The Plumbline

Character is the result of two things: mental attitude and the way we spend our time.  (Elbert Hubbard) People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. (Proverbs 10:9) Honesty and strong moral principles are always stressed throughout scripture. Those who lacked one or the other usually found themselves in opposition to the will and intention of God, putting them in a place where the protection of God was often 'lifted' off their lives for a period of time. That period of time gave them a chance to see the full 'folly' of their sin and then repent. People of integrity enjoy the protection of God and choose to follow his plans over their own folly and sin.  Jesus walked this earth with utmost integrity. You will find that his words and actions reflected how he chose to spend his time. He obviously took time to talk with is heavenly father and was never too busy to just enjoy those moments with him. The way we choose to spend our ti...

  Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.   They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.  (Matthew 22:15-16) While the Pharisees attempted to find "cause" to kill Jesus, the words they use to describe his actions, and his discipline are truly amazing. They note his unwavering commitment to be honest in all his dealings, impartial in his decisions, and still remain steadfast to his teaching even in the face of opposition. Would that the same could be said about all of us! Integrity matters. When the moment comes and those who aren't following Jesus approach you, will they see the same level of commitment and integrity? That's a tough question that must be answered honestly by each of us. Will the truth we live by be evident e...

People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. (Proverbs 10:9) Most of us really desire to have a walk of integrity - consistent, upright, and firmly grounded. What happens between desire and action is a mystery to many of us. We start so well, with all the right intentions in mind, but then somewhere in the middle, we just make wrong turns and get off-course. How do we become 'people with integrity'? When we ask this question, we are really asking how do we become 'whole'. We become 'whole' in the presence of Jesus - we remain 'whole' because we keep Jesus central in all our decisions. As I did a bit of a deep dive into how we become people of integrity, I was amazed at how many self-help gurus have outlined the 'steps toward integrity'. All of these gurus completely leave Jesus out of the 'steps'. For example, in one article it tells us to 'try to keep our promises even if we need to make sac...

Dr. Joyce Brothers reminds us, "The best proof of love is trust." Let those words sink in just a bit - don't just skim over them. The best PROOF of LOVE is TRUST. Three very important words because love requires proof and the only proof that really matters is when you know you can count on the person you love. If we are to do more than just 'survive' in this world, we need to master this thing we call love. We take each other for granted - expecting so much from one another - not really appreciating the person behind the actions. Trust is based upon more than 'follow-through' - it is based upon the motivation of the heart (the spirit behind the actions).  We can trust God because he did more than 'follow-through' on a couple of promises to us. He did more than just 'be there' in our lives. He showed us we could trust in him - he gave us the 'proof' of his love through his Son. Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so ta...

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the duplicity of the treacherous destroys them. (Proverbs 11:3) Integrity is having agreement in all the areas of our lives. A hypocrite is one who is a different person behind the mask - they wear that mask and allow everyone to see on the what they want them to see on the outside. Their private lives are much different than their public lives. Whatever directs us on the inside is what is really what gives a man or woman integrity. We are building a life - whatever we put into it will eventually be visible on the outside. Every decision is a brick in that building - we can do right or wrong - each is a brick that adds to the 'integrity' of the building! At some point, we make compromises. A good question to ask is, "What do your actions say about your integrity?" Our actions really say a lot about the 'bricks' that we put into the building of our lives. We make decisions all the time - some are wildly wrong and ot...

If you have ever tried to judge the contents of a book simply by looking at the cover, you may have been somewhere into the first couple of chapters only to find what you thought the book may have been about turned out to be something totally not like expected!  You may have been very disappointed in your initial "assessment" of the book, even leaving it unread any further just because you weren't interested in it, or it was way too poor of a read. Once I get into the "heart" of the book, and I find what I hoped was contained there is missing, or falls short of what I expected, I usually abandon it, never to pick it up again. What I hoped was a "good read" leaves me a little disillusioned. Sometimes there are things in life that look like they will be a 'good thing', but once we find ourselves in the midst of them, they aren't exactly turning out the way we imagined! Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.  (...

The man who tries to be good, loving, and kind finds life, righteousness, and honor.  ( Proverbs 21:21   TLB ) How does one live in a manner that expresses the goodness of God? This is probably one of the hardest questions for us to answer in life because goodness, true goodness, often evades the human mind and heart. "Good" expresses the meaning of moral excellence - virtue taken to the 'nth' degree. This is why it is sometimes hard for us to truly grasp this type of behavior - because it is motivated in a heart not corrupted in any manner by sin - or with a sin nature at the core of all its actions. Indeed, we need an exchanged heart, for ours is incapable of this type of 'moral excellence' or goodness. A loving and kind disposition is what stems from this goodness of heart. Honestly, if we struggle at times to act in a way that expresses the love of Christ, it is probably that we haven't connected in some time with the heart of Christ! We need mo...

No one really knows the day or the hour of their final breath, although some may sense it as quite near, while others fight for every last breath as though it were something they might control. As time winds down for some and time begins for others, the world continues the constant buzz of life's circle. Some believe there is no end to their life, with perpetual opportunity to return in some other form in a life hereafter, while others hypothesize there is nothing beyond that last breath. I will always believe there is life after death - not in "some other form" such as returning as a goat or coming back as some famous person - but in union with the Most High God - ever present with him into and throughout all of eternity. If that makes me a little flaky to some, I shall not apologize. If that makes me a little too "holy" for some, I also shall not apologize. As much as it matters where I am headed once this is all over, I want to be assured I am living this lif...

C.S. Lewis said, "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching."  As a child, I am not proud to admit it, but I did things "behind my parents' backs" that I would never have done if they were watching. I kind of followed those around me who were using a little more colorful language than my parents would allow, or I treated others in a way which made absolutely no sense simply because others were treating them that way first.  As kids, we do some of these things thinking our actions will never be discovered. The problem with that belief is that NOTHING we do is ever totally and completely "secret". Someone is always watching. Someone will always hear.  Someone will always see. That someone?  God!   The path of integrity is always safe, but a person who follows a crooked way will be exposed. (Proverbs 10:9 VOICE) My parents always tried to teach me the lesson to live "in private" as I would want others to see me ...

When you trust someone, you are relying upon their integrity, strength, and ability.  When you depend on someone, you are relying upon that person for whatever support you need.  Dependence is based upon trust - without trust, you don't feel confident your dependence is rightly placed.  So, wherever we place our trust, we will place our dependence.  This is important for us to realize because I think we might just place our trust in things and individuals who are less than reliable - even if that "someone" is the one we seem to look at in the mirror most frequently!   Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. Don’t trust in your own wisdom, but fear and respect the Lord and stay away from evil. If you do this, it will be like a refreshing drink and medicine for your body. (Proverbs 3:5-8 ERV) Our passage assures us of the outcomes of ...

Our cravings reveal much about the condition of our hearts.  The more we "crave" for the things we know won't do us much good, or perhaps even do us some harm, the more we can count on the fact we are a little further away from God's heart than we may want to be.  Our cravings are kind of like a "barometer" for our soul - we can often see how our mind, will and emotions are guiding us into some "stormy" weather!  Craving is a form of "begging" - we want something so badly our mind and emotions are playing on our will to get us to fulfill whatever it is we are craving so desperately for. God  won’t starve an honest soul,   but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,   but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.   A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;   a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.  (Proverbs 10:3, 6-7 MSG) Most of us with the privilege of actually being able ...

There are definitely times in life when we just don't think God is moving fast enough, or maybe even that he is not near enough when we really need him. I don't think this is an uncommon phenomena for believers.  We struggle with "feeling" the closeness of God, not because he isn't here, but because we don't "sense" him the way we anticipated him "acting" or "responding" on our behalf.  We don't think he is moving at the speed we need him to, feeling like the things of life are just encroaching on us at a pace he is not keeping up with.  It is almost like we find ourselves crying out, "Hey!  Are you even listening right now?  It is me!  I am standing in need of some help right now!" We don't "feel" God - so we think he is really not listening or at a minimum, he is not paying close attention.  We sometimes sense this the most when we find ourselves faced by things way outside of our control - even when ...

Two words come to mind when I think of our "I" List of character traits God would like for us to possess:  Integrity and Intensity.  At first, these two seem to stand alone, but I think you will come to see how they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually compliment each other.  As you can see from our passage below, Paul begins with "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it."  Now, consider our two traits - he asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it).  They are indeed integral to each other.   Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.    Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. ...

There is a posture to worship we often do not consider, but as the holiday season is fast upon us, I'd like us to take a moment or two to just stop and reflect on the purpose and position of worship.  The psalms are great "stopping spots" for discovering words of encouragement, utterances of praise, and moments to just "rest" in adoration of our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  This morning, let's consider the words of Psalm 95.  It begins with " Come, let’s shout praises to   God ,  raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises,  lifting the rafters with our hymns! "  Then it goes on to proclaim the "why" of worship.  It is always good to know the "why" behind our actions, isn't it?   So come, let us worship: bow before him,  on your knees before  God , who made us!   Oh yes, he’s our God,  and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.  (Psalm 95:6-7 MSG)   ...

1  Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the L ord .   2  Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.   3  They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.   4  You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.   5  Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!   6  Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.   7  As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!   8  I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me! (Psalm 119:1-8) A man or woman of integrity follows hard after the commands of God - searches with all their heart and obeys with a willing submission.  To follow implies that we look toward a leader.  One who follows has the vantage point of seeing the one who has set the course before th...