The Plumbline

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.  (Eleanor Roosevelt) Yet there is one ray of hope: his compassion never ends . It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day . My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him. It is good both to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21-26) It is good BOTH to HOPE and WAIT QUIETLY. In the quietness of waiting, do you brim with hope and expectation? If you are relying upon the loving-kindness of God today, then I daresay you are filled with the best hope there is! It might be hard for us to understand God's compassion, but we don't have to fully understand it to appreciate it and thank him with a grateful heart. The Lord's mercies are new each and every day - dare I say they are new each an...

God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit. (Psalm 145:14) There are times we all feel like quitting, when all we want is a fresh start, but have absolutely no way of figuring out what a 'fresh start' would really look like. Many have heard the words of Vince Lombardi, "Winners don't quit and quitters don't win." Another quote goes something along the line, "Quitters are good losers." So, we keep plugging along, hoping not to be labeled as a quitter, yet desiring nothing less than a fresh start. I think God may look at us, realize our desire to quit, that insane desire for a fresh start where others say no fresh start is possible, and then somehow begins to meet this despondency with his provision of that 'fresh start' we all desire. Robert Ingersoll once said, "Happiness is not a reward - its a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - its a result." There are indeed times wh...

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.   Where will my help come from? 2  My help comes from the  Lord ,   the maker of heaven and earth. 3  God won’t let your foot slip.   Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job. 4  No! Israel’s protector   never sleeps or rests! 5  The  Lord  is your protector;   the  Lord  is your shade right beside you. 6  The sun won’t strike you during the day;   neither will the moon at night. 7  The  Lord  will protect you from all evil;   God will protect your very life. 8  The  Lord  will protect you on your journeys— whether going or coming—      from now until forever from now.  (Psalm 121 CEB) I once read something by a poet about closing one's eyes at night and all seems to become "dead" with the enclosure of darkness, but also of the tremendous miracle of opening one's eyes the next day to ...

" No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man ."  (Heraclitus)  Ponder that one for a moment or two and you will likely see the wisdom in these words.  We often think the things we are going into (or through) are just like they were the last time we went into (or through) them.  Sometimes when you actually take the time to look closer you see what once was is now different - including you!  It might come as a shock to some, but "the same" is never really "the same" in life.  There is always going to be some type of difference - even when it comes to the stuff we think we have already learned! Forever, O Eternal One, Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute.  Your faithfulness endures to every generation; You founded the earth, and it remains .  (Psalm 119:89-90 VOICE) There is something which never differs or changes from what we could call "time past" to all of  time into et...

If you haven't figured out by now, God's plan is for us to get into family relationship and learn to grow there.  Now, we have all kinds of family relationships, don't we?  For some, their own biologic family may be a little bit of a challenge because it is somewhat dysfunctional.  For others, their main "family" is that of the extended kind - those who are closest to them in kindred spirit, but not necessarily in a biologic sense.  God has one more "family" he focuses on a whole lot and this is the family he places us in to grow spiritually - the fellowship of others believers in Christ.  For some, this is found in their local church, while others may find this closeness in a small group or at a local support meeting.  Regardless of where we "find" this family relationship, it is important for our health and well-being as children of God. My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all he...

Have you ever stopped to consider how many times you actually make new beginnings in this life?  At the beginning of almost every new year, we make some type of new beginnings, only to see them fizzle out shortly after we make them.  At the beginning of each new day, we commit to something which we will struggle with remaining faithful to throughout the course of that day.  At the beginning of the new month, we resolve to stay on budget and not spend more than we plan on taking in this month in our paychecks.  We are constantly making new beginnings, aren't we?  Sometimes we make these new beginnings with stuff like finances, our weight, or the maintenance we will perform around the house.  At others, it is much deeper, like the time we will plan to spend with a significant other, or the discovery of what God has for us in his Word by daily study and meditation.  Regardless of the new beginnings, there is something in common among them all - US.  ...

Most of the time, we glance over words as we read text - mostly because our brains are good about picking them up, interpreting them quickly and then moving us onto the next ones.  We don't have to read each individual word to get the "gist" of what is often being said, but we may miss out on something if we don't!  This is why I insist on taking scripture "in context", rather than pulling out a verse or two and hanging my hat on it.  The "context" gives us the substance we'd otherwise just "glance over".  In the 5th chapter of the Second Letter to the Corinthian church, Paul lays out the basis of hope in Christ Jesus.  He begins the chapter with a discussion about a particular hope we all have: resurrection.  In fact, he goes so far as to proclaim we get new bodies!  I don't know about you, but having one free of aches and pains seems pretty awesome to me!  Then he reminds us we don't get to "see" this "transit...