The Plumbline

Have you ever missed out on something?  You planned to attend some special event, having seen it advertised in the media, but then the weekend came and you totally spaced it!  The event happened without you!  How does that happen?  I think it may be related to the busy-ness of our lives these days - getting so much crammed into our lives is just impossible - but it could also be related to our inattentiveness to the details of our lives.  I often remind my readers about the importance of paying attention "on purpose" to the things recorded for us in scripture because they are put there for a reason. They sometimes act as words which will build us up when we are low, or to give us wisdom in the things we should avoid in this life.  Regardless of their purpose WITHIN our lives, they all serve a purpose at some POINT in our lives.  There is no accidental text in the scripture - it is all there because God intended us to learn from it - but to learn from ...

When we hear an urgent news bulletin such as a tornado warning, flood alert, or forest fire warning, we sit up and take notice to see if it applies to us, don't we?  Why?  We want to avoid the damage or harm which may be associated with the warning.  This is the purpose of a warning - to gives us sufficient notice to prepare for something because a lack of preparation could result in significant harm to us.  Even when I take my car into the local auto shop to have them fill my tires with air and rotate them every 5000 miles or so, they check the tread and general condition of the tires.  This simple practice is designed to alert me to the potential of uneven wear, possible sidewall damage from road hazards I did not recognize, and the like.  They aren't trying to sell me new tires, but are concerned about safety.  They know I will come back when I recognize the need for new tires - sometimes even before I truthfully need them.  I t...