The Plumbline

For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, my love won’t walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart. The God who has compassion on you says so. (Isaiah 54:10) I actually heard this passage today on my walk. No, God didn't shout it down from the skies above - it was part of a devotional I was listening to online. My love won't walk away from you - take notice of those words because they speak volumes in uncertain times. God's love, intense and grace-filled, will not walk AWAY from you. In fact, his love walks TOWARD you even when you are walking away from him! We serve a God of compassion - for compassion is the basis of grace. We get what we do not deserve - not because we earned it, but because his compassion makes a way for us to receive it. The way? Christ Jesus. The amount of his compassion that would make such a way? The life of his Son, Jesus. To whom is this compassion given? You and me. God's covenant commitment ...

"Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too." (Frederick Buechner)  Whose 'skin' have you been living in this week? I know a good many individuals who never 'get out of' their own skin long enough to realize what it is like living in someone else's skin. Their days are filled with 'me', 'me', 'me' - leaving little room for any other concern a brother or sister may be enduring. It is a truly sad existence to never get out of one's skin! Compassion isn't given any other way. The genuineness of one's caring is really not 'felt' by the other person until the 'compassion connection' is really made. It’s criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor—what a blessing! (Proverbs 14:21) The ot...

"Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation." (Henry Ward Beecher) Most of us need more doses of compassion and far less doses of condemnation! One of the things I used to tell my kids is that the world would find ample opportunity to poke fun at them, finding fault with what they did or what they wore, but within the walls of the home in which they lived, we wanted to do less fault finding and far more accepting. Why? Simply because I knew the 'condemnation' moments would outweigh the 'compassion' moments in this lifetime. Jehovah is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of love. He is good to everyone, and his compassion is intertwined with everything he does. (Psalm 145:8-9 TLB) Compassion is a "God-word". It involves that deep-seated desire to alleviate the suffering and pain of others, even if it costs you everything. Seldom are we truly encountered by such a great desire here on this earth in those we associate with. God isn...

He does not punish us for all our sins;   he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.   For his unfailing love toward those who fear him   is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.   He has removed our sins as far from us   as the east is from the west.   The  Lord  is like a father to his children,   tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  For he knows how weak we are;   he remembers we are only dust. (Psalm 103:10-14 NLT) It is indeed good news to know that God doesn't deal with out sin in a harsh or unkind way! Some of us have a negative view of what our heavenly father is like because their earthly father wasn't all that great - others recount the wonderful kindness of their earthly fathers and have no problem relating to God as kind and just. The truth is that God doesn't abandon us, he sees us through, no matter how "misbehaved" we may be, and he isn't going to let us outrun his mercy! Think on ...

Handicap:  the disadvantage that makes success more difficult.  When I was in school, we had classrooms for "handicapped" kids.  We called them "special ed" classrooms back in the day.  I don't even know if they even still exist today.  Kids with both mental and physical "handicaps" spent their days in the classroom, learning the skills they'd need to make it in life.  It was my privilege to serve these kids in my high school.  Yep, my privilege.  I got to be a teacher's aide during their physical education class.  Right up my alley!  I loved the gym, the open field, and even the quiet of the water of the indoor pool.  It was made more perfect when I first saw one of these kids experience these wide open spaces for the first time!  You see, it was a new "concept" for my PE teacher, and she went out on a limb to show that these "handicapped" kids could be just as involved in the things life said they "couldn't" ...

Do you dislike "playing second fiddle" to anyone?  You know - being subordinate to anyone or anything.  If some of us were really honest right now, we'd admit we don't like "playing second fiddle" to anyone or anything!  We like being in charge and we don't want to depend on anyone else.  There is something to be learned in dependence which never will be learned as long as we declare and hold fast to our independence though.  Maybe this lesson is just too hard to learn, so we resist it so dearly.  A friend and I were talking the other day about whether either of us would see ourselves remarried again in the future.  It came down to a talk about liking our "independence" vs. "being dependent" on someone else.  Bottom line, I ended the conversation with, "Independence is not always what it is cracked up to be!" Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be ...

4 "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you." (Matthew 5:4) 9-11 When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don't ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that's a picture of the "prosperous life." At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing. (James 1:9-11) Yesterday we explored the importance of establishing the loss of "control" in our lives as the means of actually giving control to the one who is able to manage our lives the best - God.  Today, we will look at what "losing what is dear to us" really does in our lives.  It is in loss that we underst...

8-12 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here's what you do: say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; but he turns his back on those who do evil things. (I Peter 3:8-12) We are given a "list" of character traits that we are to exhibit as the children of God.  As we examine them today, we will find that living in such a manner actually encourages God's blessing in our lives.  He is opening us up to living in such a manner, bringing delight to his heart, and in turn, delighting us with the blessing of his presen...