The Plumbline

Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever. (Psalm 15 NLT) Who gets invited into God's presence time and time again? Who enjoys the freedom of access into his presence without worry or fear? Those who have said yes to his invitation, of course! - Those who walk straight, act right, and tell the truth. That is a pretty big order on the scale of obedience, is it not? Walk straight with no deviation from God's planned course. We attempt deviations all t...

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:9-11 NLT) How many times do we count on our own efforts to make us feel 'better' about ourselves? If you preen in front of the mirror each morning, are you doing it to please God, yourselves, or others? While I am grateful that I have a hairbrush, toothbrush, and soap, I don't spend a whole lot of time focusing on physical appearance. I choose not to wear makeup, but there is nothing wrong with it. I choose not to curl my hair or straighten it with a flat iron, though those styles are quite nice on others. I do choose to sit each morning with my Bible, read a bit, spend s...

  Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! (Philippians 4:4-5 MSG) We must never lose the joy in celebrating what God is doing and what he has done. Herein is the secret to seeing life through a different lens. When we turn our thoughts to what he has done, we have little time to focus on all the negatives our world offers us today. We won't spend as much time 'doomscrolling' through life because we will begin to see what we take in through our 'eye gate' really affects our perspective as we navigate our day. Make it as clear as you can that God is your Master - not your copilot, but the one who is actually directing the course of your day. Too many times, we treat Jesus like he is our copilot - sitting there 'just in case' we need him. We are unwilling to...

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Ephesians 4:29 MSG) I wonder what would happen if we actually began treating each word as a gift. Things that get said have so much power - healing or hurt; freedom or bondage; trust or fear. We can be the instruments of grace with our words, or we can be the bearer of discouragement. Words are indeed the catalyst by which change can occur, but they can also be the anchor by which deeper discouragement and bondage happens. This is why we must guard our words and use them wisely - something that is extremely hard to do without the help of the Holy Spirit.  When I was in Bible College, one of my professors actually encouraged us to walk around one day, recording every interaction we had with others. We were to replay those words at the end of the day, listening carefully to the tone we used, how we responded to the ones we communicated with, and the specific words we use...

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6:1-3 MSG) Maybe the 'if' someone falls into sin should read 'when' someone falls because inevitably we will all fall into it at some time, perhaps even today. We won't always be 'good' and 'upright' as long as we are still dealing with the tendency of relying on our emotions to steer us along the correct course. We are emotional beings, too frequently led by our emotions, less than stellar at always listening to the voice of God speaking through his Spirit within. Critical comments are so easy to make, aren't they? Finding a way to talk with someone who has fallen into sin (given into temptation...

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:3-4 MSG) What have each of us gained from following Christ? If you begin to list all the 'physical' blessings, that is one thing, but when you consider all the spiritual and emotional blessings that puts a very specific light on what he has done in us. We are made new, feeling the refreshment of his life within us where only death permeated every aspect of our lives. We are brought into a huge family of believers, giving us both the freedom to learn from each ...

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats. (James 3:13-16) There aren't too many of us who want to be counted among the foolish. We all likely want someone to take notice of us for our wise choices, not the foolish ones..Building a reputation for wisdom isn't always easy, though. People spend a great deal of time critiquing our actions, don't they? Live well, making good decisions and you get praise, but it may not last long. Make unwise choices and your reputation is marred for a lot l...

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.  Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. (Proverbs 9:7-9 NLT) If you have ever tried to correct someone who is so deadset in believing their opinion was right, even though it is clearly not correct, you likely walked away frustrated and a bit confused. You might have wondered how they could not see the truth when it was right their before their eyes. Well, do you see images with your eyes closed? Maybe you can picture remembered images, but you aren't seeing what is right in front of you! People who refuse to listen to truth have "remembered" the lies and refuse to embrace truth because they have closed hearts. The wise were willing to open both their eyes and their heart. An open heart made all the diffe...

This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’ (Jeremiah 33:2-3 MSG) Back in the day, when I was attempting to learn guitar, I had the standard black guitar case. I covered that thing with bumper stickers because it was the 'in' thing in those days. I had a peace sign, smiley face, and some with messages. One of those stickers read something along the line, "God hasn't forgotten your number, have you remembered his?" It was a reminder that we never stray from his line of sight, nor are we 'out of range' when it comes to 'dialing in' with him to discuss anything and everything! Call to me - there is no other source we can call upon that will provide the same purposeful answers, or the interventions we require. We aren't just raising 'concerns' with God, we are t...

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. (Titus 2:11-14 MSG) This passage has so much in it, but here are just a few nuggets of truth we should really latch onto: 1) God stands ready to give salvation to all who ask, as well as extending forgiveness as it is sought with a sincere heart. The offered gift is for everyone, but one must reach out to accept a gift - it doesn't just happen without engagement on our part. When a seeking heart is open to receiving the gospel message and leans into the truth that their sins c...

Teach me how to live to please you, because you’re my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland. (Psalm 143:10 MSG) Gonna ask a hard question today - who you living to please most today? Now, before you just haul off and answer, 'Why, Jesus, of course!', let's do a little heart examination. I have to do this from time to time because I have a tendency (and you may be like this, too) to get a little complacent in my 'following'. There are times I find myself living to please God, on fire for him, loving time in his Word and enjoying times of deep emotional connection with him. There are also times when I find myself easing back, settling in, getting a little too comfortable with my faith walk. I am glad we can count on him to call us to attention once again, bringing some form of a reminder that we need him, aren't paying as close attention as we should, and require a little adjustment in our focus.  I remember a time back when I p...

Steady my steps with your Word of promise so nothing malign gets the better of me. (Psalm 119:133 MSG) Steady steps require more than good footwear, but it sure goes a long way! God tells us to have our 'feet shod' with the 'readiness that comes from the gospel of peace'. (Ephesians 6:15) We might not think much about the 'readiness' of our 'footwear' spiritually, but if we want to do more than 'wobble' through life, we need a sound footing! Spiritual readiness isn't instant - it requires a commitment to the things God says will help us gain such readiness, especially the study of his Word. In the times scripture was written, footwear was actually 'tied' to one's feet. These bindings actually held one's footwear securely under one's foot. Without the effects of the binding, the feet would be unprotected. We find the security of the gospel of peace providing a protective 'barrier' just as the footwear of those da...

If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. (John 14:23-24 MSG) Jesus has just finished saying that a "loveless world is a sightless world" in response to Judas asking if Jesus was about to make himself plain to his disciples but not to the world at large. If anyone loves me - we must all answer to that standard - no one is exempt. The world wasn't ready to embrace him, but they would be given the chance to do so - their heart needed his love more than they knew it. Without his love, we all live 'sightless' lives, for we cannot truly see the goodness of God apart from his love indwelling our hearts. Loving God means we will reveal evidence of that love toward him through our obedience to his Word. His instructions, all of them, lay before us. We make an active choice to either follow those instructions or reject them as meaningless or worthless to...

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. (Ephesians 3:5-6 MSG) On the same ground. Those words indicate what some refer to as a level playing field. In other words, there is no difference between human beings. No status, race, religion making any man better or worse than any other. In modern terms, the situation is similar for all people - we ALL are sinners, ALL are in need of a Savior, ALL are incapable of being made right with God on our own, ALL must confess our sins and be made right with God through Christ Jesus alone. No other path exists. Right-living begins and ends in Christ Jesus. The same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. This should give us a sense of hope and encouragement as ...

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits?” Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.” (Mark 2:15-17 MSG) Who needs to see the doctor among us? If we have an ailing big toe, sore beyond measure, we seek advice as to how to get that toe to stop hurting. We wouldn't go to the mechanic or ask the garbage man collecting our trash what caused it, how to treat it, or when it might stop hurting, would we? We'd see the doctor - the one with the specific knowledge as to how to treat our condition. So, when we are not spiritually healthy, facing doubt or fear, why do we insist on consulting any other 'advisor...

After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and word got around that he was back home. A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. (Mark 2:1-3 MSG) He was teaching the Word. We might read on to the best parts of this record, finding faithful friends who press through the crowd, tear back a section of the building's roof, lower the paraplegic man into the midst of the room where Jesus sat teaching, and find that he was totally healed. Today, I want us to stop short of that recorded story, though. I want us to see what drew the crowds in the first place - he was teaching the Word of God. It wasn't the miracles that drew them - he was teaching truth and they were crowded around to hear what he taught. I wonder if our hearts are that intent on finding out what he has to say to us today? Whenever we go to God's Word, we do so with some form of intent. Perhaps we are looking for answers, or maybe we want some form of spiritua...

Your love, God, fills the earth! Train me to live by your counsel. (Psalm 119:64 MSG) We will always live by some set of 'rules' or 'standards'. Some might be quite 'good', while others may be a little on the 'errant' side. For example, we follow the speed limit - good; we spend all we make and never save anything for unexpected expenses - errant. We can follow the 'rules' set by others or those we set ourselves. For example, we pay our taxes each year - others set these rules for us; we go to bed each night in sufficient time to afford us seven hours of sleep - a rule set by us because of how it makes us feel. What we choose to 'live by' makes all the difference - who we choose to follow also makes a huge difference, doesn't it? God's love fills the earth - it has nothing but the best in mind for us. Why do we resist following his 'rules' or 'standards' so much, then? We find ourselves trying to bend those rule...

"Anger is the wind that blows out the lamp of the mind." (Robert Green Ingersoll) Don’t hang out with angry people; don’t keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious—don’t get infected. (Proverbs 22:24-25 MSG) If your mom was anything like mine, she cautioned you to find the right group of friends, being wary of hanging out with the 'wrong crowd'. We all knew who the 'wrong crowd' were, didn't we? Depending upon our generation, they could have been the rebellious teens of the 50's who thought it was cool to smoke and dress in slightly more 'provocative' clothing. If we grew up in the 60's, it was likely the hippies who wore multi-colored clothing, sported peace signs, and drove VW buses. There were the anti-war protestors, draft dodgers, potheads, and later the ones who were labeled as 'lose' or 'gang like'. Regardless of the ones our parents labeled as the 'wrong crowd', it was always their intent to ke...

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG) What is God doing? There are times we all ask that question, not really sure that God is in control, but trusting that he is, we still find ourselves asking what he could possibly be doing with what is going on around us. Watch what he does - that is a pretty specific instruction. We are to observe what he does because we learn best when we have an example of an expected action. God loves us - repeatedly, unconditionally, without doubt or regret. In the same manner, we are to love others, but we need to see his example in order to respond to others with this type of love, don't we? So, observe how he love...

That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. (Ephesians 2:19-22 MSG) God is building a home - not just a residence, but a home. When most of us think of home, we think of a place where one is welcomed, settles in, and is able to really feel safe. Some may not have come from a very 'safe' or 'welcoming' home life, though, so their interpretation of Jesus 'building a home' m...

True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. (Job 12:13 MSG) How to live and what to live for - these are two frequently sought after things, aren't they? We want to know the ins and outs of living well - 'making it' as society would refer to it. We also want to know what to avoid - so we don't fall into mishaps. We seek advice from one source after another, often neglecting the source that is right there in front of us - God's Word. We neglect time in prayer because we think it is too hard to know what to pray or that there must be some 'secret formula' that gets God to listen to our prayers. All the while, God stands at the ready to show us both how to live and what to live for - we just haven't looked to the right source, or listened to his wisdom in what to choose when presented with various choices. Wherever did we get the idea that we could figure life out on our own? That is an out and out ...

Jesus said, “Sign on with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.” (John 6:29 MSG)  Believe in the one he has sent - be part of his family - this is the offer to us today. So many will still try to do it on their own, even though they have the best offer ever. If someone told you'd they 'pay the price', whatever that price entailed, for something you really needed, would you walk away from the offer? You need a new roof - someone says you can have all the work done at no charge to you, just become an advocate for their services - would you do it? Most likely, you'd accept the offer, becoming one of the very best advocates for their work. Why? You received something that you needed desperately, and the 'work' was all done for you. Well, Jesus offers a gift bigger than a new roof, more important than anything else you ever will stand in need of, and he does so at a 'price' that is already 'paid in full'. Do...

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romanns 12:1-2 MSG) Many of us attempt to 'blend in' with the culture around us, forgetting that God actually calls us to 'stick out' - not like a sore thumb, but in such a way that our lives make an impact on the world around us. It is through the living of our 'ordinary lives' that we become witnesses of his grace and transfor...

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. (Romans 12:4-5 MSG) A chosen people with a chosen purpose. There is much to be unpacked behind that statement but let me tell you there are a lot of people within some church congregations working against their 'chosen purpose' than there are working with it. It is as though they know God has a purpose for them, but they are doing everything they can to never fulfill that purpose. Whenever we forsake our 'calling' (PURPOSE), we are leaving the Body of Christ with a gap that was meant to be filled by us. That gap can be quite wide when there are a whole bunch of people not willing to fulfill their purpose! We each have a function and meaning - no one is exempt from having a function, but not all will 'fu...

The people who love your instruction enjoy peace—and lots of it. There’s no stumbling for them! (Psalm 119:165 CEB) C.S. Lewis wrote: "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." When the peace of God invades our hearts, there is a sense of security that comes from being 'settled' inwardly even when things outwardly may still be in chaos. God's Word can bring peace into our minds and settle our troubled souls, but too often we don't even turn to his Word when we begin to see our peace being actively disturbed. We somehow forget how 'settling' his instructions can be. If we stumble around long enough, trying to do things on our own in order to 'restore peace within', we will eventually find that all that 'stumbling around' was totally unnecessary for peace was right there in his Word. God's Word is living and vital - it is meant to bring life, light, and transformati...

Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I called out to God for help: “Please, God!” I cried out. “Save my life!” God is gracious—it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. (Psalm 116:4-6 MSG) If you don't know which way to turn, God is right there. If you need answers, God is ready to answer. If you are feeling powerless, God's strong right hand is there to defend you. If you are discouraged by life's hardships, God is there to comfort and bring hope. Up against it? Call out to God and your help is right there when and where you need it most. Does his help always come in the ways we imagined? I have learned that the answer to that one is, "Not always - perhaps not usually." God's answers come in varying forms, but they are always there! God is a gracious and loving Savior - he knows how to 'make things right' in our lives, beginning wit...

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith." (Henry Ward Beecher) When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:18-19 NIV) Charles Spurgeon wrote: "Anxiety doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength." Spurgeon was right - the more we focus on the 'what if' of tomorrow, the more our minds and emotions will spin out of control. That spinning will lead to more and more angst about our imagined issues until we find ourselves crying out to God because our 'footing' is swept out from under us. Our footing is to be none other than Jesus Christ himself. When we give into the worries of tomorrow and the frustrations of today, we are likely doing it because we have allowed our steps to lead us to any other footing than him! When we see issues through ou...

If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? (Romans 8:32 MSG) God put everything on the line for us - what are we putting on the line for him? The more we ponder that question, the more we might just realize we are holding out on God. We are giving him small portions of our time, energy and talent, but when it is all said and done, we are still holding back from total obedience to whatever it is he asks of us. Why? It is too hard? We don't want to let go? We think we know better than God? Whatever the reason for holding back, we need to come to a place of surrender and let go of our justification for any form of disobedience! God embraces us just as we are, but that doesn't mean we should go through life 'as we are'. There is a change of heart that leads to a change in actions IF there has been a genuine welc...

When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you, From Jordan depths to Hermon heights, including Mount Mizar. Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids. Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me. Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God’s prayer. (Psalm 42:6-8 MSG) When my soul is in the dumps. Does that ever happen to you? Do you get in the 'mulligrubs' from time to time? I tend to find myself in those times when I don't even know what the cause of the 'discontent' or 'discouragement' is. It is like they can creep in unawares. I don't know about you, but when those times come, I find myself calling out to God because I know when I "rehearse everything I know" about who he is and what he has done in my life, my mood soon begins to change. God promises to love us ALL DAY LONG. Not just when our mood is the greatest or our circumstances seem to be g...

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8 NIV) With him, we can do all things. You've heard that, right? Why do we question his faithfulness to us by taking control of the reins all the time? We don't realize how much we are leaning on our own strength or ability until our feet go out from under us! Then, after we have fallen flat, we look up and seek his help. He was right there all the time - we just didn't listen to him, didn't reach out to him, didn't trust him with whatever it was we were going through. Let's get real here - we get so 'shaken up' in life because we choose to live as our own boss! The leadership of our lives isn't really going to get better under our control. It only gets better when we yield the control. Eyes always on the Lord. This might seem like an easy thing, but let me ask you when the last time was that you got even a bit distracted and gave into some temptation or we...