The Plumbline

Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have “arrived”, spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honor of being called by God in Christ. (Philippians 3:14) It probably comes as no surprise to some of us that goals get set and then somewhere down the line, they get 'unset' or 'unrecognized'. Some will have been too lofty or unrealistic, so we set smaller ones. Others will simply have been reliant upon someone else to do their part and since they didn't, we had to abandon them. Either way, the goals didn't end in the results we had hoped for. What do we do when what we had planned doesn't work out as we expected it to in the end? We migh...

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. (Rabindranath Tagore) Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) Way back when I was in Bible College, I was asked to present a paper on the topic, "What is faith?" Now, less you think I might have received a good grade on that paper, I would like to report I received a great big "C" on that work. Passing, but lacking. What I came to discover as "lacking" in that paper was anything of substance from my own experience. It was 'theologically sound', but it lacked anything that actually described the effects of faith, the resulting change faith brings, or any such 'experiential' component of faith. Faith IS more than just a theological 'thing' that is needed for a man or woman to enter into relationship with God. Faith IS more than a hope of something more - it is the very thing that helps us to walk out thi...

I cannot help but recall the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson as he penned, "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." When scientists try to explain the creation without the inclusion of a Creator, it is hard for me to understand that way of thinking. The greatness, power, glory, and majesty of the Creator are displayed in brilliance in all he has created - the universe, this earth, our bodies, and even our souls. We might not understand how God made all of this out of a formless void - bringing life from within the darkness of that void - but his power is way beyond our understanding anyway! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. (I Chronicles 29:11) God isn't going to create and then leave his creation to figure it all out on their own. He is right here, overseeing a...

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. (I Corinthians 1:18, 20-21) Human wisdom only goes so far. Divine wisdom gets beneath the surface to see the crux or intention of that which is being considered. If God had relied upon human wisdom to share the message of hope that is inherent in the cross and resurrection of Christ, we'd still be trying to analyze it and find ways to poke holes in the 'theory' of the cross. Oh, wait...we ARE still debating the validity of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection, aren't we? Human minds will never be able to comprehend the fully divine side of Jesus coming to this earth, taking on human form, and then being the perfect sacrifice fo...

OUR strength is often what we call willpower or the desire to act one way when the other is the choice we make most often. The truth be told, our ability or talent is way too over-estimated, and our strength is way too small. Proverbs 24:10 reminds us, "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small." Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31) God's strength is for the weary and the weak. Not sure if I should admit this or not, but that is me! It is not for those who hav...

You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:25-26) As report after report shines light on some fraud, abuse, or disastrous plan that had been hatched, we might just find ourselves feeling a little overwhelmed by the fear that these reports have a way of creating within the hearts of millions these days. We might feel more than a little angst as to whether we will receive our regular income from our job or retirement funds. We could be wondering how we will be able to afford necessary healthcare if this plan or that one folds. We might even be feeling a little dread over what comes next on the agenda of whoever holds the power of the day. We must never lose sight of one thing - God is still in control, even when we don't see his hand, it is still directing the course of our lives. God's 'advice' to us is to stop being afraid. He wil...

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. (Proverbs 3:3-4) Loyalty and kindness are certainly not the things we see 'delivered' today in so many interactions with others, are they? We find a lot of backstabbing in politics, many rumors flying about the lives and choices of various celebs, and just plain bad manners on our highways and byways at times. Is it possible our culture has forgotten these two 'hallmarks' of "ONE NATION UNDER GOD"? Write them deep within your heart. Perhaps this is where our departure from simple kindness and unyielding loyalty began - we neglected to hide God's word deep within our hearts. Favor with God took backseat to favor with others. Favor with others seems to only be important if they can 'do' something for us. We forgot that our neighbor is our friend...

Ronald Reagan reminded us, "We are never defeated unless we give up on God." So many times, we announce that we are 'defeated' in one sense or another, not realizing that our real problem is that we 'gave up' on something God told us to hold onto. We actually give up on him because the road got a bit too bumpy, or the issues got a little tougher to handle than we wanted to deal with. The real issue is that we aren't the ones dealing with those issues - he is - we just couldn't wait to see how he'd handle them! 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. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Whenever we seek to understand things through what our own mind interprets, we are missing what only our spirit can understand. The ways of God are very often beyond what our mind can comprehend - we need the Spirit of God, working on our spirit, to help us understand fully what...

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. (Martin Luther) Luther also told us to 'pray and let God worry'. Maybe one of the hardest things for us to come to appreciate is how much we like to worry and really don't take that worry to God until we are all 'worried out'. Jesus reminds us, "So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:31-34) Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace - not in our own ability or intelligence. It isn't about what we CAN do as much as it is ab...

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12) A little earlier in this chapter, we are told that 'if we don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father' and perhaps this is the best advice we could have when it relates to facing 'testing challenges' in life. There are far more times we face those challenges without a clear plan on how to 'handle' the challenge. We want to make it through unscathed, but we know that a whole bunch of stuff is about to be unleashed, and we are in for a whopper of a 'beat down' if we don't get some clarity quickly. At that moment, we can meet it head-on, but to do so without God's perspective on the matter would be sheer foolishness. The testing challenge may be what reveals to us just how deep our loyalty is to God. It is where the rubber meets the road in our faith walk,...

 Seek good and not evil— and live! You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend. Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen. Hate evil and love good, then work it out in the public square (Amos 514-15) What we seek we frequently find. I have put things away so carefully in a cleaning spree only to find i cannot find them when I really need them! That results in a whole lot of seeking that really wasn't all that necessary. I should have remembered where it was, having been the one to put it there. We don't know all the things God has put somewhere with the intention of us finding them, do we? He puts them specifically where he shows us to seek for them. All we need to do is seek! If we knew what he had prepared, would we hesitate to seek? Not likely. We'd seek with all our heart and soul. God has prepared a deep and meaningful relationship with him, yet we seem to struggle with putting forth the effort to find that depth. We might get closer to f...

Perhaps one of your new year's resolutions was to worry less and trust God more. If you made that one, you are definitely not alone. It is human nature to worry over things - what to do, where to go, who to see, when it will be done, and on we worry. The more we worry, the less we trust - the more we cast that worry on Jesus, the less it will consume our every thought, plan, and action! Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. (John 14:1) The 'command' is pretty specific - DON'T BE TROUBLED. I imagine God emphasizing that one to us, so I made it all caps! The troubles of this world are so many and seem to mount with each passing day. It almost seems we barely get past yesterday's troubles before new ones are on the horizon. When our eyes are on the troubles we observe around us, we cannot see the glory God has laid out for us. His watchful eye sees far better than ours ever do, so maybe it is time to do as he says and stop being 'troubled' over thi...

 Fear can be a trap, but if you trust in the Lord, you will be safe. (Proverbs 29:25) If you have ever been "trapped" by fear, you know just how debilitating it can become. It almost imprisons you. You can barely take a step forward because it paralyzes you. It sends you down roads you never wanted to travel. As one fearful choice leads to another, you are trapped in a downward spiral. As long as that remains your focus, your path will always be DOWNWARD. Notice that fear CAN be a trap, but it doesn't have to be one! What fear does is redirect our focus off of God and his goodness by placing all our focus on the issue or the perception we begin to entertain in our minds. Most of what we fear is made up of a conglomerate of emotions to either a perceived or real threat. Fear saps our energies and sends our emotions into a real tizzy. Trusting in God requires a redirection of our focus. Downward is never God's location. He always moves us upward. Wherever our focus rema...

Come, let us bow down and worship him! Let us kneel before the Lord who made us. He is our God, and we are the people he cares for,  his sheep that walk by his side . (Psalm 95:6-7) We have been looking into the life of Noah, a man known for his obedience to God and one who stands out for us as a man of 'great faith'. "Noah was warned by God about things that he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith ." (Hebrews 11:7) We might not feel our faith is all that 'great' at times, but if God asked us to do something kind of 'way out there', would we believe it possible God would guide us throughout the task? If we did believe that way, we'd take the steps toward ultimate obedience into all that God asks of us because we'd be assured of his plans, even when we don...

If you found yourself in the belly of a whale, do you suspect you'd be kind of glad to be free from that 'chamber of horror'? The account of Jonah continues with the fish 'vomiting' him up onto dry land. Do you know how close to dry land a whale can actually get? It usually isn't right up to the shoreline, is it? When God does miracles to redeem us from the folly of our rebellion and sin, don't be surprised when he does things completely outside of the realm of 'normal'! Then the Lord spoke to Jonah again and said,  “Go to that big city Nineveh, and say what I tell you.” So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. A person had to walk for three days to travel through it. Jonah went to the center of the city and began speaking to the people. He said, “After 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jonah 3:1-4) The call was difficult enough, but the 'journey' to actually act upon that call was likely more difficult than...

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. (Corrie Ten Boom) Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me. (Psalm 23:4) In the midst of some of your darkest moments, how hard is it to just sit still and trust? Do you find yourself trying to figure out a way to somehow change the circumstances, so you don't have to be in the darkness any longer? Do you chafe in the waiting? If you find yourself in a dark place right now, take heart because God is likely moving you from one place to another and you just don't know the destination yet! The dark place may actually be a tunnel - the train needs the tunnel to go through 'immovable' objects in its path, doesn't it? There are lots of 'immovable' objects in our path that seem to only create challenges we don't know how to overcome. Did you stop to c...

God is very powerful, but he does not hate people. He is very powerful, but he is also very wise. He will not let evil people live. He brings justice to the poor. He watches over those who live right. He lets them rule in high places. (Job 36:5-7) There are times when we stand back in wonder, pondering how it is that evil can get such an advantage in this world. We might not see God's forces at work because the evil just seems to 'outdo' what we see God doing, but we can rest assured what we don't see is the legions God has moving to overtake evil! God is wise and we need to trust his timing. Sometimes evil abounds, but he still protects those who serve him and love him with their whole hearts. God doesn't hate people, but people respond to evil's pull and influence sometimes more rapidly than they do God's beckoning call to abandon sin. It is easy to get caught up with the movement of the crowds and neglect to see there are some faithful servants of ...

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. (Corrie Ten Boom) Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. (Proverbs 3:5-6) How well we know God will determine how well we are able to trust him when things are going a little 'willy-nilly' in our lives. We cannot develop trust in the moment - it is developed in the long haul. The more we put into this relationship with Jesus, getting to know him better and better with each passing day, the more we will trust him with 'willy-nilly' seems to be the agenda of the day. With every step we take, do we focus on what God wants, or what comes naturally or the easiest? If we are honest here, there are times when we are faced with the two choices, and we don't always choose wisely. For example, when a person drops some bomb on us, words meant to undo us or cause us to enter into an argument, do we foc...

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. (Psalm 73:25-26) How's your health? If you are anything like me, you answer that one with 'fair to midland' - you aren't ailing really, but you have a few aches and pains that get you down from time to time. Physical health may fail, our bodies may grow weary, and our minds fatigue with age, but God's gift to us is that our 'spiritual heart' will never grow weak or weary. When the desire of our heart is God first and everything else after that, our hearts are going to be pretty 'healthy'. God's spiritual strength can abide with us even when our physical strength wanes. We might not be up to winning any hundred-yard dashes at our age, but one thing is for certain - we aren't going to succumb to the pressures of our enemy, either! We have God on our side and that ...

Fear is a powerful emotion that some say can actually paralyze you - putting you in total "stall mode" while the world moves on around you.  If you have ever experienced that heart-pounding, sweaty palms, shaky legs kind of fear, you know just how many scenarios run through your head making it almost impossible to exercise clear or rational thought at that moment.  Fear produces an anxiety response physically - it just isn't the emotional upheaval going on inside our heads.   When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me! I praise God for his promise to me. (Psalm 56:3-4) Scripture comes complete with stories of men and women in positions of great peril, emotional upheaval, and even life-threatening circumstances of both their own and others doing.  We all struggle with similar emotions and the physical responses which come along with them.  We don't stand as uniquely "different" when it comes to the li...