The Plumbline

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...

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. (I Peter 1:13 NLT) Does anyone have any clue as to how we 'prepare our minds for action', much less 'exercise self-control' in our lives? Those are probably two of the toughest instructions in the Bible. Our minds get so much input in the course of our lifetime and controlling what comes in, what goes out, what gets remembered, and what gets forgotten is a big deal. Preparing our minds for action is actually having an 'engaged mind' - one that isn't just passively attentive but is actively attentive. There is a difference that can be observed when your mind is 'engaged' in the process of action. The entirety of your being is actually engaged when your mind is attentive and 'engaging' with the subject at hand. We are being told to prepare our minds for action. In other words,...

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. (James 4:7-8) Resist - we are told that in order to deal with the devil's wiles, we need to assert ourselves. Isn't that what resistance really is? It means we take an active stand, especially when we are faced with an adversary or a morally challenging choice. We 'oppose' evil by standing strong against it.  Come close - as we resist (push back) on one hand, we come close (are drawn in) to God's tender care and protection. When faced with opposition beyond our ability to handle, we need to draw close to the one who gives us the ability to withstand the attack. Sometimes we try to stand in our own power, forgetting that the greatest strength comes in admitting where we are the weakest.  We don't admit that to our adversary. We confess it to God, acknowledging that we know we need his help to overcome the enemy's attack. There is nothing smart about trying to han...

  Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.   For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.   We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. (Philippians 1:28-30) A strong stand is a witness to both our enemies and unbelievers. You may never know how many unbelievers change their allegiance because of your willingness to stand in the gap for them. Our enemy's number one tactic has always been to intimidate us with his lies. Lies might make him look stronger than he really is, but truth always exposes his true weakness.  We might want to cower when he exerts his intimidation, but he is nothing more than a bully trying to make us believe he has us and the circumstances under his control. Nothing could ...

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Ephesians 6:12-13) If you haven't realized the innumerable forces standing against you, it is likely you've 'felt' their influence all around you. Unseen, in the periphery, and right there in front of you - the forces exist, are at work, and are constantly looking for any opportunity to call into question your faith and trust in God. Why? They don't like your determination to follow Jesus. You are a threat to them, so they want to make you think they are a threat to you! Every piece of armor has been provided so we stand stronger than any attack they bring. Everything we think they have to use 'ag...

Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. (Amos 5:14-15) We all face the enemy, but he doesn't always use the same attack for each of us. His attacks are all aimed at the same thing - getting us to turn our backs on righteousness. James 4:7 reminds us to "...humble ourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from us." Amos tells us to actually run from evil - either way, we are supposed to put some distance between us and our enemy! It is this 'distance' that can give us the time to regain right perspective in the midst of the battle. Without the 'distance', we could be overcome by the chaos of the attack! How do we 'create distance' in our lives? If we are always livi...

"The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved." (Samuel Smiles) All 'battles' have a battleground. All 'wars' have some strategy of warfare. The hardest battles are those where we find it hardest to zero in on the 'right' form of warfare for the battle at hand. O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me. Put on your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid. Lift up your spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Let me hear you say, “I will give you victory!” (Psalm 35:1-3) There are battles of words and there are battles of wits. Which one would you want to fight? Words can be harsh or healing, helpful or devoid of real depth, critical or poignant - maybe that is the battle you will ...

If we are to look at the life of King David, we will observe how he reminds us no king succeeds by his own doing. Big armies and lots of loyal servants does not make one successful - indeed, it gives an "appearance" of success, but it is nothing compared to the glory of being anointed by the Most High God. It is noteworthy to mention how many times he points out the futility of thinking a warrior's strength is his own. This is often a struggle for us because we see our "strength" as something we possess, but in truth it is something we are "granted". David lays out the silliness of thinking having more "horsepower" or "brute strength" will win battles. When we "count on" the wrong stuff, we often don't really "win" the battles - sometimes we don't even make it through them at all! Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to the...

Maybe life is a little complicated for us right now - every day brings new reports of worsening pandemic, more loss of life, riots, disagreements, and the list goes on. Why would we ever want to leave the safety of our homes? We have all experienced those moments when the "mess" of our present "muddled circumstances" seems like more than enough to handle - then along comes someone telling us to get "deeper" into the "muddle"! I think we all probably might have responded similarly to the one who tells us to get ourselves into a deeper muddle - it probably went something like, "Are you nuts! Things are more than I can handle right here and you want me to do what?" Hey, this is not a new response! In fact, there is are tons of similar ones recorded in the Bible - I think God doesn't want us to think we are alone in this muddle! But David's men said, "We live in fear of our lives right here in Judah. How can you think of go...

There are certainly times when we feel we have some form of an enemy breathing down our neck and to be honest here, we just want to run like a crazy person from the "threat" we feel. In a literal sense, we have very real enemies who come against us, determined to make life miserable for us. In a spiritual sense, we have one really big enemy - Satan. In an emotional sense, we have lots of enemies, such as fear, pride, and lust. Regardless of the enemy we face today, we need to hear the words: The closer they get to us, the farther they are from the truth God reveals when we draw closer to him ! The way we don't succumb to their attack is by drawing closer to God while under attack! As those out to get me come closer and closer, they go farther and farther from the truth you reveal; but you're the closest of all to me, God, and all your judgments true. I've known all along from the evidence of your words that you meant them to last forever. (Psalm 119:150-152) The ...

"Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself?" Thomas a Kempis There can be some pretty tough fights we go through in our lifetime, but I think this clergyman of an era gone by hit the nail square on the head! There is no harder fight hand the one we fight with ourselves - especially when there is some 'flaw' we see within ourselves we feel must be overcome. The more we strive to overcome it, the harder the battle gets, and the worse we feel when we find ourselves not 'doing well' in the fight. We are invited to live life to the fullest - in Christ Jesus. Attempting to find a 'full life' outside of that relationship is impossible and can yield some of the toughest fights we will ever have to fight in our lifetime. Our sins are dealt with once and for all. The freedom to live the right way and the desire to live as we should are both provided at the foot of the cross. This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kin...

The moment we realize we are in the thick of the fight, we can begin to waver a little bit in our faith, can't we? Being on the outside looking in isn't all that intimidating, but being right there in the middle of the fight - well that is a different matter all together! God rarely calls us into spectator faith - he wants us involved! That means we will get our hands dirty on occasion, and that we won't always be able to be observers. There will be times we must step up, be the one to take on the enemy, and then to push on through until we see the enemy turn tail and run. At other times, we will be called to fight to the death - not ours - the enemy we face off with will be the one to meet their end. There is no middle-ground in this Christianity thing - either we are in it or not! When they had them all there in front of Joshua, he called up the army and told the field commanders who had been with him, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." The...

Battles come our way - not those fought on enemy soil with automatic weapons, tanks, and grenades, complete with every 'military tactic' operational - but those things that give us "fits" internally (emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes even physically).  We struggle with the outcome because we try to remain in control of the situation instead of turning it over to God.  The battle becomes a burden we "slug" through rather than having the unlimited resources of heaven at our disposal. It is time to stopping being 'slugs' when it comes to these battles - they need a quicker end than we are capable of in our own efforts! Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch  God  do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you're never going to see them again.   God  will fight the battle for you.  And you? You keep your mouths shut!"  (Exodus 14:13-14) Moses was...

When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; now I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me! You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn? How long will you lust after lies? How long will you live crazed by illusion?  Look at this: look who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him.  Complain if you must, but don't lash out. Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking. Build your case before God and wait for his verdict. 6-8 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.  (Psalm 4:1-5 MSG) Enemies will come and go - their attacks are as certain as the sun rising and setting - there will always be opportunities for us in this lifetime. Yet, in the midst o...

“The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid! Don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s!" (2 Chronicles 20:15 TLB) There are times when we know we are fighting a battle because the bombs are bursting, bullets are flying, and there is so much chaos we just know we are in the midst of the fray. At other times, it feels as though we are fighting some type of "inanimate" object - not seen, not heard, but somehow wreaking havoc in our lives. Let me ask - which battle is the hardest to fight - the one where you see the enemy and hear his attack, or the one where he is cleverly hidden and you have no idea where? Both could be equally similar, but one reveals himself while the other remains hidden. We can fear them both - right?  The thing with the attack from the enemy who remains cleverly hidden is that we have no idea what our "counter-attack" should be until he reveals a little about himself!  We might do best when we know the enemy we ar...

Every now and again, a quote comes across the social feed that just catches my eye and holds my heart. One such is that by Toby Mac: "If you saw the size of the blessing coming, you would understand the magnitude of the battle you are fighting." We SEE the battle raging around us. We EXPERIENCE the torment of the fight. We DELIBERATE over the choices we must make.We AGONIZE over the complexity of the circumstances. Yet, in all this, we don't ever really know the true size of the blessing just around the corner! You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. (Psalm 18:39 NLT) Who arms us for the battle?  God himself provides the armor, sends in the legions of angels who battle in heavenly places, unseen by our naked eye, but there nonetheless. Who gives us the strength to put one foot in front of the other when there is no human strength left to put forth?  God himself renews our energies, not just physical, but spiritual and...

Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us . (Charles Spurgeon) I have heard many a conflicted soul tell of the battle with those enemies within - bringing them to their knees more than once. There are those who see those enemies as something we must be rid of in order to move on, but I wonder how the Apostle Paul would see that one. He prayed, evidently repeatedly, requesting some "thorn" be removed that gave him a constant battle of some sort. Allegedly, it was something that kept him from getting too high a perception of himself - keeping him humble. I wonder if some of the "enemies" within are really those types of things that help to keep us humble? So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.  Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So n...

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ( Ephesians 6:12-13 NLT ) A German soldier by the name of Erin Rommel is quoted as saying, " Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning ." There are a whole lot of battle lines being drawn in the sand these days - but I am afraid some just don't warrant our time or attention! I honestly have had to ask why some of these marches, protests, media campaigns, and rather large crowds of disagreeable people are doing what they are doing. I don't even know if some of these individuals in the crowd know what it is they are doing. Some may actually just be following along because they...

When trouble surrounded me, I cried out to the Eternal; He answered me and brought me to a wide, open space. The Eternal is with me, so I will not be afraid of anything.  If God is on my side,  how can anyone hurt me? ( Psalm 118:5-6   VOICE ) Too many times we think "IF trouble ever surrounds me, then I will cry out...", but in reality, it is "WHEN trouble does surround me, I better be crying out!"  A lot of times we think we won't have those troubles someone else has, but we certainly will have troubles all our own. They may not be identical to what someone else is going through, but they will come - opposition will soon wage an attack and we had better stand ready! Soldiers will tell you the hardest time to withstand an attack is when you are just finished with the one that just came and is finally over. You are exhausted, with all too real memories still in the forefront of your brain of all the awful stuff you've just come through. Trust me on this o...

Ever feel like your "battle" in life was more like an all-out attack? There are times when we all feel like taking one more step forward is just going to be met with a barrage of weaponry meant to mortally wound us.  We just cannot move for fear if we do our lives will be lost to the battle.  Most of us don't know the meaning of hunkering down in the depths of a foxhole (or fighting trench). The bullets whizzing by overhead, even shrapnel from shells exploding all around you, one tiny misstep into the line of fire meant you could be struck down in an instant!  What most of us don't recognize is the meaning of the foxhole - it is a place of defense!  That means it actually accomplishes something for our protection!  Instead of bemoaning your position in the foxhole, thinking you have succumb to defeat because you find yourself there, it is time to realize it is in the foxhole a good many positive things actually happen!  The foxhole actually allows a soldie...