The Plumbline

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. (I Timothy 1:19) The conscience is made up of what we refer to as morals and principles - amassed while growing up. They act to define the actions we will allow in our lives and those we will reject because they don't align with this learned set of morals and principles. Whenever we are asked to violate our conscience, we might just feel a little anxious, fearful, or even guilty. In the strictest sense, the conscience has a "prohibiting" effect - if the conscience becomes a little "dulled" with the wrong set of morals or principles being applied, it may guide us into some pretty awkward circumstances. This is why we don't trust our conscience alone - it is only ONE tool used in the myriad of tools God gives us for our spiritual, emotional, and physical safety. Keep your conscience clear...

George Washington Carver reminded us, "Where there is no vision, there is no hope." Carver was a committed scientist, always looking for ways to improve the soil that otherwise would have been depleted by years and years of planting the cotton crops of the day. His desire was to see agriculture take on the 'preservation' of the soil nutrients, planting in such a ways so as to allow the soil to 'regenerate' and be renewed. Did you know he was a Christian man? He was one of the first to proclaim that all of science is aided by the understanding of what it is to be in Christ Jesus - in other words, his faith 'enabled' him to be a good scientist. He could have been a very wealthy man, but instead he lived an average life, pouring himself into his work, his family, and the betterment of agriculture. On his grave you will find these words:  He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world...

Scripture tells us an open rebuke is always better than hidden love.  Too many times we equate a rebuke to NOT being loved, when just the opposite is true. You don't rebuke someone unless you care about them - care about what happens to them.  You'd let them go on in their poor choices or absent-minded pursuits without any direction or correction.  So, rebukes come on the heels of love.  This is a pretty tough concept because this generation teaches love is kind of mushy, always seeing the good in others, and being "tolerant" of those things we don't understand or agree with.  Let me just say there are some things we should be tolerant of - things which really don't matter that much. It could be as simple as tolerating (having a permissive attitude toward) how someone wears their hair or the style of clothes they choose to wear.  I am not a fan of the saggy britches, nor the hip issues they are creating by walking so they can actually keep their pants up, b...

In school I found there were various groups of people - some were pretty popular, others not so much.  In the moment, almost all of us wanted to be part of the popular group.  It was not so much the desire to "do" what they did, but to be considered to be "part of" their group.  In fact, if I had considered some of the stuff they "did", I might have reconsidered my all-fired desire to "fit into" their group!  Isn't it funny how we view others from the limited perspective of how being "part" of their "circle" will benefit us?  This is certainly not a new issue in society - nor is it soon to be resolved! 15-17  Mordecai walked out of the king's presence wearing a royal robe of violet and white, a huge gold crown, and a purple cape of fine linen. The city of Susa exploded with joy. For Jews it was all sunshine and laughter: they celebrated, they were honored. It was that way all over the country, in every province, ever...