The Plumbline

Have you ever felt a little 'off-balance' in your life? You might not know it, but that little niggling can be the beginning of a change for you. Some of us experience being a little 'off-balance' because we have done or said things that actually create an imbalance in our lives. We get too intent on having our own way, making our own point, or finding a solution before we know the real problem, and we will have an imbalance for sure! We get ahead of what God is doing in and around us, stumbling over others and ourselves in the process, and we will experience imbalance. We can be so focused on doing something we think is going to be good for everyone, but we forget to include anyone else in the planning! Balance is a hard thing, but let me assure you, imbalance is harder! The Eternal prefers those who do good, but He condemns those who plot evil. Doing what is wrong keeps everyone off balance and insecure, but those who do right will never be uprooted. (Proverbs 12:...

Redeeming justice, true peace, and joy - three things we could all probably say we don't see enough of these days!  Newscasts of late have just soured me to even watching the news (something I do more for the weather report than anything else).  Too many shootings, accidents deemed to be hit and run, homes burned out, and children left unattended by parents distracted by their own needs - just about everything as far away from "justice", "peace", or "joy" we could imagine and a little bit more.  We live in a fallen world - a fact that probably hasn't escaped your notice, my friends.  As long as sin reigns, bad stuff will continue to happen.  The good news is that God is above it all - he is able to create within us this everlasting state of peace only he brings because he has been given the place of reigning in our hearts. When God reigns, the order of the day is  redeeming justice, true peace, and joy made possible by the Holy Spirit.    You...

If you have ever tried to walk a straight line, you may just know how difficult this can be without total concentration, immensely good balance, and absolutely nothing pulling or pushing against you.  The slightest distraction can captivate your attention just enough to get you to stumble.  The most insignificant thing like a hiccup could cause you to lose concentration and your course changes ever so slightly.  Even a stray gust of wind can catch you off guard and give you a little challenge to stay the course!  None of these things even remotely come close to the things which might actually "impair" our walk, but each presents a definite opportunity to present us with a little moment of imbalance.  To walk straight, the focus must be on maintaining balance.  To maintain balance, one must know what it is which "impairs" balance.   Train me,  God , to walk straight;   then I’ll follow your true path.   Put me together, one heart and mi...