The Plumbline

Have you ever fallen behind? Your peers are so far ahead of you that you can barely see their backs any longer and you have 'forever' still to go...what is your reaction? You could just stop, sit down on the side of the trail, and give up - it would be the easiest thing to do after all. You could call out to see if anyone would come back to help you out a little, pulling you, pushing you, and somehow getting you to move again. You could even just cheat a little by just not even covering that ground your peers have covered and just jump ahead to wherever they are, but what would you have missed in the journey? It is easier to fall behind than to catch up. It is easier to feel defeat than it is to experience elation over success at times, isn't it? The thing is that God doesn't want us to be defeated in our walk, or even 'falling behind' in any respect. He wants us to be strong, encouraged, built up, and moving on. To that end, he provides us with not only the ...

I have been around those recovering from alcohol or drug addiction and heard them say things like, "When I hit rock bottom..." or "My rock bottom came when..."  Their meaning was that life had to reach a certain 'low' in order for them to realize just how far they had fallen into the hold of their addiction. They are indicating that 'bottom' isn't the same for everyone - theirs was different than yours or mine. There is a point for each of us, though, when we finally realize we have 'hit bottom' in some area of our life and that 'bottom' feeling leaves us desirous of getting help to finally be free of the pit we have dug for ourselves. It may not be addiction to a substance, but we all have a 'bottom' in terms of something we need to say a final "no" to in our lives. It may be some secret addiction like pornography, or something very 'out there' like the use of food to deal with some sense of frustration ...

God respects the choices we make. We can either choose our own path, or his. The simple fact is that it is OUR choice - and he honors it. If we choose to hang out in places or with people that present opportunities for compromise in our lives, we may choose that course of action. If we choose to be in the place where God can bless us, he honors that choice. This does not mean that we never "hang out" anyplace but church, a convent, or a monastery! God intends for us to be light and salt in this world. He does expect us to make choices that are honoring to him WHILE we live in this world and hang around with others in this world. God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. instead, the Law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people ...