The Plumbline

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. (Ephesians 3:12) In Old Testament times, the high priest would prepare an offering to take into the Holy of Holies (an inner chamber within the Tabernacle of Moses). He'd enter with more than a little trepidation because of the presence of God that dwelt there. The holiness of God was the very thing that could be their undoing, especially if they came with unprepared hearts and hands. If the high priest entered without preparing himself, he could be struck dead! No wonder he took the time to prepare! Now, we enter boldly into God's presence, having our hearts prepared by the Spirit of God that indwells us. His presence goes with us - in us, in fact - because of the finished work of Christ. What does that 'bold access' to the presence of God mean? It means we no longer need to bring sacrifices to 'atone' for our sins. We are already forgiven. We now enter readily...

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”... And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:1, 9-10) Teach us to pray. These are words of gold to our heavenly Father. They are words that will bring down the warriors of heaven on our behalf and send the enemy of our soul running in fear. Prayer is more about coming into connection with God has for us than it is us telling God what it is we need from him. We might think it is all about the request, but God knows in the request comes the opportunity to change things within our hearts and minds that need change. Yes, we express our concerns and bring our needs to him. Yes, we are free t...

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) The context of this passage comes upon the summation of the necessity of Christ's birth, death, and resurrection.  Unfolded in these passages are the truths behind the old covenant of the Law of Moses (a set of sacrifices, feasts and ways of worship) and the total fulfillment of that Law by Christ.  The shedding of his blood was the perfect s...

14  But Jesus the Son of God is our great High Priest who has gone to heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting him.  15  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned.  16  So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 TLB) We need to be bold in our faith - bold believers through and through. I know there are times when we face uncertainties and somehow all our boldness flies out the window like some vapor ascending into the unknown. If we are be 100% truthful here, we ALL need a little lesson in boldness! Why? We get doubt in the driver's seat and faith merely becomes a passenger. Passengers don't control the car - although they may try to tell you where to turn, stop, or what's just around the bend, you are under absolutely no oblig...

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. ( James 1:5   MSG ) We have been looking a little at what it means to pray - the posture we should take is one of boldness, not timidity. The purpose of prayer is relationship - to strengthen our heart's connection with the one who already loves us so very much. The pathway to prayer is submission - in laying ourselves down, even for just a little while, we "make room" to take in a little of the presence of God and to bask it in a little while, listening and absorbing. The productivity of prayer is found in what we leave and what we receive - it is in "bringing" and "leaving" that we...

If you were raised Catholic, you probably have a "view" of the priesthood a little different from someone raised in a non-denominational background.  For example, the Catholic church has a set of rituals the priest must perform on a regular basis - everything from blessing ordinary water to turn it into holy water to saying the mass each day.  In the Old Testament (OT), there was this idea of the religious leaders being called "priests" - not exactly in the sense of what the Catholic church may require, but similar.  The most important thing about the OT priest was that he was "set aside" from the rest of the community in which he dwelt for the specific purpose of all the duties associated with worship and sacrifice.  Their duties included such things as preparing the offerings each day which were to be burnt on the altar, intervening for the people of Israel before God in prayer, and the like.  There was also this office of "High Priest".  Basi...

Hesitation - a delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear; a state of doubt.  How many times do we simply avoid doing something just because of our fear?  If you and I are honest, it may be more than most would think.  We avoid saying something when we feel impressed to do so, or don't act on what we know simply because we are reluctant to take that first step.  Hesitation is the cousin to procrastination.  While procrastination is the delayed action, hesitation is the uncertainty which sometimes is the cause of the delay. This hesitation can keep us from some pretty awesome stuff, though.  Especially as it deals with coming into the fullness of what God has planned for those who are bold enough (not overtaken by fear or doubt) to walk straight into his presence and spend some time getting to know him! 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...

Yesterday we began a discussion about some character traits which we seldom focus on when really examining ourselves in the mirror, but which are really what makes us very appealing to God, and honestly, they make us pretty "appealing" in all other respects, as well.   As I mentioned, these traits are interwoven, almost dependent and coexistent with each other.  One trait just doesn't stand alone.  It would be like having one hair on the top of your head, one on your chin and an errant hair growing from your big toe.  It just makes no sense for hair to be on your big toe!  It makes perfect sense for it to be on your head, and only makes sense for it to be on your chin if you are a man!  Yet even one hair on the top of the head is kind of out of place, isn't it?  It needs its "sibling" hairs in order to really make a "display" of the beauty of our hair.  So it is with these character traits - they need each other in order to put on "perfe...

When I took my business classes in school, one of the things I was taught was how to write a formal business letter all the way through an informal memorandum.  You learned the various components of each because you never knew what you'd be called upon to draft.  In a formal letter, there is a structure to it - the heading, inside address, salutation or greeting, introduction (or purpose), the body, the conclusion or complimentary close, and the signature line.  In essence, the introduction gave you a synopsis of what the body would elaborate upon.  The complimentary close was just a short ending to the letter, often thanking the reader for their consideration, and driving to some action.  One of the things I have observed in the epistles (or letters to the believers at the churches of the First Century) which make up our New Testament is the opening comments which outline the purpose of writing and the concluding comments which summarize the information outline...

Shyness is often thought of as "cute" when you see a small child burying themselves in the shoulder of their daddy, or hiding behind the skirt of their mommy.  They pull away, thinking hiding their faces will keep them from having to interact with the stranger making a big fuss over them at the moment.  In reality, they are quite visible!  They may have "postured away" from the "thing" they see as a threat, but they are really still present!  There are times I imagine we take this same "stance" with God - such as when he asks us to do something we may not feel entirely comfortable doing.   God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. (2 Timothy 1:7 The Message)   Shyness is really us being timid, or easily frightened away by whatever it is we are being asked to do.  If we were the small child in the arms of our parent, we may be frightened by having to interact with someone we do not know.  In the case o...