The Plumbline

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT) Have you ever just sat down, kind of defeated because you 'gave in', and wondered when or if God would ever be finished 'sanctifying' your life? You return to an old way of acting, engage in a display of hurtful behavior, or just plain don't do what you knew was the right thing to do - then you just wallow in the 'when will this ever be different in me' kind of questioning. Take heart, dear ones, for God will CONTINUE his work UNTIL it is finally finished - but you can count on that to continue until he returns! We don't change overnight, although the work begins. We aren't transformed with a magic wand, but we do have supernatural power resident within us. We won't have our desires instantly changed, but we do sense there has been a shift in those desires. That is God at w...

As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength. (Psalm 138:3 NLT) Does it seem to you that 'as soon as you pray' is really a bit longer than 'as soon' as you pray? I have left prayers at the altar for quite some time, not really seeing the answer to those prayers. The thing I need to remember is that "with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). Could it be possible that my timing is really being measured by my time and not his? If God says he answers as soon as we pray - he does! If we are honest, we have set expectations as to 'when' and 'how' we want God to answer. The things set in motion when we pray may not be seen, though. We may not understand the 'how' because we don't understand the mysteries of the heavens. We may not appreciate the 'when' because we are judging God by our view of time and not his. Did you ever stop to consider that the str...