The Plumbline

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4) Have you ever noticed that you could serve and not be noticed for your service? Sometimes it is possible that those who serve the most are acknowledged the least. There is nothing wrong with this, though. In fact, we may serve well, never being 'celebrated' for our service, and almost feel that others see what we do as 'expected'. The things we do over and over again, with consistency of heart and spirit, may not always b...

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2) Ever made a really dumb decision? I know I can list a few, perhaps even more than a few. We all make mistakes sometimes, some 'dumber' than others, with some standing out as the 'dumbest' of the 'dumb'. These probably have led to some pretty deep hurts - hurts that seem to hang around long after the decision was made and done. What do we do with the deep hurts that are part of our past mistakes? We can repent, 'turn a new leaf', and move on, or we can harbor those hurts, rehashing the guilt of those decisions over and over again.  When the hurts of the past aren't in the past, we find the rehearsal of those hurts to sometimes be worse than the original 'misstep' was in the first place. God wants to do a work within us...

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) Have you ever noticed that there is a war going on in your mind almost all of the time? It is a battle between faith and fear, trust and doubt, unrest and peace. Most of life's battles are actually won or lost on this very battlefield. When we learn to use God's word as a weapon, we learn how to battle well and win! One important thing we must realize - Satan is trying to shape our lives one thought at a time - this is how we are given over to deception. What is your strongest thought today? You will actually move toward your strongest thoughts. Believe it or not, the life we have today is a reflection of the life we are thinking. It is more than 'positive vibes', though. Whatever we allow into our minds is what will eventually come out of our lives in words and deeds....

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) No day is the same when Jesus is your Lord. Life is not very monotonous when we are serving Jesus as we should. How's your 'attitude' toward your day? If you find it a bit 'prickly', stop for a moment, take a breath and consider that YOU are responsible for what you feel AND what you appreciate in your day. Look for the right stuff in your day and you are more likely to find it! This day is a gift from God - choose to be blessed in it. Remember this: The devil will always try to make you 'like' him, his 'things', and his 'attitude' toward life. He attempts to destroy our joy, the unity we enjoy with each other, and the relationships we need. When we allow the devil to be in control of how we see the world around us, we will be robbed of so much. Focus on those with differing views from yours long enough and you will begin to 'conform' to their views ...

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:7-9) Successful people 'do' consistently what others 'do' occasionally. It may come as a surprise to some, but we have to intentionally prioritize whatever it is we want to realize in our lives. Intentions don't always determine our end results, do they? We can have great intentions but miserable results. Consistent actions are what determines 'success', not just great intentions. We start by doing the smallest of 'right' things, then we add to those some slightly bigger 'right' things until we one day see change happening....

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step . I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:25-27) This walk with Jesus might intimidate some, but you don't need to be afraid to really 'get into it'. God never asked us to just 'show up' - he always asked for our best and our first. You and I may have been 'trying' to walk as we should for way too long - 'trying' but not really hitting the mark. Just doing our 'best' hasn't proven to be enough to get us to the goal line. We need to stop trying and really just put some effort into training! Trying is where we start, but a 'trial period' doesn't produce consistent results, does it? We must invest in the 't...

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:24-25) It is hard to choose what we want most over what we want now, isn't it? The answer is in Jesus Christ - he has set us free. All determination or discipline in life begins with choosing how it is we 'identify'. If we identify as listening to our 'fleshly desires' just a bit too often, we are not likely to identify with our new nature in Christ Jesus as often as we should. Life isn't about behavior modification - it is about identity transformation. The power that is greater than our fleshly desires is resident within - we just need to begin to 'identify' with it more often! We are not what we did. We are not the voice of discouragement that consistently condemns us, bring...

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.  (Vernon Law) And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) Have you ever noticed that we learn best from repeated lessons? We learned our multiplication tables by repeating them one by one, over and over again. We learned to drive our roadways, park a car, and navigate on/off highways by obtaining a permit to drive, instruction in how to maneuver the vehicle, and then practicing over and over again. Lessons repeated are seldom forgotten. They become a part of our 'memory' and are easily put into practice. Our teachers used to give us something called a 'pretest' to see how much you knew BEFORE they taught the lesson. If you actually proved to be proficien...

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas. (Charles Dudley Warner) God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (I Peter 4:10) I cringe whenever I hear someone say that God couldn't use them or that their 'gifts' were too insignificant to 'count' in the scheme of things. God created each of us uniquely - some with a great big 'canvas', others with a 'small' canvas, but the thing he created is what makes the difference, not the size of the 'canvas'. We all have probably heard that good things come in small packages. I think God uses the canvas of our lives to paint a picture of his grace and love. We are a 'display' of both! Use your spiritual gifts, regardless of how 'small' or 'insignificant' you may believe them to be. The beauty displayed in a life that has been redeemed by his grace doesn't find its significance in the 'qua...

It was Jean-Paul Sartre who reminded us, "Commitment is an act, not a word." God reminds us, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:4-6) While we all want to say we are 'committed' to following Jesus with all our heart, we might just find ourselves with an occasional 'action' that reveals something totally different.  Commit everything you do to the Lord. Does that mean that today's laundry and yardwork should be committed to him? It does indeed. God's desire is to be part of your everyday life, not just your Sunday morning life. He wants to be there, whispering little tidbits of truth in your ear while you fold the clothes, weed the garden, or wash the car. When we 'limit' God to Sunday mornings, our actions ar...

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. (Job 23:10-11) There are times when we feel like our path is a bit more complicated than we'd like it to be. We find ourselves knee deep in some muddle or another, wishing things could be different very quickly, but they just don't seem to change all that fast. In the 'testing pathway', will we remain faithful to what we believe, while wrestling with everything we find 'contrary' to the way we hoped life would turn out? If we struggle just a bit with the test, we aren't alone. Most of us struggle to make sense of things at times, but when we still trust God in spite of the difficulties, we are going to make it through! God knows where we are going, even when we don't. That is good news for someone today who is on some 'path' to who knows where, wondering if God has abandoned them. ...

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. (Psalm 73:25-26) I am going to ask a tough question this morning. What do you desire most on this earth? Answer honestly, because anything short of true honesty is just foolishness. The more 'religious' of us would immediately answer, "Why, God of course", but we might not be living in a manner that shows that dedication and desire. The more 'honest' of us would reluctantly admit it should be God, but things and people get in the way of that dedication at times.  Desire goes a long, long way in determining our actions, doesn't it? If we desire something sweet, even if we are on a diet, we will go all out to find a recipe that will allow the 'sweet tooth' to be satisfied, don't we? The craving or desire demands satisfaction. If our craving or desire is for earthly...

The Lord approves of those who are good, but he condemns those who plan wickedness. Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots. (Proverbs 12:2-3) Some may think wickedness can be overlooked, but as quickly as a wicked person's plans are set in motion, the godly put down even deeper roots! The only way to withstand wickedness is by being deeply rooted in Christ. Roots solidly planted in God's protective soil will be 'hold strong', 'find anchorage', and 'be able to bring nourishment' to the soul. Wicked people rise up quickly, but their influence soon wanes as people begin to get a whiff of their vile plans. Search for evil, and it will find you! (Proverbs 11:27) The godly seek good, finding it in God's favor. Teh evil find no favor, therefore their influence will eventually begin to turn. They may think they have the favor of their 'public', but that favor is soon lost when the vileness of their actions begins to become e...

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. (Proverbs 9:7-9) Men have many responses to rebuke, don't they? Some will scoff and say you are wrong about them. Others will argue vehemently that you have made wrong decisions yourself, so how could you possibly judge their actions as wrong. Still some will find any rebuke as belittling, cowering as a child scorned, afraid of what others will think should they find out what they have 'done wrong'. When a child of God is rebuked, it is a definite sign they are loved too much to be allowed to continue in their folly.  We may not judge one another - it isn't our place to act as 'judge', but God does ask us to look out for the welfare of one another. We aren't just to turn a blind eye to another's wrong actions. As much as is possible, we must ge...

Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people. You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding. Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge. (Proverbs 8:1, 4-9) Listen. Hear. Two very distinct commands, but two very interwoven actions. One must listen to hear, but one may not learn until they have truly heard. We might think God's Word is hard to truly understand, but he is calling out to us from its pages, willing us to just listen and learn of his goodness, grace, and love. Understanding is gained from time spent listening and allowing our hearts to truly 'hear' his instruction. The wise will listen with the intention...

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. (Psalm 111:2-3) The instruction given is to PONDER God's deeds. Whenever we choose to ponder God's work around us, within us, and even through us, we are actually taking notice of his glory and majesty. The deeds of the Lord are so vast that even if we were to take an entire day just 'pondering' him and his work around us, we still couldn't stop 'pondering' because we couldn't account for all of them. Pondering is when we are exercising careful thought. It isn't just a casual 'moment' - it is purposeful, requiring all our attention. It is often what we don't do before making decisions so many times, but what would have served us well if we had! If we take the time to ponder God's direction first, we might make wiser choices from the get-go. It is often the times of consideri...

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:7,11) We can never underestimate the peace our hearts experience when we listen to and follow God's instructions. God's guidance isn't always "consciously sought", for there are times when he just comes to us within the stillness or peacefulness of our night's sleep. We may not even realize he has spoken to us, giving us that much needed direction, until we awaken and feel what he has done. As David says, "You are my Master! All the good things I have come from you." (vs. 2) When we refuse to make ourselves comfortable with the pursuit of this world's treasures, aspirations, or alluring temptations, we might just find we hear God's voice just a little clearer. What does it mean to "be at peace"? I believe it means we aren't swayed...

Do you 'toy with' temptation? If you act carelessly when it comes to the things that tempt you, kind of ignoring them, and then find yourself 'playing with' the thing that is tempting you, you are probably not resisting temptation very well. It is meant to be resisted, not ignored or toyed with at all.  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (I Corinthians 10:13) Temptation comes in all forms. It can be something from 'without' such as cookies in the cookie jar 'calling' for you to eat them when you are trying to watch your weight. It can be from 'another' such as when a coworker wants to share some juicy gossip over lunch about your boss. It could even be from 'within' such as when you are feeling down on yourself and overspend on the online stor...

I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’ (Hosea 10:12) Plant the good seeds of righteousness - harvest a crop of love. Back in the day, there was a song whose lyrics purported, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love...", and that may not have been bad advice back then or right now! The world needs to experience the love of Christ - through us. We take an 'active' role in not only accepting the 'good seeds of righteousness' into our lives, but in sharing (sowing) those seeds into the lives of others. One of the things we need to do within our own lives is allow God's 'plow' to be applied to the 'soil' of our hearts. Fallow ground is hard. It has been left 'untilled' and 'unplanted' for quite some time. Farmers actually allow entire fields to go ...

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:43-45) In case you were wondering, figs are not grown on bramble bushes. The fruit we produce is equal to the 'tree' that produces it. Character is a result of what we 'connect' our lives to on an ongoing basis. The fig cannot connect with the bramble bush any more than the thorns of the bramble bush can be produced from the fig tree. The connection wouldn't be consistent with what is being produced. The fruit born actually is a direct reflection of the tree - the nature of the tree produces the fruit. When our 'fruit' is a little bitter, kind of 'pric...

The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity]. (Proverbs 11:30) The fruit of the 'consistently' righteous - those who make the choice to live 'right', following the directions God gives over their lives. The idea of consistency might just vary a little bit depending on who you ask. To the one who is 'always' on the mark, they will define it as never missing the mark. To the one who occasionally misses the mark, they might define it as making good decisions the majority of the time with a 'once in a while' slip up. I will not debate this with anyone - when God asks for consistency, he means with no or very few exceptions. He forgives those exceptions when we ask for his forgiveness, repent, and actually turn back to him. He would much more prefer that the seeds he sows into our lives would produce 'consistent' growth, but he knows that even the most ...

Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God. (Pope Francis) For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will most certainly cause righteousness and justice and praise to spring up before all the nations through the power of His word. (Isaiah 61:11) I enjoy getting away into the remote regions of our country once in a while. It is a way to just admire what God has created. I can sit for hours watching tiny ants build their colony, birds gather twigs and leaves for their nests, and birds soaring high above on currents of wind. Nature has a way of conveying things about God that can capture an open heart, bringing awe and gratitude for his restorative processes all around us. The leaves fall, but they provide shelter and nourishment even in dying. The clouds scatter across the once blue skies, some filled with hopes ...

As we have been studying 'seeds' throughout scripture, we cannot neglect the parable of the sower and the seeds. The seed in this parable is clearly defined by Jesus as the Word of God. The importance of receiving and nurturing the seed is emphasized, but also the condition of the 'soil' or heart of the one who receives the 'seed'.  This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never gr...

Growth is a process that cannot be rushed, nor can it be neglected. We manage to do both, don't we? We want growth to be instant. We overlook the 'maintenance' of that growth, wondering why things seem to be 'going south' as it applies to our spiritual health. Seed might sprout where it is planted, but make no mistake about it, growth requires attentiveness. The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27) God is at work even when we don't see him working. We might not comprehend what he is doing, nor are we always 'attentive' to his work within, but when God plants a seed, he sends the Holy Spirit to tend its growth. We don't have to understand the growth process as much as we need to participate in it as it is occurring. Seed gets sown, but growth comes in its own time. We cannot rush it, although we c...

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18) Plant seeds of peace - reap righteousness. Heaven certainly knows the difficulties we face on this earth all because seeds of peace are not sown as often as those of discord! Relationships are just hard work. Living within communities of any sort can be challenging, to say the least, but it is the way we live on this earth - all mixed up together, with all our hurts and hangups, muddled up in one big mess. I have come to realize we are responsible to create the environment of peace that we so desperately desire. It might be a bit of a challenge to 'sow peace', but we are called to continually work at creating harmony within relationships because it refle...

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (2 Corinthians 9:10) As we have been exploring 'seeds' throughout the past several days, let us not forget what God says about the provider of the seed - it comes from him, all of it, no exceptions. The farmer sows the seed, but he didn't create what he sows. The provision God makes in our lives each and every day should never be taken lightly. He is the one who provides all the 'resources' we need - physical, spiritual, relational. We only need to receive what he provides, then put it into good use. It is a hard thing to trust God sometimes, especially when we don't see the immediate 'provision' of whatever it is we need, isn't it? We get a little too focused on the need for the 'seed' and forget that much preparation must go into the soil before it is e...

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. (John 12:24-26) A kernel of wheat is planted and dies. That doesn't actually present a picture of a bountiful harvest, does it? Or maybe it does, because in dying, the seed actually brings forth an abundance of wheat. We might interpret this passage as a 'dud' seed being planted that really doesn't do what it is supposed to do, but Jesus makes it clear that in dying, the seed actually becomes 'fruitful'. There is much to be said about sacrificially laying down one's life for the betterment of another, but there was no greate...

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20) Have you ever tried to move a mountain? I have moved sheds, piles of gravel, stones, and the like, but never a mountain! I have moved wheelbarrows full of dirt, filling flower beds and the like, but never the entire mountain - not even a hill! There is something here Jesus wants us to understand: Faith isn't measured as we measure things. It is measured in the hands of God because only he sees the full potential in that small seed of faith. What insurmountable thing or looming challenge do you have over your head right now? Are you trusting God with it? Have you given him the 'little faith' you have, trusting him to show you the full potential wrapped up in that 'tiny seed' of faith you bring to him? Trusting God with what we don't understand or have the ability to fac...

When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have . A different plant grows from each kind of seed. (I Corinthians 15:36-38) A seed must undergo a transformation before it ever can bear fruit. It goes into the ground, but it is still not a plant capable of fruit-bearing. Until the transformation occurs that reveals roots, stem, branches, and eventually buds occur there is no real 'hope' for fruit. The seed is merely a promise of what is about to come, but if you are anything like me, your garden seeds don't always seem to sprout, much less produce! The seed 'exists' - under the soil. It just never sprouted. There is probably a whole lot of seed in our lives that 'exists' but never sprouts. We might not realize how much seed is actually 'wasted...

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8) We've discussed many times how actions have consequences. We reap one seed and expect some other harvest to come from it. That's just plain silly - a seed is meant to reproduce, but of its 'own kind'. For this very reason, we need to be mindful of the seed we sow. Soil matters, too, for bad soil with good seed is just 'wasted seed'. Good soil and good seed have the potential to produce a 'bumper crop', especially when both are in the hands of God. There are some 'practices' we engage in over and over again that consistently produce good harvests. Things like taking time in his word, worshipping him, and sharing life with others in the faith are n...

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32) If you have ever considered the size of a mustard seed, you will likely have noted it is only 1-2 millimeters in diameter. While it is a small seed, the 'tree' produced (or actually a type of shrub) is about 20 feet across and just about as tall! From such a small seed come what some may say is 'remarkable growth'. The leaves start out as very green, then 'morph' into a yellow tone as they age. The ability to not only see physical growth in the height and width of the tree, but to also observe the 'maturity' of the tree by the color of its leaves is kind of neat. One suggests a good connection, while the other suggests a continued connection that allows growth to develop into maturity - something Christ wants for each of us! ...