The Plumbline

Thomas Edison reminds us, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." God reminds us, "...let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."  (Galatians 6:9) How close are you to giving up on something right now? We have lots and lots of dreams as we are growing up, but how many of them are really fulfilled in the course of time? It is quite likely that some dreams get put on the back burner, while we go about pursuing other things that present themselves as 'more important' for that season of our life. Do we ever get back to those dreams? I daresay some of them are never revisited, while rare few others are finally pursued at some point. Truth be told, we might not realize just how close we were to a breakthrough when we decided it was time to give up. Giving up is really a means of escaping something that is kind of har...

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. (Isaiah 6:1) In the times King Uzziah reigned, Isaiah is given a vision of the heavenly realm -imagine it - heavens open and you have full view of the most awesome things you have ever experienced. He is escorted into the "throne room" of the Most High - the very place of God's presence. What catches his attention first? It is the "robe" of the King of Kings - God's 'clothes'. This robe is so long it fills the Temple! That is quite some robe - it fills the very space God's presence is felt and experienced! Even the longest wedding veil I have ever seen did not fill more than the aisle of the church! I have admired some of the most beautiful quilts over the years. Depending on the occasion for which the quilt was created, there have been the traditional patchwork types with pieces of varying colors and fabrics stitc...

Gonna meddle a bit this morning, but who doesn't meddle once in a while? How many times do we see someone struggling and then turn the other way, ignoring the struggle because it would get 'too messy' if we got in the middle of their muddle? How about the times we see someone about to jump off some cliff in life that you know will just leave them all messed up and we just shake our heads as we watch them take the leap? If we are to be honest here, we have all likely been in the position of seeing someone about to 'fall into sin' and then found it has become fodder for 'gossip' and 'poking fun' at that individual. Why do we point out the sin of others instead of stepping in to help them be restored? It could be us there one day, my friends. How would you like someone to respond if the tables were turned? Just a little food for thought here, but I think we all might like to have someone come to our aid rather than poke fun at our failure or find fault ...

Victory! What does this term mean to you? Perhaps it means you have succeeded in something you never thought you'd be able to complete, or that you triumphed over something that held you back in life. Maybe it carries the idea of having achieved superiority to your enemy - no longer having to engage that enemy in battle because you have been declared "victorious" over that enemy. If we look at this in the truest sense, any victory is really a sense of achievement where an advantage is attained and maintained. There is something in the one who is victorious that screams, "I have overcome!" There was an obstacle in your way and now that obstacle no longer stands as any impediment to your progress or success in life. I wonder just how many obstacles God has removed for us without us even knowing they were gone - allowing us to walk victoriously in areas we never really had any idea how to overcome? Only through God can we be successful. It is God alone who will...

The moment we realize we are in the thick of the fight, we can begin to waver a little bit in our faith, can't we? Being on the outside looking in isn't all that intimidating, but being right there in the middle of the fight - well that is a different matter all together! God rarely calls us into spectator faith - he wants us involved! That means we will get our hands dirty on occasion, and that we won't always be able to be observers. There will be times we must step up, be the one to take on the enemy, and then to push on through until we see the enemy turn tail and run. At other times, we will be called to fight to the death - not ours - the enemy we face off with will be the one to meet their end. There is no middle-ground in this Christianity thing - either we are in it or not! When they had them all there in front of Joshua, he called up the army and told the field commanders who had been with him, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." The...

Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out . (Edwin Markham)  Most of us would agree with the idea of victory sending us into places of awesome praise and tremendous celebration. Those who win some major sporting event will jump up and down, slap each other on the back, whoop, holler, and even cry in awe at having "done it". The tremendous release of emotion can almost overwhelm, but the sense of "high" which was celebrated with such passion cannot live on, for the moment will pass, memories will remain, but the moment is now behind. On the other hand, one walks away from the "win" as the defeated. Is it possible they could celebrate in similar fashion, for out of the things that shake our very souls can come greatness and character formation not quite found in the moment of gleeful victory?   In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. Wh...

I have admired some of the most beautiful quilts over the years.  Depending on the occasion, there have been the traditional patchwork types with pieces of varying colors and fabrics stitched close together in no particular order.  Then there are the others which show a pattern, with great care taken in placing each piece so as to continue the pattern with each new row of material pieces added.  The traditional wedding ring quilts show the concentric rings intertwined, symbolizing the joining to two into one.  Regardless of the "pattern", they are a thing of beauty.  Today, we will look at something of a "patchwork" quilt of another kind. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple.   (Isaiah 6:1 The Message) In the times King Uzziah reigned, Isaiah is given a vision of the heavenly realm.  He is escorted into the "throne room" of the Most High.  There, he ...

24  When they had them all there in front of Joshua, he called up the army and told the field commanders who had been with him, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings."  They stepped up and put their feet on their necks.   25  Joshua told them, "Don't hold back. Don't be timid. Be strong! Be confident! This is what  God  will do to all your enemies when you fight them." (Joshua 10:24-25) Joshua was going up against one army after another as Israel is coming into possession of their promised land - Canaan.  One of the tribes of Israel, Gibeon, was in serious trouble with enemy kings surrounding them.  Not just one army attacking, but five Amorite kings had mustered their military might and had surrounded Gibeon!  Ever feel like Gibeon?  Surrounded on all sides and ready to send up the white flag?   The men of Gibeon send word to Joshua that they are surrounded and require his immediate intervention.  Joshua h...