The Plumbline

I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. Evil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to your instructions. (Psalm 119:59-61) Pondering involves more than a fleeting thought. It indicates one carefully considers what is happening and the choices before them before they even make a decision to act. Direction is determined by focus. Focus is determined by both the mind and the heart. One or the other of those can lead us astray at times, getting our focus all muddled up. Pondering the direction our choices are about to lead us, and the potential end results of those actions can save us a whole lot of misery. God's plan is for our 'pondering' to drive us to explore his Word. Finding direction there might just keep us from making many unwise choices. Evil comes at us from any direction, so being alert to its encroachment into our lives is quite important. We often don't rec...

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. (Psalm 111:2-3) All who delight in him should ponder his deeds. What does it mean to ponder? To consider something deeply and thoroughly - we get the word meditation from this concept of pondering. Meditation isn't sitting cross-legged and chanting - it is taking time out to just dig a little deeper into the object of your attention. If God is the object right now - you are pondering! "A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward. Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God." (Max Lucado) We may not want to admit it, but God can and does use every 'season' of our lives - good, mediocre, or really bad! Ponder these seasons - what is he doing, how are we responding, what might he be teaching us in that moment?...

Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” (Psalm 46:10) I know life gets hairy from time to time and the busy-ness of life just seems to consume us like a black hole, but when we take time to step out of the traffic for even a short while we could just be amazed at how much smoother the journey is when we have to step back into it! There is much to be said about taking time to rest and relax, but much more to be found in taking specific time in those times that is set aside specifically to spend a little time just meditating upon Jesus. There is more refreshing to be found in those times than any other - even when he may pinpoint a particular 'rough area' of your life that requires a little attention.  Whenever we step out of the traffic long enough to just ...

Do you mull things over, finding yourself deep in thought, unaware of everything else at the moment because this one thing is your focus? If you are one who turns things over and over until you get a better understanding of the object you are considering, then you are one who mulls or ponders. To ponder means that you consider something deeply and thoroughly. It involves the mind, but it also relies on the involvement of the emotions in the process. It comes from a Latin word that means to "weigh". Some of us might say that we are "reflecting" on an idea - we are simply pondering that idea (weighing the pros and cons). I find I do a great deal of pondering or mulling in the wee hours of the night when I am awakened. My mind begins to work on ideas or issues - some evading both my attention and the 'fix' all day long. In those moments alone in thought, am I really alone? I don't think so - because God is with me in those wee hours! I ponder every morsel o...

Endless:  Of or seeming to have no limit; boundless; infinite; incessant.   Our psalmist challenges us to consider the works of God.  In fact, he challenges us to put a great deal of effort into this "consideration", then to proclaim what it is we have been "considering" rather than keeping silent about it.  There is to be a certain attitude in our consideration of the wonders of God.  It becomes apparent as we examine this passage that David exemplifies the heart of a man who has "gotten to know" God on a personal basis and is not "shy" about proclaiming what it is he has discovered.  As he begins this psalm, he begins with the words, " Hallelujah!   I give thanks to   God   with everything I've got..."   God ’s works are so great, worth A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark his craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are his memorial— This  God  of Grace, this  God ...