The Plumbline

But be careful to do what God says in his message. Do not only listen to it. Do not make that mistake! You must obey God's message. Do not be like a man who quickly looks at his face in a mirror. That man looks at himself, but then he goes away. He immediately forgets what he is really like. So do not just listen to God's message and then forget it. It is a completely good message that makes people free. Look at it carefully and keep it in your mind. Do what it tells you to do. God will bless anyone who lives in that way. (James 1:22-25) If you have ever asked, "But why?", at any point in your life, you might have received varying replies. "I said so, that's why!" "Because it is the right thing to do." "Just do it!" The list could go on, but you know as well as I do, if you are questioning the 'but why' of any action, there is something either you don't understand or you don't want to do. If we don't understand fu...

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies. They are always in my thoughts. Your teaching helps me to understand things, so I hate anything that is false. (Psalm 119:98, 104) If you want to resist something, you need to build the 'strength' to resist it. We take Vitamin C to help us build our immune system so we might be less susceptible to viruses. We build bone and muscle strength by working out at the gym. We build financial 'buffers' by saving an emergency fund for the 'just in case' scenarios that may arise like that unexpected car repair. We build to resist. Why would it be any different with our spiritual strength? We build character by a steady intake of the Word of God and a consistent application of it in our lives.  One of the primary reasons we study his Word is so we may be able to combat any lies the enemy might throw our way. Trust me on this one, if the enemy can mask any form of a lie with the smallest amount of truth, he will. We need to kn...