The Plumbline

Have you ever been looking so hard for something, only to find it was right there in front of you? I have struggled to find a particular tool when I most needed it, only to have my grandson walk in a couple weeks later and hold it up right from where it always was (the exact spot it was supposed to be in the first place). We even do this with God - knowing he was supposed to be right there, but unable to see that he is. I imagine all of us have stood at one time or another just wondering how some people could ignore that God is right there in their circumstances - but they are just too stubborn or blind to see it - us included. They know they should heed the warnings they have received, but they plunge full-force into whatever seems to be what will give them the "immediate" thrill of the moment, or with some 'scheme' that will 'make do' because they want an easier way of doing things. Then they (and we) complain when things don't work out! It is possible t...

Moments of hardship and trouble don't always seem like the things we will learn from, do they? As a matter of fact, we'd like to dis-enroll from the "school of hard knocks" and "difficult lessons", wouldn't we? We struggle, muddling through the bad stuff, until we can ultimately say that we "made it through". We don't get a diploma or certificate of completion to show we made it through, but we have learned a lesson or two that we probably were desperate to learn in our lives! The ride was tough, but the journey was well worth it. My troubles turned out all for the best—they forced me to learn from your textbook. Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine. (Psalm 119:71-72) David reminds us frequently that the hard times forced him to learn from God's textbook - the Word - and they can do the same for us, as well. It almost goes without saying, but we find ourselves in the midst of a moment of indecisio...

Have you ever been deprived of something you depend on? We depend on water to renew our bodies, oxygen to keep our cells renewed, and a certain set of vitamins/minerals to help us stay strong. We depend on these things because they are essential to the health and well-being of our body. I remember wrestling with my brother as a kid and being 'deprived' of 'breath' a few times. He is actually eleven years older, so it was never really a "fair" wrestling match whenever we 'went at it', but I loved to be with him! He'd pin me down with his full body weight, tickling me until the tears came, and I would find myself laughing so hard that'd I almost felt like I'd lose my breath at any moment. I'd wriggle harder, trying to escape his clutch. He'd just tickle more! The end of those 'matches' left me so elated, but gasping for breath. I wasn't really being deprived of breath, but it was close! Don't ever deprive me of truth, ...