The Plumbline

Do you 'toy with' temptation? If you act carelessly when it comes to the things that tempt you, kind of ignoring them, and then find yourself 'playing with' the thing that is tempting you, you are probably not resisting temptation very well. It is meant to be resisted, not ignored or toyed with at all.  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) Temptation comes in all forms. It can be something from 'without' such as cookies in the cookie jar 'calling' for you to eat them when you are trying to watch your weight. It can be from 'another' such as when a coworker wants to share some juicy gossip over lunch about your boss. It could even be from 'within' such as when you are feeling down on yourself and overspend on the online stor...

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. (Judges 16: 19-20) Samson and Delilah - do you recall the story of his tremendous strength against the Philistine armies? We can learn a few lessons from his life, but probably the most important center around his strengths and his weaknesses. He was a very courageous warrior - not afraid to tackle whatever was in his path. Remember the story of him slaying a lion with his bare hands, rendering his attack unsuccessful? How about him going against the Philistine army and carrying the gates of the city away with him when he felled the army? He was willing to put himself out there, but he also struggled w...

You can find lessons in the weirdest things or at the most unlikely spots in life. It helps us connect-the-dots spiritually to receive an object lesson. Imagine a gate that opens up for you to pass through that puts you in a cue in a long line where you are committing to stay in the line for as long as it takes because there is no other way out. One way in, one way out - no skirting the line, no turning around. It speaks of the way we enter into sin in our lives - there is some kind of gate which reminds us we are passing through into some place we may not want to be for very long, but when we do, we are there for the long haul! Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. (James 1:13-15)   All temptation comes with a stopping spot before we enter fully into sin. Just like th...

Do you have anyone who really 'stands up for you' through thick and thin? In good times and bad - they are just THERE. I know the power of a good friend - a close friend who is there through thick and thin, but I also know the supreme power of a God who is ALWAYS there for me. How about you? Do you know that supreme power - the amazing grace of God? What or who will stand up FOR you and WITH you when all manner of wickedness comes against you? When evil comes from all sides, who will be there? If you are a follower of Christ, having said 'yes' to Jesus, you know the answer to that one. Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up. (Psalm 94:18-19) When all manner of evil or wickedness seems to be unleashed around y...

The resolution to avoid an evil is seldom framed till the evil is so far advanced as to make avoidance impossible. (Thomas Hardy) Ponder Hardy's thoughts for just a moment and you will understand why willpower alone seldom keeps us from eating the candy bar within our fridge! Now, the one still at the grocer's counter is a little harder to actually enjoy, is it not? The nearer the 'evil', the harder it is to avoid - it is within our path and we find things harder to resist when they are in our path! So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) My BFF was sharing about her father's desire to lose a little weight, so he has 'divested' himself of some of the goodies he had 'stockpiled' in the house. The box of chocolates found a new home far away. The rice krispy treats made someone else very happy. The cookies blessed another's family. I imagine the purpose of the 'divestiture' is to ensure ...

Oscar Wilde once quipped, "I can resist everything except temptation." He may have more telling in his words than we may first want to admit! Temptation can give the lot of us a huge headache - if not for the temptation we pursue, then for those that others pursue that affect us in the end. We don't commonly speak about temptation in our communications today, especially if it will 'meddle' in our personal business. We might admit we are tempted to eat something we should not, or to make a purchase that is probably not the wisest. Temptation is really to be lured into something, so it is more common than we think. It might begin with a little bit of what we call "fascination" with something we really should not indulge in, but then it becomes something that we have to put a great deal of effort into if we are to resist it. Why is it that the simplest "fascination" can have such a big "pull" on us? Simply put, it is because we don't...