The Plumbline

If you have ever had your eyes diverted for just a moment or two while driving, then realized how dangerously close you were to heading into the tail-end of another car or swerving into someone else's lane, then you probably also know the 'immediacy' of your reaction to 'correct' your course. You immediately brake, bringing the car back into a safe distance behind the one in front of you, or you get back into the lane you were to be in and then remain vigilant to remain there! With all the texting while driving I see these days, it is easy to see how accidents can be on the rise - for diverted eyes only take a moment to allow the catastrophic to occur. The same is true in our spiritual lives - diversions are dangerous to us - they change our course, put us in harm's way, and can take a little bit more 'over-correction' than we might first imagine. God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my

Ever feel like you have a "personal enemy" just lurking at your back?  You know, that eerie feeling that you just cannot escape some sense of doom and gloom that hangs heavy over your head?  Yep, we all go through that on occasion - no matter how "spiritual" we are!  Guess what - we DO have a personal enemy - he is called Satan.  His mission in life is to make our life miserable as much as possible - especially if we have committed to living by the principles laid out in scripture and entered into the grace God extends through the life of Christ.  He makes it his point to muster his forces to attempt to dissuade us from that pursuit.  Here's the good news - you'd not be the object of his attacks if you weren't living the way Jesus wants you to! Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same wit

Character traits of individuals are as varied as are the number of people in this world.  Some of us have tiny button noses, others are larger and have even made people famous, like Jimmy Durante who is most well known for his "schnozzola".  There are those who possess the evenest white teeth, never needing braces to correct overbite, under bite, or even teeth seemingly too tightly crammed into the space they occupy.  Yet, there are character traits we often don't focus on as much as the outward - those which make us up on the "inside".  I would like to call attention to those character traits which God sees - the "inside stuff".  This journey will begin today and may take us several days, but I hope it will unfold some things for us which we might just be overlooking when we are focusing intently on the "image" we portray.  You see, character traits are more than skin deep and those which matter the most are those which are often barely visi