The Plumbline

Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide-open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. (Psalm 119:5-9 MSG) Have you been thinking that life has 'pushed you to the wall'? As a youngster, there were a couple of times when some bullies pushed me to the wall. I was scared and intimidated by their actions, but I did my best not to show that on the outside. I tried to portray myself as 'strong' and 'tough' in my own way, but I did a miserable job of actually 'standing strong' when push came to shove. I wanted so much to call out for a teacher to come to my rescue, but I had to appear 'tough', so I just took it. When we feel 'hemmed in' by life's challenges, it easy to feel like there is nowhere to turn, b...

Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. (Psalm 112:3, 7-8 NLT) Wouldn't it be nice to face our foes in triumph instead of always looking over our shoulders to see when the next attack will come? To stand in such confidence so as to not fear the schemes of our enemy the devil is definitely not something we could ever do under our own power or in our own strength. We must have an 'internal strength' that is sure and certain - something we cannot achieve as long as we want to live our lives outside of the protection that comes from knowing and serving Jesus Christ.  The godly don't fear the 'bad news' of the day - and we certainly receive more than our fair share of that these days, don't we? The 'bad news' is so prolific because the 'bad deeds' of so many is pretty prolific, as well. The event...