The Plumbline

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10) With so many changes coming at rapid-fire succession around the world, we might want to crawl in a hole and just hide out until the dust settles, but that isn't God's plan. His plan is to protect the lives of his godly people - allowing them to be at peace in unsettling times. We may not realize just how much God wants his people to be 'at peace'. It begins with being at peace with him, one another, then the issues we face as humans on this earth. When that peace gets disturbed, we begin to allow all manner of doubts, untruth, and troubling thoughts to consume our minds, influence our emotions, and bring illness into our lives. Rather than fearing evil, we must learn to hate it without embracing its influence! The power of the wicked is limited. We all need to hear that one and remember it whenever we are inundated on every side by th...

Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds. (Philippians 4:6-7) If you struggle with what to say when you stop long enough to talk with God about things you are experiencing anxiety about, you are probably among a huge group of others who experience similar anxious thoughts. Anxiety has become one of the biggest issues today simply because of all the uncertainty in the world around us. Supply chain issues, rising interest rates, difficulty finding jobs that pay enough to make ends meet, unrest over one's beliefs, and the list goes on. For some, these things can become overwhelmingly difficult to deal with. The desire is to have God take it all away, but the reality is that God primarily helps us walk through those difficulties rather than removing them co...

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. (Psalm 22:1-2) I think we have all been in that place at one time or another where we find ourselves actually thinking God has somehow abandoned us. The circumstances suggest the worst is about to happen, we begin to whirl out of control emotionally, our thoughts are running rampant from one perception to the next, and we somehow feel like we are in it all alone. When we don't IMMEDIATELY see the answer to the circumstances, we might just begin to doubt God will lend any help, all our calls for help seemingly falling on deaf ears. Are we wrong to express our doubts or 'struggle of faith' in those moments? Absolutely not! God doesn't 'ding us' for our moments of doubt - he uses them to strengthen or deepen our faith. It is never wrong to seek to understand why such dif...

“You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29) You believe - not because you were compelled to believe - but because you hungered enough to know the truth and be set free by it. Do we believe because we see, or is it because we have heard? Are we the type of people who demand a sign and then another just to confirm what we have heard is true? It never ceases to amaze me that God knows the weakness of our spirit and the questioning of our mind. Here is the most amazing truth - he meets us right where we are.  Thomas happened to be absent the night Jesus appeared to the disciples following the resurrection. When we was told about his appearance, he had a hard time accepting their 'testimony' of what they saw. In fact, he told them he needed the ultimate proof - being able to touch his pierced hands and side. Eight days later, gathered together in a locked room, Jesus gives him the opportunity. In those eight days, I wonder ...

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.” Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” (John 11:45-50) A couple of things really stood out to me after reading the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus came out of the grave, after being dead a good couple of days, wrapped completely in grave clothes (hands and feet bound, face wrapped in a headcloth). There before the crowds...

Worry weighs a person down;  an encouraging word cheers a person up. (Proverbs 12:25) How are encouraging words best used? In what circumstances do they matter the most? Who is best to bring those encouraging words into our lives? Is it possible the words of encouragement you are hearing are not always genuine? If you are worrying about those words, you are likely weighed down, feeling like you don't 'deserve' those words. Words of encouragement aren't to be given out so freely that someone doesn't think them genuine, but when they are needed most, they should be spoken the loudest! Encouragement might be to receive a boost that actually brings us back to life a bit, being bolstered by the words we hear, or to be spurred on in a certain direction. Regardless of the circumstances, there are times when we just need a bit of encouragement - either to continue on the course we are on, or to keep doing what we have been doing because it is 'working' to accomplish...

Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. (I Peter 1:18-19) I listened as my pastor shared the moments in his life where he had struggles with doubts - something we don't expect a pastor to share with his congregants. I understood what state of mind he could have been in when he was experiencing these doubts. I was fully aware of my own doubts along the way - times when I wondered if God 'really said' or 'really meant'. It is never wrong to have doubts - it...

  God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. (Hebrews 4:12) Doubt or defense - God's Word cuts through it like a hot knife on cool butter! Think about doubt for a moment - it 'creeps in', doesn't it? Doubt may be instantaneous, but the really nagging and crippling kind of doubt may be the kind that 'creeps in', unnoticed at first, but settling into our minds and hearts like a wicked virus. We don't usually wake up one day and determine to doubt everything we are thinking - doubt comes bit by bit, failure by failure, mistake by mistake. I remember trying to learn to make cookies like my mom made. I would put in all the ingredients, but they didn't turn out quite the same. My impatience, lack of desire to spend hour upon hour in the kit...

I would like for you to consider for a moment what this journalist was attempting to share in his words: " Who never doubted, never half believed. Where doubt is, there truth is - it is her shadow ." (Ambrose Bierce) Have you ever doubted? Then it is suggested you were at least at the place of some form of belief. Have you ever considered what your doubt was attempting to reveal to you? Perhaps doubt is not a bad thing because it points us to consider the truth of a matter. Where doubt is - - - there truth is. It may be in the shadows, but it is there! We need only look a little closer and we will find truth has never been far from us.  The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee....

It was Dwight D. Eisenhower who reminded us, "We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it." Peace is sometimes found as the result of the fight, not just in the absence of it. We might just find ourselves in the fight of our lives, but see no way out. In just the right time, and in just the right way, peace comes. How is that? The fight is still going on around us, but in the midst of it all, there comes a peace that is quite unexpected. It is a "God thing" - something we don't have to understand to appreciate! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:7 MSG) Worry is the natural emotion when the battle rages and the fight gets harde...

Ever hear that saying, "This may be your BIG chance", then thought, "Yeah, maybe this will be THE time"? THE time, THE chance, THE anything is kind of hard to predict - we are really saying it has all been up to chance and it continues to be right up into the present. Our BIGGEST opportunity comes not in the 'chances' we encounter, but in who it is we trust. We can trust the circumstances to bring our reward - like throwing the dice or spinning the wheel on the slots. We can trust in some 'lucky' thing to bring us the reward we hope to receive. Luck is really a two-sided coin - look it up! It refers to the 'force' that either operate 'for' you or 'against' you! I'd much rather be trusting in one that is continually 'for' me! He asked the boy's father, "How long has this been going on?" "Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you ...

Someone once said "faith" has a twin - "doubt". Is it possible that maybe "faith" has a triplet brother - "fear"? Doubt and fear reside alongside each other so much of the time. We may not want to admit it, but when we are doubtful, we have an element of fear that begins to creep into our thoughts and affect our emotions. Doubt leads us to take certain actions or respond in a specific manner. Fear is part of that reaction to doubt. If a large, ferocious looking dog approached me at a dead run, I probably don't have any need to have a sign over the dog's head that tells me I am about to get mauled! Some things we just 'fear' because we have absolutely no doubt about their intent! At other times, doubt just barely creeps in like the tiny chihuahua pattering our way who looks harmless, but when close enough, those teeth can nip at our heels - maybe not with as much power as the huge over-powering dog, but they can still do damage. If...

We have probably heard the saying, "No ifs, ands, or doubts..."  In most cases, it means we need to finish a task and make absolutely no excuses for not having it done when the time comes for it to be complete.  Our teachers in school set deadlines for reports which were due - meet it or the report would be reduced a full letter grade for each day it was late!  Our parents left us with lists of chores, expecting full-well each one to be marked off as complete before we ever turned on the TV.  Even our employers give us tasks and expect them to be complete - tying each completed item to the potential to remain gainfully employed!  It is not uncommon for us to be expected to start and see something through to completion.  Yet, there is one "thing" we might just struggle with getting to the place of completion alone - our faith!  Martin Luther King once said, "Faith is taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase." He asked the boy’s f...

21-22 He asked the boy's father, "How long has this been going on?"    "Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"    23 Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."    24 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!" (Mark 9:21-24) To begin with a little background on our passage today, Jesus has come into a crowd of people, some onlookers, others simply waiting "for their big chance" to see the Miracle-Worker himself.  Some of the disciples had been "working" in the crowd healing the sick, delivering the bound - but there is a certain boy with a diagnosis so debilitating that has plagued him since he was very young that the disciples just don't "seem to be able to heal".  The crowd is huge -...