The Plumbline

God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it. (Pope Francis) Pondering Christmas a bit this morning - why? So many times we think of Christmas as a 'season' rather than a gift and God meant it as a gift, not merely a season!  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." (John 3:16-18) A gift given...

Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness . He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. (2 Peter 3:8-9) There are times I overlook the obvious, believing instead there must be something more to what I am seeing or hearing. I guess this is human nature - we see or hear one thing, then immediately jump to the conclusion there must be some other meaning - either because we don't think things can be THAT simple, or we believe others just could not MEAN what they are doing / saying. I think this is some defense mechanism on our part - protecting us from some things we just don't want to deal with right now, or attempting to believe the best about another just because we don't want to think they could behave that way. In some respects, this...

Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she said. “ Well, I do have a little oil.” (2 Kings 4:2) A widow woman facing a debt she cannot repay. She is worried that she will lose her two sons - simply because they would become the "means" of repaying her debt as they would be forced to become the slaves to the debtor if she could not repay the debt. Her husband has been a prophet - a godly man. I imagine she wonders why this catastrophe is upon her since she likely has lived a "set apart" lifestyle for a good many years. She comes to Elisha - one of the major prophets of the Old Testament - seeking his help. She implores him to consider her plight. In response, he begins to wonder what he might be able to do to assist. In those days, prophets were rarely wealthy men or women - they lived by the standards of the day, occupying their time with the normal pursuits of the day such as farming, tending the ani...

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7) Go ahead with what you've been given. How many times do we think we have to wait for 'more'? We have been given a measure and we somehow think that we cannot do anything with what we have been given - there must be 'more' in order for us to 'do' something. The truth of the matter is that we are already well-equipped for exactly what we need to be doing right now - we just need to use what we have been given! We received Christ - that is a done deal. We are deeply rooted in him - another done deal. Can roots grow deeper? Absolutely, but the tree doesn't j...

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever. (Psalm 100) I have a 'password keeper vault' in order to keep track of all the passwords I use - how about you? There is on password that I will never need to enter into that vault, though - the one that gives me access to the presence of God! Saying 'yes' to Jesus opened the access - grateful heart expressing all manner of praise and worship gives me freedom to enter into his presence time and time again. Well-tended sheep - doesn't that conjure up a great picture? I walk through some small 'white fence farms' around me and there is this one place that uses sheep to 'tend' the yard....

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. (Colossians 3:15) In high school I attempted to learn to play the guitar. I got pretty comfortable with a variety of chords and how to pick out a few songs. I remember one of my greatest struggles was keeping the guitar in tune. I would plink and plink on those strings until I got just the right tone on each and every string. The music sounded way better when my guitar was 'in tune'. Maybe that is why God emphasizes that we need to allow Christ to keep us in tune with each other - not ...

Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. (I Corinthians 1:4-5) Free and open access - wouldn't it be nice to have that type of access to everything we need in life? We could just walk into the bank and the manager would be right there to welcome us in, taking care of each of our needs. We could call the city buildings and there would be no phone trees to navigate through, or automated systems to push our buttons! I am so grateful for the free and open access I have to God - through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! No 'phone trees' or 'buttons to push' - no sense that anyone else matters more than me. How about you? Do you sense this free and open access you have with him? If you have said a grateful 'yes' to Jes...