The Plumbline

  For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. (Romans 11:16) When we give our lives to Christ, asking his Spirit to indwell us, we can count on change occurring. Does that mean it will become evident all at once? If we consider the tree as our example, we might just have that answer to our question. The tree might have 'new roots' and 'new soil' into which it has been planted, but the branches that are already there don't change overnight, do they? There is some pruning that must occur to remove the dead growth. A little pruning must occur that 'reshapes' the tree once it is rooted - to give it enough shape so that the winds go through those branches well enough not to uproot it or break its 'hold' in that new soil. There will be barren branches that don't seem to have any leaves yet, but they must be preserved and allowed to come into full bud or bloom. As all of this occurs, space is made for new growth - the potential for...

Growth is a process that cannot be rushed, nor can it be neglected. We manage to do both, don't we? We want growth to be instant. We overlook the 'maintenance' of that growth, wondering why things seem to be 'going south' as it applies to our spiritual health. Seed might sprout where it is planted, but make no mistake about it, growth requires attentiveness. The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27) God is at work even when we don't see him working. We might not comprehend what he is doing, nor are we always 'attentive' to his work within, but when God plants a seed, he sends the Holy Spirit to tend its growth. We don't have to understand the growth process as much as we need to participate in it as it is occurring. Seed gets sown, but growth comes in its own time. We cannot rush it, although we c...

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32) If you have ever considered the size of a mustard seed, you will likely have noted it is only 1-2 millimeters in diameter. While it is a small seed, the 'tree' produced (or actually a type of shrub) is about 20 feet across and just about as tall! From such a small seed come what some may say is 'remarkable growth'. The leaves start out as very green, then 'morph' into a yellow tone as they age. The ability to not only see physical growth in the height and width of the tree, but to also observe the 'maturity' of the tree by the color of its leaves is kind of neat. One suggests a good connection, while the other suggests a continued connection that allows growth to develop into maturity - something Christ wants for each of us! ...

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12) Ever stop to think why God created seed-bearing plants and trees? Why a seed? Why not just have them grow some other way? It is a principle of 'creation' and one of 'reproduction'. The seed plant or tree was originally created, but the plan for reproduction was meant to show that the life 'created' was to be sustained and multiplied. It wasn't supposed to be a one-time deal - plant born, tree born, then they die off never to be seen again. There is a great deal of potential in the seed - growth from the seed represents the poss...

Teach us how short our lives are so that we can become wise. (Psalm 90:12) You might not think this verse has much to do with making a new start in a new year, but I'd like us to read it again a few times just to grasp the full meaning of what the psalmist was asking. He asks God to 'teach him', but not with aimless education. He wants to really be aware just how limited his time on this earth may be - then he wants God to help him make the very best use of that time. There are thousands of timewasters in this world today - we barely have to look further than the TV or our cell phones to realize just how much 'wasted time' we can rack up without even fully being aware. The thing he prays for is 'awareness'. The purpose of this awareness is revelation - to get to know what is really important for him to know and forget about all the other stuff that really is just 'clutter' in his mind. Maybe that would be a good prayer for each of us this year - to ...

 From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow. (Aeschylus) The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends. (Proverbs 11:30)  We may not realize the 'value' inherent within a single seed, but when we consider all the lives that may be touched by that which is 'born' of the seed, we might just plant a few more seeds! Whether the seed produces nourishment for our bodies, shelter for our heads, or encouragement for our spirit, seeds are never without a purpose - to reproduce. The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life - how many of those seeds will you plant this year? Gardners and farmers alike will tell us the 'value' inherent within the seed requires more than a casual 'flinging' of the seed. There is much purpose behind the simplest of planting. We each have been given 'seed' to plant, but sometimes we find the preparation takes longer than the planting. Once planted, we might get a little discouraged by the time it tak...

You don’t know where the wind blows. And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s womb. In the same way, you don’t know what God will do—and he makes everything happen. (Ecclesiastes 11:5) We all have those seasons in life when we know stuff is happening, or about to happen, but we really aren't sure what all is about to come our way. We get a little frightened by the stuff we don't understand, try to make some assumptions about what we believe may be happening, and generally get ourselves all out of sorts when stuff gets harder than we'd like. Then along comes God's intervention and all of a sudden, almost without us noticing, things begin to sort themselves out and life gets a little easier. What we missed in all that in-between stage was the peace God wants us to walk in as we go THROUGH those seasons. Today, we can use 3-D ultrasound to get an almost perfect picture of the baby's features. In the time this passage was recorded for us, a baby was conceale...

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4) I bet there aren't too many of us that actually think trials are good for us, much less that God could actually allow more than a few of them to come our way. Trials are meant to test our faith - period. Within the trial comes the chance to really show who it is we serve and what it is we believe. In other words, we are showing God we put him first and rely upon him for all we have need of in our lives. It is in the midst of the trial that our 'true self' emerges. It is within the trial that we see how much we rely upon ourselves through the knowledge we have amassed, or our ability to 'reason it out' on our own. These trials may not be easy, but they act...

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. (Ellen Glasgow) No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. (Romans 2:29) The Apostle Paul is dealing with a whole lot of 'we are better than they are' mentality - it is 'better to be a Jew' than a Gentile kind of thing. Isn't it silly to compare ourselves to others by what we see as 'superior' in ourselves compared to what we see as 'inferior' in others? The most profound thing he pointed out to those who opposed Christ as the Messiah was that a changed heart is produced by the Spirit of God, not some 'act' or 'practice' man engages in. A changed heart is God-produced, God-ordained, and God-blessed. The 'we are better' mentality comes with prideful attitude of seekin...

I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again. (Philippians 1:6) We can sometimes feel like we aren't going to get to where we hoped to get to, finish what we hoped to finish, or just accomplish that one big thing we set in our sights. What we do with those moments determines if we will ever direct our focus toward it long enough to see it completed. We cannot think of having to "rest" in between the spaces or seasons of "accomplishing stuff" as a negative thing. I think God purposefully gives us some seasons in our lives where we kind of "coast" for a while because he knows we'd be overwhelmed if he didn't. He knows our personality and our emotional make-up. Just because you need to step back for a moment, don't be defeated - God isn't finished! The seasons of emotional, physical, and spiritual frenzy would be our undoing if they continued on and on. Don...

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.  But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. (2 Peter 1:5-9) How many things can we say we really make every effort to develop in our lives? I played guitar for a while, but I never made an effort to become very good at it. I did some jewelry making in high school, but it never continued once I was out of school. I did a little leather working, but that too fell by the wayside. I went to Bible College, but never pas...

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25) I am not a 'journal person' - I don't keep a diary of the daily events and happenings in life. In fact, I tried it for a couple of months to see if I could keep track of what I was doing and other stuff like the things that were happening in my ministry. It got to the place I was repeating myself, so I quit. As much as I thought this 'diary' thing was a 'big deal' for believers to 'keep track' of God's blessings, it wasn't all that 'big of a deal'. It was shortly after that failed attempt at keeping a diary that I realized God wanted me to simply spend time with him, writing down the stuff he told me in those times, beginning to really digest the scriptures for myself. When I began to record what God was sharing from his Word and my time pondering it, I found that much less cumberso...

A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold. The rich and the poor are all created by the Lord. When you see trouble coming, don’t be stupid and walk right into it—be smart and hide. (Proverbs 22:1-3) Every day in our lives is an opportunity to leave a legacy of some kind. It can be positive or negative, uplifting or kind of a bummer, rewarding or just plain dumb. Some days are the type we might call 'transition moments' - a time when God is taking us from one place to another - spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or even relationally. Transition is just a big word for change - moving from one position to another, passage from one state into another. The old adage certainly holds true - there is one constant in life and that is change. Sometimes change comes in ominous, crashing ways. We need to know we have an opportunity to not take those change moments alone - Christ walks at our side, even leading the way so we have a clear pathway through ev...

You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God. (I Peter 2:3) I have tasted some pretty good stuff in my days. Chocolate, a nicely charred steak, sweet potatoes with melting butter, and mom's cheesecake. These are but a few of the things I have 'tasted', but there is one thing I have tasted that rises above all the rest: Jesus' grace and goodness. For years, the See's Candy Shops have given out a free piece of candy to the visitors in their shop. Why? To entice you to want more! God's grace is kind of like that - you get one taste of how liberating it is and you just keep coming back for more! Grace is not meant to be tasted once and then that's all you ever experience it. It is meant to be tasted again and again, until you are overflowing with the goodness of it. Grace received is going to do something we may not have really anticipated - it helps us grow up in Jesus...

It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.” (Romans1:16) Right with God means we can stand before God without fear of judgment. How is this possible? We place our trust in the finished work of Christ at the cross. We learn to live a new life at the foot of the cross - beginning the moment we say 'yes' to Jesus and then continuing on as the Holy Spirit begins to take the Word of God and apply it various areas of our lives where we most need it. Trust is the basis of faith - faith is required in order to stand strong. As we discussed in an earlier post, faith isn't just 'given' - it is grown within us. The seed of faith is placed there by God himself, then ...

You will know these people because of what they do . Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds. In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. (Matthew 7:16-18) If you have ever had something begin to grow in your garden and then wondered what it might be, you may have left it grow a little longer because you think it resembles a flower or perhaps a plant that may produce some type of "fruit". As it grows, you can begin to tell if it is what you thought it might be or not. When it no longer resembles what you thought it was, you pluck it up because you now recognize it as not being the "fruit-bearing" plant you imagined. I feed birds - this produces a variety of "undergrowth" in my flowerbeds because they fling seed everywhere. There is also a whol...

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; g rass dries up, flowers wilt,  God’s Word goes on and on forever.  This is the Word that conceived the new life in you . (I Peter 1:22-25) At the point of conception, life begins. We may not see all that is occurring, but we know there is a 'multiplication process' at work that is bringing new life upon new life. God's Word conceives life within us - new life - each and every time we hear it, embrace it, allow it to affect our lives. New life upon new life - this is the assurance we have in Christ Jesus. Our lives are not ours alone - we are meant to share that life with others - by modeli...

If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. (Isaiah 58:9-12) I live in the Arizona desert, so growing things here is a little more difficult than it might be in the lush greenbelts of our country. Xerarch is a term that indicates the ability to grow and even 'evolve' in dry places. Most of us face those "dry places" in l...

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples." (John 15:5, 8) Most might be familiar with this passage about the vine and branches - being joined together with Christ producing new life within us. I have to ask - did anyone really see the part about how God shows WHO HE IS to the world? It is the production of fruit in our lives - when we become mature in our faith and stand strong in the faith - these are evidence of WHO he is, not just what he does! The first thing to remember is that fruit cannot be produced where ...

Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness . He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. (2 Peter 3:8-9) There are times I overlook the obvious, believing instead there must be something more to what I am seeing or hearing. I guess this is human nature - we see or hear one thing, then immediately jump to the conclusion there must be some other meaning - either because we don't think things can be THAT simple, or we believe others just could not MEAN what they are doing / saying. I think this is some defense mechanism on our part - protecting us from some things we just don't want to deal with right now, or attempting to believe the best about another just because we don't want to think they could behave that way. In some respects, this...