The Plumbline

What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8 NLT) So many times, we seek to 'bring' something to God, offerings of some kind - all because we 'want' something from him. It is as though we have a 'transactional' relationship with him. I will do this if you do that. The moment we try to 'transact' with God is the moment we should realize his favor is not 'bought' with our good deeds. Our good deeds are an outflow of his favor and grace in our lives! God requires us to do what is right. There is no more 'beneficial' plan for our life than to walk...

As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! (Ecclesiastes 10:1-3) If you ever wondered about some of your decisions in life, you are not alone. I have built stuff, then looked at it a few years later wondering why I put it there or how come the materials haven't held up to the elements. I have said I'd do something, not really thinking through the demand it would place on my body or the time it would take. We all make those 'snap decisions', wondering desperately why we made THAT choice instead of the other. The hope is that we make wise ones, but truth be told, we ALL make some pretty foolish ones on occasion. What we do with that 'not very wise' choice is important. We can flounder around, looking for ways to escape the foolishness of it all, or we can simply go alo...

If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me. (Hebrews 10:30-31) If we give up, turning our backs on God's grace, do we think we will just sail on by? The answer is quite clear from our passage - our judgment isn't going to be 'aw, I understand, you just needed a break from Jesus'. It is going to be 'you rejected me, divine judgment won't be pretty for ...

Nothing reflects so much honor on a workman as a trial of his work and its endurance of it. So it is with God. It honors Him when His saints preserve their integrity. (Charles Spurgeon) For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. (Philippians 2:13-15) Living with integrity is what pleases God and we can only accomplish this through the power of his Spirit that lives within us. Have you ever been criticized for being 'too good' or 'too respectable' in your actions? Don't stop living that way! It is a thing that definitely honors God! In the midst of trials, our endurance is put to the test. If we are truthful, none of us really enjoys the trial as much as we appreciate the 'thing within us' that keeps us strong, fait...

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? ...We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. (2 Corinthians 2:15-17) Our lives are to be a fragrant thing. We actually exude an aroma of grace when we are followers of Christ. There is a scent you may not recognize behind that one of grace, though - the scent of accountability. Grace exudes a fragrance because forgiveness brings a releasing of a burden we could not bear up under any longer. A truthful heart that makes the connection with Jesus on an ongoing basis exudes the aroma of accountability - a transformed life always requires a spirit of willing submission. The fragrance our lives gi...

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt And cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2) You may not realize the act of mercy as much as you do the 'feeling' of mercy. God extends his mercy to us whenever we seek it, all the while 'feeling' the tremendous load of guilt lifting as he does. We are remorseful and kind of 'down' on ourselves because we gave into temptation. We 'feel' guilt because it is actually an emotion that begins to dominate our thoughts and other emotions whenever we find ourselves 'crossing some line' that our subconscious mind told us not to cross. The desire we entertained gave way to an unwarranted or unwanted action and now we are 'feeling' it. It only stands to reason that God's mercy would elicit the exact opposite reaction as our guilt did, doesn't it? Mercy is God's ...

But now, put all these things behind you. No more evil temper or furious rage: no more evil thoughts or words about others, no more evil thoughts or words about God, and no more filthy conversation. Don’t tell each other lies any more, for you have finished with the old man and all he did and have begun life as the new man, who is out to learn what he ought to be, according to the plan of God. (Colossians 3:8-10) The most powerful statement any of us can remember is: "You have finished with the old man and all he did and have begun life as the new man, who is out to learn what he ought to be..." Sometimes it feels like the 'old man' is still in control, giving into our tempers, not so God-honoring thoughts, gossip, and all kinds of ill-advised schemes. It would do us well to rehearse these words over and over again, especially when the 'old man' side of us wants to take control. Reminding ourselves that we have 'finished with the old man' isn't ju...

Bring your confessions, and return to the   Lord .   Say to him,  “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,   so that we may offer you our praises.  The  Lord  says,  “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;  my love will know no bounds,  for my anger will be gone forever. (Hosea 14:2, 4) Many forget just how far they have fallen away from what God intended. All have fallen and are somewhere 'short' of where they should be, but when we bring our confessions to God, fully devoting our hearts to him, we will find he heals us of all our faithlessness. His love indeed knows no bounds - especially when it comes to restoring a repentant heart and a hungry soul. Look at what the Israelites say: "Forgive ALL our sins and GRACIOUSLY receive us..." The truth is that sin finds an inroad, making its way into our hearts and minds, until one day we don't even realize just how far we have fallen. At whatever point God's grace finally taps in...

 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. (Jeremiah 17:9-10) What does your heart hold onto? What 'secret motives' have been hidden away in the recesses of your mind, will, or emotions that seem to creep up at the weirdest times, giving you an urge to say or do things that you know you should not? We must never forget that God gave us our unique 'make-up' - body, soul, spirit. He created us and he has watched over our lives from the very beginning - even when we made bad choices, others inflicted pain upon us by their bad choices, or we struggled to make better ones than we had in our past. Our heart might want to betray us from time to time, but when our spirit is rightly connected with God's Spirit, we stand a much better chance of resisting temptation. As a young believer, I used to wonder what God meant by the words, "I give all...

It was Barack Obama who said, "We are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too." Confucious said, "The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." We must never forget that nation after nation has fallen, only to be replaced by another who comes after, making those who remain 'foreigners' in that nation. What makes a nation great? If we trust what God says to us, it is the pursuit of all manner of good and the trust in his ways.  Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34) William Penn reminds us, "True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it." Mending fences has always been part of God's economy. He trusts us to seek out godly practices, replicating them in our homes, and then changing our communities through those godly actions. It is what truly will make any nation great...

Lord, how great is your mercy; let me be revived by following your regulations. (Psalm 119:156) As we contemplate this verse today, I would like to say there are definitely times when we need God's mercy, but we find it hard to ask. For some reason, our minds have us convinced our sin is too great, we have 'failed yet again', or there is so much shame over whatever it is we have done that we just know God is going to be heartbroken when we come to him with it. It may come as a surprise to some that God already knows what you and I have done, so any delay in seeking his mercy is pretty doggone silly. I frequently find myself waking to words of songs traveling through my brain. It is like my soul wakes up praising God without me having to take conscious effort to do it. One such song frequently comes in those waking hours - a song by Phillips, Craig, & Dean - Mercy Came Running. The words that come so frequently?  Mercy came running Like a prisoner set free Past all my fa...

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting. (William Arthur Ward) Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9) Too many times, we hold onto things we should let go of and let go of things we should have held tight to. We don't realize just how much those things we should have let go of instead of latching onto them have really added a weight to our lives. For a long, long time, others tried to tell me unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness were hurting me, but they did very little, if anything to hurt the other individual. At a certain point, God spoke into my spirit, and he encouraged me to set myself free by letting the one's I held in that place of unforgiveness be free. It seemed counter to what I expected - God telling me I could be free by letting them be free. Holding them captive in a place of unforgiveness in my heart and mind was not bringing them hardship - it was bringing it to me, d...

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8) Moral turpitude is a big way of saying a person exhibits behavior that is CONTRARY to the standards set forth by law, a community, or God. When someone has a problem with their behavior that is contrary to these standards, they're exhibiting behavior that may be vile, shameful or even corrupt. God's plan is for us to grow in his grace - to develop a moral standard that matches his standards. He took great pains to lay out those standards for us in scripture. Are we taking as grea...

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas. (Charles Dudley Warner) God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (I Peter 4:10) I cringe whenever I hear someone say that God couldn't use them or that their 'gifts' were too insignificant to 'count' in the scheme of things. God created each of us uniquely - some with a great big 'canvas', others with a 'small' canvas, but the thing he created is what makes the difference, not the size of the 'canvas'. We all have probably heard that good things come in small packages. I think God uses the canvas of our lives to paint a picture of his grace and love. We are a 'display' of both! Use your spiritual gifts, regardless of how 'small' or 'insignificant' you may believe them to be. The beauty displayed in a life that has been redeemed by his grace doesn't find its significance in the 'qua...

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10) It is easy to tire of 'doing good' when all around all we are seeing is others behaving poorly. We might want to withhold 'good' when someone does something 'not to good' to others or even to us, right? God's requirement (not recommendation) is that we don't allow ourselves to get fatigued (grow weary) in doing good. We are to continually, without ceasing, work for the benefit of all - seeing needs, meeting needs as we have the ability to do so and praying for others without ceasing. Every time we get the chance - that doesn't mean we can 'pick and choose' when we will be a blessing to others. In other words, if they are behaving poorly, we ...

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6:1) I think this should probably read 'when', not 'if', because all of us will eventually find ourselves needing forgiveness and restoration, no matter how hard we try to live according to the principles of grace, goodness, and kindness. We all slip up in weak moments, saying or doing something we later regret. When that happens, do we judge one another, holding onto those judgments and allowing bitterness to form deep within our heart? Do we lovingly restore one another, without judging the actions of the other, not giving place to bitterness and anger? Easier said than done, huh? We might want to remember that what we criticize the most in ot...

That is the way we should live, because God’s grace has come. That grace can save everyone. It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. It teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows true devotion to God. (Titus 2:11-12) As we continue our "January Journey", let's consider what it means to 'live against God'. The very thought of 'living against' anything might mean we become a little too 'assertive' or 'aggressive' in our approach to whatever that may be. It doesn't mean we don't stand up for what is right and stand against what is wrong, but we aren't going to explore that today. I would like us to consider truthfully if there is any area of our lives where we are 'asserting' our will against God's will for our lives. That might be a hard thing to admit right now, but I believe we will make no progress forward with our relationship in Christ...

The moment we begin to justify sin in our lives is the moment we need most to turn back to what God says about each of us. We were born to do wrong - sinners even before we left our mother's womb. Born with the 'birthright' to sin. We aren't born without a will, but rather with a will that is oftentimes opposed to the will of our Creator. As we begin to develop, we use that 'will' to get what we want. As I have said in the past, we don't need to be told to be selfish, self-centered, or self-directed. It comes quite naturally to want all the toys, attention, and permission to do whatever we want! I was born to do wrong, a sinner before I left my mother’s womb. You want me to be completely loyal, so put true wisdom deep inside of me. Remove my sin and make me pure. Wash me until I am whiter than snow! (Psalm 51:5-7) If we have this 'birthright' of being born sinners, how do we overcome sin? There has to be an exchange of nature - our nature for...

God’s grace has come. That grace can save everyone. It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. It teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows true devotion to God. We should live like that while we are waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our great hope, and he will come with glory. (Titus 2:11-13) Grace has come, so live by doing what is right and wise. The world needs to see us living in true devotion to God, not ourselves. What does that true devotion look like? I think it may resemble choosing to live with others in mind, not always focusing on ourselves. What does it mean to live against God? Sometimes it means we choose to do or say things that will hurt another, but it could just mean we don't put him first in our choices. When we put Christ first in our lives, it may shift our priorities more than just a little bit. It can change our whole world. Would we choose to ...

People who do not have God’s Spirit do not accept the things that come from his Spirit. They think these things are foolish. They cannot understand them, because they can only be understood with the Spirit’s help. (I Corinthians 2:14) If you have ever wondered why some people just don't seem to understand what God is doing in your life, it could just be that they haven't met Jesus yet and therefore, they don't understand what you are sharing with them. The Spirit of God is necessary to 'interpret' the things God is doing - to really connect with these things, one needs his Spirit. It is easy for them to understand the things of this world, for that is where their minds are connected. Once there is a connection established between them and God by the power of God's Spirit, they will soon come to understand the things God is doing in and around them, as well. We sometimes try to communicate the things God is doing in our lives in a way that those without God'...