The Plumbline

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. (Psalm 59:16) Where do you turn when you are in distress? Do you veg out in front of the TV, streaming this or that in the hopes you can take your mind off whatever is causing all the stress? Do you head to the fridge or scour the cupboards to find another snack? Do you go online to buy one more thing you really won't use all that much? What we do in our times of stress and where it is we turn when we need to 'destress' is very important for us to recognize. It could show us just how much we depend upon what 'we' can do rather than what God wants to do. Things will always be there that give us great pain, anxiety, or sorrow. It is part of life to deal with this kind of stuff. The acute physical or mental anguish the stressful thing causes isn't meant to be dealt with on our own, though. W...

Everybody wants to do something to help, but nobody wants to be first.  (Pearl Bailey) Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time” or “Try me tomorrow” when the money’s right there in your pocket. Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting. (Proverbs 3:27-29) Your hand is God's hand - can we just ponder that one for a moment or two? What was the last thing your hand did for someone other than yourself? It goes without saying, we may deny ourselves very little, all the while oblivious to the need that could be right there next to us. Never walk away - that is a pretty direct command, but I will be the first to admit, I've done it. If it is within our ability, why don't we take the next step and meet the need? Maybe it is like Bailey said and we don't want to be the one to take the 'first step'. I know some wil...

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) God comes alongside of us in hard times - that should bring comfort to someone who needs that word today. If you don't need to hear it, perhaps you are the one to come alongside another who is going through the hard times today. Either way, God is at work! Have you ever noticed how you can be going through some really rough stuff and then before long you find yourself helping someone else who is also going through something a bit harder than they can handle alone? This isn...

  Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “ How can I help ?” (Romans 15:1-2) You and I have been blessed in so many ways, but did you realize the blessings we have today are often born out of times of leanness, grief, despair, and hardship? I can recount the times when the kids and I lived paycheck to paycheck, relishing a good thrift store find that helped to supplement our wardrobes, and even getting a used car that I could repair myself. We have way more blessings that we may realize, but what do we 'do' with those blessings? If we are to be obedient servants, we are to step in, lend that hand, and be of service where service is most needed. In other words, we who are blessed with so much and in so many ways are to become a blessing to others! ...

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.  (Aristotle Onassis) Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12) Think about one of your 'darkest moments' right now. Maybe it was quite some time ago, or perhaps you are just coming out of that place right now. What did you experience as it started, went on for what seemed like an indefinite period of time, and when it finally ended? If your moment hasn't completely ended, you might just learn something from those of us who have seen the end. The darkest moments of our lives are a time of intense focus - they 're-center' us, don't they? There are hard feelings to endure through those times, and even some awful troubles that we have to overcome, but what we all have in common as we walk through these moments is there is no absence of hope as long as we tak...

Does anyone other than me ever feel like they were chosen to just keep making the same mistakes? Keep doing the same old stuff you'd promised yourself you'd not do again? Keep tripping up on the same things you tripped up on before? I think we all go through these cycles in life - doing well for a while and then 'tripping up' on something we didn't think could trip us up again. We have to remember these things are not experienced by us alone - there are hundreds, if not thousands of others who trip up at just about the same point! Obedience is really a series of trips and rising again! Keep me far from every wrong; help me, undeserving as I am, to obey your laws, for I have chosen to do right. ( Psalm 119:30 TLB ) We forget about the 'rising again' part of this! We are chosen to do right, not wrong. That doesn't negate our free-will (our ability to make a choice). Sometimes our choices just get the best of us! We aren't really deserving of God...

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  The Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.  The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.   (Psalm 121 NLT) Have you been on a website and taken notice of the little question mark in the corner, or perhaps the "help" button they embed on their page? It is designed to launch you into some "commonly asked questions" so that you can better know how to use their webpage. It isn't uncommon for those pages to get tons of "hits" just because people want to ...

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ( Galatians 6:1   NLT ) I know for a fact just how easy it is to get caught up in some temptation we might have thought we had already dealt with fully, for I have followed some path back to where I really shouldn't have gone on more than one occasion! I usually am smart enough to see that I am headed there, and maybe even arrived a little ahead of schedule! There have been times when I have needed the faithful words of a friend or two to direct me back on course again, simply because I get stuck in the mire of the wrong place I got myself into. There is no shame in needing help from time to time - there is more "shame" in not taking it when it is offered! I honestly believe God puts us in a community of believers because he knows we don't always...

God keeps a special eye on his people - not letting them stay down too long if they trip up or stumble.  This should give most of us (if not all of us) a whole lot of encouragement each time we find ourselves with skinned knees and a wounded bit of pride!  Sometimes, we find ourselves "tripped up" because of things of our own doing - like willful disobedience, compromise, and outright wrong choices.  At other times, we find there has been someone in our path who purposefully sticks their foot out in hopes we will stumble and fall. Now, that may seem a bit harsh to state, but I think there are those who relish the idea of creating a little bit of havoc in the lives of others.  A word of warning to these folks - God won't let us stay down long - his hand is already outstretched even before the foot crosses our path to trip us up! Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;   don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up,   Go...