The Plumbline

Convenient vs. inconvenient.  We are all faced with the challenges each and everyday which make us choose between what is convenient vs. what is a "little bit" to a "whole lot" inconvenient for us.  When a friend asks for a ride home from work, if it is on the way home, it is convenient, so you probably don't balk.  When they ask for a ride way out of your way, you might just be thinking up the excuses right now for why you could not do it today!  We often look for excuses when something is a little bit harder than what we expected, or what we think to be "convenient" for the moment.  If conversation comes hard for you, when another wants to sit with you and begin to explore your day, including your "feelings" of the day, you might just see this as a threat and come up with those excuses for why "now" is not the right time!  If it is "easy", we seldom resist - but add any element of difficulty to a situation and we will s...

"Keep on" - two words with much meaning.  To "keep on" one must have begun the journey. There must have been a clear starting point - a launching pad of sorts from which one begins to take the steps in some particular venture.  For believers, this is the moment they say "yes" to Jesus.  For non-believers, this might be the moment they begin to feel the "niggling" of need in their life which causes they to be curious to find what is missing in their lives.  Either way, there is this starting point.  To "keep on" also implies there is a tendency in us to be slowed down, or even stopped completely along this journey.  The words are instruction, but they are also encouragement.  There are times when "keep on" will take on the meaning of a prod to get us into movement again, while at others they are simply words to encourage us to not give up.  As we consider this instruction today, let us not forget the tendency we have to become...