The Plumbline

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “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. (Matthew 6:27-33) Changes come and changes go. We cannot control them, nor can we escape them. To worry over them is simply not productive. Jesus says this type of "worrying" or "creation of emotional chaos" in our lives because of the freque...

Times come when we might just feel like things are spinning a little out of control - or at least out of our control. Those times can be disconcerting and might just send us into a tailspin if we don't maintain the right focus. There are always moments in each day when I cry out a short prayer to Jesus just because things seem to be creeping in that are capable of disturbing the control which has been maintained - because I don't want that control to go to anyone else other than him! Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend. (Psalm 5:2-3) Some days just seek like chaos is created wherever we go. Yet, if we look closely, the very thing that is the same in each of those situations is US. Where we are, there is chaos. True that it may be that God brings good stuff out of chaos, we don't want to be the thing creating that chaos. Some of us feel like all that God is up to in and a...

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  ( Philippians 4:8   NLT ) In a time with so much negative input through media of all sorts, it is imperative that we not lose our perspective on just exactly who remains in control. It has never ceased to be Jesus - for he holds all things together by his word. It has never once veered from the course of justice - for his reign demands nothing else. We can get caught up in the hype of the moment, distracted by all the violence and protests, or we can redouble our efforts to remember God is able to turn the circumstances of even the worst imaginable conclusion into something no one ever expected.  Don't believe me? I would only have to remind you of a very hot, fiery furnace of old, where four men were planned for their final fate. The day they stepped into t...

Ever been in a place some might call a real "brouhaha"?  You know what I mean - the place in your life where everywhere you turn, it is like total conflict.  It could be conflict all created by your own mind and soulish desires, or it could be external to you, but affecting your life nonetheless.  It is that place where someone or something is lying in wait for that moment when the attack will be just right to take you down.  It is as though things are on a slow boil up to a point, then all of a sudden the boil begins to roll and steams begins to build.  At that point, what do you do?  For most of us, it is too late to do much because when it finally builds to that point, it is harder and harder for us to find peace, get a clear picture of what is happening, or even call a retreat from it.  We are there for the duration - simply because we didn't know how to avoid the conflict in the first place! I am pleading with the Eternal for this one thing,...