The Plumbline

 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13) If you have been in church circles for any length of time, you have probably heard the term 'the five-fold ministry' of the church at least once or twice. Christ gave particular instructions as to how his body of believers would operate. The purpose of the five-fold ministry is really quite simple - to equip his people to do his work and build up the believers into a unified body of faith-filled, fully equipped disciples. The apostles are sent out to establish new churches - helping plant new churches wherever they are called. The prophets are list...

God called you and chose you to be his. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all this, you will never fall. And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a kingdom that never ends. (2 Peter 1:10-11) Called, not just chosen. Sometimes we forget we have more to do in this walk with Jesus than just attest to our Christianity. We are called to work alongside Jesus in being witnesses in this very harsh world. We are called to be bold in our faith, standing strong in the midst of things we don't understand fully. In being examples of his grace and love, we can change a very harsh world into a much kinder one. We can make a difference, but only when we are willing to be used by God wherever he places us.  We must never forget that Christ is in control of our comings and goings, but we must also remember that he calls us to action. Witnesses do more than just show up. They get in...

Do God's plans ever change? It is a question I have often asked when things seemed to be going one way and then all of a sudden, they are all headed the opposite direction. Is it possible the 'turn of events' that happened was really all of the original plan? Could it be that I just didn't see the 'whole plan' when I set out on the journey? Is it possible God's plans for us include much more than we see right now? Perhaps God has things more 'under control' than we might think because he frequently reminds us that even before we were born, the plans for our lives were already marked out. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5) But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. (Galatians 1:15-16) Home birth or h...