The Plumbline

Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings. Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck. Wherever you walk, they'll guide you; whenever you rest, they'll guard you; when you wake up, they'll tell you what's next. For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path. (Proverbs 6:20-23 MSG) There are certainly those in society today that lack the good advice of a father (or a father who actually listens to any good advice) and the wise teachings of a mother (or a mother too caught up in herself to actually listen to others). Perhaps father or mother is actually absent from the scene - or simply totally not involved in the life of their children. Worse yet is that the parent was present to teach, but what was taught was continual abuse, absolute neglect, or total mistrust. Society today has not done a good job of representing the ro...

If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it— how shortsighted to refuse correction! (Proverbs 12:1) Once in a while, I take a little heat from my friends because I like to learn new things and relish a good 'how to' book or discovery while searching facts on the internet. I have a curious mind that is only satisfied when I have discovered a new fact - like taking something apart to see how it works, or discovering the name of a bug that crawls out of a hole in my back yard. The writer of Proverbs says that if we are the kind of people that love learning, then we will also love the discipline that goes with it. Most of us could say that we are open to learning new things, but does discipline REALLY have to be part of it? According to God, yes. According to me....uhm, no thanks! The process of learning requires that we take in knowledge or a new skill through the process of being instructed or through some means of self-study. We go through a process of...

All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work. ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17   ERV ) While it is very important to remember all scripture is given to help us correct what is wrong in our lives, it is not to be used to beat people up with. The desire to use scripture to point out the faults of another is not what is intended here. The "pointing out" is really the job of the Holy Spirit - the helping another to learn part is where we come alongside and walk out that learning together. Most of the time, we forget that learning is all about us walking out what we are given instruction to do. Having a hymnal doesn't equate to singing the songs correctly - especially if you don't actually read notes or understand rhy...