The Plumbline

I remember you while lying on my bed. I think about you in the middle of the night. That is because you are the one who helps me. It makes me happy to be under your protection! I stay close to you, and you hold me with your powerful arm. (Psalm 63:6-8) There are many ways to remember God, aren't there? We can do something quit formal such as journaling his accomplishments in our lives, or raising our hands in corporate worship. In the stillness of the night hours there are times when his goodness and grace will just flood in. In those moments, the praise is a little less like raising hands and voices in corporate worship, but more of a stillness and peace that just overwhelms you. Did you realize settling into that peace is actually one way we bring praise to him? God's work in our lives is evident in big ways, such as when he helps us avoid a car wreck, but he is also working when we may not even see it. In the stillness of the night hours, it is often the time when God can st...

Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. (Philippians 3:8-9) When someone embraces beliefs, they begin to 'embody' those beliefs. All their life seems to rotate around their beliefs. If we believe in the right stuff, what we 'embody' begins to affect others in a positive manner but embody the wrong stuff and the impact upon others can be quite negative. Beliefs matter, but we must take notice that there are a variety of beliefs laid out for us in scripture - some are worthy of our embrace, while we are clearly cautions to avoid others. Early on in Old Testament writings, we observe warnings to n...