The Plumbline

  Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.   For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.   We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. (Philippians 1:28-30) A strong stand is a witness to both our enemies and unbelievers. You may never know how many unbelievers change their allegiance because of your willingness to stand in the gap for them. Our enemy's number one tactic has always been to intimidate us with his lies. Lies might make him look stronger than he really is, but truth always exposes his true weakness.  We might want to cower when he exerts his intimidation, but he is nothing more than a bully trying to make us believe he has us and the circumstances under his control. Nothing could ...

After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! (Numbers 13:25-28) The moment we let our eyes 'see' as only we can see is the moment the odds against us might seem a little too great to handle. We need to begin to see life through God's eyes, but how do we do that in the face of such great odds against us? There will always be circumstances that seem to be out of our control, beyond our natural means of handling or muddling through. When we only foc...

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...

If we are to look at the life of King David, we will observe how he reminds us no king succeeds by his own doing. Big armies and lots of loyal servants does not make one successful - indeed, it gives an "appearance" of success, but it is nothing compared to the glory of being anointed by the Most High God. It is noteworthy to mention how many times he points out the futility of thinking a warrior's strength is his own. This is often a struggle for us because we see our "strength" as something we possess, but in truth it is something we are "granted". David lays out the silliness of thinking having more "horsepower" or "brute strength" will win battles. When we "count on" the wrong stuff, we often don't really "win" the battles - sometimes we don't even make it through them at all! Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to the...

Have you ever heard someone say, "That wasn't a fair fight"? In terms of "fairness" they were looking at the two parties in the fight and seeing if they were "matched up" evenly. When I was young, Dad liked to watch an occasional boxing match on TV - it was a pretty big deal back then. There was always lots of talk about "heavyweight", "lightweight", "welterweight", and "featherweight" - something I just never really understood, but knew it meant how someone was matched with someone else. The term described their overall weight - giving the boxer a "competitive class" ensured they were not pitting a man over 175 pounds with a man of 130 pounds. This was designed to give a man a "fighting chance" at winning. Each of the fighters had someone in their "corner" who fulfilled the role of their "trainer". This individual had the responsibility to keep track of how the othe...

Battles come our way - not those fought on enemy soil with automatic weapons, tanks, and grenades, complete with every 'military tactic' operational - but those things that give us "fits" internally (emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes even physically).  We struggle with the outcome because we try to remain in control of the situation instead of turning it over to God.  The battle becomes a burden we "slug" through rather than having the unlimited resources of heaven at our disposal. It is time to stopping being 'slugs' when it comes to these battles - they need a quicker end than we are capable of in our own efforts! Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch  God  do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you're never going to see them again.   God  will fight the battle for you.  And you? You keep your mouths shut!"  (Exodus 14:13-14) Moses was...

“The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid! Don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s!" (2 Chronicles 20:15 TLB) There are times when we know we are fighting a battle because the bombs are bursting, bullets are flying, and there is so much chaos we just know we are in the midst of the fray. At other times, it feels as though we are fighting some type of "inanimate" object - not seen, not heard, but somehow wreaking havoc in our lives. Let me ask - which battle is the hardest to fight - the one where you see the enemy and hear his attack, or the one where he is cleverly hidden and you have no idea where? Both could be equally similar, but one reveals himself while the other remains hidden. We can fear them both - right?  The thing with the attack from the enemy who remains cleverly hidden is that we have no idea what our "counter-attack" should be until he reveals a little about himself!  We might do best when we know the enemy we ar...