The Plumbline

Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! (Psalm 31:23-24 NLT) The Lord protects those who are loyal to him - does that protection extend to you? If not, there is no time like the present to come under that protection! Wherever we put our trust determines our safety in times of trouble and turmoil, doesn't it? If we trust in the bathtub over the storm cellar in a tornado, we might not do as well, right? If we trust in God with all our heart, we will do well to not only 'manage' during the storms of life but come out the other side stronger. What does it mean to be loyal to him? If we were honest here, we'd have to admit our 'loyalty' is sometimes quite divided, is it not? We trust him with the hard stuff, but the stuff we think we can figure out on our own, well we just plunge right on through that without even stop...

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. (Proverbs 3:3-4) Loyalty and kindness are certainly not the things we see 'delivered' today in so many interactions with others, are they? We find a lot of backstabbing in politics, many rumors flying about the lives and choices of various celebs, and just plain bad manners on our highways and byways at times. Is it possible our culture has forgotten these two 'hallmarks' of "ONE NATION UNDER GOD"? Write them deep within your heart. Perhaps this is where our departure from simple kindness and unyielding loyalty began - we neglected to hide God's word deep within our hearts. Favor with God took backseat to favor with others. Favor with others seems to only be important if they can 'do' something for us. We forgot that our neighbor is our friend...

John Boyle O'Reilly reminds us: "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." This is pretty sound advice, isn't it? The Apostle Paul reminded those who serve in the household of others to do all their work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Proverbs 13:4 reminds us that the 'soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.' I don't know about you, but 'richly supplied' certainly appeals to me. How are we true to our work? If we are putting forth our very best by bringing our very best self into that work each and every day, we are likely fulfilling that one. Being true to our word is a pretty tall order, is it not? We can say a whole lot of things without really thinking them through, only to regret having made a vow or promise to do something at a later time. Jesus was speaking with the disciples one day and left them with these instructions: “Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall...

Remain loyal to Him! Fear Him and obey His commands. Listen to His voice. Worship Him  alone . Be fervently devoted to Him. ( Deuteronomy 13:4   VOICE ) As Israel was about to become a nation of their own among a whole lot of other nations who would eventually desire to put them into servitude, take their fertile land, and ravage them as a nation, they receive this command to remain loyal to the God who had made them a nation. This would not have been unusual to require this degree of "dedication" to the God they served, as the nations around them all "served" or "dedicated" themselves to some form of one or more "gods". The difference is that they are to serve the One True God - remaining loyal to him and him alone, despite the temptation to become wrapped up in the false worship of these other gods. It should not come as a surprise that scripture refers to remaining loyal, steadfast, committed, and dedicated so frequently. It is probably li...

Have you ever stopped to consider what a trademark is?  It distinguishes something from all the other "somethings" which are in our midst, right?  You think of the red soda can with the white little swirl and what immediately comes to mind?  Coca-Cola, right?  If I were to have you picture a red sign with a huge yellow "M" on it, you'd immediately recognize it as McDonald's restaurant.  We distinguish something by its trademark - it sets it apart from the rest.  What happens when someone changes their packaging of their product?  People go nuts trying to find it!  They don't recognize it even though it is right on the shelf in front of them because the "remembered" symbol is no longer there!  This is why most manufacturers don't mess with a good thing!  Have you ever stopped to consider what God's trademarks are?  What is it which sets him out from the rest of the "gods" we could serve in life?  What is it which makes him ...

Ever have anyone tell you to "get a grip"?  Usually they mean something like, "Hey, you are letting this thing get to you a little too much", or maybe "Wow! Don't go off the deep-end over this.  It is not worth it!"  They might even tell you to "take a chill pill" and mean for you to put your claws in, get out of your defensive mode, and actually return to earth a little.  Some of the time we hold so tightly to what we'd be better off letting go of, huh?  We get all "wound up" for the stuff which really won't count tomorrow!  Then we neglect the very things which will! Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.   Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.   Earn a reputation for living well  in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.  (Proverbs 3:3-4 MSG) Solomon is imparting some great insight for us, if we have ears to hear and a heart to respond!  For most of us, we "lose our grip" because ...

Okay!  I came across this passage again this morning as I was re-reading the Psalms and just had to stop to share it!   God's love is meteoric,  his loyalty astronomic, h is purpose titanic,  his verdicts oceanic.  Yet in his largeness  nothing gets lost; n ot a man, not a mouse,  slips through the cracks. (Psalm 36:5-6 The Message) Okay...knowing me as you might, you know where I am headed, don't you?  Yep, let's break it down!  First, I want you to see each of these "attributes" of God are broken down with their own individual "descriptive" word.  Our psalmist does not simply say God is loving - he calls his love meteoric.  He doesn't reference God as loyal to his word - he calls his loyalty astronomic.  These are big terms which lend much to understanding each of these attributes.  So let's explore them a little: - God's love is meteoric!  Here's what I know about meteors (and trust me, it is l...

3  The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.   4  A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart,    but a principled life can stand up to the worst.   5  Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life.   6  Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.  (Proverbs 11:3-6) A "principled" life can stand up to the worst life throws at it.  Principles acts as our "rudder" - giving us the guidance for right conduct.  They give us the fundamental truths by which we make our decisions.  Solomon tells us that a life that is governed by the right principles will withstand the toughest conflicts and disappointments in life.  To that he offers moral character and integrity as companions of "principles" - each bringing the balance we need to "stay the course" when the worst is upo...