The Plumbline

Have you ever felt a little 'off-balance' in your life? You might not know it, but that little niggling can be the beginning of a change for you. Some of us experience being a little 'off-balance' because we have done or said things that actually create an imbalance in our lives. We get too intent on having our own way, making our own point, or finding a solution before we know the real problem, and we will have an imbalance for sure! We get ahead of what God is doing in and around us, stumbling over others and ourselves in the process, and we will experience imbalance. We can be so focused on doing something we think is going to be good for everyone, but we forget to include anyone else in the planning! Balance is a hard thing, but let me assure you, imbalance is harder! The Eternal prefers those who do good, but He condemns those who plot evil. Doing what is wrong keeps everyone off balance and insecure, but those who do right will never be uprooted. (Proverbs 12:...

If I asked you for an honest answer, would you give it to me? There are lots and lots of us who are too afraid to admit we are just worn out, tired beyond tired, and kind of on the border of giving up because of how really over-extended we are in life. How often do you find yourself in the place of being 'over-the-limits' when it comes to the demands on your energy or ability? If it is more often than every once in a while, then it may be time to just take a break to see what you can get out from under that you really didn't need to being doing in the first place.  We live such busy lives, pursuing all kinds of avenues of interest and demand, seldom realizing just how much of our bodies, souls, and spirits are being depleted in the process.  Our invitation today is to come into a place of refreshing - the place where the Spirit of the Lord dwells.  It is there that we will find the refreshment of body, soul and spirit that we so desperately need, and probably haven't ...

Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking. The Voice was and is God. This  celestial  Word remained ever present with the Creator; The Voice took on flesh  and became human  and chose to live alongside us. We have seen Him, enveloped in undeniable splendor—the one  true Son of the Father— evidenced in  the perfect balance of grace and truth. ( John 1:1-2, 14   VOICE )  Evidenced in the perfect balance of grace and truth - that describes Jesus for us, just in case you didn't really know he had two sides to his character!  You see, for grace to really make any difference, it had to be coupled with truth - until we appreciate the need for grace, we have no real need or appreciation of it. Truth is what makes the need for grace evident - it reveals what is hidden deep beneath a crust of sin! I also really like the part of this passage that shows Jesus made a choice to take on flesh and become human - so he could live right here...

Immersed in the practice of creating,  all things that exist were birthed in Him. 4  His breath filled all things  with a living, breathing light—a  light that thrives in the depths of darkness,  blazes through murky bottoms .  It cannot and will not be quenched.  (John 1:3-5 VOICE) Edith Wharton said, "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it ."  We might want to concern ourselves with the cleanliness of the mirror, but the one who gazes into the mirror and sees his reflection is the one who much concern himself with the cleanness of that mirror, not us. In reflecting Christ, it is Christ who brings clarity to that image - we simply reflect what we receive. We are filled with his living breath - the very things which animates us and gives us connection with him and others. His light cannot be put out, nor can it be hidden. It is a light unlike any other - one which is meant to be reflected back and ...

Ever stumbled in this lifetime and found yourself quickly moving toward the ground in a downward progression quicker than you could blink an eye?  I have done so a couple of times - sometimes able to "right" myself quickly, and others actually hitting the ground with such force I could feel where that stumble was going to "leave a mark".  Each time I stumbled I looked for a reason of some sort, but almost always it came down to my distraction with something I was saying, doing, or which caught my attention diverting it from my path at hand. I don't honestly believe those "physical" stumbles have cost me as much as some of my "emotional" or "spiritual" stumbles in life - nor did they leave as "nasty" of a scar!  It is one thing to stumble and scrape a knee or elbow.  It is quite another to trust one's emotions or heart to another and have it left battered and bruised by all the emotional upheaval a bad relationship can...

Very few of us have lived through a devastating plague of any sorts, let alone swarms of locusts capable of destroying everything in sight in a matter of hour - trees, crops, bushes, and all manner of growth.  Leaving nothing in their wake other than stubs and dry earth, they move on, multiplying as they go, until their numbers are so many their sheer movement brings darkness to the skies above.  This is nothing most of us will experience in our lifetimes, but we do face some pretty devastating plagues of sorts, for the meaning of plague is anything which brings widespread affliction, calamity, or evil.  Think about this closest to home and you might recount the devastation of cancer in your immediate family, or the awfulness of losing a child to the afflicting power of drugs.  It doesn't have to be insects or bacterial infection of mass proportions, does it?  The stuff we deal with on a daily basis can leave us kind of "sheered off", "exposed", and "strug...

There is this concept taught about in Christian circles of something called "idolatry".  For many, this is kind of an elusive topic, not fully understood in context to scripture.  For most there is this hard and fast rule that it implies to making any type of graven image and then praying to or worshiping that image.  They would not be wrong because scripture clearly declares, " No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am  God,  your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments. " (Exodus 20:4 MSG) Going a little further into scripture, we find God's main objective in declaring these "carved" or "graven" images of...

I haven't had a dog in years now, but I remember the extreme joy and passion my pooch would exhibit whenever I brought home a bone for her.  She'd waggle every part of her hind quarters and tail, almost trembling in delight over the promised ecstasy of the treat.  For hours, she'd gnaw away at that treat, savoring each and every morsel.  In short order, the bone would be picked clean of any sign of grizzle, remaining meat, and even sometimes much of the bone itself would be chewed down.  I'd hear her working on that thing for hours - sometimes having to take it away from her at night just so we'd be able to get to sleep!  She'd always see where I'd put it up out of her reach, knowing full-well where to find it the next day.  There she'd be sitting as soon as I woke up - ready to take on the task of chewing on it again.  Such persistence and perseverance.  I wonder if we have this same kind of reaction to God's Word? Righteous chews on ...

Ever really concentrate on walking a straight line?  Do you know how hard it is to do when you are spending all that time and attention on doing so?  Now, before anyone thinks I have been pulled over for driving under the influence, let me assure you, I have not!  I was just thinking back to when I was in physical education classes doing gymnastics and was up on the balance beam.  Not only did I have to learn to walk "straight", but I had to focus on maintaining perfect balance, as well.  The mind is really good at completing one task at a time - add in others and the brain is capable, but it needs a lot of teaching!   Train me,  God , to walk straight;  then I’ll follow your true path.   Put me together, one heart and mind;  then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.  (Psalm 86:11 MSG) Our passage today starts with our psalmist asking GOD to train him.  First, let's explore the name of God David used here when he makes ...

Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat. (Mark 6:31) 16  The LORD’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.  17  The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.  18  My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.  (Isaiah 32:16-18) We live such busy lives, pursuing all kinds of avenues of interest and demand, seldom realizing just how much of our bodies, souls, and spirits are being depleted in the process.  Our invitation today is to come into a place of refreshing - the place where the Spirit of the Lord dwells.  It is there that we will find the refreshment of body, soul and spirit. To be refreshed means that we find new vigor or energy by rest.  In our first passag...