The Plumbline

I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? (Psalm 56:4 NLT) What has God promised for your life? Peace in the midst of turmoil? Hope in the midst of fear? Provision in the midst of lack? All of these and more! We cannot underestimate the promises of God or argue that God doesn't really provide what he promises. The promises of God are without reversal - once they were given, they remained in effect! Do we fully trust God to do as he has promised? Do we recount his promises when doubt, frustration, or turmoil come our way? If we are honest here, we might just have some pretty weak faith when it comes to trusting God to do EXACTLY as he said. We think he 'might' come through, 'might' see fit, 'might' find it within his power. That is some weak trust right there!  Sometimes we add, "God, if it is your will...", to one of God's promised actions, but we are showing we don't fully trust him. For example, Go...

“If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.” (2 Peter 3:10-12) Notice this promise to enjoy life and see many happy days begins with keeping our tongues under control. Why? An out of control one is like igniting a can of gasoline! There is little it won't touch, leaves very little unaffected by its attacks, and creates a bunch of havoc that is difficult to get under control once it has done the work of ignition! Search for peace and work to maintain it. More than ever, this is a time when we need to be working toward peace, not moving further and further away from it by driving out own agendas, creating divisions amongst groups, or telling each other untruths ...

"Change is the end result of all true learning." (Leo Buscaglia) As I listened to a gospel song the other day, I actually learned something. We use the word 'always' to describe God's faithfulness, but could it be that the better word we should use is 'never'? As in: “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5) - we are never left on our own, to work out our own misery or find our own way in life. "He will never give up on you. Never forget that." (I Corinthians 1:9) - we might feel like it is time to give up, but there is never a right time to give up or give in - God wants us to never forget that he isn't about to give up on us - no matter what. "If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) - God can never be anything but what he is and that is faithful, loving, tenderhearted, and longsuffering. "Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal; you never get...