The Plumbline

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1) Have you ever needed to take refuge in the midst of a storm? How about in the midst of a huge battle? Growing up in Arizona, monsoon season hits each summer, bringing these huge winds, walls of dust for miles and miles, and some pretty terrifying thunder and lightning to boot. As a wee lass, I would feel the winds picking up, but I would play on because nothing could distract me from my play. Then all of a sudden, the skies would rumble and roar, and that peace I had felt was no more! I'd call out for mom, run quickly to the fence line between my friend's home and ours, standing there waiting. Waiting for what? For those 'rescuing arms' of mom's that would reach over that fence to lift me to safety. As soon as she had me safely over the fence, all was well, for I knew I was going to be 'sheltered' from the worst of the storm and safe in her care. I wonder how many times we...

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. (1 John 1:8-10) Have you ever told yourself something only to find out in the end you were really just fooling yourself and absolutely nobody else? Until we actually look in the mirror, we don't see what is likely right in front of us all the time. Even when we look into the mirror, we may not see exactly what we thought was there - because the mirror is clouded over with some film, steamy and distorting the image of what we see. Even if you try to wipe the steam away a little, the image you may see is still a little distorted by the remaining particles of water gat...

Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much.  (Erich Fromm) I have asked individuals what they have to 'give' in life - what it is they could share with others - only to find they don't believe they have anything 'worth' giving. That is indeed a sad state of affairs, isn't it? To believe one has nothing worth 'giving' - nothing they can invest in the life of another, nothing that would help the situation, nothing at all that they would deem of 'worth' to anyone else. It isn't 'what' we give as much as it is 'how' we give. God always reminds us that it is the attitude of heart behind the 'giving' that matters - not so much the thing that we give. We could give our time, but if we do so grudgingly is it really a gift? We could give our finances, but if we do it with a stingy heart because we don't think someone really needs it, is it given in love? 'How' is much more important than 'what', but ...