The Plumbline

We begin a lot of things, don't we?  How many of these do we actually finish?  In terms of finishing, we don't do as well as we do with the beginning part!  To finish well, we need to have not only tenacity, but we need to have set out on an endeavor we find worthwhile and rewarding.  If the thing we set out to do is so overbearing and adds burden instead of delight, we get bogged down and often lay it aside because it is "too hard".  It is like when we say we will read the Bible in a year.  We find ourselves reading for the sake of reading - not really taking time to savor the truth contained within.  We plug on through the "boring" chapters, get excited about checking off the finished portions, and then look at how much still lays ahead.  The issue is not so much in the starting, it is in the finishing.  How we finish is as important as that we finish! My child ,  listen to me and do as I say,  and you will have a long, good lif...

Power:  the capability of doing or accomplishing something; strength, might or force; the possession of control or command over something or someone; authority.  If you have ever been in the midst of a terrible wind or lightning storm and had your power go off for a while, you know the helplessness of being caught in the total darkness in an unsettling time.  Imagine what it would be like to live this way all the time.  Nobody wants to live powerless. We all want to be able to exercise some element of power in our lives - even in the times of terrible storm and feelings of helplessness.  Why do you think we light the candle in the darkness?  It doesn't illuminate much and it won't dispel the storm, but it gives us enough sense of "power" over the darkness to help us navigate the storm! But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you... (Acts 1:8 NLT) In life, we find many things "drive" us, but few energize, refresh, and restore like havi...

Scripture tells us an open rebuke is always better than hidden love.  Too many times we equate a rebuke to NOT being loved, when just the opposite is true. You don't rebuke someone unless you care about them - care about what happens to them.  You'd let them go on in their poor choices or absent-minded pursuits without any direction or correction.  So, rebukes come on the heels of love.  This is a pretty tough concept because this generation teaches love is kind of mushy, always seeing the good in others, and being "tolerant" of those things we don't understand or agree with.  Let me just say there are some things we should be tolerant of - things which really don't matter that much. It could be as simple as tolerating (having a permissive attitude toward) how someone wears their hair or the style of clothes they choose to wear.  I am not a fan of the saggy britches, nor the hip issues they are creating by walking so they can actually keep their pants up, b...