The Plumbline

I look up to the hills, but where will my help really come from? My help will come from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. He will not let you fall. (Psalm 121:1-3) I have spent many hours looking for some form of help simply because I got myself into predicaments that were of my own making - my own stubbornness, pride, fear, or anger getting me all muddled up in some situation I didn't really want to be involved in. It happens to the best of us, my friends. We say something without thinking it through and then wonder why we are 'reaping' such a backlash. We get involved in issues not our own, then wonder why things get out of control. The more we want to be in control of our lives, the more we can expect to encounter these kinds of troubles. The more we desire to allow God's control over our lives, the more likely we will be to avoid such conflicts and concerns. There is but one place to look to when we are in need of help (even when we are in the muddle becaus...

Have you ever hidden so well in that old time game of hide & seek so that you were absolutely unable to be discovered? That which is hidden is not visible - it isn't easily perceived, or has little to no evidence it even exists. If we are playing a kid's game, being hidden in such a manner ensures that you will be declared the 'winner' of the game. In real life, always hiding so well isn't going to ensure you 'win', is it? It just means you remain undiscovered! When our hiding place is in God himself, it isn't that we aren't able to be discovered - it is just that his barrier of protection over our lives is so impenetrable that nothing can get at us!  You are my hiding place and my battle-covering. I put my hope in Your Word. (Psalm 119:114) When times challenge us a little, do we turn to God as our covering, or do we simple hunker down a little in some 'place' we have designed for ourselves as a means of escape? I daresay there are a lot...

It was D.L. Moody who said,"I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man." I would have to agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Moody - my own "self" gets the best of me without much effort at all more than any other person does and THEY are the ones who have set out to get the best of me! Time can get the best of me without much effort. People can be my worst obstacles, and they don't even know they are sometimes. Then there is this whole struggle with wanting my own way when I know perfectly well it may not be what is right or best for me.  It is not so much that the "thing" was wrong as much as the "desire" behind the thing was not exactly "right on". Indeed, I can "get in my own way" more than anything else at times! But remember this—the  wrong  desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation  is   irresistib...

I watched a short news clip the other night about a black bear in Colorado who managed to find his way into an automobile parked in the family's driveway, then lock himself inside.  Imagine coming out to leave for the day one morning and finding a little bit of a scary ball of fur in your front seat!  While the homeowners were walking round and round the car trying to figure out how he got inside the car and if there was a way to actually let him out, the bear moved from side to side, almost petitioning to be set free.  His gaze through the now pretty smeared up windows was not one of anger, but of pleading to be free again.  I don't think the bear liked it anymore than the homeowner did that he had ended up stuck in that car overnight!  Newscasters commented on how bears can find themselves in the most unusual predicaments in life - all because curiosity got the best of them.  Honestly, I don't think we humans fair much better on that one! Any temptation...

1  I've already run for dear life straight to the arms of  God . So why would I run away now...    7   God 's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight,  setting us straight. Once we're standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.   (Psalm 11:1, 7) In life, we face times when those around us are advising us to go one way, when we are pretty confident that God has something entirely different in mind for us. We are pulled between the advice of our friends and the nudge of the Spirit we are feeling.  King David asks a question that we all probably ask at one time or another - "Why would I run when I am already in the very best place I can be?"  There is no place more secure than directly in the hands of God. David is being challenged to flee to the hills - run away, escape, make himself scarce - so his enemies don't overtake him, so a challenge does not overwhelm him.  He has two choices ...

1-2  God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, a n impregnable castle: I'm set for life.  (Psalm 62:1-2 The Message Bible) 1  Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  2  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2 The New International Version) David spends a good deal of time in this Psalm addressing his enemies, those he considers to be is close friends, and even himself.  He is proclaiming his position in God - impregnable, immovable, solid.  When one finds that they are mobile - they are capable of being moved - changeable in mood, appearance, or purpose. When one is immobile - there is a fixed position in mind - incapable of being moved or not moving at all. David was surrounded by enemies - the battle was ON.  Tho...