The Plumbline

"Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.” (Joshua 1:9) I was reminded of this verse today as I listened to that song by Hillsong Worship, "Never Walk Alone". The chorus speaks volumes:  I have never walked alone; I’ve never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield; and I have confidence. You go before me; You’re my deliverer - I know I never walk alone.  Never walked alone - not gonna start now. Never abandoned - why should I think I might be left behind now? I have an inheritance beyond my imagining - not on this earth, but into all of eternity. My strength won't falter - my protector is at my side. I can stand assured because if God is with me, nothing (and I mean nothing) is gonna get me down! Too many times we walk what I will refer to as a kind of 'incongruent' life. We are kind of timid when we should be standing strong. We get down on ourselves and heap gui...

I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. (Ephesians 4:1-3) A new year dawns and you likely are either skeptical anything great will come out of this two-year battle against this pandemic, or you are counting on something great to come from all the new research and break-throughs in medicine that may help. Some will celebrate the hopefulness of 'building back' our country again, while others will bemoan the fact they don't like the present political policies. There will be families enthused about their commitment to eat right, while others will find exercise to be the ticket on their 'resolution p...