The Plumbline

A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down.  (Proverbs 29:8) Have yoiu ever noticed just how many cynical people there are in this world? I caught a commercial the other night in which it displayed one of those support groups that meet in circles. The 'members' of the group were those who were 'cynical' about all those promises made by those 'shopper programs'. The purpose was to show shopping with one particular online 'add on' would actually 'ay off'. Their cynicism only ended when she showed them the rebate check. There are times when it seems like there are a lot of cynical people trying to paint a picture of doom and gloom about the things that life deals us. It is easy to follow along with their perceptions of gloom, if we allow our minds to drift there, and if we never see proof otherwise. In order to counteract them, we need to become strategic in our thinking, understanding in our interpretati...

16-19 "How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating." (Matthew 11:16-19) John the Baptist is in prison - his disciples are sent to bring him back a report on what Jesus is doing.  In John's mind, he is still wondering if Jesus is the Messiah they were awaiting, or just another prophet, like him.  Jesus proclaims a list of things to the disciples in response to their, "Are you the one we are looking for?"  He outlines "evidence" that will help John make his own determination about the Messiah - lepers healed, blind see, lame walk, deaf hear, dead raised, and if that is not enou...