The Plumbline

Mind, will, and emotions - a man's heart - all three engage in a kind of "war" at times - confusing us beyond measure so often.  We work with our minds to figure out solutions to problems, creating complex schemes about how this catastrophe or that crisis might be averted.  Our will challenges us with desires that captivate our attention and focus our drive.  Then we get all muddled up in the plethora of emotions we can muster depending on the situation, our general sense of "threat" or "enjoyment", or the amount of sleep we had the night before!  No wonder we get all messed up!  With these three powerful things working against each other at times, it is easy to see how we can get our wires crossed and find ourselves being charged up and going in the totally wrong direction. With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow. (Proverbs 3:5-6 CEV) After ...

There are times we question authority in our lives - this is just part and parcel with who we are as human beings.  I don't think we come out of the womb determined to questions authority, but I do believe we have all the "necessary" characteristics that lend to this state.  For example, we have free will, so the matter of choice is ours.  We have independent thought, so the ability to think and reason often presents the challenge to authority we may be engaged in.  Regardless of the "means" by which we challenge it, our desires are pretty much the same - we want to "stand alone", having no one tell us what to do, and to be "free" of the "rules" of another.  I am so grateful Jesus was not this way!  If had come to earth with this "independent" spirit, can you even imagine what a mess we'd be in today?  If he decided to act upon his own will, thinking things through as he sees them without listening to what his Father ...

Back in the day, cities were surrounded by walls - some wood, others a combination of wood and stone.  Walls provided a means of defending the city.  There could be a couple sets of walls - each thoroughly encircling the city and several feet separating the outer from inner wall.  Those who might want to do harm to those living within those walls were only able to do so if they could find a way past those walls.  Therefore, the integrity of the walls was quite important.  Broken down walls almost always ensured a city in ruins and with a people just too tired or lazy to do the repairs.  The land within the walls could have huge potential - as could the people - but the potential remained untapped simply because there were no defenses.  A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls - no real defensive stand can be taken if you lack self-control. A person without self-control  is like a house with its doors and windows kno...

Wars, quarrels, wanting our own way, lusting for what we don't have, but probably also don't need - sound like society today?  If you said "yes", you are probably observing some of the same things I am.  The problem, as James explains it so aptly, is the "war within" each of us - wanting things we really don't need or things which will eventually be our undoing.  Life deals us all kinds of options - learning how to sort through those options is imperative to living well.  James also warns us with getting so close to the things this world has to offer that we stray dangerously close to the line of compromise all the time.  A couple of weeks ago, I commented about how my pastor spoke about being in the world, but not of it.  His illustration was that of a thermometer and a thermostat.  As Christians, we are to be thermostats - controlling the temperature of the culture around us, not being thermometers who just "adjust" to the temperature the cu...

How many of us have a hard time saying "no" to ourselves?  It might present the opportunity in the department store when the latest fashions hit the rack, or perhaps when we see the advertisement on the television touting the next best invention to make life easier for all of mankind.  Maybe it presents itself when we open the pantry and fridge only to tell ourselves there is nothing "good" to eat in the house, launching us into our cars and on our way to the Dairy Queen.  Oh, don't get me wrong, the pantry and fridge weren't empty - they were stocked almost to overflowing - there was just not something which tickled our fancy at the moment.  I haven't driven a car in over two weeks due to my knee replacement - something I haven't had to "forsake" since I started driving in my teen years.  This makes fulfilling my every whim and fancy just a little more difficult right now!  It almost forces me to make better decisions - because even my gr...

Maybe you have never really stopped to consider why it is you rejoice over certain things in your life, or perhaps you haven't really stopped to rejoice in a long while.  Either way, you are missing the point of praise - it is an expression of your heart, and it is in response to something or someone. Therefore, it has to be intentional and purposeful in order to really be called praise - anything else is really just flattery! Rejoice out loud to God, our strength!  (Psalm 81:1 CEB) Strength comes from God and is found in him.  It is a two-way gift.  It comes FROM him - a provision in a time of need.  It is also found IN him - a provision which keeps us when we are just plain unaware a need even exists.  As we place ourselves at his disposal, in purposeful and intentional worship, we exchange our strength for his.  We are moving from a place of weakness to a place of victory - for nothing can stand against what is provided by him! For this is req...

Power:  the capability of doing or accomplishing something; strength, might or force; the possession of control or command over something or someone; authority.  If you have ever been in the midst of a terrible wind or lightning storm and had your power go off for a while, you know the helplessness of being caught in the total darkness in an unsettling time.  Imagine what it would be like to live this way all the time.  Nobody wants to live powerless. We all want to be able to exercise some element of power in our lives - even in the times of terrible storm and feelings of helplessness.  Why do you think we light the candle in the darkness?  It doesn't illuminate much and it won't dispel the storm, but it gives us enough sense of "power" over the darkness to help us navigate the storm! But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you... (Acts 1:8 NLT) In life, we find many things "drive" us, but few energize, refresh, and restore like havi...

Some of us have no problem pointing out the insincere action of others, but let them point out one of ours and watch out!  That's meddling!  There is one bumper sticker which absolutely drives me nuts, not so much because the message is incorrect, but because so many people see it as a way of excusing bad behavior.  Wonder what that sticker says?  "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven!"  Yep, you got it!  I think some of our friends in this wide world in which we drive see this as an excuse for our continued behavior, more than reading the underlying truth within the saying.  Yet, if we look closely at scripture, we see Paul saying just about the same thing, but just with more words. Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an a...

When I was a child, the original "Doctor Doolittle" movie was released.  I was caught up in the mystery of how this amazing doctor could actually communicate with the animals.  One animal fascinated me, though.  It was the "Pushmi-Pullyu" (Push-me-Pull-you).  This "creature" had two heads - one at each end of the body - with really no tail at all.  It was kind of a llama of sorts, but with two head portions sharing one body.  Every single time it tried to move, it tried to go ahead in two opposite directions!  Now, does anyone else see the dilemma here?  When we are being pulled in one direction, it makes it almost impossible to move forward in the other! Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!   You can't worship two ...

Absolutely no one is immune to suffering.  Whether it is physical, mental, or emotional in nature, human nature just lends itself to suffering.  We cannot escape the fact - some suffering is brought on by our own doing!  Other times, it is completely out of our control.  The hardest thing to deal with is the type of suffering brought on by our own doing.  We often associate a sense of guilt and shame to our own failures, compounding the suffering any wrong choice, thought, or emotional attachment we may be going through. Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.  (I Peter 4:1-2 The Message) Peter's instruction to us in the midst of our suffering is to learn to think like Jesus.  ...

My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!— insatiable for your nourishing commands.  (Psalm 119:20 The Message) Most of us have never really experienced starvation or intense hunger in the physical sense.  Yes, we might have missed a meal or two, but the intensity of being "under-nourished" for weeks on end is something we rarely experience in most developed societies today.  In fact, what we call "hunger" is simply a "reminder" from our brain that regular intake is required! To be hungry means that we have a desire or craving for intake.  To be starved takes it one notch up - it carries the idea of being on the verge of perishing from being under-nourished.  The idea of being ravenous speaks of intensity - to be intensely eager to be satisfied.  Now, let's break that down a little.   David lays out three different "states" of soul condition here.  The first is the simple "niggling" within our mind, will, and emotions that we nee...

  25-27 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise. (Galations 3:25-27) Direct relationship with God - made possible by the blood sacrifice of Christ - is ours today.  We can really "live" in his presence - have a life rich in every worthwhile experience, driven by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Paul has just finished telling his readers that they are no longer to spend all their time and energies gratifying the works of the flesh, but to live according to the Spirit of God that energizes them within.  To gratify is to give pleasure to - give satisfaction to through indulging in - to give into sin's pull and the mind's lusts.  Paul says we are free of that now that we are Christ's. A man's nature is defined ...