morning,    alert and responsive as I start my day's work. When you find me, you find life, real life,    to say nothing of God's good pleasure. But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;    when you reject me, you're flirting with death." (Proverbs 8:32-36) Wisdom, in the book of Proverbs, represents not only a characteristic we develop, but a person - the person of Jesus Christ.  The very life of Christ was a display of wisdom by which we can pattern our daily walk.  Our writer spent the first eight chapters of this book reminding us of the importance of choosing wisdom over any other action.  If so...