The Plumbline

Bankrupt:  Unable to satisfy any just claim made upon an individual; lacking in a particular thing or quality.  Today, as our economy tanks and our finances seem to be the focus of so many conversations, I'd like to take a moment to really focus on something we seldom spend much time thinking about - love.  We throw the word "love" around like it was a "thing" rather than a quality, or an outflow of a person's life.  For anyone who has been around a while, it is not uncommon to have heard some familiar passages quoted from the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.  One of the best known:   " And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."  I'd like us to back up a little and focus on the third verse this morning. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.  (I Corinthians 13:3 MSG) I think we have this concept of love which focuses more on some emotional exper...

If you have ever been in the moment of discipline, you've probably thought to yourself, "Geez!  This isn't much fun!"  In fact, you probably just wanted it to end at some point!  The end is all you can see - because it is the hope of the end of discipline which seemingly brings relief.  There are many definitions of discipline ranging from training someone to act in accordance with some set of rules to a regimen that improves some skill.  Either way, it suggests work, expended effort, and some sense of endurance (the ability to "bear up under").  It is the basis of developing good habits, such as eating well or being consistent with an exercise regimen.  It is also the basis of correcting some things which just aren't "right" in our present responses, attitudes, or actions.  One develops, the other defines.   At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, ...

Most would think of a "circumstance" as something which modifies or influences what will happen - what the outcome will be.  When we have the right one in charge of the "circumstances", there is no "modifier" beyond our ability to deal! Lord , change our circumstances for the better,  like dry streams in the desert waste!   Let those who plant with tears   reap the harvest with joyful shouts. Let those who go out,   crying and carrying their seed,   come home with joyful shouts,   carrying bales of grain!   (Psalm 126:4-6 CEB) Do you know what a drought is?  It the simplest sense, it is a period of "dryness".  Most "dry spells" are not a matter of our doing.  They are "circumstances" beyond our control.  In the times of "dryness" there is much at work attempting to modify our responses - perhaps even shaping our outcome, as a result.  In the time of dryness we have a couple of options: 1) Scheme our way through...