The Plumbline

So, friends, we can now— without hesitation —walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it —full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25) Any delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear - that state of doubt - will keep us from fully embracing all that God has for us. How many times do we simply avoid doing something just because of our fear or apprehension? If we were honest, it may be more than we would admit. We avoid saying something when we feel impressed to do so, or don't act on what we know simply because we are reluct...

You don’t want penance; if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar. It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore. And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem. And when my heart is right, then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar. (Psalm 51:16-19) Old Testament worship involved the bringing of 'sacrifices' to the Temple of God - bullocks, doves, sheaves of wheat. They were part of a 'liturgical system' of worship declared under the Law of Moses. The Law given to him by God as he communed with God on Mt. Sanai. That Law was merely a 'tutor' of sorts - something meant to point us to Christ - to the one 'perfect sacrifice' for all of mankind's sins. Within these verses we find a humbled and penitent servant - having confessed the ...

Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will. Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:4-6) A heart's desires can be many - no doubt your desires differ from mine, but if we were to list them all, our lists would be long! I desire for my children to know and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. My delight will be to see my two grandsons to grow up to be morally strong, obedient to the commandments of Christ, and to trust him fully with the control of their lives. My desire to see both my children and grandchildren realize their dreams burns deeply with. I desire health, so I do what I can to preserve it wherever possible. I delight in time in the Word of God, good worship music, and the freedom to share my heart in open communion with my Lord. A heart's desires and delights...

" The greatest want of the world is the want of men - men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall ." (Ellen G. White) Men who will stand, not just in their own might and ferociousness, but who will stand in the power and strong might of the one true God of the Universe. We don't stand against sin without the full armor of God. We don't need armor unless there is an enemy and I want to assure you we face a very real enemy - out to devour our souls and take us down to hell. He doesn't need to make heaven fall to get us to fall into hell's gates - he just needs to distract us into complacency to do that! The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my l...

  Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises. My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me. (Psalm 25:14-15) The truths of God's Word are not easily understood by those who have yet to say 'yes' to Jesus. These truths are opened to us as we walk alongside him and learn of him. Don't friends walk alongside each other, giving a little of themselves here and there, each investing in the relationship? Do you think God would expect anything less of those who enter into relationship with him? Reverence him - hold him in the highest regard, but not like an idol on a pedestal. We reveal this reverence by our obedience to his Word - what he asks of us, we do. We don't baulk at it but embrace it as truth that has one purpose - to set us free. The secrets of God's promises are understood best where purposeful obedience is the choice. Ellen G. White puts it this way: "G...

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2) How do we best 'imitate' God? We aren't called to be 'little gods' on this earth, but we are asked to 'imitate' the love and grace of God. Regardless of how another may act, our actions should reveal the grace of God. Easier said than done because THEIR actions seem to evoke a response from US that may not always be grace-filled! The truth of the matter is that THEIR actions are THEIR responsibility - OUR actions and responses are OURS. Grace begins in OUR response to THEIR actions, remembering that grace if GIVING another what they clearly did not deserve. I know how easily our defenses can go up when someone says or does something we don't agree with. Trust me, I have had my share of my hackles being raised by th...

I want to explore a miracle from the Bible today, but from a little bit of a different perspective - that of the crowd. We could look at the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, seeing the wonder of a man dead and buried for four days coming forth from the tomb completely bound in graveclothes, face muffled in a swath cloth. Unwrapped, free, alive and fully restored - now that is a miracle of astronomical proportions, is it not? I imagine Lazarus 'stood out' a little bit, as he had been to heaven and was now alive to talk about it. Yet, there were some in the crowd that day that stand out just a little bit themselves. The Jewish leaders - men of learning and intense study of the Law of Moses. Their response to this miracle? Some believed and some ran to the Pharisee religious leaders to 'tattle on Jesus'. And so, at last many of the Jewish leaders who were with Mary and saw it happen, finally believed on him. But some went away to the Phari...

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know—someone not impressed with weak excuses. (Proverbs 24:10-12) Ever get that eerie impression of "being watched" - finding yourself looking over your shoulder, trying to see who may be seeing you at that very moment - almost a subtle form of paranoia brewing inside? Others are watching your every move, but you may not even realize it! What happens to us in the midst of a crisis is sometimes a matter where we are being observed by others - watching, waiting just to see if we will fall apart or keep it all together. When we actually rise above the crisis, it doesn't escape their view! When we see another struggling with a crisis of their own, stepping in quickly to render aid, do you think it escapes the view of other...

I saw this post on Missional Women Facebook page the other day and it made me think: " I may be hanging by a thread...but it's attached to the hem of his robe, so I am not worried ." How many times do we get ourselves to that 'last thread', just barely eking by because we are stretched to the max? More than some of us might want to admit - we have bitten off way more than we can chew and now we are experiencing that 'last thread' moment. Well, the good news is that the thread is indeed attached to something bigger than the issue at hand! The Lord has us 'woven' into the hem of his garment, so we aren't going to be out there on our own. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) We all might have heard these words before, but what we might not know is the 'context' of that verse. Jeremiah is receiving a word from the Lord about the capti...

How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors. (Proverbs 1:8-9) One does not become wise overnight - it takes a whole lot of lessons taught, grasped, and then lived out to make one wise. One thing we can learn overnight - how to live like a foolish person! We can make bad decisions quicker than we breathe. Just like that, we move in the wrong direction, and before you know it, we are speeding in the pursuit of something that we should have left alone. Don't believe me? Think about the last argument you had with someone, or the last time you gave into a craving for chocolate, ice cream, or some decadent treat. What got you there is not what will get you out of there! You need wisdom - to understand and recognize you are making a wrong move, then to turn away from that course of action, and take the step...

I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come? (Psalm 62:1-2) Joyce Meyer says, "The eagle has no fear of adversity. We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror." As you might imagine, standing 'silently' in the midst of situations where you can be pretty apprehensive or that evoke the 'fight or flight' response is doggone hard. While fear has a 'paralyzing' effect in most of us, we experience and immediate 'ramping up' of all those stress hormones that make us ready to bolt. Adversity comes our way, and we just don't know what to do with it. Is that really true? Don't we know we are supposed to take it to the Lord and allow him to show us how it is to be dealt with? Yes, we 'know' that, but do we actually believe it and stand firm in...

Take good counsel and accept correction— that’s the way to live wisely and well. We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. (Proverbs 19:20-21) Queen Elizabeth II asked, "To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?" Humans turn to all kinds of things for counsel, don't we? The animals listen to the bristling of leaves, the overwhelming stillness of a moment, or the call of other wild things to alert them to danger. Some trust in the lucky rabbit's foot, or their 'lucky socks' to help them get ahead in one way or another. Others will put all their trust into what some 'medium' predicts after consulting their 'magic cards' or 'crystal ball'. It amazes me at times how easily we can get caught up in trusting these ungodly 'counselors' - believing the daily horoscope over the Word of God. Our greatest counsel is not ...

God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.” That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.’” Samuel returned to his bed. Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (I Samuel 3:8-9) Samuel is eager to respond to the voice he hears. Why? He was simply trying to fulfill his everyday tasks, ready to learn what he could as he went about his routine in the temple, in service to the priests. Sometimes we get a little confused as to what we are to do with what it is we are hearing - we think we hear one thing, but could it really be something else? There are probably many times we hear God's voice, but because we aren't sure of the source, we go to what is familiar to us...

Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (I Samuel 3:10) Wisdom dictates we listen more than we speak - but I have to honestly tell you I don't always do well with that one requirement. Listening is an art - learned not because we really want to learn it, but because if we don't learn how to listen, we will eventually get life pretty much as we like it, but we might just be the only ones left in the picture once we do! I suspect there is much to this listening "art" which many of us have yet to perfect. In fact, learning this "art" of listening requires we not only learn how to "tune into" the voice we hear, but we learn to "recognize" the voice we are hearing. I think many of us hear those "voices" in our heads - hopefully not too many of them - but we don't always know which one is the one we should be listening to....

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house , becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. (I John 4:17-18) Have you ever found yourself complaining about something that is not permanent in your life just because it gives you a little extra pressure or work or resistance? I think we forget where OUR permanency really is - IN God and therefore, IN a life of LOVE. Truth is, we all have a tendency to have a "semi-permanent" commitment in this Christian walk simply because we cannot seem to settle into what God has declared to be our place of "permanency". Since God lives IN us and we live IN him, we don't ...

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7) When we are presented with alternatives, we are being given a choice. If you have ever gone into a restaurant with pages and pages of menu items, bound together in a spiral bound book of sorts, you probably have been so frustrated by all the choices you just chose your old "stand by" because you couldn't read through them all before the waitress returned! When the choices are many, the anxiety associated with making the "right" choice is significantly higher than when the choices are simply this or that. At least we stand a 50/50 chance of getting our choice right with the latter example, but with the spiral-...

Are you one of those folks who need to "have it all together" in order to "do life"? I bet you  have been pretty disappointed with just how much you find yourself struggling to even get it together in the first place - let alone keeping it together! We constantly limit our potential whenever we think "perfection" is the goal and WE are the ones to actually accomplish this goal! My friends, perfection IS the goal (Christ), but WE are not the ones going to accomplish the goal (salvation and all the "clean up" that comes with it). All we can do is head toward it - Christ is actually the one beckoning us on and he will be the one who gets us over the finish line! I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is ...

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.  (George Eliot) It was Eliot who reminded us, "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." Small things add up, don't they? We may not see the effect of one small action today, but in the far off 'tomorrows' that one action may mushroom into a far greater outcome than we ever thought possible. So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10) We can grow weary in doing good at times. We plug along, taking all the right steps, doing all the right things, being as 'right' as we are able to be each and every day. Fatigue in 'doing' is natural - we get tired when we are active. Yet, contrary to what...

Seek God while he’s here to be found, pray to him while he’s close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness. (Isaiah 55:6) " When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice ." (William James) We are all broken people - all of us have our weaknesses and we all make mistakes. We all need to make the one supreme choice - will we serve self or Jesus? Seek God while he's here to be found - while he is close at hand, cry out. If we want healing in this world, we all need to abandon our desire to live by our own set of rules.  Seek - go in search of; question so as to obtain; go to that place where you can meet a holy God. Where is that place? At the feet of Jesus. There is no other way to God except through trust in the one and only Son of God - Jesus. Lavish with forgiveness - think about the immense lov...

" The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. " (William James) It was Mr. James who also reminded us that one can alter our life by altering our attitude. Attitude can range from pretty positive to absolutely negative and everything in between. We can be consistent until our attitude gets a little tweaked over something and then we just let things go awry. We can commit when we are soaring high, but as soon as things get tough, our attitude toward our commitments can turn pretty negative. Amazingly, attitude can determine what we spend our time doing - what we invest ourselves in the most. If we are use our life well, we are to spend it on something that will yield good results and our attitude can go a long, long way in helping us to realize that goal. Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. (Proverbs 27:1) Maybe we have been going through life thinking we will always have a tom...

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. (I Peter 1:3) This was one of those verses I'd remind mom of anytime she'd worry over her many aches and tremendously haunting neuropathic pain. We'd just sit for a bit and imagine her walking upright, without pain, able to see perfectly once again. She had a hard time imagining it, but she held onto that promise time and time again - life healed and whole. Sometimes all we have is the hope - we cannot let go of it no matter how long the answer may be delayed - because the day is surely coming! I don't know what you delay may be, but trust me on this one, the day is coming! Too many times we think the ...

For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, my love won’t walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart. The God who has compassion on you says so. (Isaiah 54:10) I actually heard this passage today on my walk. No, God didn't shout it down from the skies above - it was part of a devotional I was listening to online. My love won't walk away from you - take notice of those words because they speak volumes in uncertain times. God's love, intense and grace-filled, will not walk AWAY from you. In fact, his love walks TOWARD you even when you are walking away from him! We serve a God of compassion - for compassion is the basis of grace. We get what we do not deserve - not because we earned it, but because his compassion makes a way for us to receive it. The way? Christ Jesus. The amount of his compassion that would make such a way? The life of his Son, Jesus. To whom is this compassion given? You and me. God's covenant commitment ...

Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost) Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. (Psalm 25:4) Which path have you taken - the one less traveled by, or the one that has been traveled well? It is fine to follow a well-worn path for a period of time, but it could just be the 'wear and tear' of that path is greater than your life can handle. The one less traveled by may be a little scarier at times, but I have found the discoveries along it are greater than I could have ever imagined. There is a 'right road' for us to travel - it is seldom the easiest, nor is it the most 'frequented' by the masses. Does it make us 'odd' for choosing that path? No, it might just mean we are a little more 'intimidated' by the one everyone is taking than we are when we step onto the one that is marked with 'faith markers' all along the w...

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-10) What does it mean to 'learn to love appropriately'? If we follow what Paul is teaching here, we will realize reliance upon feelings is not good. We need to 'test' those feelings - making sure they are leading us into actions that are wholesome, upright, and on track with how God would love. If they aren't leading us in that direction, they need to be rejected or refocused. Sometimes we rely heavily upon how we 'feel' toward another person or a situation, but then find ourselves not 'fee...

This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is. (John 3:20-21) A crisis is a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined - some call this a turning point. It can represent a condition of instability or danger, leading to a decisive change - not always for the best. Equally so, it can represent one of those events where there is a lot of dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life - leaving one to sort out the pieces when all is said and done. When a person is not interested in p...

The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. (I Corinthians 2:14) Trying to understand God with your earthly intelligence? Won't work! God isn't meant to be known by our earthly intelligence, but by our spiritual 'self' communing with his Spirit. Open communion - meaning open and honest two-way conversation. Not just us telling God what we need, how he needs to work in our lives, and what he should be doing for others, but us actually listening intently for what he wants to reveal to us in those times of com...

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:33) Everyday human concerns - we all have those, don't we? What to eat for dinner tonight - what to wear to that upcoming special event - where to get our car repairs done so you don't get ripped off by some untrustworthy mechanic - common human concerns. We spend so much time with the everyday human concerns that we sometimes miss the very important message that they ALL have already been met! The best move...

Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away, no matter what happens. Remember your reward! You need to keep on patiently doing God’s will if you want him to do for you all that he has promised. His coming will not be delayed much longer. And those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting him in everything. Otherwise, if they shrink back, God will have no pleasure in them. (Hebrews 10:35-38) My BFF told me some prognosticators predicted some major solar flare taking out earth and the end of the world coming about a week ago. In case you haven't figured it out, it didn't happen! We are still here, and life goes on. They totally missed it! There have been these 'predictors' of the world's end for as long as I can remember - people who think they know the day and the hour when all will go up in a puff of smoke. Truth be told, no one but God himself knows when he will send his Son back to earth and things as we know it today 'c...