The Plumbline

Opponents exist in all arenas of life - whether on the playing field at a ballgame, in the market place, in the school yard, or even on the grocery store aisles - they are there! We cannot escape them, nor should we just stand in place and allow them free-rein. An opponent is just someone who is on the opposite side of where we are at that moment - mentally, spiritually, or physically. The 'function' of the opponents in life is to act as the 'antagonist' that drives us into action, but so many times we choose to idle in neutral when faced with the antagonist. God's word to us today is to face that block put in your way, or frustration repeatedly encountered in a new way - with is grace and wisdom! Don’t be paralyzed in any way by what your opponents are doing. Your steadfast faith in the face of opposition is a sign that they are doomed and that you have been graced with God’s salvation. (Philippians 1:28) We might first think about what the opposite of an o...

It was Vince Lombardi who said we'd accomplish a great many more things in life if we stopped thinking of them as "impossible".  At times, I think we imagine ourselves as never making it to some destination we have in mind - especially when it comes to our walk with Jesus. We won't take the right steps, believe the right stuff, or make right decisions when it really matters. This is how we see ourselves at times and this can be quite defeating because sometimes we won't even try when we feel there is an "impossibility" in trying. It’s  impossible  to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists  and  that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 MSG) Lewis Mumford said, "A certain amount of opposition is a great help to man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind." Too many times we view the "hard stuff" as "opposition" in life. We...

I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed.  (Philippians 3:14 VOICE) Are you are goal-setter?  Do you make those lists of all the things you need to accomplish in a day, complete with tiny check-boxes so you can mark them as complete as you get them done?  Are you one of those planners, mapping out each phase of your journey for an upcoming trip, almost down to the places you will stop to take restroom breaks?  I know the world needs people who will create a vision, map out a plan, and then get people moving in that direction, but honestly only one goal really matters - where it is and with whom we will spend our eternity! Sprinters will tell you they are running at full-speed when they reach the point of the race where the sprint makes the race, but they cannot sustain that pace forever.  They have trained repeatedly to do as w...

The question is posed:  "If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?"  I'd have to answer, "Sure, just because we have God on our side doesn't mean we will never be opposed by anyone or anything else for the rest of our lives!"  It DOES mean that nothing which opposes us will ever win the upper hand! Whether it is an enemy of our own "doing" such as addiction to some substance or habit, or some enemy we have absolutely no control over such as the senseless tragedy of someone taking the life of another just because they are in school or the theater that day - we have enemies around us.  They work to create as much "mess" in our lives as possible - sometimes because the mess of their own lives just is too much for them to handle themselves! In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. (Romans 8:37 CEV) I have often pondered this idea of why bad things happen to good people.  In the recent weeks...

Have you ever "taken ground" just to find yourself "giving it back" almost quicker than you were able to take it in the first place?  In professional football, the team may move the ball a little further toward the goal with each tactical maneuver called a "play".  In one move, their total efforts of multiple plays can suddenly be turned around to the other team gaining the ground they once were able to call their own.  Why?  There was a technical mistake - such as a team member being "off-side", or perhaps a missed play which allowed for the quarterback to be "sacked" behind the line of scrimmage. Either way, ground is given up because of the missed play or the technicality of being a little too "ahead" of the game.  Ground is "given back" and the team starts all over again to move the ball back toward the goal.  Now, some may call this futility, but if you are a fan of football, you almost expect to see a little of...

 "Salvation" is only gibberish to the wicked  because they've never looked it up in your dictionary.   Your mercies,  God , run into the billions;  following your guidelines, revive me.  My antagonists are too many to count,  but I don't swerve from the directions you gave.  (Psalm 119:155-157 The Message) In nursing, there are certain medications administered for the very purpose of acting as "antagonists" to some other medication in the body.  The purpose is to "bind" something of harm to your body, such as too much narcotic, an over-abundance of a particular electrolyte, or a blood-level of medication that is harmful at a particularly high level.  The antagonistic effect of the medication actually ends up saving your life!   Sometimes we view people and things in our lives who function as "antagonists" in a very negative sense.  I challenge you this morning to consider if perhaps the "challenging" thing ...