The Plumbline

Billy Sunday once said, "Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in." Too many of us see the key in the keyhole, just assuming it must be opened, but a key in the keyhole doesn't mean we ever have to unlock the door! We maintain the right as to who and what we let into our lives - we can deny entrance to all manner of compromise and sin with the help of the Holy Spirit, our conscience, and scripture! The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (I Corinthians 10:13 NLT) I have heard some say that their 'temptation' is unique - nobody else deals with what they deal with. This is particularly true of the addict. Often their justification for their repeated return to the addicting object, whether it be drug, alcohol, food, o...

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. (Abraham Lincoln) Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die. (Proverbs 11:19 MSG) We all stand for something or someone. We choose who or what we will 'stand for' each day. We either choose God, self, or others - our opinion, the opinion of others, or the wisdom of God. The choice is really quite simple to me, but I can struggle with listening too much to either the opinion of others or my own just a bit too frequently. How about you? Do you really choose God's wisdom over human emotion, opinion, or 'trending fad' as frequently as you'd like? Do you sometimes get swayed by media, popular opinion of your acquaintances, or other external source? I have learned to read the reviews for online products because the honesty of some will sway me away from making the purchase, or it will convince me that the product meets the highest standards I desire. When ...