The Plumbline

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3) When God says he will guard us from the evil one, he is not merely saying he will 'keep watch' to alert us to his next attack. He is reminding us that he will keep us safe from harm. Danger may lurk at about every turn, but we don't need to be overtaken or surprised by it. We will be protected - held safe from harm.  God is indeed faithful - his faithfulness is never-ending even when ours is a bit shaky at times. Guarded hearts and minds are made stronger and stronger each time they interact with him. We may not even realize just how much our 'strength' is increasing, but when we are hit with the attack of our enemy, the evidence becomes very clear - God is with us, in us, and is moving through us. Too many times, we attempt to stand our ground in our own strength and wisdom. I know for certain that all my wisdom is not 'self-taught'. Much of what I have ...

But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled. (Isaiah 25:4-5) A tower of refuge to the needy in distress. The more we read of God's power to protect his creation, the more it should drive us into his arms. Why? We live in a world where 'oppressive acts of ruthless people' can get us down quicker than we know. We need the protection of God's presence, but we also need the protection of his Word. The Word is a powerful tool to combat the lies of the enemy and to expose all manner of deception - the deception 'ruthless people' seem to operate under. Ruthless people operat...

Help us defeat the enemy! No one on earth can rescue us. Only God can make us strong. Only God can defeat our enemies! (Psalm 108:12-13) Defeat:  To prevail over, vanquish, overcome in battle; to frustrate or thwart; to eliminate or cut off from what was expected.  We can all remember times when we seemed to be vanquished by some force bigger, more difficult to resist than our own abilities could handle.  Those moments invoked fear in us, or perhaps just plain sadness and a sense of helplessness as we stood there under the attack of whatever it was.  This sense of overwhelming frustration can overcome us with such force we almost cannot stand under the weight of it. I don't think these are times God intends for us to face alone!  In fact, he will help us defeat our enemies if we just ask him to and then stand assured in his help. There is no power on this earth stronger than our God.  He is able to thwart the craftiest of plans laid against us - whether the...