The Plumbline

I must calm down and turn to God;   only he can rescue me.  He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.  He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me. (Psalm 62:1-2) We have talked many times about the protection of God, but I would like us to focus today on what our psalmist reminds us here: WE must calm down and WE must turn to God. When all is spinning like what seems to be 'out of control', we can never forget that God controls what we cannot see, hear, or even imagine with our finite minds. It is our responsibility to trust - plain and simple. Sometimes we need to be reminded to just settle down, refocus, and listen. To calm oneself down is an art form, especially when turmoil of all manner keeps coming your way. You might 'want' to calm down, but the things that keep happening just seem to take their toll on your emotions. You find yourself spiraling out of control faster than you thought you would, all because your emotions were perceived quicker t...

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:27-33) Changes come and changes go. We cannot control them, nor can we escape them. To worry over them is simply not productive. Jesus says this type of "worrying" or "creation of emotional chaos" in our lives because of the freque...

May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other. And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) Harmony is not achieved by our own merits, for no set of humans actually 'live in harmony' with another set of humans without some form of conflict from time to time. As long as atoms keep crashing together, there will be some form of conflict, BUT...God can bring patience where conflict seems to abound, steadiness where the foundation has begun to crumble, and tremendous encouragement to keep moving toward agreement and peace.  How is complete harmony ever going to happen? Those who have embraced Christ as their Lord and Savior will be at the forefront of peaceful actions. They will bring a steadfastness into the most difficult of circumstances - a peace and assurance that stands w...

  Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:28) There have been moments when I just didn't know what to say to God - unsure of what really was going on inside of my mind and emotions, just needing to get out those feelings, but really not sure how to put them into words. How about you? Do you ever experience those moments when there is an overwhelming sense of heaviness within, but you cannot really express it in words? I am so glad God can understand our sighs, groans, and even our silence. He knows our heart better than we do, but he also understands...

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:28) If you are anything like me, you get a little tired not knowing what God is doing, why it is taking so long, how he plans to take the next steps in your life, or if he is even paying attention. It is always good for me to recall this verse, reminding myself there is no distance between God and ME at this moment or at ANY moment in time. He is right there alongside and his 'role' is to help us along. That suggests to me there is always some action God is looking for from ME. It is usually some form of o...

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress .( Psalm 59:16   NLT ) CHAOS : C onfusing H ard A nnoying O ppressive S tuff Anyone have some of that going on in their lives today? You don't really know where it all is coming from - nor can you clearly see the purpose in it all. It is just "there" without warning - in your face - demanding to be dealt with. You might even be at the end of your rope and not really that enthused about dealing with even one more tiny annoying thing. You might even have been asking what "more" God could want or expect of you - because you don't think this "stuff" is "deserved", "necessary any longer", or "accomplishing" anything right now. The simple truth is that when CHAOS abounds - God's grace abounds in just the right proportion to "tip the scale...

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  ( Philippians 4:8   NLT ) In a time with so much negative input through media of all sorts, it is imperative that we not lose our perspective on just exactly who remains in control. It has never ceased to be Jesus - for he holds all things together by his word. It has never once veered from the course of justice - for his reign demands nothing else. We can get caught up in the hype of the moment, distracted by all the violence and protests, or we can redouble our efforts to remember God is able to turn the circumstances of even the worst imaginable conclusion into something no one ever expected.  Don't believe me? I would only have to remind you of a very hot, fiery furnace of old, where four men were planned for their final fate. The day they stepped into t...

In the dumps:  A gloomy, melancholy state of mind; depression.   Do you ever find yourself “in the dumps”?  We refer to this almost as a “place” rather than a frame of reference referring to our attitude.  Yet, the origin of this phrase clearly points to a sense of deep melancholy.  There are a ton of synonyms:  down low, blue, sad, unhappy, low-spirited, discouraged, fed up, moody, pessimistic, glum, dejected, despondent, dispirited, downcast, morose, crestfallen, and downhearted.  Whew!  What a list!  If you really look at all of them, where do these words “focus” us?  Don’t they focus “us” on “us”?  When we say we are “unhappy”, isn’t it really us interpreting something in life as “making us” feel less than good about a situation?  When we say we are “discouraged”, aren’t we saying like we don’t feel like doing anything more to see the outcome change?  The fact is, being “in the dumps” is really something which WE have ...

12-15  How blessed the man you train,  God ,  the woman you instruct in your Word, p roviding a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,   while a jail is being built for the wicked.   God will never walk away from his people,   never desert his precious people.    Rest assured that justice is on its way   and every good heart put right.   (Psalm 94:12-15 The Message) How blessed the man you train!  How blessed the woman you instruct in your Word!  Awesome words, huh?  Did you know that there are other words for "blessed" in our English vocabulary?  Namely, they are:  Consecrated, Sacred, Holy, Sanctified, Supremely Favored, and Blissfully Happy!  Wow!  Now that says a lot, doesn't it?  The one trained or instructed by God is really a pretty privileged individual! As I sat in English class during my high school days, one of my most favorite things I learned to do was "diagram" a sentence. ...

Every morning you'll hear me at it again.    Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar       and watch for fire to descend.  (Psalm 5:2-3) As I was waking up this morning, my radio was playing a song whose lyrics contained the words, "It feels like you are creating chaos in me".  The idea was that out of chaos, God brings good stuff.  The fact of the matter is that we all frequently feel this same way - like all that God is up to in us is chaos.  David was no exception.  He frequently conversed with God about the "stuff" that just seemed to surround him with all kinds of challenge, busy-work, and unknown outcomes.  This passage from the Psalms captures it best...Every morning you'll hear me at it again! I think we might think God gets tired hearing about our lives.  After all, how many times does he need to hear that we are frustrated with our pain, or disappointed with t...

Before you know it, the Spirit of  God  will come on you and you'll be prophesying right along with them. And you'll be transformed. You'll be a new person!  "When these confirming signs are accomplished, you'll know that you're ready: Whatever job you're given to do, do it. God is with you!" (I Samuel 10:6-7) This passage is taken from the story of the anointing of Saul, the first King of Israel.  Samuel is the prophet in the land at the time.  He had been sent by God to anoint Saul.  In turn, Samuel is telling Saul that he will receive some "confirmation" that God has anointed him.  Those "signs" will be: 1) He will encounter two men at the tomb of Rachel who will share news that his father is worried about his whereabouts and he should return to home; 2) He will come across three men on their way to worship - each carrying a different thing (goats, bread and wine); and 3) He will meet a group of prophets coming out of Gibeah (...