The Plumbline

God warns us to guard our heart above all else, simply because it determines the entire course of our lives. As we think of the heart, we must remember it encompasses our mind, will and emotions. One must guard the mind, have a determined will that is unwilling to compromise even one iota, and to have an evenness of emotions that don't carry us away. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23) Above all else. We get so distracted by what we think may not be 'all that bad', but in truth, whenever we look toward anything or anyone other than God himself, our hearts are already putting something else 'above' God. Needless to say, we have raised a whole generation of individuals whose mind is easily amused by whatever catches its attention. Perhaps the greatest challenge to individuals today is to have their mind focused with so many distractions working hard to distract one from their focus. The will of a man is kind ...

I have had those moments when I just wanted to say or doing something, but if I did, I knew the backlash would be more than I wanted to receive. It is a battle of the mind and will over emotions at times, isn't it? We 'think better' than our emotions tend to lead us on occasion - perhaps making 'emotions' one of the hardest and most fickle things we have to deal with once we get our mind under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Doing wrong is easy - doing right is a bit harder at times. Behavior matters, no matter what anyone says - behavior stems from all three - mind, will and emotions. Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt. (Proverbs 18:3) Back in the day, teachers used to give out little 'awards' to students with great academic achievements, including those who consistently exhibited good 'classroom behavior'. As you might have guessed, I might have received a few notes home to mom saying I was a bit of the clas...

Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it. But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind... (Jeremiah 17:9-10) The human mind is a mystery to me. It can reason, helping me to figure out solutions to some things quite quickly. It can remember, bringing to memory things that brought me either pleasure or pain. It can imagine, giving me hope when I need it and dreams when I least expect them. If it is possible for my mind to 'hide its evil' from me, I definitely need God's help to uncover where that may actually occur! Our human mind is in need of some real 'overhaul' at times, isn't it? We have this uncanny ability to call things that aren't all that good for us 'okay' and resist the absolute need to expose those things in order to be rid of them once and for all. This is why we have such a significant problem with being 'tempted' at times. W...

No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. The intelligent merchant does not knock his competitors. The sensible worker does not knock those who work with him. Don't knock your friends. Don't knock your enemies. Don't knock yourself. (Alfred Lord Tennyson) “But I say to you people who are listening to me, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Ask God to bless the people who ask for bad things to happen to you. Pray for the people who are mean to you. If someone hits you on the side of your face, let them hit the other side too. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop them from taking your shirt too. Give to everyone who asks you for something. When someone takes something that is yours, don’t ask for it back. Do for others what you want them to do for you. (Luke 6:27-31) Are we really listening to Jesus? Most of us would admit we listen on occasion, more when things aren't going as we expected, but not as closely at other times. Why is that? We ...

 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.(Philippians 4:7) Those who belong - do you 'belong'? Some perceive 'belonging' as having the 'proper credentials', such as when you 'belong' to the country club in your local town and can get the benefits of that 'membership'. Others might think of 'belonging' as 'being properly placed' - having a specific purpose in what you do somewhere for someone. The oldest meaning of this world indicated a certain 'dependence' upon one another or someone with a 'greater position' than you had. If we think of 'belonging' to Christ as 'having a relationship' with one who holds a 'superior position', we might just be a little closer to how this word is used in scripture. To 'belong' to Christ suggests a relationship of willing service to ...

You formed the way I think and feel. You put me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way. I know how amazing that was! (Psalm 139:13-14) If you ever want to discount your feelings, don't! God made those emotions, and he knows how you will respond with them when life gets tough, sends a surprise your way, or gets you excited for something new you are about to experience. He formed the way we think AND the way we feel. In other words, he knows how we will 'interpret' the things we are experiencing. To think God doesn't know the way our brains work is a really silly belief. To imagine God doesn't want us to acknowledge our emotional responses to life's moments is also very foolish. He made both and he isn't 'put off' by how we think or what we feel. He may want to help us think a little clearer and have less fluctuation in our emotions on occasion, but he isn't surprised by either! The way we think can b...

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. (Romans 8:5-7) There are philosophies out there that propose 'positive thinking' is all we need to overcome even the worst of things going on around or within us. The truth of the matter is that humans can 'think positively' all they want, but as long as the mind hasn't been surrendered to Christ, negative thoughts will continue to emerge, as will negative actions. It is more than a 'mind game' that we play - it is a difference in who is in control of our minds! Let the Spirit of God control your mind and you will soon begin to understand the power of God's presence in y...

“Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. ” (Luke 12:13-21) We can all be so 'into ourselves' that we totally miss being there to help another when they are stand...

  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24) Have you ever prayer a similar prayer? It is a kind of scary thing to ask God to test your heart and mind to see if there is any offensive stuff there, isn't it? You almost don't want to ask because you know there is! When God points out what 'offends' him, he doesn't do it to humiliate us, or even to chastise us. He does it to show us how deeply he loves us - because he wants us to be free of all that garbage that takes up emotional, mental, or physical space in our lives. To be led, one must submit to the one leading. To be whole, one must submit to the one capable of ridding us of all the stuff that keeps us 'broken' and 'hurt'. When we don't know the way, we seek guidance via a mapping service, GPS, or the good old way of asking someone for directions. Why do ...

Eve Arnold was a photo-journalist. She asked one question that really prompted me to 'look around' a bit in my own life. The question? "What do you hang on the walls of your mind?" A pretty 'probing' question if you ask me. The mind is a bit like a photo gallery - with all kinds of 'scenes' on display - we call them memories. We 'hang' them up so we can revisit them from time to time. I have some hanging in my mind that I somehow revisit, but I don't like what I see. I have others hanging that really bring me peace, hope, and great joy. Could it be possible that we might have a few things 'hanging' in our mind's gallery that we might not even know we have 'put up' for display within those 'walls'? Proverbs 14:30 tells us, "A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones." How many of us have 'runaway emotions'? It could be possible that the things we 'put on disp...

Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission. (Arnold Bennett) Bennett also reminds us "it is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top" - something we'd do well to consider when we are just 'coasting through life'. We oftentimes take for granted the things we allow to 'penetrate' our minds, almost without any real thought to it at all. It is as though the process of things 'getting into our minds' can be a little 'passive' when we are not 'on guard' to keep out unwanted influences and misguided half-truths. Maybe the one thing we can do to 'guard' our minds seems a bit too easy, but in allowing the Word of God to begin to penetrate our minds more and more, we are actually 'setting up the guard'. Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. (Proverbs 4:23) Indeed, our thoughts dictate so many of our actions - both good and b...

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:8) I often go to this verse whenever I observe my thinking being a little too negative, my speech a little too critical, or my attitude just a bit off. Why? It is a reminder to me of the importance of taking particular note of what goes into my mind and what it is I allow my mind to contemplate over and over again. The old computer geek term of 'garbage in - garbage out' really holds true with this thing we call our brain. We do our best when our minds are filled with the right stuff - we don't do as well when there is input that '...

Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your own permission (Arnold Bennett) Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life . Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God , ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. (Romans 8:5-8) Our minds can be like steal traps - holding onto stuff best let go of and resisting the entry of the stuff that really needs to be given place in our memory and forethought. If our minds are a 'sacred enclosure', then why do we let stuff into...

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...  (Proverbs 23:7) Whatcha thinking? It is a common question, but maybe the better one is, "Where you even thinking?" There are all kinds of things that "vie" for attention in our mind. The "loudest" voice is often the one heard the best. Just as much as there are things that demand our attention in our thought life, our emotions are constantly being "played" by the events of our days. Depending on what it is that is running through our thoughts at the moment, our sometimes up-and-down emotions can be manageable, or completely out of control. Therefore, learning to "manage" our minds, or our thinking, goes a significantly long way in learning to live with an emotional "balance" in our lives. Our mind really has two "sides" to it: the totally present and evident conscious side, and the less recognizable, but ever present unconscious. The conscious side of our mind is pretty...

Mind in gear? What does that mean to you? When I consider a 'mind in gear', I think of the one who is deep in thought, creating, coming up with plans and ideas, or working to put those ideas into application. I think of the carver who looks at a plain piece of log and begins to fashion what he sees in his mind. I also think of the one who might calculate the risks and benefits of a particular set of actions and then formulate a plan they will act upon - such as a surgeon considering the best course to take with a patient to optimize their health. Having one's mind in gear is really a sign of being engaged in the process - you are more than a casual observer. God isn't after those who have all the answers as much as those who will engage with him and be more than casual observers in his kingdom. So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doin...

Direction, condition, and focus - what do these three have to do with each other? Direction is often thought of as the path one will travel - the way we are headed. When the condition of mind, body, and spirit are well, it is much easier to follow along that course. If the condition of the mind, body, or spirit is out of alignment (not clearly focused), there will be a little drift that occurs in the direction we maintain! Grow a wise heart—you'll do yourself a favor; keep a clear head—you'll find a good life. (Proverbs 19:8) Within these two sentences, two words give us direction, two describe a condition that should be met, and two reveal the focus we must maintain. The two words that give us direction are "grow" and "keep". The two that describe the condition we are to maintain are "wise" and "clear". The two indicating the focus we are to keep are "heart" and "head". Grow - the first thing that comes to mi...

Sometime we need to remind our soul - that is, our mind, will and emotions - to bless God with all that we have within us. If you are like me (and I suspect you are), the mind wanders, will is weak, and emotions pull us a thousand different directions. David was not above this very similar struggle we face daily - to keep our attention squarely on God. How do we do that? We engage in "soul-talk". Look at what David does - he focuses his mind on the things God has done in his life - then he begins a little "soul-talk". He recounts the many and overwhelming blessings of God in his life, his family's life, and those he knows at the leader of a great nation. He determines to bless God - he makes it a matter of his will. In so doing, he is bringing his emotions into alignment - his "soul" gets talked into alignment. O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don't forget a single blessing! He forgives y...

The development of habits, thoughts and behaviors comes through both ongoing discipline and repeated instruction. We become proficient at something through the repetitive "doing" or "experiencing" of that task or behavior. God's training of our lives encompasses many aspects, but none so soul-liberating as the ordering of our thought life. The training of God that is directed toward our thought life, bringing into alignment our thoughts with his mind, allows us to develop behaviors that actually build our character on a solid foundation. Train me, God, to walk straight; then I'll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear. (Psalm 86:11-12) The ability to walk the path God has laid out for us comes as we are submissive to the training God brings into our life - especially as it applies to our thought life. When I say "submissive" I am not referring to some mamby-pamby kind of respons...

I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that he has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious.  ( Ephesians 1:18   ERV ) Most of us don't realize an open mind is a gift from God. It is by his doing that we actually have "space" for truth in our minds. It is by his grace that we desire more than our own intellect by which to navigate through life. To truly "know" truth requires more than we just expose ourselves to it - we must be open to the person who is all truth - Jesus Christ. Hope stems not so much from knowing all things from start to finish, but in believing the finish will be something that creates a deeper desire for the one who loves us beyond measure.  While we are busy "going about life", God is all around us and working hard to reveal truth in all things to us as we are in constant movement. I have two grandsons, both have ADHD...

Albert Einstein was believed to be one of the smartest individuals of modern times, yet he said of himself, " It is not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer ." I'd have to ask you about how long it would be before you'd "bail" on a problem at hand. For some, that answer is easy - immediately! For others, it might be there is a little hesitation to bail, but eventually you will because you just don't like the pressure. For me - - - the problem helps to give definition to the journey. I think I am a little like Einstein (not in his smarts or IQ) - I like the solving of the problem. Things niggle in my brain long enough until I find there comes a clarity or solution that might not have been seen or appreciated before. It is often this "niggling time" that creates a desperation that drives us to consider the problem at hand in a new light - to see it perhaps from God's perspective and not just our own. When peo...