The Plumbline

Those who love Your law have an abundance of peace,  and nothing  along their paths  can cause them to stumble.  (Psalm 119:165 VOICE) How are things for you in the "peace" category?  Is your life kind of topsy-turvy right now, with waves almost crashing in on you to the point you feel about to capsize?  Or maybe it is a kind of "silent" unease you might be enduring - something within which just "isn't right" and you know it, but haven't been able to really put your finger on it yet.  There are moments in time when all seems to be "at ease" or "going well" on our lives - those are probably moments we'd describe as "being at peace".  Yet God describes a kind of peace which is abundant, not really conditional, and enduring.  This is the kind of peace his kids are to possess - because when they invite Jesus into their lives, they invite the King of Peace! One thing is pretty clear in David's writings - there i...

Your decrees inspire wonder; because of that, my soul desires to keep them.  When Your words are unveiled, light shines forth; they bring understanding to the simple.  My desire for Your commands left me waiting, open-mouthed and panting.  (Psalm 119:129-131 VOICE) Left waiting, open-mouthed and panting.  That certainly conjures up an image in our minds, does it not?  Do God's decrees (his words) inspire wonder in our minds, hearts, and spirits? Or have they become routine (mundane) and a little "dry"?  It is quite common to find the things we are most familiar with becoming "mundane" or "ordinary" in our minds and hearts.  I think a good, totally sappy movie on a Saturday afternoon is a real treat because it helps me to unwind and just get some much needed distraction or rest from the normal routine of the week.  When this Saturday afternoon "flick" turns into a binge-watching fest on Netflix, I begin to find I no lon...

" Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven ."  (Henry Ward Beecher) When was the last time you had a good cry?  Some may announce rather proudly, "It hasn't been since I was a small boy", or perhaps "It was a long, long time ago."  Others would speak of the recent weeks, sharing some story of how life dealt them a blow they just found no other recourse to deal with it than to break down and cry a little.  I'd have to say my last "good cry" has been a while, but there have been tears - of joy, stemming from laughter; of gratitude, emerging from that deep place of worship; and of grief, seeing someone I love hurt so deeply because of some pain they are enduring they cannot seem to overcome. It isn't the amount of tears shed as much as the things which evoked those tears to emerge! These are the things we will recount more than the tears. Those who walk the fields to sow, casting their seed in tears, will one day ...