The Plumbline

Those who plot evil shall wander away and be lost, but those who plan good shall be granted mercy and quietness. ( Proverbs 14:22   TLB ) Good or evil - both are the result of certain processes set in motion within our lives. Deming said that if we could not find a way to describe what we are doing as a 'process', then we actually didn't know what we are doing. All of life is filled with processes, beginning with thought and carried into action. If you have ever had one of those involuntary moments when you are asleep and suddenly feel like you are falling, jerking yourself awake, you know how 'off' that feeling of falling can make you feel. You might not realize it, but we are all subject to 'interpreting' certain actions or reactions based on how they make us feel. Yet, not all feelings are real - that 'fall' was imagined. You weren't actually falling out of bed, but somehow your thoughts engaged a reaction to that 'impression' of f...

2  People think that whatever they do is right, but the  Lord  judges the reasons for everything they do.  3  Do what is right and fair. The  Lord  loves that more than sacrifices. (Proverbs 21:2-3 ERV) What are the reasons behind the actions you take? This is a reasonable question, but one that may require a bit more soul-searching than we often want to make at any given moment. It is not uncommon to "act", then think of the motivation behind those actions. It usually happens as a result of the action falling short of whatever it was you thought you were doing when you acted! It is then that you look back, wondering just how quickly your actions got that off-course. I've said this before, but it bears repeating - actions really do follow thought. We may not realize what we have been entertaining in our minds until we see the actions in play. As I have often said, having a "guard" over our thought life can be our salvation in more ways than one! ...

If you have never read the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness just before he launches out into his "public" ministry, it is worth a read.  As the Devil tempts Jesus, he puts him through three tests - one aimed at his physical hunger with the intention of getting Jesus to satisfy his needs on his own; a second aimed at getting him to jump off a high place and presuming upon the grace of God to catch him before he fell to the ground; and a third aimed at getting Jesus to "save the world" without really having to go to the cross by accepting an alternative to God's divine plan.  After all three of these temptations, we find the words, "That completed the testing."  Lest we think the Devil is all done with us when we don't give into one or more tests, remember the rest of the passage - he retreated TEMPORARILY.  His "retreat" is always only temporary at best.  He actually is looking for the next opportunity to interject himself ...