The Plumbline

“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! ...

They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything. (Bil Keane) Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18) As we move on with our 'new year', perhaps it would be good to rekindle a few relationships that have grown a bit too cool over the past year. It begins with the one we have with our heavenly Father first, then it flows outward. As we recommit to spending time with Jesus each day, getting into his word, and allowing him to guide our path, we need to prayerfully consider other relationships that may need a little 'uplift'. If we haven't invested ourselves deeply, it could be that God is asking us to do so this year. I know some may feel they are being prompted to begin anew with relationships that need a bit more of their attentiveness. It may have become easy to think 'time spent together' is 'building' a relationship, but it is more than '...

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, 8) As we close out another year, let us keep in mind two things Christ asks of each of us - two things that will give us the best start to our new year. First and foremost, connect with him. We cannot expect to make wise decisions about our future, much less our present circumstances when we are not actively connecting with him. Secondly, we need to remain in a close relationship with him. The branches of a vine are no good without connection, but when connected, they have a source for life. Branches that are intertwined will actually grow stronger than those that are just trying to do things on their own. One vining branch may attempt to grow in the opposite direction of the rest, producing just a bit of fruit, but in time, the heat of day will scorch it, the birds will pick it clean, and the landscaper will lop it off! The vine a...

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5,8) John Calvin said a dog barks when he sees his master attacked. Why would we ever think God wouldn't raise a ruckus when the enemy of our soul even attempts to snatch away one of his own? Those who remain in him can always be assured of his protective oversight in their lives. We have a protected relationship and one that is intended to be quite productive. It is no wonder our enemy wants so badly to get at us!  To remain indicates a specific state is met and maintained. In other words, we don't move from where are because it is a place specifically designed for us - a place designed for his presence to dwell. If we want to go beyond that protection, we will find ourselves kind of on our own - outside of the place where the best fruit can be developed in our lives. Maybe this is why we haven't produced fruit - we have ...

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4) Our Arizona sun has done a number on our garden this year. What started out so healthy, green, and fruit bearing has now become brittle, yellowed, and the fruit is nowhere to be found. The severe heat of the day, despite covering the plants with shade covers, has made what should have been a very fruitful spring/summer harvest a dud. I have observed something similar in God's kids on occasion. They seem to spring up with all kinds of gusto and good intentions, then when life's heat turns up a bit, they almost wither on the vine. I am not sure...

You are right and you do right, God; your decisions are right on target. You rightly instruct us in how to live ever faithful to you. My rivals nearly did me in, they persistently ignored your commandments. Your promise has been tested through and through, and I, your servant, love it dearly. I’m too young to be important, but I don’t forget what you tell me. Your righteousness is eternally right, your revelation is the only truth. Even though troubles came down on me hard, your commands always gave me delight. The way you tell me to live is always right; help me understand it so I can live to the fullest. (Psalm 119:140-144) I don't imagine it is many of us who can say we are true to our word - for we all struggle with this at times - no matter how much we live in a manner where we strive to consistently follow through on what we say we will do. We struggle with the "promises" we make God more than we do the ones we make to our fellow man. Scripture outlines two inter-...

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.   (Benjamin Disraeli) Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. (Romans 12:15-16) It is hard to hear how much tragedy is touching families these days. Family members lost to this virus; others surviving it, but left with life-long debility. Jobs lost; mementos buried under rubble; homes no longer habitable due to natural disasters. Entire countries in unrest; people senselessly murdered for their beliefs or unwillingness to bow their knee to the ruling authorities. The worst of the worst can leave one wondering where it will all end. It is likely you have been 'emotionally' vested in the lives of those who have experienced such a tragedy. Crying until tears no longer come - groaning in agony with those who su...

If you have ever had your eyes diverted for just a moment or two while driving, then realized how dangerously close you were to heading into the tail-end of another car or swerving into someone else's lane, then you probably also know the 'immediacy' of your reaction to 'correct' your course. You immediately brake, bringing the car back into a safe distance behind the one in front of you, or you get back into the lane you were to be in and then remain vigilant to remain there! With all the texting while driving I see these days, it is easy to see how accidents can be on the rise - for diverted eyes only take a moment to allow the catastrophic to occur. The same is true in our spiritual lives - diversions are dangerous to us - they change our course, put us in harm's way, and can take a little bit more 'over-correction' than we might first imagine. God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my...

We all know there are things in this world 'joined together' that just don't stay together very well! I have had chairs get wobbly over the course of scooting in and out, with joints coming loose and requiring much effort to get them 'firmed up' again. I have had papers placed in right order, stapled and bound, only to find that after repeated examination those pages 'wear loose' and sometimes even tear away from their bound edges. Heaven knows there are tons of relationships, once strong and vibrant, now withered and worn, no longer with anything holding them together - although once bound together, they are now separate and standing alone. It is not God's plan to have what he joins with him ever loose that connection, though. His intent is that we are joined with him - in an intimate and growing relationship - not to be separated from him again! “ I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and ...

Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. (Dr. Seuss) “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father."   ( John 15:5,8   TLB ) Could it be that Christmas begins with "connection"? It took Christ's "connection" with human form in order to actually re-establish "connection" of the human with the divine! I have had some times of "loose connection" in my life - with Christ, others, and tasks or responsibilities. Let's just be honest here - maintaining "tight" and "permanent" connections is kind of hard sometimes. It requires constant attention to the details because it doesn't take much to disturb connection! In what ways are connection lost? The first thing that might come to mind is by it...

And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done. ( Colossians 2:6-7   TLB ) A moment of honesty here. There are times when I trust others to do as they say, but when they take too long, or aren't doing it the way I'd like it done, I sometimes intervene! Why? I've got a little bit of a "control" issue on occasion - most of the time it is "in check", but on occasion, it creeps out! God help me that it doesn't "creep out" where it comes to him doing things in my life, though! I don't want to "intervene" where he is moving, although his timing may not be my own, nor may his ways of accomplishing things always be the way I ...

The  Lord  keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The  Lord  keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. ( Psalm 121:7-8   NLT ) I have occasionally joked with close friends that I'd like to try my hand being a "kept woman". When I say this I usually mean it would be nice to not "have to" work, but do so only if and when I wanted to rather than it being a requirement of not having to live in a cardboard box! There are times I forget that I am indeed a "kept woman" - and each man or woman, boy or girl that gives their lives to him, saying "yes" to his actions of grace in their lives, is a "kept" individual! To be kept means you are supported by another - your needs are met by someone other than yourself. In the sense of our relationship with Christ, this is perhaps one of the hardest lessons for us to learn. We often find ourselves going to him with our needs, but when the provision doesn't c...

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  (Ephesians 4:2 NLT) We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. (Herman Melville) Like it or not, we are all connected to one another in some form or another. The baker depends on the grain grown in the field of the farmer and the eggs laid in the nests of the chicken rancher. The butcher has no job without the rancher, just like the nurse has no task without the patient. There are definitely times when we look at who or what we are connected to at the moment and wonder how that ever happened! In reality, we made individual choices, God made corporate choices, and the connection came into being by those choices. While I don't always understand some of my own choices, it is equally true I frequently don't understand God's choices in the connections created by his hand in my own life! It doesn't make thos...

Whoever pulls away  from others  to focus  solely  on his own desires  disregards any sense of sound judgment.  (Proverbs 18:1 VOICE) Joseph Roux stated, "Solitude vivifies; isolation kills."  You might have to mull that one over a little to really get the meat of it, but in essence he is saying moving into a place of being secluded is a little different than totally isolating one's self from others.  We all need a little solitude now and again - just to recharge our batteries.  In a medical sense, the only time we use isolation is when we are trying to control the spread of a very bad disease! At times, a place of solitude becomes a place where we empty ourselves of all the stuff which has been gathering within us and draining us of our energies. In a place of solitude, we get a moment to breathe, to just "chill" - in so doing, we are actually lightening our burden and getting ready for the next steps we might be considering taking. ...

As with each "campaign season", the airways begin to fill up with men and women spouting all manner of campaign promises, hoping those hearing their words will somehow "trust them" to bring about whatever it is they are promising should they win the election.  It is hard to nail jello to a wall, though.  Some of the stuff I hear asked and the way they answer the questions is kind of like nailing jello to a wall. They indicate they have a brilliant idea about how to fix this problem or that, but in very general terms - there isn't a whole lot of substance to what they share.  I have found the best way to pick a candidate for office isn't so much in how educated they are, or even how sophisticated their answers might be, but to listen between the words to see if I can actually hear their heart.  It is often revealed in what they say, as much as in what they don't say!  The same is true in our own lives - sometimes what we say is not as important as what w...

I fear we go through our days and weeks without much communication anymore - real, genuine, heartfelt communication between two individuals struggling to make it through the day-to-day stuff they each face.  In fact, we pull out our phones at the dinner table to check for instant messages, read the latest posts on social media sites, and evaluate the latest stuff trending on YouTube.  We've lost the art of sharing - of just being real with each other - discussing the regular stuff of life and just listening to each other.  I don't expect my best friend to correct me each time we talk together, but there have been times when she just puts in a word here or there which actually help to get me out of my funk, turn my attitude around from one of "self-whatever" to one of really thinking things through from the other person's perspective, or just helping me to decide if I want to buy the new counter tops or not.  Sometimes her words encourage me; at other times they k...

I watched a cute little movie last night which wasn't probably in keeping with everyone's themed "Christmas Feel Good Movies", but it had a pretty good message despite some of the wacky stuff in it.  The movie?  "3-Day Test", a film by Corbin Bernsen.  The plot goes something like many of the other Christmas-themed movies, but it has a little twist.  The man of the house (Tom) has lost track of his family - simply because he is too busy being a "bean counter" (accountant) and is always working to pay the bills.  His teenage daughter gets arrested because of the kids she is hanging around with, while his other two kids (a son who will only communicate with him via a digital sign and a daughter who makes him talk to her doll instead of directly to her) are all pretty disappointed with their good old dad.  So, maybe dad is a little too wacky, but he finally gets the point the family is a mess and he conducts what becomes known as the 3-day test.  He ...

Can you recount some of the people who were brought to Jesus for his help? We have the friends willing to peel back the roof of a home, lowering their buddy on a stretcher into the midst of the crowd surrounding Jesus inside that home.  Their determination to get their friend into Jesus' presence was indeed commendable and something I hope we all have in friends in our lives.  We have the nobleman whose son was taken ill.  Although he could not bring his son on the journey, his earnest attempt to connect with Jesus and get Jesus to go with him to his home was also recorded as one of the first miracles of Jesus.  His faith was commended and as the man returned home, servants greeted him with the news that "while he was on his journey home" the child was healed.  Then we have the mother of a girl  from the region of Syria Phoenicia  who was possessed with an evil spirit.  The earnest plea of this mother on behalf of her daughter was for her to be "...

Have you ever missed out on something?  You planned to attend some special event, having seen it advertised in the media, but then the weekend came and you totally spaced it!  The event happened without you!  How does that happen?  I think it may be related to the busy-ness of our lives these days - getting so much crammed into our lives is just impossible - but it could also be related to our inattentiveness to the details of our lives.  I often remind my readers about the importance of paying attention "on purpose" to the things recorded for us in scripture because they are put there for a reason. They sometimes act as words which will build us up when we are low, or to give us wisdom in the things we should avoid in this life.  Regardless of their purpose WITHIN our lives, they all serve a purpose at some POINT in our lives.  There is no accidental text in the scripture - it is all there because God intended us to learn from it - but to learn from ...

We can get fatigued - it is natural for the body to run down, the mind following just about as quickly.  What gets us to the point of fatigue may be the day-to-day activities of life, or the totally unexpected event which happens in an instant and demands all of our energies to remedy.  After having undergone knee replacement this past week, I am feeling the fatigue of my body having to adjust to the new device, the influence of pain medications, and the pain associated with swelling from the tremendous manipulation of the knee to accomplish the procedure.  It is a physical fatigue, but it has taken a toll on my mind, as well.  I genuinely get to the point of needing to just "shut down" - a rarity for me as most will tell you! When fatigue gets to us, we all respond a little differently - my usual response is to just move a little slower, take a little longer to process, but not to totally "shut down" and nap.  I have a good friend who enjoys those afternoon na...