The Plumbline

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT) Fear and discouragement are two very prominent emotions we must deal with. We may not want to admit we are fearful of some things, but when we take a look at the various emotions wrapped up when we face that 'thing', we might just realize the basis of our emotional upheaval began or ends with fear. It doesn't take long for fear to grip us, paralyzing us, holding us in place with discouragement following closely on its heels. The antidote to fear is faith - faith in something and someone bigger, stronger, and above anything we will ever or could ever fear. God holds us up when we face things beyond our ability to endure - he won't let discouragement waylay us for very long. He will keep working until we finally realize our source of discouragement isn't that 'thing', it is our be...

As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! (Psalm 119:7 NLT) You have probably heard that the true learning comes when you actually apply what has been taught to you. There is much truth in this, as most of what we 'learn' doesn't even get used in our everyday lives. It is merely facts placed somewhere in our memory, but not really 'of use'. Sure, we may need it somewhere down the line, but we might never even use that tidbit of 'hidden away' fact. All that we glean from God's Word may not apply today, but we can be assured that when we need it the most, we will have it at our disposal to help us right where and when it is needed. When I went through nursing school, I learned a lot about the human body, but did I put it to use right away? It wasn't until I went into my clinical setting at the hospital that I began to see how each 'fact' carefully studied and memorized actually helped me understand what was...

We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots and the like. But occasionally, God's light shines through the tapestry, and we get a glimpse of the larger design with God weaving together the darks and lights of existence. (John Piper) You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (Psalm 139:13-16 NLT) Too often we complain about what God must be doing in our lives, doubting good will ever come from whatever it is we are facing. That 'glimpse' at what the finished work will look like is priceless, isn't it? W...

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10 NLT) In Christ, we can do all things. Have you heard that before? Have you ever wondered how is it that the very things we are the weakest doing are the very things he is the strongest at accomplishing? The weakest areas of our lives are the points where his strength can come through time and time again. We are able to do above and beyond whatever we are 'weak' at accomplishing because of our union with him.  Christ lives in us, making the fullness of all he is available within us. That isn't a truth to be taken lightly. We might not think his presence is making much difference in our lives right now, not really 'seeing' what he is doing in us or through us, but it doesn't mean his fullness isn't there. It just means he is silently and deliberately at work. We need to trust t...

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. (James 1:21 NLT) How do we rid ourselves of the 'filth and evil' in our lives? If we want to really allow God to begin this work within us, we begin to take in his Word on a regular basis - not just as reading material, but with time to really 'digest it' and allow him to speak to us through what we are reading. The 'planting' of his Word isn't a 'top sowing' - it is a purposeful sowing of the seeds of change in prepared soil. The time we take to allow our hearts to be prepared to receive his Word - like time in praise and worship - the more we will find the soil of our hearts is prepared to receive those 'seeds' he plants. The seed that is planted is the only seed that grows - maturity takes tending. We aren't going to 'ingest' his Word in huge chunks and think that it will impac...

 Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. (Napoleon Hill) Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. (Hebrews 12:3-5 NLT) God's discipline may not seem like a good thing, but it is always based in love and fully cushioned with his grace. We struggle with sin - he provides a bit of correction to get us back on course. We get lazy in our walk with him - he calls us to attention through circumstances we never expected. We drift a bit in our focus on what he has called us to do - he puts a bit of a roadblock in our path, so we are forced to turn around again. God's discipline is always meant for CORRECTION. It is hard to believe that correcti...

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. (Proverbs 14:13 NLT) I have been around some pretty jovial individuals and wondered how they could be so genuinely happy in the midst of great times of struggle in their lives. There seemed to be a fountain of joy that came from deep within that just kept on giving. I have also been around individuals who are laughing, making light of circumstances, but who do not have any genuine joy in the moment. Their laughter does little more than conceal their true feelings. They are experiencing grief, sorrow, and pain - yet they mask it with laughter and lighthearted joking. What is the saddest part of it all is that when their laughter ends, they still have all that pain. It has taken me years to learn to 'read' the emotions of those around me. Learning to discern the 'true heart' of an individual is not something to be taken for granted. When God reveals something about the struggle another per...

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. (Matthew 4:18-22 NLT) I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating: God calls, we obey, and then he equips. We might get that a little backwards on occasion - thinking he needs to equip us with everything we will need to do whatever it is he calls us to do BEFORE we take steps to do it. I have found that it is in the 'doing' he gives us what is needed. The regular, 'common' stuff of everyday life ...

“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words. (Ezekial 2:1-2 NLT) I must ask this morning - if God came so plainly to you, speaking to you, telling you to listen carefully to his words - would you? God says to us these very words each and every day - "I want to speak with you." We choose to listen to them, heeding the request, and taking the time to really stop what we are doing to just listen to what he has to say to us, or we choose to ignore the request. What will it be today? God's desire is to speak with us. It isn't just that we speak TO him. He wants to tell us stuff, too. Sometimes I think we get this prayer and meditation thing all backwards. We somehow believe it us bringing our stuff to God and then we just move on expecting him to 'handle' whatever it is we brought before him. While he delights in meeting our needs, he wants to j...

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT) Have you ever just sat down, kind of defeated because you 'gave in', and wondered when or if God would ever be finished 'sanctifying' your life? You return to an old way of acting, engage in a display of hurtful behavior, or just plain don't do what you knew was the right thing to do - then you just wallow in the 'when will this ever be different in me' kind of questioning. Take heart, dear ones, for God will CONTINUE his work UNTIL it is finally finished - but you can count on that to continue until he returns! We don't change overnight, although the work begins. We aren't transformed with a magic wand, but we do have supernatural power resident within us. We won't have our desires instantly changed, but we do sense there has been a shift in those desires. That is God at w...

As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength. (Psalm 138:3 NLT) Does it seem to you that 'as soon as you pray' is really a bit longer than 'as soon' as you pray? I have left prayers at the altar for quite some time, not really seeing the answer to those prayers. The thing I need to remember is that "with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). Could it be possible that my timing is really being measured by my time and not his? If God says he answers as soon as we pray - he does! If we are honest, we have set expectations as to 'when' and 'how' we want God to answer. The things set in motion when we pray may not be seen, though. We may not understand the 'how' because we don't understand the mysteries of the heavens. We may not appreciate the 'when' because we are judging God by our view of time and not his. Did you ever stop to consider that the str...

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT) God is able to accomplish INFINITELY more than we ask - more than we think. Meditate on those two things for a bit today - mulling them over and over until those two very important truths meld into the framework of your thoughts and begin to influence your prayers. When we finally believe NOTHING we ask for is too big for God, we begin to ask for more than we ever thought possible! The might power at work within us - those words should begin to challenge our disbelief a little. There is a power at work within us - nothing short of divine - that creates both the right attitude and strength to face whatever challenges stand in our way. We begin to walk 'taller' in a spiritual sense once we lay hold of that truth and really begi...

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. (Psalm 18:30-32, 36 NLT) I have to ask - what 'way' have you chosen in life? Has it always been the 'right' way? Or have you been like me, choosing the 'right' way most of the time, but still finding the 'wrong' way kind of like a menacing 'pusher of buttons' on occasion? You do everything you can to avoid having those buttons pushed, but there are just times when there is no resisting in your own power and that is what you have been leaning on way too much. God's protection is there for us, but we choose to lean on our own resistance way too frequently. We think we have it 'handled', but don't even realize how futile that self-determi...

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' (C.S. Lewis) When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. (Proverbs 29:18 NLT) Are you an 'all right, have it your way' kind of person? I have been at times, yielding results that I never intended to receive and making more than my fair share of 'do-overs'. To put it mildly, I am a sinner. To put it even clearer, I am more than a bit stubborn, fairly 'decent' in my actions, but kind of prideful at times. As such, I have been noted to be on a collision course with some outcomes that I never wanted, nor did I realize were coming my way. If you have ever found yourself on a similar course, you might just be one of those people God has said, "Have it your own way", allowing your misguided actions to run their course, as well. I am so glad he gives us more ...

See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! (Isaiah 12:2-4 NLT) When a person gives their lives to the Lord, asking him for the forgiveness of their sins, there is something that begins within them - sanctification. That is just a big word that means your life is about to change for the better. The things that gave you so much worry and angst will not immediately be gone in a magical poof of smoke, but your perspective will change until one day you gradually see those things no longer as threats to your peace or security. The Lord's strength becomes our strength - an exchange that is definitely no equal in any measure! The things we used to attempt to do on our own are no longer ours to 'mu...

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:1, 4-5 NLT) If God were to tell you to pick up and go, would you? Having been settled for so long in a particular job, community, and relationships - would you be able to disconnect from those things and go as he asked? It might come as a little bit of a surprise to some, but most of us would have a very hard time with this 'ask' from God, wouldn't we? Why? We have become 'rooted' in our comfort and it would be hard to 'disconnect' from that level of comfort to go into the 'discomfort' of the unknown. The very idea ...

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. (Psalm 121 NLT) Where does your help come from when you are pinned in on every side, or you are just about to go under because you have assumed way too much for your day? If you are like me, you have a tendency to say, "I've got this", knowing that you will likely be very, very exhausted when you finally finish whatever it is. You set out with great intentions to actually accomplish a great deal, only to find you fizzle out somewhere because your physica...

God guards you from every evil,  he guards your very life.  He guards you when you leave and when you return,   he guards you now, he guards you always. (Psalm 121:7-8 MSG) Every evil - not just some of them; not just the ones we know about; all of them! We might not even realize his protection over our lives but we can rest assured that he is 'on guard'. When we leave, or when we return - his watchfulness doesn't abandon us - there are no 'blind spots' with him. His protection outlasts our 'battle readiness'. There is no greater or safer place to be than under the shadow of his wings. When we forget this, we begin to panic as life comes our way. When we begin to doubt this, panic sets its course on full-fledged fear. The antidote to panic and fear is the recounting of his faithfulness through all generations and even into today! What does it mean to have God guard us from every evil? It means that the evil from without and even that which eminates from wit...

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Philippians 2:7 NLT) We can be paralyzed by fear, making it almost impossible to take steps forward. Why does fear cause us so many issues in life? If we have never really made a commitment to Jesus, then I suspect that most of our fear is because we have been attempting to figure life and all of its challenges out on our own. That might not work so well when the forces against us are mounting and the ability to resist them is getting harder. Fear can and will keep us in a position of servitude to it as long as we allow it access to our minds, will, and emotions. The only way to fully be free of our servitude to fear is to ask Jesus to rule over those three things - something we cannot do until we ask him in...

Confucius said, "Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated." What makes your life more complicated than it needs to be? I daresay that if we were to answer that one honestly, we'd all have something that we'd have to admit just muddles things up for us time and time again. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, " Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." If we want to 'uncomplicate' our lives, it begins with trusting in the Lord. As we dedicate our hearts to do his will, seeking life instead of death with each of our actions, we tend to 'uncomplicate' the things that we get so muddled up on own. Seek his will IN all you do - it is in our actions that most of the complications of life manifest themselves, but all action begins with thought and that originates from what is within our minds. We can develop a much better and consistent...

The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord , endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. (Psalm 138:8 NLT) The Lord WILL work out his plans for your life. Did you hear that correctly? Do you believe it to be true? Are you questioning how something is happening right now in your life? We all find ourselves in positions from time to time where we don't really understand what is happening, possibly even questioning if God has abandoned us. In those moments, recall this passage - he WILL work out his plans for your life, because he is the God of unfailing love that never quits! God's protection in our lives isn't based on how well we perform - you can thank heaven for that! Our behavior isn't going to alter God's protection over our lives, but it doesn't alter the fact that bad decisions can lead to unwanted consequences. God is still protecting us, even when the consequences come our way. It is like an umbrella - it is the...

Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." A masterpiece is made with precise awareness of what one wants to create. There is a purpose in mind, specific things going into the making of that masterpiece, then it is put into use as it was intended. If created for one purpose, but used for another, is the unique design of the masterpiece fulfilled? No, it is 'useful', but not to the degree it was intended. We need to be sensitive to the purpose God has created us to fulfill. Some will think this means they have to have some super-spiritual calling, like missionary or preacher, but we ALL have a design and a purpose. Schoolteacher, nurse, mother, police officer, the list goes on. All must put to use their specific talents - even those we label as 'regular' or 'skills'. What is amazing is that God creates us ANEW. In Christ Jesus, we come to t...

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4 NLT) Remain in me - attempting to live life apart from deep, personal connection with Jesus is fruitless - literally! We can try to live on the coat tails of another who is deeply in love with Jesus, but that just won't produce much within us or through us. It will keep us exactly where the devil wants us to be, though! It will mean we don't make that connection ourselves, being spoon fed what little we learn about Jesus, never really coming to the place where we are fed at the feet of Jesus ourselves.  The message of truth comes to us. We are ...

Everybody walking away from the world’s ways is on the way to life, but the one who insists on holding on to his life just as it is ends up losing it. (Matthew 16:25 MSG) In other translations, this passage presents us with what seems to be a bit of an oxymoron: If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (NLT) The more we attempt to 'hang on to' the way of living according to this world's standards, the further we get from living in close, intimate relationship with Jesus. Forsake those ways of living and draw closer to Jesus in every way. The desires or ambitions of this life here on earth are nothing compared to what Jesus has planned for those who are willing to lay those desires and ambitions at his feet. All our 'worldly attachments' may not seem like much at first, but if any of them interfere with developing a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus, they are hurting us. We form 'att...

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:1-4 NLT) Are your hearts tender and compassionate? That might be a tough question for us to answer today because we can all say our hearts are 'tender' and 'compassionate' at least some of the time. The rub comes when we are asked if we act that way toward our enemies, those that irritate us, or 'get on our last nerve'. The other rub comes in that word 'act' - sometimes our tenderness and compassion can be nothing more than an 'act' put on to make us look go...

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 NLT) If we are to be engaged with Jesus, we are also engaged with the enemy of our souls - engaged in a battle in which he desires nothing more than to have us 'disengage' from our relationship with Jesus. A cog in a wheel 'engages' with the cogs in a different wheel and the device turns. As long as we continue to engage with Jesus, our lives continue to grow. This is exactly what our enemy doesn't want to happen. He wants us to 'quit' on Jesus, while Jesus wants us to commit even deeper to the relationship. Always remember that we are both guarded from the evil one and strengthened in our continued walk with Jesu...

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT) We grow weak and weary. Effort exerted in a day's work can leave us drained of physical energy, emotional strength, and spiritual fortitude at times. The efforts may have resulted in great gain, or limited success - either way, we come away feeling undone, wrung-out, and like our emotional 'bank account' has been drained. Those who trust, not with a flimsy, half-hearted faith, but with a deep, lasting faith in God are assured of finding a new strength, oftentimes beyon...

Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34 NLT) We cannot underestimate the power of a government that is guided by the direction of the Word of God and a vital understanding of intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. Whenever a nation veered from that intended relationship with God the Father, judgment was sure to follow. We need only look at what happened to the Israelites as they set about to both find their promised land after leaving Egypt and then what happened when they became comfortable or complacent once they were settled there. The division of the tribes into Judah and Israel, incorporating the worship of false gods, and then their subsequent captivity by various rulers wasn't God's intention, but it was the consequence of their losing their attentiveness toward God. Godliness makes a nation great. We are reminded, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and ...

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16 NLT) Those who 'shelter' under his wings will be assured of not only protection, but rescue when they need it. Protection is remaining out of trouble - rescue is needed when we pursue trouble or find it pursuing us! We might not realize just how often we pursue trouble, blindly just going in the wrong direction, trusting our 'instincts' or 'intuition' instead of our God's inner voice warning us not to pursue that course. There we are - "IN TROUBLE" - and here he comes - into our trouble, to rescue and hold secure once again. How many times do we have to be 'in trouble' before we realize that it isn't the right place for us to be? If you are anything like me, you have...

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NLT) As I get a little older, I realize my body is not getting 'better', it is getting 'frailer' and less 'durable' than it once was. Bones creak, joints crackle and pop, eyes tire while reading, and stairs make me a little more winded than they once did. It is a 'given' that we will all 'age' physically, but isn't it amazing that even when our bodies may be failing, our spirit can grow stronger with each passing day? This continual renewal of our spiritual man is never to be taken lightly. God has prepared a place for us in his family, and we are given every spiritual blessing as a member of that family. Our minds are being renewed, though they may not be as 'sharp' as th...

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.  (Edward Everett Hale) Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3 NLT) Unity is something we must strive for - it doesn't come naturally to selfish, self-centered humans. We want what is best for us, but we might pursue it at what bears a significant cost to another. We must lay down our own agenda in order to focus on the agendas of peace and unity. Only then will we actually be able to pursue both! Humility and gentleness are the backbone to unity. We should not raise ourselves up while putting another down. We must focus on what brings good to ALL, not just one. We might encounter individuals in our lifetime that seem to pride themselves on what they can do, have accomplished, or 'know' in th...