The Plumbline

A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.  (Roy H. Williams) Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start,  your slate’s wiped clean.  Count yourself lucky— God holds nothing against you  and you’re holding nothing back from him.  When I kept it all inside,  my bones turned to powder,  my words became daylong groans.  The pressure never let up;  all the juices of my life dried up.  Then I let it all out;  I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”  Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved,  my sin disappeared. (Psalm 32:1-5) I don't want anyone to feel they are alone in their mistakes - heaven knows I have made more than my fair share and I am not finished living yet! We are supposed to learn from those mistakes, though. How many times have you and I made the same mistake on more than one occasion? The likelihood i

Conviction of heart really refers to not only the condition of the heart, but the 'bent' of the heart. Which way will we choose more than once when offered the choice? This is often the 'conviction' of our heart. We find we pursue one direction more than another - maybe not all the time, but this particular choice rises to the surface repeatedly. It may be a good direction to choose, or it may leave us feeling a little out of sorts because we know it wasn't the best choice at all. It is our actions, not so much our words, that reveal the real convictions of our heart. We always hear that we "cannot judge a book by its cover" and this is so very true. I have learned what is hidden in the heart is what is manifest in the actions - if not openly, then in secret. We have a huge opportunity to affect how the world sees Jesus based on what actions we reveal to the world. We have an equal opportunity to affect how we see ourselves by the choices we make in secret

Today you will hear someone exclaim - that's the real deal - referring to something that is genuine, not fake, the real thing. Back in the day, Coca-Cola used "real-thing" to describe their soda. They were trying to establish that their 'cola' was the genuine cola - none comparing to the taste you'd find in opening a bottle of Coca-Cola. Let me just say, there is ONE "real deal" in this lifetime - it is Jesus. He is the "real thing" - the genuine article. He is not just another "thing" to be worshiped, but the only way into true and everlasting life - the 'real-deal' that connects us to God the Father. Try as some might, there is no 'counterfeit religion' that will do the same thing! The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want h