The Plumbline

We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.   Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.    (Romans 5:1-2) Been made right - that is past-tense, my friends. We have right-standing with God ALREADY. In the day-to-day living we continue to do on this earth, God is still at work in our lives, not to change our 'standing' with him, but to help bring us out old patterns of living into the freshness and joy of living by the standards he proclaims over our lives. Sin is still at work around us - temptation still exists. Our 'standing' with God is good in spite of all the evil around us, attempting to pull us back into old patterns of living. If we trust in Jesus, having placed our faith in his 'finished work' within us, we are 'made right' and stand 'right' in God...

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:16-17) Have you ever been 'ashamed' of something you have said, done, or believed? I have and it didn't leave me feeling all that good! Why? Shame has a way of 'eating at you'. You feel 'guilty' all the time, and your emotions range from embarrassment to inferiority. Somehow, the enemy of our soul is delighted anytime there is this fear of dishonor, a sense of disgrace, emotions of disappointment, and feelings of extreme condemnation. This is not the way God wants us to live. He wants us to shed our shame as we come to him for when sin has been erased, shame has no place.  There might be times when we feel a bit...

Are you a map or GPS user? Do you wing it based on the direction of the sun or other landmarks you recognize? I do a little bit of each of these - sometimes recognizing a landmark right off and knowing where I need to turn, while listening intently to the GPS or map's directions to know exactly where to exit a roadway for another. We all need directions - no one of us is able to continually know the right direction to follow all of the time. Things change around us in spite of every effort we might take to keep them the same - so we oftentimes need to have a new course set as those landmarks and way-finding points are no longer 'valid'. How will we find our way? The answer to that question is the most telling in regards to where it is we will likely end up! There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid ...

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesu...

I am always on the look-out for a good deal. I like to find those mark-downs on the end-caps, come across a great garage sale with items so reasonably priced, and even find the perfect good deal on the social media marketplace. A person on the 'look-out' really has to be on their toes, or it is quite possible a good deal could pass them by. Staying on your toes is a term used to describe being prepared for whatever could happen - ready for action - ready to jump in and to take action no matter what it may require. We also could describe this type of 'look-out' stance as being alert and aware of what is going on around us - not missing a beat. There is attentiveness, preparedness, and an investment which is spoken of when we are 'on the look-out'. So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it's still God's Today, keep ea...

Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs . (Charlotte Bronte) If you recall the Charles Dickens classic in which Ebenezer Scrooge is observed making his way to his counting house (today's version of a bank), all the while intent on not celebrating Christmas, holding people captive to their debts, and being unwilling to ensure the poor could have even a small meal to enjoy on the holiday, you might be close to the miserable state a soul endures who is so tied up in himself that he fails to recognize the needs of others around him. I daresay none of us is exempt from a periodic display of selfishness from time to time. If we find ourselves given to this pattern of behavior over and over again, it is likely we are going to develop some of these traits as revealed to us by Scrooge. Nursing animosity or registering wrongs is really a condition of the heart that goes much deeper than 'keeping accounts'. Did you ever stop to wonder why D...

We all probably have heard some variation of the 'confession is good for the soul' terminology. The fact of the matter is that it is one of the most powerful 'actions' we take on behalf of our soul that actually begins to touch the souls of those around us. Being able to own up to your mistakes is hard, but there comes a time when the soul is changed by one simple confession. There is nothing that binds two people together in a more committed manner than being able to confess one's mistakes to the other. Too many times, we hold out for the other to come to the place of admitting they were wrong before we will take even one step in that direction. When we choose to do this, we alienate ourselves from that which will bring health to our own lives. It is in confession that we find healing. The first place of healing is at the foot of the cross - in confession we find deliverance. The next place we may need to make confession is at the feet of a friend - for in confess...