The Plumbline

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (I Corinthians 10:13)  We can all admit to being a little more than 'tempted' when we see some delicious dessert we crave, gaze upon a shiny new automobile we have been desiring or wanting to jump into the latest gossip session going on in the breakroom. We ALL are tempted - it is what we do with that temptation that matters. We can give into it, skirt our way around it without being too awfully scathed by it, or resist it entirely. I can say I have done all three! Skirted in my own efforts and barely avoided the temptation. Given in whole hog to satisfy some inner urge or desire. The 'resisting it entirely' hasn't always been my 'mode of operation' in life. How about you? Give in and feel the guilt begin to mount. Ba...

I was charged with the task of cutting some soap the other day - something you might think would be insanely easy. It is this rich mixture of glycerin, oils, and the like, so shouldn't it be like cutting butter? First of all, let me assure you I am not a weak person - I have a great deal of strength in these hands and arms still. I can still wrestle the pickle jar open with best of you! The soap, on the other hand, just about did me in! No matter how much 'strength' I had in these hands, arms, and even my upper body, I just couldn't cut the loaf pan sized chunk of soap into 1/2 inch pieces. Something was awry with the soap as it set up and it made it insanely hard to cut. Do you know what we did with that soap? We let go of the idea of it being 'bars' of soap, chunked it up, put it back in the heat, and poured it into smaller silicone molds that will allow it to just 'pop out' perfectly sized! Hermann Hesse once said, " Some of us think holding on m...

Do you ever have a hard time staying awake when you finally kick back in that recliner or favorite spot on the couch? It is like some mystical thing happens while you are watching TV or reading your book. Slowly, but ever so slowly, your eyes get heavier and heavier, until there is no resisting the urge to just close them for what you believe will be 'just a moment'. Then...without notice...you are snoozing away! The worst part about it is that it is only 6:30 p.m.! The sun has just set behind the hillside and the darkness has crept in - and somehow your body interprets that as it is time for a little slumber! If I happen to drift into one of these 'recliner comas' at that hour of the night, I am usually not able to get to sleep at my regular bedtime because my body will have found rest and 'recovery' after about 30 minutes! As hard as it may be to get up from the recliner and take a few laps around the house, it is what helps me to maintain alertness and to avo...

It was Emerson who reminded us, " We gain the strength of the temptation we resist ." There is much to be said about 'resistance', but the greatest realization we can experience is that when we are resisting, we are allowing the strength of that which we resist to be weakened. We resist the urge to respond in anger and anger's appeal begins to wane. We resist the need to always control and we begin to see there are other opportunities that come to light when another is given a little of that control. Why does resistance actually make us stronger? We are working against a force - strength always comes when we work against a force. We may not realize it, but what we were resisting actually has a diminished strength the next time we resist it. Why? We have grown stronger and the strength it takes to resist again is now less than it was before! So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) Give yourself to the right stu...