The Plumbline

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18 NLT) The message of the cross cannot be understood through human reasoning. If we could understand the exact things that transpired in the heavenly realms as Christ hung there, breathed his last, and then gave his all for mankind, we'd probably all be on our knees in full repentance right now. There wouldn't be one soul untouched by the intensity of that sacrifice. The human mind is not able to know fully what transpired, but through faith we can trust that what Christ accomplished was meant for our good.  The power behind the cross isn't usually fully comprehended through what we read in our scriptures. It becomes very evident in a changed life, though. The more a life is transformed by the power of the cross, the more we come to 'know' and 'appreciate' that Christ did more than just 'die' ther...

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8 NLT) What debt do you carry today? Is it a financial one? A spiritual one? A relational one? Maybe all three apply to you today - but the greatest 'debt' we owe is love. We are loved so much by our heavenly father and all he asks of us is to return that love by loving others - even the unlovable! You might have heard it said that we can hate the sin but love the sinner. This is true, of course, but how many times do we equate the sinner and the sin as 'one'? We see the sin and then reject the sinner in due course. This is just the opposite of what God did. He saw the sinner, hated the sin, but loved the sinner enough to make a way for the sinner to be made holy through the blood of Jesus. Love didn't overlook the sin. Because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus, the sinner is now without sin. The love of God made ...

A life is not important except in the impact it has on others. (Jackie Robinson) Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT) The impact of our lives may best be seen in the kindness we show others - in the expression of love we give to others or bring into situations where hurt and harm have been prevalent. Let's be honest here - there are a whole lot of harmful and hurtful things happening around us each and every day. We might be right smack dab in the middle, or we could be observers on the sidelines. Either way, we have the opportunity to bring God's love into that situation by being examples of his tenderhearted kindness and love. Where bitterness abounds, you might just see anger, harsh words, or even hurtful lies being spread. The root of bitterness combined with one's ...

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NLT) Open declaration sure differs from silent belief, doesn't it? I am not a 'stand on the street corner, repent or burn' kind of gal, but I do try to live my life in such a way that others can see Jesus through me. I am always ready to give an answer for the "hope I have as a believer, always be ready to explain it." (I Peter 3:15) My open declaration of faith was the day I was baptized - not as a child in the arms of my parents, but as an adult. While I don't always 'talk about Jesus', I do hope there is evidence of the work he has and is still doing in my life. Can others see Jesus in you? Do they know there is 'something different' about you that draws them to Christ, or is ...

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7 NLT) One who follows must do so continually, otherwise they will end up lost, off-course, and a little disoriented. As many times as we 'start well', do we 'finish well'? Not likely - many 'courses of action' stand abandoned over the course of time because it was too hard, too boring, or just didn't produce what we hoped to see when we took that particular course. The 'right course', started out 'well', won't produce the 'best' end results until we commit to the process of seeing it through! Roots take a while to develop, but once they are established it is hard for the tree to die. Case in point - I had a diseased tree in the backyard that had been th...

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (Romans 3:23-24 NLT) We might not want to admit it, but we are sinners through and through. We were born with the sin nature - it is part of who we are. We give into it almost unconsciously at times, don't we? We listen to its lies and believe whatever 'feels best' at the moment, all the while ignoring the warning flags deep within our spirit that are telling us to act otherwise. Everyone has sinned, is a sinner, falling short of God's standards for living - in need of a 'life altering change' that can only come by saying yes to Jesus. God's grace comes to us without us even asking for it - offered to us in ways we might not even realize as God reaching out to us. Grace comes in the form of protection from serious harm when we choose to do dumb stuff...

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (Luke 9:23-24 NLT) A follower isn't prone to lead, are they? The leader determines the course, sets the pace, and directs the ones following what to look out for along the way. To follow, one must give up their 'own way'. The course is established for them - they actively choose to leave their path and follow a different one. Hanging onto our old way of doing things in life may prove to be a bit more foolish than we first want to admit, but it didn't get us where we wanted to be in the first place! Why would we hold onto it when all that path has provided is guilt, shame, discomfort, or mistrust? Somehow, like it or not, we must give up the 'right' to do our own thing and follow Christ as HE determines we s...

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25 NLT) To think that Jesus 'personally carried' your sins and my sins in his body shouldn't just amaze us, it should also humble us. The reason he 'personally carried' our sins in his body wasn't just because there was no other sacrifice that could atone for our sins - it was motivated out of his intense love for his creation. Where did he carry those sins? In his body and right up onto that cross. He died, once for all, so that we may be dead to our sin. Without the cross, sin's influence would never have been broken. It took a perfect sacrifice to deal sin its final blow! Now we live for what is right. As we have been discussing for a few days now, we make different choices. We no longer ...

Flip Wilson used to quip, "You can't expect to hit the jackpot if you don't put a few nickels in the machine." This could be said of our 'investment' into our spiritual growth, as well. We need to 'put something into it' if we are to get as much out of it as Jesus intends! We aren't going to grow by osmosis or just by hearing a once-a-week sermon. We must put forth the effort to glean God's message to us from his Word, listen intently during times of worship and prayer, and then act upon what he brings to our attention.  You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (Matthew 22:37 NLT) Heart, soul, and mind all engaged - no part of us left out in this pursuit. Devotion to God does indeed engage one's mind, but it also engages one's heart. In turn, one's actions begin to be changed - little by little, until we see an overwhelming transformation in our character. The change we might just be lon...

If we claim to live by the Holy Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 AMP) Conduct may not always be the first thing we think about each morning, but if we were smart, we'd ask the Holy Spirit to actually take control of our conduct before we even set feet to the floor. Why? When our day begins under his control, our actions are more likely to reflect the image of Christ. Live by the Spirit and you will not be controlled by the lusts of the flesh or this world - isn't that what scripture teaches? We might not realize just how 'differently' we may act until we act him to 'act through us'. Walk by the Spirit with personal integrity. Whenever we ask the Holy Spirit to take control of our actions, we are relinquishing our 'right' to be our ultimate authority in life. This may not seem all that significant at first, but the more we relinqui...

And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:9-11 NLT) The blood of Christ was shed, not just because he angered the Jewish leaders, but because our restoration into right relationship with our heavenly Father required a holy and pure sacrifice. What could never be accomplished by any other means was provided, once for all in his Son, Jesus Christ. Now, through faith, and not our own works, we are restored into right relationship with God. We might want to describe it as a 'friendship' with God, but we must never take this relationship for granted. The very thing that stood in the way of us enjoying a relationsh...

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. Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it. (Proverbs 8:8-11 NLT) Nothing more to be desired - nothing more to be gained. Wisdom that comes from the heart of God is all we need or could ever desire. Whenever we choose his instruction as our guide, we are choosing to lay down our rebellious way of living and the wisdom our present world-system might tell us is important. We choose to listen to one voice rather than to a multitude of 'worldly counselors' and 'doomsday naysayers'.  Wisdom that emanates from the throne of God is more valuable than any earthly knowledge we can amass, yet we seem to seek it after all our earthly wisdom has failed us. Why is it we rely so heavily on what might prese...

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. (I John 3:18-22 NLT) How many times have we experienced the 'do as I say and not as I do' scenario in life? If you are honest, you probably have actually done opposite of what you know is right to do on more than one occasion. When our testimony (what we say) isn't matching what we do, there is a disconnect somewhere. One of the things I needed to learn in life is that what I say doesn't matter if what I do doesn't line up with the things God wants me to pursue and emulate in life. Let's not merely SAY that ...

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NLT) Since we believe - prior to our point of believing in Christ as our Savior, we merely saw him from a human point of view. We interpreted everything in scripture from a human point of view. We saw nothing divine in him, nor did we really understand why the commandments given to us in scripture could actually be for our benefit and blessing.  When we see God's Words from a merely human point of view, the things G...

He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10 NLT) So rich in kindness and grace. This really paints the picture of our loving and gracious God, doesn't it? We don't deserve his 'richness', but in spite of all our sin, he loves us so much. Our freedom from sin - our way out of all hurtful and harmful habits and hangups - is given in Christ Jesus. His kindness will never be 'repaid' by anything we do or say. We can but revel in his grace and worship him. God's plan? To bring us back into right relationship with him - no longer captive to sin; no longer given ove...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT) If you are reading this passage for the hundredth time, it is still possible God will bring to light something that 'hits home' with you, isn't it? Therefore - because of the finished work of the Cross. Since we are surrounded - there are both good examples of our faith and those we can learn from because they did stuff we do. Let us strip off every weight - there are more things that slow us down in our faith journey than there are things that seem to be encouraging us to move forward. It takes a conscious effort to see the things that encourage us to move on and then neglect to pay attention to those things that wa...

The crucible tests silver, and the furnace tests gold, but the one who tests hearts is Adonai. (Proverbs 17:3 CJB) Adonai - Lord or Master - the one with ultimate authority. He is the one who tries the heart, revealing the true intent of a man's character. We may think we know our heart well, but in actuality, God knows it much better than we do ourselves. That is why we trust him to not only have our heart, but to reveal what is in there that needs to be built up or changed entirely. The crucible of affliction is nothing we like to endure, but what gets revealed in times of affliction might just give us a little bit of revelation as to who we are, what we believe, who we trust in, and what motivates us from within. It could be we discover some truths about ourselves that we didn't even know were present in our lives - like lust, prideful thoughts, or malicious plans. When God reveals, he also sets about to 'root out' those things that only the fire of his Spirit can r...

Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord. Terror will grip them, for God is with those who obey him. The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the Lord will protect his people. (Psalm 14:4-6 NLT) If you have ever encountered someone who just never seems to learn from their life lessons, you might have asked if they will never learn. Sometimes it takes what seems like forever for them to turn around and realize the direction they chose for their life was pretty bad. On more than one occasion, I have looked at my own life choices and said to myself, "There but for the grace of God go I." The grace of God pulled me away from those wrong paths - it is the one thing that separated me from my own foolish actions. How about you? Can you say that the grace of God has redeemed you from some stuff that wasn't all that good for you? God is with those who obey him. These aren't just words on a pag...

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20-23 NLT) Most of us have heard that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life. How many of us have actually read the previous verses? We WERE slaves to sin - having absolutely NO obligation to do right but choosing quite frequently to do whatever it was that gave us satisfaction or a thrill. The result was an overwhelming load of guilt and shame. A burden we weren't designed to carry! Slaves don't really cater to the 'obligation' to more than one master, do they? They serve one, following whatever desires...

Albert Pike said, "We have all the light we need, we just need to put it into practice." We might think we need more of everything, including knowledge, but the sad truth is that many of us don't even use the knowledge we have been given! What is missing is the 'practice' behind that knowledge. God's Word reminds us, "So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror." (James 1:21-23 NLT) We must 'humbly accept' God's word into our lives, doing what it says - putting it into practice, not just gaining knowledge about what he says. Therein is the rub - we read and read, but the words on the pages of the book just don't seem to draw us into c...

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NLT) It is indeed good news that our 'old life' is no longer in control of our daily activities, isn't it? No longer living for ourselves, but living for Christ Jesus, the very one who gave his life for us. The one thing that happens when we live this 'exchanged life' that we often don't recognize is how it changes our view of everyone else around us. We don't see them the same because we are viewing t...

Of all possessions a friend is the most precious. (Herodotus) Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. (Proverbs 18:24 MSG) We might think being surrounded with a multitude of people we refer to as 'friends' is always a good thing, but as you may have already figured out, not all 'friends' will be there when you are going through a tough time. Mom always used to quote this passage to me when I bemoaned not having 'friends' like all the other kids my age did. She'd remind me that to have a friend, one needed to show himself or herself as a friend FIRST. That meant this introvert needed to be a little more outgoing! It took me years and a whole lot of time alone with Jesus to actually become a little more of an extravert, but it didn't come naturally to me. I found myself wanting to draw back, hide behind whatever mask was available, and just 'be there' without really being there. If that might hit home for you, the...

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:5-8 NLT) Our psalmist gives us insight into victory in our lives. He says it quite clearly: "Let all that I am wait quietly before God." Why? There is no greater hope than his protection and his 'oversight' of our lives. We might think it is a bit of a waste of time to take time each day to center ourselves on him, studying his Word, and just getting his insight. If we want a life filled with the 'unknown' and 'chaos', this might be the way to go. If we want one of order and insight, we might want to try waiting quietly before him for even a little while! Waiting doesn't mean we aren't doing anything. It means ...

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (Romans 12:6-8 NLT) In his grace - we have been given - no one is left out. Too many times, I hear believers say they aren't 'gifted' with certain 'talents' or 'abilities', but they totally neglect to even ask God how he can use their unique talents or abilities. You may not be called to preach from the pulpit, but you might be able to mow a senior's lawn. You might not be great with bookkeeping, but you can watch a frazzled mom's kiddos while she gets a much-deserv...

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (I John 1:8-9 NLT) You might be acquainted with the story recorded for us in the book of John where Jesus is teaching a crowd of people when the Pharisee leaders bring a woman to him who was caught in adultery. They expect him to back them up in their desire to stone the woman to death. Jesus' simple statement really puts grace on display for us, "let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone..." Before too much time passed, all her accusers turned around and silently left the scene. His next words are even more telling as it comes to seeing the impact of grace, "Didn’t even one of them condemn you...neither do I. Go and sin no more.” The truth is that we have ALL sinned - we ALL need grace. We ALL need to embrace the words, "Go and sin no more....

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6 NLT) Our rebellion - our sins. Jesus didn't come to do 'good works' or present 'signs and wonders' just for show. He came because our rebellious, sinful nature required a completely pure and holy sacrifice in order to rightly restore all who would call upon Christ. Our rebellion - it made us less than perfect. Our sin - it created places of brokenness and hurts within us that nothing else can ever 'fix'. We left God's paths in order to follow our own. That is the heart of rebellion. It wasn't that the path was 'vague' or without wayfinding signs along it. We just chose a different path. It was that pathway into rebellion and sin that required a Savior and it was that...

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:5-8 NLT) If you need wisdom - who on earth doesn't need a little insight into what is transpiring in their lives from time to time? Oh, I imagine there are some who will tell me it isn't necessary to seek 'outside help' because they are capable of figuring things out on their own. I will have to say there are some who will plug right along without ever seeking God's wisdom in a matter and they might just do 'okay'. I choose to do better than 'okay' in life, though, so I seek God's wisdom in ma...

Success is the sum of small efforts - repeated day in and day out. (Robert Collier) So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (I Corinthians 15:58 NLT) Consistency in following Jesus is our goal. We don't do this with the greatest of ease, do we? We have these little fits and starts that keep us moving forward at a snail's pace sometimes. It is that 'sporadic' on again - off again walk that makes it seem like it is impossible to actually get anywhere in this spiritual walk. We might want to rethink that, though. Jesus might like to see our consistency, but he can definitely work with our 'sporadic' fits and starts! While the goal is to be strong and immovable, always 'spot on' in our commitment, we need not be down on ourselves when we find ourselves growing a little 'cold' in our commitments to prayer, worship, or even study...

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (Jerremiah 17:7-8 NLT) Long months of drought. Heat that scorches and dries. Those are things that most of us want to avoid, not just 'survive', aren't they? The longer we live on this earth, the chances are good that we will endure some 'scorching heat' and 'drought'. If not in our natural world, then in our spiritual lives. The droughts in a spiritual sense are kind of like very dry seasons that are marked by us not really feeling all that 'connected' to God. It is like we just don't 'feel' his presence, much less feel like what we are doing to maintain that relationship is really 'working'. We might read our ...

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. (I Peter 2:2-3 NLT) Newborn babes cry out when they are hungry, don't they? Having an empty belly as a baby is cause for concern, causing them to raise their cries in order to have their need met. In much the same way, we might just realize we are 'spiritually' quite hungry, running on almost empty, desperately needing a 'refill' of our 'spiritual tank'. We might find ourselves 'crying out', hungry for more of God's presence, desperate for a touch from him. When we cry out, do you think God hears us? Does he have the exact 'resource' we need in order for our 'hunger' to be met? Is he going to ignore our need and give us something entirely different? He hears, he responds, and he has exactly what we need, even when we don't realize...