The Plumbline

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12) Ever stop to think why God created seed-bearing plants and trees? Why a seed? Why not just have them grow some other way? It is a principle of 'creation' and one of 'reproduction'. The seed plant or tree was originally created, but the plan for reproduction was meant to show that the life 'created' was to be sustained and multiplied. It wasn't supposed to be a one-time deal - plant born, tree born, then they die off never to be seen again. There is a great deal of potential in the seed - growth from the seed represents the poss...

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10) With so many changes coming at rapid-fire succession around the world, we might want to crawl in a hole and just hide out until the dust settles, but that isn't God's plan. His plan is to protect the lives of his godly people - allowing them to be at peace in unsettling times. We may not realize just how much God wants his people to be 'at peace'. It begins with being at peace with him, one another, then the issues we face as humans on this earth. When that peace gets disturbed, we begin to allow all manner of doubts, untruth, and troubling thoughts to consume our minds, influence our emotions, and bring illness into our lives. Rather than fearing evil, we must learn to hate it without embracing its influence! The power of the wicked is limited. We all need to hear that one and remember it whenever we are inundated on every side by th...

Be kind and honest and you will live a long life; others will respect you and treat you fairly.  (Proverbs 21:21) Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. (Dennis Prager) Aesop told us, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Being kind and honest may not seem like actions that can move mountains, but I believe with all my heart as Aesop did, no good or kind action is ever wasted. If we want goodness in this world, we must begin to model goodness toward all people.  I agree with Prager - how we treat others is so very important. We might not think our actions matter all that much, but they add up. One bad, harmful, or wrong action on our part may only seem like a 'drop in the bucket', but when it is compounded by the bad, harmful, or wrong actions of others who 'mimic' our actions, those 'drops' add up! Integrit...