The Plumbline

I am going to ask a tough question today, but if we are truthful on this one, we may just realize a healing at the end. How long are we willing to live WITH our troubles before we ask God to get us out of those troubles? For some of us, it has taken us a long, long time to come to our knees, admitting we have been dealing with this 'trouble' longer than we ever should have. Trouble in the form of bitterness, anger issues, hurt feelings, or attitudes of deep regret and shame. While we are living WITH these 'troubles' we are 'hoping' for something to be different, but we don't really come out and aggressively seek our deliverance from them! It is time to admit we have been living 'with' them for way too long and we need God's help to finally move us from our 'placement' INSIDE those troubles. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the ...

God loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken; good leaders also delight in their friendship. God guards knowledge with a passion, but he’ll have nothing to do with deception. Young people are prone to foolishness and fads; the cure comes through tough-minded discipline. (Proverbs 22:11-12, 15) A pure heart speaks of purity of emotions and intellect. Many of us struggle with this just because of all the "influence" we experience from the stuff working overtime to bombard our brains with "urgent" input. Guarding what gets IN affects what will indeed eventually come OUT. Gracious speech are the words which some might call "tactful" - marked by kindness, courtesy, and mercy. They reveal genuine compassion - pleasing and bringing "satisfaction" to the ears of the one hearing them. We see God speak often of the condition of the heart and the outflow of the mouth - linking the outflow to what has first been cultivated by what we take in. God gives th...

If you are like me in the slightest, you may have found yourself on one occasion or another telling God why you aren't the most qualified for whatever it is he is asking you to do. You and I are not that dissimilar when it comes to occasionally making excuses for what we see to be a list of 'impossibilities' in our character when faced with what appears to be insurmountable odds or things we just find hard to do. I am an introvert by nature, so whoever thought I'd fill a pulpit, or stand in front of a classroom teaching? From the very first time, there was this little argument going on between God and I - you know, the one that goes something like: "Me?" "You couldn't mean me!" "I don't know the slightest about..."  Yup, that's the one. The one where we admit we know very little and possess even less in the way of ever accomplishing whatever it is that God wants to do with us. Maybe you have also been like me, hearing quite clea...

Ever find yourself paralyzed by fear? Considering something 'ominous' in front of you, with memories of what you once had behind you? These thoughts plague us and we find ourselves wondering if we can ever make it past the past and getting fully into the present. There isn't much hope of ever experiencing the 'newness' of the present until we let go of all the excuses we offer to attempt to stay connected with our past! Attention, Israel! This very day you are crossing the Jordan to enter the land and dispossess nations that are much bigger and stronger than you are. You're going to find huge cities with sky-high fortress-walls and gigantic people, descendants of the Anakites—you've heard all about them; you've heard the saying, "No one can stand up to an Anakite."   Today know this:  God , your God, is crossing the river ahead of you—he's a consuming fire. He will destroy the nations, he will put them under your power. You will disposs...

God values a pure heart and gracious speech.  A pure heart speaks of purity of emotions and intellect.  Most of us struggle with this just because of all the "influence" we experience from the stuff working overtime to bombard our brains with input.  Guarding what gets IN affects what will indeed eventually come OUT.  Gracious speech speaks of the words which some might call "tactful" - marked by kindness, courtesy, and mercy.  In other words, they reveal genuine compassion.  These words are pleasing and bring "satisfaction" to he ears of the one hearing them.  We see God speak often of the condition of the heart and the outflow of the mouth - linking the outflow to what has first been cultivated by what we take in. God  loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken;   good leaders also delight in their friendship.   God   guards knowledge with a passion,   but he’ll have nothing to do with deception.   Young people are prone t...