The Plumbline

I love the Lord for hearing me, for listening to my prayers. Yes, he paid attention to me, so I will always call to him whenever I need help. (Psalm 116:1-2) We all experience times when we don't think our words are getting through to God - times when answers are delayed, times going from rough to horrible, and even times when we want to hear from him, but there doesn't seem to be anything coming our way. I haven't found any evidence in scripture that says God doesn't hear some of our prayers, or that he only hears certain ones. Even when the people of old were praying to him with impure hearts, he heard! It is important to understand there may be a reason for God not immediately answering. As soon as we can discover that 'reason', the better! God will not listen to our prayers when we have unconfessed sin in our lives. "I cried out to him for help, and I praised him. If I had been hiding sin in my heart , the Lord would not have listened to me." (Psal...

He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins. (Colossians 1:12-14) Four important lessons for us this morning stem from what God HAS done on our behalf. We must recognize them as finished works. God doesn't do anything half-way. Whatever he begins, he also takes on to full completion.   1) God HAS made us able. We are able to live holy lives because he is the one who is doing the enabling. If we think we do this on our own, we are going to be trying for a long, long time to get this right! He enables us to have and enjoy all the promises he has made - nothing promised will ever be outside of our reach because he enables us to grasp all of them. 2) God HAS made us free. We no longer need to walk in the darkness of our sin, nor the corruption of this...

I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10) "Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles." (Thomas Browne) Worthless pebbles are sometimes kicked underfoot, tossed aside, or left unnoticed. Would it surprise you to know that is you took one of those 'worthless pebbles' to a jeweler and had him see what he sees within the stone, he might reveal something quite different than what you might have seen in it? In much the same manner, Jesus beholds each of us, rough, ragged, kind of beat up by life, nothing too much to look upon, but within each of us he sees a thing of extreme beauty and value.  God has made us who we are - ...

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10) God has given us his favor, love, and ultimately, deliverance from judgment - all through Christ Jesus. Our part is belief. Take credit for much more than that and you have elevated the importance of what you have done over God's free gift of grace. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done - it isn't about the good works - it all about his embracing a sinful people made completely right through the work of the Cross of Christ. We are created anew - not by our good works, but because Christ dwells within us. We can do good works because he creates a new desire within us to no longer follow the deeds of the flesh or our si...

Great blessings belong to those who trust in the Lord, for those who do not turn to demons and false gods for help. Lord my God, you have done many amazing things! You have made great plans for us—too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count. (Psalm 40:4-5) David, the man who was acclaimed to have a "heart after God's", had a certain determination of will. David faced many "giant-sized obstacles" in his day - spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. He exhibited a determination of will that came through in each account recorded of him in scripture. David could be at the lowest point in his life from a physical perspective, strength waning, body taxed to the max, and he'd still lift his head in praise. He could be deep into the misery of depression, feeling it both physically and in the depth of his disturbed emotions, and he'd turn to God in praise, reach to him in prayer, and celebrate him in worship. H...

But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. At one time you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. In the past you had never received mercy, but now you have received God’s mercy. (I Peter 2:9-10) A chosen people - chosen for a purpose. The purpose? To tell the world about the wonderful acts of God - especially his 'action' of redemption. The 'righting' of the world through the grace we find in Christ Jesus. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, we all live in a 'dark place' without Christ. We make decisions that are self-directed, and we don't always make wise ones. With Christ at the center of our lives, we are called to live lives that reflect the light that comes when his grace enters our lives. That 'telling' is our role - but even the empowerment to 'tell' is g...

May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other. And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) Harmony is not achieved by our own merits, for no set of humans actually 'live in harmony' with another set of humans without some form of conflict from time to time. As long as atoms keep crashing together, there will be some form of conflict, BUT...God can bring patience where conflict seems to abound, steadiness where the foundation has begun to crumble, and tremendous encouragement to keep moving toward agreement and peace.  How is complete harmony ever going to happen? Those who have embraced Christ as their Lord and Savior will be at the forefront of peaceful actions. They will bring a steadfastness into the most difficult of circumstances - a peace and assurance that stands w...

An empty-head thinks mischief is fun, but a mindful person relishes wisdom. The aspirations of good people end in celebration; the ambitions of bad people crash. The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it. (Proverbs 10:23, 28, 32) Ever said to yourself, "Now why'd I do THAT"? I think we probably all have at some point. We plunge right in and then in 20/20 retrospect, we wonder how we ever got as "messed up" as we did. It was probably because we had one of those times when we just didn't stop long enough to consider the consequences of what we were doing - the scripture calls this being "empty-headed". These empty-headed decisions are really not built on a solid foundation therefore they will not turn out well. Our conduct may be fun for a while, but eventually empty-headed decisions catch up with us. Mindful decisions are marked by attentiveness, awareness, and great care. These types of decisions make for a...