The Plumbline

"Now, vigilantly guard your souls : Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They'll be nothing but trouble to you —horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you're the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you." (Joshua 23:11-13) Joshua is about to turn over the control of the nation at the point of his death. He gathers the leaders, priests, and elders together. In the moments which pass, he gives them sound advice on how God expects them to live in the land they have been given as an inheritance - a place of permanent settlement after years and years of wandering the deserts. His first piece of advice: Stay alert ! Why? The work was not done - nations still had to be dealt with. Know this, my friends, OUR work...

Caution - Hot Surface!  Caution - Wet Floors!  Caution - Right Lane Closed Ahead! These are all words of 'caution' - advising us not to do something, or proceed without any thought at all. We each have had those moments in time when we would say we were not exercising much caution, or being aware of what we were doing (at least consciously). These are moments or seasons when we threw caution to the wind. How did that work for you? If you were like me, probably not as well as you had hoped! Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. (Proverbs 28:26 NLT)  When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. (Proverbs 29:18 NLT) When we trust our own insight at the exclusion of warnings clearly revealed for our safety, we are in dangerous territory. I think we are all reminded of the need to 'take caution' every place we look right now. Social media is streaming warnings to ...