The Plumbline

Billy Graham left us with this thought: "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost." So many people put more trust in what they have amassed on this earth than they do on what will be their fate in the afterlife. Wealth can be lost in the blink of an eye, but with enough tenacity and hard work, one can 'make back' some of this physical wealth. Health might rob us of our dignity, strength, and even our humor, but it never fully robs us of what we have stored up in the way of memories. Character, on the other hand, carries a heavy loss. Families, friends, fame, and sometimes even faith can be crushed when someone falls into 'ill-repute'. There are no high walls of safety in this world until we enter into the walls of our Savior's arms! The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes h...

“God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life. They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them. And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain. Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?” (Job 24:22-25) They may rise high. That about says it all. Mankind plots and schemes, attempting to outwit each other and in turn, outwit God. I am not surprised by mankind's folly, but I am always amused by how much 'climbing' and 'clamoring' there is to reach 'the top'. When the 'top' is finally reached, those who did all that clamoring stand at least a little bit disappointed - if not immediately, at least in the end. Why? There is always going to be something 'more' to go after because nothing really fills that void in one's spirit that is intended for God's presence. They are great now. Yet, their end ...

  5-6 Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit." (John 3:5-6) Yesterday we began to look at the question, "Is a person saved once and then always eternally secure?" (better known as Once Saved, Always Saved).  Today, we will develop a better understanding of what happens once you have accepted the Lord as your personal Savior.  We have a whole lot of terms for this action - inviting Jesus into your heart, making him Lord of your life, being saved, etc.  We looked at the fact that our "salvation experience" is a one-time expe...

  9-10   God 's a safe-house for the battered,       a sanctuary during bad times.    The moment you arrive, you relax;       you're never sorry you knocked.  (Psalm 9:9-10) There are many walking this earth today that feel that they are persistently beaten down - worn out by hard or unnecessary abuse.  They have suffered repeated blows to their ego, emotions, or physical well-being.  The repeated blows have made damage that seems to do nothing more than place on display the defects of our lives.  David probably was feeling a little of this with all the things he was dealing with as King of Israel, the anointed of God.   What?  The anointed of God, the one hand-chosen by God, felt beaten down, abused, emotionally spent, like his life mattered for little in the scheme of things?  Yep!  Nowhere in scripture is it recorded that David was any less of a "human bei...