The Plumbline

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:24-25) It is hard to choose what we want most over what we want now, isn't it? The answer is in Jesus Christ - he has set us free. All determination or discipline in life begins with choosing how it is we 'identify'. If we identify as listening to our 'fleshly desires' just a bit too often, we are not likely to identify with our new nature in Christ Jesus as often as we should. Life isn't about behavior modification - it is about identity transformation. The power that is greater than our fleshly desires is resident within - we just need to begin to 'identify' with it more often! We are not what we did. We are not the voice of discouragement that consistently condemns us, bring...

Help us defeat the enemy! No one on earth can rescue us. Only God can make us strong. Only God can defeat our enemies! (Psalm 108:12-13) Defeat:  To prevail over, vanquish, overcome in battle; to frustrate or thwart; to eliminate or cut off from what was expected.  We can all remember times when we seemed to be vanquished by some force bigger, more difficult to resist than our own abilities could handle.  Those moments invoked fear in us, or perhaps just plain sadness and a sense of helplessness as we stood there under the attack of whatever it was.  This sense of overwhelming frustration can overcome us with such force we almost cannot stand under the weight of it. I don't think these are times God intends for us to face alone!  In fact, he will help us defeat our enemies if we just ask him to and then stand assured in his help. There is no power on this earth stronger than our God.  He is able to thwart the craftiest of plans laid against us - whether the...

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me! If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion, tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me. (Psalm 7:1-2) We began to look at the power of a truly 'defensible position' yesterday - the best of all being 'in Christ'. As we examine the need for a defensible position, we might find there are a number of reasons we would cry out to God for a place of refuge. Perhaps one of the reasons we seek a refuge is because of the slander and gossip of others around us. We might not realize the damage of gossip and the destruction to the reputation whenever someone sets out to slander and individual. We could be on either side of that coin - the one being gossiped about, or the one engaging in the gossip. The first needs a defensible position - a place of protection and refuge; the latter needs a 'come to Jesus' meeting! David was not without his share of both. In fact, he had people who would ...

The seventh Psalm starts out with the words, "I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!" We know that David spent a great deal of time either running from Saul and his warriors or fighting one battle after another to maintain his kingdom - and some of those battles were from within his own family. There is probably something quite 'practical' in these words because a warrior needed protection on occasion - just to get away from it all and to recover from the fight. An area of 'strong defense' was a godsend to a warrior. For David, he might have needed a 'physically defensible position' from which he could take refuge. It is also quite possible he may have needed a 'spiritually defensible position' where he could be renewed and refreshed 'in the battle'.  We need both on occasion - a physical place that brings us a sense of safety and a spiritual place where our emotional and spiritual health is...

But blessed is the man who trusts me,  God , the woman who sticks with  God . They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers— Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season. (Jeremiah 17:7-8) Doesn't that sound absolutely wonderful? Deep roots, no sign of being affected by drought, and bearing fruit each and every season of life - that is indeed a privilege. A privilege enjoyed by those who have placed their trust in Christ and have asked him to take control of their lives.  I am prone to worrying a bit - I think I got that from my mother. I always used to say if mom didn't have something to worry about, she'd worry about not having anything to worry about. It has taken a lot of prayer to lay things down at the feet of Jesus and leave them there, but when I finally let go of the 'mulling over' of the things that give me concern, the peace is overwhelmin...

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. (I Peter 1:3-7) A new life and everything to live for - what that involves is a new start on life, and the joy of living life as we were created to live it - in close, personal relationship with God our Father. We may think of the "future" as way off in the...