The Plumbline

The sum of Your word is truth [the full meaning of all Your precepts], And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever. (Psalm 119:160) If you hadn't considered this passage before, let me begin by saying that there are far too many individuals today who take God's Word as a kind of smorgasbord of ideas they can pick and choose from as they wish. The SUM of his Word is truth - not SOME of it. That might seem a little too narrow-minded to some, but whenever we exclude any part of his Word as 'impractical', 'not for present day', or 'unimportant', we are always going to arrive at a 'partial SUM' rather than the SUM. According to PhraseHub.com, the original use of 'pick and choose' ranges back to the 1500's. While it may have first been used as a term when selecting fruits and vegetables at the market, picking only the best-looking ones and leaving the rather squishy or overripe ones, the meaning includes much more. It really...

I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. (Psalm 119:14-16) If it seems like we have been focusing a lot on the importance of God's Word over the past several weeks, we have! Why? God's Word is both a weapon of defense and offense. If we find we are entering into a battle of any sort, we want both, don't we? We need the wisdom contained therein in order to be able to initiate our attack when the enemy strikes, as well as the resources to protect us from harm during an attack.  Defense is definitely about our protection, but offense sees opportunities as they are set before us, weighs the value of all the moves that can be made, and then acts upon the best one. Without a good offense, the best defense at our disposal is only half-effective. We don't want to be under attack, but when we are, we want to know our walls of defense are strong, ...

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.   For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.   You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.   But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22-25) We sometimes forget God's Word is more than a message we merely hear. We must take it a step further - obedience. Obedience to God's Word may seem to be a bit 'unconventional' to the majority who surround you, but it doesn't make it okay to ignore it. It is not obeyed in bits and pieces, but in its entirety. It was given to us to help us know God, understand how he works and moves, and to pattern our lives accordingly. Whenever we ignore God's Word, we might not think it will matter all that much, especially when it is ignor...

As we have been studying 'seeds' throughout scripture, we cannot neglect the parable of the sower and the seeds. The seed in this parable is clearly defined by Jesus as the Word of God. The importance of receiving and nurturing the seed is emphasized, but also the condition of the 'soil' or heart of the one who receives the 'seed'.  This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never gr...

When the grandboys were little, I recall my daughter painting some stones golden color, then burying them just beneath the surface in their sandpit. In a short while, the grands began to dig, discovering all the 'hidden treasure' just beneath that sand. Excited to discover their 'pirate booty', they giggled, dug, and showed off their 'find'. Wouldn't it be great if we approached God's word in just that way? With anticipation for what we'd find next, excited to share what we had found, and digging even harder each time we went back to it.  Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end. (Psalm 119:111-112) What do you treasure more than God's word? That could be the hardest question for us to answer today because anytime we value the advice of man, the chances are that we will be putting the cart before the horse! God's word contains very practical advice for living, but we some...

Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful. (Psalm 1:1-3) We receive all manner of advice on how to invest our money, where to buy a car, what neighborhood is the best for our children, and what to wear if we want to impress. All this advice may be of some benefit to us, but there is no 'advice' on this earth that is going to open the door for us to share in relationship with Jesus. We need the wisdom to listen to truth, not just advice.  Advice might be formed after many trials and errors on someone's part. After failing a good number of times, when they finally find the 'formula' that works, they feel like they can offer their advice wit...

Your parents give you commands and teachings that are like lights to show you the right way. This teaching corrects you and trains you to follow the path to life. (Proverbs 6:23) A parent's advice was not something I relished as a kid, teenager, or even as a very young adult. Somewhere along the way into my adult years, my parents became the smartest and wisest people I knew! It is a miracle what God can do to change our parents, isn't it? Really, I am being a little sarcastic there because the one who changed because of God's help was ME. My parents gave me 'commands' - the rules I should live by. Did I always follow them? Nope! Did I get in a bit more trouble than I really wanted to be in? Yep! Have I learned that their 'advice' and 'teaching' was pretty doggone 'solid' and 'trustworthy'? Absolutely! God's plan for us is that we learn from our parents, listening closely to the teaching that actually will 'train us' for l...

Those who love your teachings will find true peace. Nothing can make them fall. (Psalm 119:165) True peace is different from what the world offers through its various self-help, or self-care. We might 'retreat' to the mountains, take a beach trip, or just veg on the back patio for the weekend, but all the 'self-care' won't restore our soul as much as Christ will when we lean into him. Some will proport that if you find something within yourself that brings you joy, that joy will burn out the pain in life. I suggest that if your joy is found in Christ and him alone, your pain will be 'burned out' by his healing touch and nothing else! Fall in love with the teachings contained in God's Word and you are well underway toward finding true and lasting peace. It is the peace that isn't found in circumstances, but in his presence. Nothing can make a man or woman of God fall - although the temptation still remains to compromise. That temptation doesn't ...

As people understand your word, it brings light to their lives. Your word makes even simple people wise. (Psalm 119:130) Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. (Charles Spurgeon) I need light, especially when it is the darkest. In the middle of the day, I even need light in some of those 'recessed places' in my life. Not everything is evident to light until light comes into the place where it has been excluded from exploring. Some of us need a little 'exploring' by Light, don't we? I have often heard believers say they don't know what the Bible has to say - that it is a bit too hard to understand. In answer, I often ask what 'translation' they are using. It could just be that the 'understanding' of the Word is a little 'blunted' because we choose...

If words are but pictures of our thoughts, what picture are you painting? It is possible the picture painted would enthrall some, put off others, and not even faze the rest. It is quite possible the words we choose to speak, as well as the ones we choose to never speak, allow others to see 'into' our hearts. God wanted us to know his heart well, so he gave us his WORD to reveal it! My son, pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Don’t let them out of your sight. Never stop thinking about them. These words are the secret of life and health to all who discover them. Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life. (Proverbs 4:20-23) God tells us to pay attention to what he says because it reveals his inner thoughts, purposes, and power. Herein is the rub - we hear without really listening - not really coming to understand how he works, what he desires, or what is available to us in him. Maybe it is time we learn to put away or pull ou...

Building upon a strong foundation is important. The materials we acquire for the building must be put to use. I have a home improvement store (one of those huge ones) about one mile from the house. I love to take time to go up and down the aisles exploring the various things they have there. If I could have my "run of the store" without worrying about paying for the stuff, it would be like "heaven on earth"! From the little fasteners which seemingly disappear as they are put into the wood, or the drill bit adapter which creates that perfect angle by which you get that screw in at a perfect 45-degree angle, I could create and create and create! As long as those tools and materials remain at the local home improvement store, they are just materials. Unless we actually take into our possession what God gives us for building up our lives and put them to use in our lives, they are simply dreams we hold. We have been given great resources, but if we don't put into pra...

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) Benjamin Franklin said, "It is easier to prevent bad habits than it is to break them." Maybe this is why God encouraged his people to commit themselves to getting into God's Word every day. Recalling his Word on occasion is okay, but 'rehearsing' it until it gets inside of you and begins to affect what you are doing is much closer to what he commanded! Bad habits form a whole lot easier than good ones - at least, that is what I have observed in my own life. The good ones seem to be more difficult because of how I view them - as hard, requiring a 'whole lot of change'. If we didn't form them in the first place, the struggle wouldn't be there! The more we commit to making Go...

Be a friend to yourself; do all you can to be wise. Try hard to understand, and you will be rewarded. (Proverbs 19:8) The little things you neglect and are quite critical of in yourself are ways we show we aren't being a very good friend to ourselves. Perhaps you have a tendency to be quite "down" on whatever character flaw it is that has caught your attention at that moment. You see that flaw in yourself, and then the contradictory "perfection" in someone else. You might even see that same "flaw" in another, but you are more likely to just look at how someone else "has it all together" in that area and then be even more "down" on yourself because of your perceived "flaw". How well are you pursuing the things in life that make you wise? When you apply yourself to wisdom, there is little time to be "down" on the stuff that you get hung up on when all you are doing is looking at your reflection in a mirror! Mi...

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:20-21) If you are a 'planner' like I am, you probably use a variety of electronic applications and even paper lists to keep track of the 'stuff' you need to get done in order to accomplish those plans. One thing I might not have learned early in my life was the need to ask God for his 'list'. I made all the lists, exclusive of seeking his perspective on the list. If you have ever made a few of those lists only to see that they didn't really pan out all that well, you know how frustrating that can be - so, is it any wonder that I ask God to show me his perspective on my list now? God's purpose will prevail - that is a pretty 'set in stone' kind of statement, isn't it? We go about getting all the 'advice' and 'instruction' we can find, but are we really getting ALL of i...

No one can oppose you, because you have the power to do what you want. You asked why I talk so much when I know so little. I have talked about things that are far beyond my understanding. You told me to listen and answer your questions. I heard about you from others; now I have seen you with my own eyes. (Job 42:1-5 CEV) There are always going to be things in life we have "heard about", but have never seen. If we are to be perfectly honest here, we have heard about a whole lot that we don't understand, but we just accept it as fact. If we take everything at face value which we see or hear, we will sometimes form some pretty wrong opinions of others, jump to conclusions about the issues, or get ourselves buying into something that will just rob us of things we hold dear. We often jump to conclusions based on what we hear, but never take the thing we hear about and put it to the test. In turn, we just "react" to the thing we hear and then we might find we are ...

Learning to choose wisely those words we embrace (take to heart) is important just based on the constant barrage of words we each hear.  Even words we may find a little difficult to embrace are often the very words we need to hear at the moment - this is especially true as it applies to the words of God's commands.  There are times when we'd rather not consider those words - seeing them as onerous and a little too "restricting".  We give what I would call "lip service" to them.  When God tells us to love unconditionally, we think this is a good idea and we even proclaim to do so, but putting this into "operation" in our lives is quite another thing.  When we begin to see God's commands as something other than "restrictions", but more like "miracle words", we might just consider them differently.  If you haven't stop to consider the miracle of obedience to what God says - then maybe it is time to do so! Every word you giv...

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. (Hosea Ballou) We can find many ways to seek happiness in this lifetime, but few measure up to true happiness. In fact, ask any ten people for their definition of happiness and you will receive ten different answers. What becomes evident is that happiness is pretty much 'accomplished' when something we want comes to fruition. We are happy when it is a sunny day, and we are not working so we can enjoy it. We are happy when there is money in our bank account, sufficient to pay the bills, but with a bit left over to enjoy some 'free time'. Contentment differs from happiness, because it is not based upon some external condition being met. When the heart and mind are at rest, peace abounding within, spirit in communion with God, we are content. We may not be 'happy' because there are clouds in the sky, but we can be content to know God is at the helm of our day. I inherited your book on living...

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers wilt, God’s Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. (1 Peter 1:24-25) For the past few days we have been looking intently at God's Word - how it impacts our lives, changing us from the inside out. Today's passage contains another important aspect of God's Word that we don't want to overlook - the ability for God's Word to 'conceive' new life in us. Think for a moment about how 'conception' happens in the natural sense. Two completely separate objects intersect and within that intersection the two become one. T...

You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do! (Psalm 73:25-26) Got some saggy skin or brittle bones? My skin isn't as 'taut' as it used to be and there are a few more wrinkle lines that have come with age. I am pleased to say there are a whole lot of smile and 'laugh lines' there, too! By bones aren't what they used to be, but if I'd stop stubbing them on immovable objects, I would be less 'bruised' and 'bunged' up! We all feel a little 'exposed' sometimes, don't we? Exposed isn't a bad thing because we are all messed up people on a journey toward being 'not so messed up' people! The most important thing I look for ...

Ever wonder why we have 'preachers'? Men and women, proclaiming the message of hope found in Christ Jesus - some share the message with regularity, while others are called upon at various intervals, but all 'preach' the message with clarity, certainty, and credibility. The truth is that God chose 'preaching' as the way to bring the message of salvation to a lost and hurting world - to a people with hurts, hang-ups, and habits that needed a way to find healing, deliverance, and stability in their lives. God chose what others may consider kind of silly as his means to deliver this message and he quite often chooses those who have been all bound up in their own issues to become the best of 'preachers'! The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written, I’ll turn...