The Plumbline

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. (James E. Faust) Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (Colossians 4:2) I once read that one cannot truly develop a relationship with another without communication. There must be some form of communication - even in the wildlife we can observe there is a form of communication that occurs that welcomes, warns, or wins the attention and affection of others. To be a Christian and NOT pray is kind of like saying you want a relationship, but you aren't willing to see it develop. You want the 'association' without the 'communication'. Paul's instruction to us is to 'devote' ourselves to prayer. When we devote ourselves to something or someone, we are concentrating on it, appropriating time and attention to that pursuit. When ...

...if my people who are called by my name become humble and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) If my people - notice that God doesn't say 'when', but 'if'. There is a condition - we must make the first move when it comes to repentance. This message isn't written to those who don't already have a relationship with him - it is written to those 'called by his name'. These are believers who obviously have grown cold, a little too apathetic and indifferent. This is where we find ourselves whenever we allow our focus to become clouded by the things of this world - coldness drifts in, hunger begins to be fulfilled by something other than his presence. If we want to 'come back' from wherever it is we have drifted, it begins by humbling ourselves and asking for his help to return! Humble yourself, pray, and look for him - these ...

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:5-8) We are reminded in Proverbs 3:5-7 to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." As we all have varying backgrounds, we likely approach life's challenges in various ways. We might just find ourselves turning to this world's wisdom first, then when it doesn't do what we hoped it would do, we turn to God. As long as we rely upon the wisdom the world offers, we will be limited in our perception of th...

Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (Psalm 29:1-2) Honor is something we give to another, but we should never seek it for ourselves. When it comes to God, we first recognize he is worthy of all honor, then we 'ascribe' it to him - we declare it in our minds, hearts, and even our actions. Unlike us humans, he actually deserves that honor! Unlike humans, his 'right' for honor never fades and it is not 'circumstantial'. In other words, he deserves it because he is always consistent, never changing, and divine through and through.  How or when do we honor God in our lives? I think it could begin the minute we begin to speak with him about anything at all. When we consider the words of prayer, are they filled with honor? Do we exalt his name and honor him with our words? Even our songs should bring honor to his name. This is why it ...

  Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:28) There have been moments when I just didn't know what to say to God - unsure of what really was going on inside of my mind and emotions, just needing to get out those feelings, but really not sure how to put them into words. How about you? Do you ever experience those moments when there is an overwhelming sense of heaviness within, but you cannot really express it in words? I am so glad God can understand our sighs, groans, and even our silence. He knows our heart better than we do, but he also understands...

God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.” That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.’” Samuel returned to his bed. Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (I Samuel 3:8-9) Samuel is eager to respond to the voice he hears. Why? He was simply trying to fulfill his everyday tasks, ready to learn what he could as he went about his routine in the temple, in service to the priests. Sometimes we get a little confused as to what we are to do with what it is we are hearing - we think we hear one thing, but could it really be something else? There are probably many times we hear God's voice, but because we aren't sure of the source, we go to what is familiar to us...

We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. (Proverbs 19:21) I find we don't always get the best from the most - we often get the best when we are able to filter it down to the least. Brainstorming is a technique we employ for solving problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, or developing new ideas, by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion. If you have ever been part of a "brainstorming" session in a large group, you know you can generate a whole bunch of ideas in a short period of time using this technique.  We have all kinds of options and formulate all manner of plans. As we interact with God and others, we have this continual "brainstorming" session going on in our mind! We throw up ideas, often without much calculation, and see if any of them "sound okay" for us to be pursuing. The real danger comes in us "throwing up" so many ideas! Have you ever had too many o...

Get out the message—God Rules! He put the world on a firm foundation;  He treats everyone fair and square. (Psalm 96:10) There are times when we have nothing to say and at others we are unable to keep our mouths shut at all. How is it we can have so much to say on one topic and nothing on another? I purposefully stopped listening to the news channels except for on occasion here and there. In fact, my BFF oftentimes has to tell me something catastrophic has happened because I have not 'heard the news'. Why did I stop listening? It was so much of the same negative stuff and I didn't need fill my mind with a million different 'takes' on why something happened the way it did. Give me the facts - lives were lost, pray for our nation and their families - leave it there! The news stations don't do that, though. They review time and time again the same clips, factoids, and the interviews until you can almost rehearse them ad nauseum. I'd rather get the word out that...

I just want to take a moment or two to remind each of us that God isn't done with us, even when we find ourselves in worst of places in life, our choices perhaps not the wisest. In the midst of our disobedience, God never stops finding ways to get to our heart - he uses all of this earth's and heaven's resources to reach the recesses of our hearts. The many and varied ways he uses to get the message of his power and protection across to his creation is not limited by the finite because he has access to the infinite. We often don't realize the means God will use until we look back "after the fact" and realize how much God was displaying his power, purpose, AND his protection in our lives. It is in the "hindsight" where revelation occurs - where our mind begins to comprehend what God has been doing in our hearts all along. Then they prayed to God, "O God! Don't let us drown because of this man's life, and don't blame us for his death...

Honestly, there are times in this world when I feel like I am talking and I don't think anyone is even listening - not a human, not an animal, and not even God. There have been times as a mom when I was saying something to two very blank faces staring back at me in what many would call their looking at you, but we don't hear a word you say kind of face!  There have also been moments when I have tried to just engage someone in conversation, only to find they have never been listening to a word I said because their answer is so totally different than the question I asked! I chuckle now at some of the things mom answered when she heard something so totally different than what I ever said or asked, just because she was hard of hearing and in the early stages of dementia. We've probably all been in this situation at least once where we find ourselves chuckling over what we thought we heard, but it was totally different than what was spoken! Thank goodness God is really listening...

Do you ever wonder how to pray for our nation right now? In this unsettled times of pandemic resurgence, uncertain election outcomes, and even unrest due to senseless acts of violence, how do we pray for our nation? I think it becomes quite clear as we consider this passage:  God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.  (Ephesians 1:17-19) I call out to you on behalf of your people - this is where it begins - we stop what we are doing and we actually take time to call out to God. We take notice of ...

MUST is a pretty strong word, isn't it? It is one of those four-letter words we are allowed to speak - no moms ever washing out a youngster's mouth for having said 'must'. It is a strong word because it allows for no 'wiggle-room'. "You must complete this task" carries a much different meaning than "If you are able, you must do this", doesn't it? The former allows no wiggle-room, while the later puts a condition on our having to complete the task. With God, there is very little 'wiggle room' in his instructions to us - the 'must' isn't usually paired with any other condition than a choice to be obedient. If that is the case, then if God tells us we 'must pray at all times as the Holy Spirit leads us to pray', then does that mean we are supposed to be on our knees 24/7? I don't think that is what God had in mind when he stipulated that 'must' in scripture. Instead, I believe he was asking us to be se...

Back in the day, we taught our kids to pray the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School. We had specific times in service when we'd all pray it corporately. Some of us even learned to break down the Lord's Prayer into segments that really describes how it is we 'work through' prayers to God by following the pattern laid out in that prayer. Most of us really don't know 'how to pray' - we just wing it. We might have memorized a few prayers when we were growing up, able to recite them verbatim now, but is that really prayer? I think God is most 'impressed' with our simple sharing of our hearts and souls with him, not the big words we might memorize, the 'pattern' we might follow, or the 'corporate' recital of a few verses. He is more interested in making that 'connection' with us.  We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. Go...

Are we guilty of praying 'safe' prayers? Prayers that are kind of mamby-pamby at best - working our way AROUND the real need without ever really hitting the nail on the head! These types of prayers are prayed more times each day than we might realize - with some of them coming from our own mouths! Why? "Safe" prayers are easiest because we don't have to 'expose' too much - we can just 'hint' about the need and hope God gets the point. And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come— that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven. Give us the food we need for today. Forgive our sins, just as we h...

Okay, I would like us to get a little honest with ourselves and each other this morning. Just how many of us have wanted God to deal with those who stand against us in some form or fashion? It is not unusual to actually converse with God, telling him how much we need him to 'deal with it' as we open up in our frustration, fear, or even anger about how someone is treating us or others. At the same time, God hopes we will allow him to use us in the lives of others - even when they are kind of 'pickles' to deal with! Being perfectly honest here, I actually EXPECT God to help me live my life well - even when what I want isn't perfectly aligned, I EXPECT him to help me get right alignment before I go too far in the wrong direction. Why can I EXPECT this of God? He loves me! His grace has changed my course many times in the past, just because of his love! Let the fast-talking tricksters be exposed as frauds; they tried to sell me a bill of goods, but I kept my mind fixe...

Some of us don't really believe what we pray - almost as though we pray the words, but we don't honestly expect God to answer us! Why is that? I imagine some of us see God as we do our earthly parents - never really there for us, kind of on the fringes of our lives, needing more of our help than them giving us theirs. Others might just see God as the 'big man' in the sky, too busy to be bothered with our 'little' needs. I know there are others of us who simply pray 'big prayers', knowing in our heart of hearts that God answers prayers, but we somehow equate our prayer to something 'bigger' than what God may want to do on our behalf. Whatever the reason for wavering in our faith when it comes to expressing our heart to God in prayer, we need to get over it! God is listening, even when the answer isn't always as we might have imagine it to be! If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his ...

You might think that is a play on words, but it isn't! Many times we enter into our moments of talking with Jesus like intimidated little kids, head hung low, shuffling our feet, and dancing around the truth of what it is we really are there in need of at that very moment. We don't want to 'impose' on God, or maybe 'tick him off' with our constant asking, so we just dance around the subject, grazing on it from time to time. Prayer worriers - those who fret over how to say it, what to say, or in just being honest about what they are feeling - the end is always going to be the same...we won't feel like our time in prayer has accomplished very much! Why? We never really got to the meat of what needed to be shared - and God didn't get a chance to take care of whatever it was that was on our heart in the first place! If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask fo...

What action do you plan next? This is a tough question for some of us to answer because we just don't 'plan' our actions - we are more on the spontaneous side of things. Did you ever stop for just a moment to consider that even spontaneous actions are planned at some point? Yes, they are 'in the moment' actions, but we only do them because we have considered them either consciously, or deep within the recesses of our subconscious. All action is really based on some intensity of emotion combined with some belief we are to take that particular action. This is were things get a little complicated, because the intensity of our emotion may not always align with our beliefs! Sometimes they are 'way over the top' and just don't make sense in comparison to the action being enacted. Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get. (Proverbs 20:18) If you have ever made a 'resolution' to do one thing, and find your...

Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them. All the things the world can offer to you—the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority—do not come from the Father. These are the rotten fruits of this world.  (1 John 2:15-16 VOICE) There are all kinds of reasons why we are enticed to move toward certain behaviors or attitudes which are pervasive in our culture today, but none quite so strong as that of fulfilling some pleasure, gaining some possession, or thinking we have been able to "one up" someone else. It seems to be at the center of much of what was said by one "side", shown, and/or spoken about in this past political campaign season. Now, in the wake of the aftermath of what has been called the "ugliest" of campaigns in history, the fall-out of evil is pervasive everywhere we look.  I watc...