The Plumbline

O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. (Psalm 25:1-3) If you have ever approached God with a bit of 'hey, God, I need your help' prayers, then you know how it is to feel a bit useless, helpless, and at risk for some reason. There is absolutely no better place to take your 'hey, God, I need your help' issues, for he is the only one capable to meet those needs. No one who trusts in God to help will ever be disappointed, or stand in the midst of the battle disgraced or defeated. Disgrace might be the loss of respect for some, but it can also be the feeling of shame that comes from doing something we might now find ourselves regretting painfully. God's answer to that feeling of shame is repentance - to turn away from whatever brought those feelings and embrace his grace. There is absol...

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) As a young girl, it seemed as though time passed so slowly - making any 'waiting period' almost unbearable. Summer vacation away from the daily routine of school seemed like an eternity. The coming of Christmas took eons, with Christmas Eve being one of the longest days of the year for any child. When you were waiting for a day to come, the minutes passed slowly. As I have aged, time passes much more quickly - days pass without even realizing the week is gone. Perhaps time passes so slowly for the young because of all they still dream of doing. Maybe time passes so quickly for those who are in their older years because there aren't as many dreams that remain. The best we can do is live our life well today - because we have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. Moses is the author of this psalm. He spends some time rehearsing the various things God has done for Israel as a nation, bu...

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26) Do you believe this? That is a very telling question, for all else in our life hinges on the answer. Anyone who believes - is that you? Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe he made a way for you to be reconciled to God? Do you accept this free gift? These are the questions we must answer - if not today, then when? First, we believe in his finished work on the Cross - then we live in him. What does that mean? We don't become puppets in his hand, but we do relinquish the right to live in control of our lives. We willingly lay down our control and allow him to take the reins. The free gift opens the way for us to live free of things we don't even know have us bound. So many claim they have no need of a Savior because they have lived 'good live...

I prayed to God, ‘Dear God, my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do. (Jeremiah 32:17) NOTHING he cannot do. NO ONE he overlooks. NOTHING he will not respond to. Three very important things we must learn about the God we serve. He is ever-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful. This is the God who requires obedience of his children - of those who say 'yes' to his invitation to become part of his family.  God is also LOYAL. I don't believe we fully grasp the meaning of loyalty, for at best, we have seen 'images' of loyalty, but n...

  If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself.  You  might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. (Galatians 6:2) Maybe this passage should read, "WHEN someone falls..." It would probably read more accurately as we ALL fall from time to time and need restoration without criticism for having fallen. The 'fallen' fall - it is that simple. The 'not so simple' part is this business of 'forgivingly restoring the fallen'. How easy it is to be critical of those around us who are struggling to live an upright life.  The rest of the passage is pretty much the summary of why we need to reserve our criticisms - we are likely to need forgiveness before the day ends! Mom always used to tell me it takes one to know one - meaning we recognize those struggling with our same issues / faults because those faults bother us so much in ourselves. We dial-in on those same things in others that we seem to know we could...

Because you have satisfied me, God, I promise to do everything you say. I beg you from the bottom of my heart: smile, be gracious to me just as you promised. When I took a long, careful look at your ways, I got my feet back on the trail you blazed. I was up at once, didn’t drag my feet, was quick to follow your orders. The wicked hemmed me in—there was no way out— but not for a minute did I forget your plan for me. I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your decisions are so right, so true—I can’t wait till morning! I’m a friend and companion of all who fear you, of those committed to living by your rules. Your love, God, fills the earth! Train me to live by your counsel. (Psalm 119:60) A long, careful look - more than a casual, once a week relationship with God - it takes us stopping long enough to take that look. We have to stop what we are doing - what we are deciding to do on our own - to really listen. It means we have to stop trying to figure things out on our own an...

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. Count yourself lucky—God holds nothing against you and you’re holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure was gone—my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we’ll be on high ground, untouched. God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. Let me give you some good advice; I’m looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight: “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track.”...

You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. (Psalm 51:4-6) We probably all have a close friend - someone who seems to know most of the "dirt" in our lives - hopefully it is someone you can call your BFF. To be totally transparent here, these "besties", "BFFs", and "best buds" only know us "most of the way", though. There are always some parts of "us" that we honestly believe are kept hidden away from everyone - those really secret things we just hope no one ever learns about us because if they do, we wonder if they will ever be able to love us, much less like us! The only one who really knows us "all the way...

Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. (2 Corinthians 5:17) I like the hope procl...

Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success. (C.S. Lewis) If you have ever tried to read trail signs on some forest trail, or around some preserve land, you may have noticed that it is kind of like an art you must master. Certain symbols mean that the path will go straight, increase your climb, maneuver through harder territory, or even turn you toward a new destination. Those markers are there for a reason - to help you find your way. Have you ever been off-course so badly you totally missed a few of those signs? I have! In fact, I have blazed new trails where no one seems to have gone before! I don't just mean the paths in the forest, my friends, because I have blazed paths into relationship faux-pas where none have gone, cut trail through 'new idea' territory that didn't end so well, and stumbled through some character choice pathways that some would never even consider traversing! What did I learn f...

I am not proud of those things I did 'before Christ', but there are things that taught me life lessons. There are things 'after Christ' in my life that have still been struggles and those things have taught me even bigger lessons. Lessons come in the oddest ways sometimes. I remember one lesson that came while holding a pen. Have you ever looked down, found you are using a really nice pen, then wondered, "Where did I pick this up?" Then, as quickly as you realize you have walked off with someone's pen, there is a twinge of guilt about having absconded with something which clearly does not belong to you! Or perhaps you have been in the grocery line, received a bundle of change from your purchase, then on the way to the car, you count it to make sure it is all there. To your surprise, there is an extra ten dollars in the mix! Some would face each situation with a triumphant, "SCORE!!!" Others would likely take a few moments to consider if anyo...

A farmer or rancher relies on his barn because it serves a variety of purposes. If he raises livestock, it can house the feed and provide shelter for an occasional animal from his herd. If he is a farmer, he may store his much needed farm implements within it and give shelter to his tractors. It could be it is a 'catch-all' for all the various tools of his trade, but without it those tools would be subject to the weather and loss. We may not fully realize or value the true value of the barn until it is in need of repair! My sad life's dilapidated, a falling-down barn; build me up again by your Word. (Psalm 119:28) Reduced to ruin or decay, that old barn is not going to be of much use to the farmer. It could have occurred due to neglect - the owners simply not making any investment into keeping it up. It may be a result of simple age because we all know nothing lasts forever. Or maybe it is just occurs because of a lack of resources - the owners unable to keep it up becau...

We all probably have heard some variation of the 'confession is good for the soul' terminology. The fact of the matter is that it is one of the most powerful 'actions' we take on behalf of our soul that actually begins to touch the souls of those around us. Being able to own up to your mistakes is hard, but there comes a time when the soul is changed by one simple confession. There is nothing that binds two people together in a more committed manner than being able to confess one's mistakes to the other. Too many times, we hold out for the other to come to the place of admitting they were wrong before we will take even one step in that direction. When we choose to do this, we alienate ourselves from that which will bring health to our own lives. It is in confession that we find healing. The first place of healing is at the foot of the cross - in confession we find deliverance. The next place we may need to make confession is at the feet of a friend - for in confess...

What does authenticity look like to you? When I see a classic  or historical era automobile restored to all the beauty it once had, parts gleaming and engine purring away without a sputter, I know someone has been hard at work. The work of restoration has cost them hours of endless polishing and patient fine tuning, but those parts that needed a little more restorative work, such as the finely sewn hand-tufted seats catch my attention the most. That level of intricate detail - the investment of such time and effort - this is what moves my heart as I behold the beauty of the whole. I wonder if God takes such a view of us? Looking at all those areas where he has invested such time and effort into creating every intricate detail and restoring it ever so carefully to the way we were designed. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart... (Jeremiah 1:5) God wants us to be authentic. There is nothing more disappointing than to see someone ...

Construction projects come in all forms. What is built is really determined by a few things such as how much someone is willing to invest, the place where the constructed item will rest, and what the purpose of the construction holds. We might not all see the constructed thing the same way, as some may look at an old barn and see a venue for weddings, or an old grain silo and see a new home for their family. The thing constructed can be 're-purposed' if it has the right attention and the right hands doing the work! All of us are capable of having 'constructed' many things in this lifetime, but none of what we construct measures up to what God can 're-construct' from our lives when they are firmly placed in his hands. What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin, while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life. (Proverbs 12:12 MSG) As I have pointed out before, that which is constructed sometimes needs to be deconstructed before it can be re...

James C. Maxwell is quoted as saying: "God uses people who fail - cause there aren't any other kind around." Good to know I am not in this thing alone! When did we start to look at failure as a bad thing, or better yet, when did we start to look at it as defining who or what someone actually is? Simon Peter, one of the twelve disciples Jesus came to call one of his closest companions while on this earth might have just thought of himself as a "failure" on occasion. Why? He did and said dumb stuff! He got himself in messes which Jesus had to bail him out of at times, and at others, he just couldn't "get it right" no matter how hard he thought about it. He slept when he should have been awake, had a hard time grasping what Jesus said at times, acted impulsively, wasn't always "kind" toward others, and even doubts his actions on occasion. Sounds a little like the words of a country song! Simon’s fishing partners, James and J...