The Plumbline

The Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai: "Nineveh is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things.” But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. He went to Joppa and found a boat that was going to the faraway city of Tarshish. Jonah paid money for the trip and went on the boat. He wanted to travel with the people on this boat to Tarshish and run away from the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3) Have you ever tried to run away from God? If you are anything like Jonah, chances are there have been times when God has asked you to do something you didn't agree with, nor did you actually 'want' to do. It comes as no surprise to God that we would actually 'resist' when things aren't exactly as we thought they should be, or that he has a different plan than what we may have laid out for ourselves. It should also not surprise us that God knows when we will resist because our 'opinion' o...

A huge storm of emotional upset, physical pain, or even relational conflict - could it be a sign of our disobedience? After boarding the ship to Tarshish, in clear disobedience to what God had asked Jonah to do, there comes a huge storm - rocking and tossing the ship every which way. Amazingly, Jonah is able to sleep deep down in the hull of the ship, almost 'sailing through' the calamity his disobedience seems to be bringing into the lives of the others around him! Have you ever stopped to consider this part of the story of Jonah? As I read this passage today, I had to stop and pause over this one because running away from God is seldom the answer to our problems and it creates problems for others in our lives. The harder and farther we attempt to run, the worse the problems seem to be magnified in our lives. Try as we might, God really cannot be escaped! There is just no hiding place from God! Then they grilled him: "Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Wher...

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...

Race:  Urgent need, responsibility, or effort as when time is short or a solution is imperative.  Usually we think of a race as some contest of speed - the faster someone is, the more likely we are to think they might actually "win" the race.  I found this less common definition of "race" this morning and wanted to share it with you because I think it connects some dots for us. You see, we all run.  How well run is often determined by our "interpretation" of the need to run!  If we have a bear charging at us, intent on making us his supper, we might just run like our life depended on it, right?  If we are told by the doctor to get a little more exercise, such as running a mile a day, we might just have a different "interpretation" of the need!  The crux of the defining moment is in what we see as the "intensity" of need.   You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athlete...

Did you ever stop to think about what it means to be "spirit-begotten"?  I have taken a couple of opportunities to focus on this idea of being "begotten" and just what "family line" has to do with the type of person we are declared to be.  Notice I said "declared to be".  If we are to be the type of people we are declared to be, we have to stop walking in the old patterns and start walking in the new.  For example, if a prisoner is to be set free from a jail cell after 20 years in confinement, he must learn what it like to have freedoms of his own.  He doesn't have the same degree of restrictions his bondage kept him in.  He has new freedoms which he may pursue - not just think about. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run  with perseverance  the race marked out for us,   2  fixing our eyes on Jesus,  the p...

I have a friend who is into running - she does marathons - long ones, at that!  Goodness, running all those miles and doing it over and over again - it just amazes me what some people have the ability to do when they put their minds to it.  Most remarkably, she is a runner with a cause - she runs her marathons in dedication to those children who suffer from leukemia.  Now, we could take a lesson from my friend, couldn't we?  We could learn to "run" instead of being "sedentary" - and we could learn to do it with a purpose instead of haphazardly! I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending f...