The Plumbline

Hide or seek - do you remember the game? When we played it as kids, it was usually in the yard and we had to come up with clever hiding places behind shrubs, up on a tree limb, or maybe behind the trash can. The places weren't all that 'concealing', but they worked! We'd hide in the most obscure, hoping not to be found, but when we were, we would then become the seeker. Do you ever remember finding that one spot no one would ever imagine you'd hide and you'd be there until someone called 'all come free'? That spot in my yard was deep inside of this huge cypress tree. We had two of these teardrop shaped trees lining the driveway and they were huge. The inside left you totally obscured from sight, but it came with some risks. Have you any idea what lives inside those branches? Spiders, bees, hornets, just to name a few! The hiding was supreme, but the risks in the hiding were huge! “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men ...

If you ever have a hard time understanding some spiritual truth, or truth in general, you aren't alone. There are hundreds and hundreds of us in the same boat! We are always on the lookout for the next scam these days, simply because the untrue has become so prevalent. We find it has become insanely easy to sway people into buying a product, or in believing we mean the best for them if they will just give us a little bit of their time and money. The truth is in there somewhere most of the time, but we just have a really hard time seeing it. No, Microsoft has not employed hundreds of people to call our homes from unknown numbers to tell us they have detected something terribly wrong in our computer because of messages it has been sending them! No, the IRS is not about to issue a warrant for our arrest for tax fraud. No, the city of New York is not in possession of warrants for outstanding crimes we have committed and we don't need to contact the 'unknown' caller to pay t...

I always thought I'd enjoy learning how to ballroom dance. I like to watch the gracefulness of two people being so totally in sync with each other that they can just glide across the floor. If you have ever watched my try to dance, you will know I have absolutely no understanding of the concept of being led in the dance. I struggle with not getting ahead of the one who is leading! I don't know why that is, but maybe it is because I have never really had a dance partner that knew how to ballroom dance themselves! I have never been led by one who knows how to lead. Having the right lead in our lives goes way beyond the ballroom. Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to ...