The Plumbline

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5) Did you know the word "Word" (logos) meant more than 'word' in the Greek language. It also carried the idea of divine reason, mind, wisdom, principle, and message. When John uses 'logos' in this passage, he was indicating all things divine were inherent in Christ - none more important than that he brought the message of salvation for all of mankind! Stop for a moment to consider why John used this form of the word 'logos' to describe Jesus. Perhaps it was because words are what makes up communication - they are what allows the passage of ideas from one person to another....

John's gospel records a wedding celebration attended by Jesus, his mother, and a few of his early disciples. You may know the story, but as the celebration went on, the wine ran out. In those days, the host of the celebration would have been devastated to realize they had 'under-planned' for such an event. Weddings were a big deal, with most likely the majority of the community celebrating such an event. So, how did the host 'run out' of wine? We don't know the 'why', but we know he would have suffered great embarrassment if such a thing had of been known to those in attendance. I wonder how many times we have been saved from 'great embarrassment' when our 'wine jugs' ran dry because of our 'under-planning'? Standing nearby were six stone water jars...each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master o...

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him. (Isaiah 53:4-6) As my pastor read this passage from the NIV yesterday, I was reading along in The Message translation and these words just popped out with such meaning. Read them a couple of times, if you will, and see if God doesn't just speak a bit louder to you about the tremendous gift of grace he has given each of us through the finished work of his Son, Jesus. A couple of things really spoke to me: - It was OUR pains he CARRIED. If the cross wasn...

"Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values." (Thomas S. Monson) What stress are you under right now just because of 'holiday prep'? So many times, we spend far more time 'prepping' for the meals, gift-giving, and decorating that we forget to spend a little more time with each other just enjoying the time. The true value of Christmas is not in the 'prepping', but in the 'spending' - spending time with those we love. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. (Isaiah 19:20) Some may even feel as though Christmas is not a very big deal. It is a time for good food, some entertainment, and a load of gift-wrapping being undone in an instant. They miss the meaning of the moment. The gift given...

Don’t be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don’t seem to do much for those who buy them. (Hebrews 13:9) I like the imagery of this passage - "Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them." It might speak to each of us about some of the "products named after Christ" we might have bought into over the years. For example, have any of us have been duped into believing something from scripture just because someone else told us it was in scripture? Perhaps we think the adage "God helps those who help themselves" is from scripture - a direct quote of sorts. Have you ever been told this by a well-meaning brother or sister in the Lord? Well, the adage is attributable to Ben Franklin, or even apparent in Aesop's Fables - but not God! Does that one shock you? We find ourselves buying into many "products named after Christ...

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:1) Study how he did it - those are big words, but if we were to truly take them to heart, just imagine where we could be! Nothing standing in our way that we cannot overcome - nothing shutting us down even before we begin. Keep your eyes on Jesus - study how he w...

Do you know the difference between a telescope, a microscope, and a horoscope. Each has a purpose in this world, unique in he power each has to reveal something to us. Many scientists understand the purpose and function of the microscope - while the astronomer has a vast knowledge of the possibilities of the telescope. The man or woman without much hope, grasping for something by which to "predict" their day's outcome might turn to the horoscope, but let me just say this is the one 'scope' that you should not really spend your time focusing on. I did a word search to find out how many words in the English language contain the word "scope". I was surprised to find 108 words! Some are for medical purposes, others for the discovery of movement, still others for the purpose of focusing on distance. There are scopes to predict the presence of electrical current, explore hidden spaces, and even to predict the changes of temperature. What became very ap...

I remember welcoming my two grandsons into this world, privileged to be at both of their births. The joy was overwhelming, but so was the relief. The relief that my daughter had made it through, that the pain was over, and that she would stabilize her very stressed body. She suffered from high blood pressure, excessive swelling, and lots of health worries just prior to delivering the boys. When we welcome someone, or something that can occur, we are actually expressing a little bit of pleasure in the moment. There will be memories attached to it, but there might also be a little bit of work! Welcoming new life into this world is a lot of work. So is welcoming Jesus into your life! You don't have to 'do the work' of being forgiven for your sins, but you do have a 'lot of work' ahead of you in learning how to make right choices and 'rework' what have become bad patterns or habits in your life! Good news is that we don't do it alone! It's the word of fa...

Whom have I in heaven but You? I want nothing more on earth, but You. My body and my heart may grow weak, but God is the strength of my heart and all I need forever . ( Psalm 73:25-26 NLV ) We could ask ourselves this question daily and if we were really, really honest with ourselves and others, we might just admit we have a whole lot of things and people who get in the way of our closeness in relationship with God! We have all manner of media to distract us. We engage in all manner of 'hobby' to fill our downtime. We masterfully add events and meetings into our schedules until we realize we haven't left any time for even a bio-break! The more we ask if we really have the right focus, the more we may discover we don't. We cannot be afraid of asking, though, for it is oftentimes the point of discovery that sets in motion the change we really need in order to 'right' that focus once again. I know I speak for myself on this one - the more I find myself 'emp...

Deep wells are necessary here in Arizona because anything near the surface actually dries up pretty quickly unless it is fed from a very deep and refreshing source. The tendency to water only the surface of our ground actually doesn't promote deeper root systems, but a more superficial rooting. The trees, shrubs, and grasses with only these superficial roots often don't make it for the long haul of summer because they have nothing to draw from when the intensity of heat comes. We want to have deep wells to draw from, as we will face many a circumstance in life that turns the heat up more than a little in our lives. Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within. (Proverbs 20:5) There is a tendency to "over-think" things today. We "work" a solution until it is what some call "fool-proof" and then we might take the steps to put it into action. The problem is that none of us is really all that what we ...

I saw a post in my social media feed this week which simply read: "Don't look down on anyone. Only God sits that high." There is much wisdom in this advice, my friends! We sometimes try to sit in God's place, don't we? The throne of judgment is reserved seating --- and none of us has what it takes to sit in that seat! Seriously, how many times do we maybe think in our heads (and hearts), "Sheesh, I'd never do something a ridiculous as that?" I know I find myself thinking this other person should "know better" or "have more sense" or "pick another hobby". They are just not doing very well and it is pretty evident, but do I need to be the one to point it out? Probably not. God is light, and in him there is no darkness. 6 So if we say that we share in life with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars, who don’t follow the truth. 7 We should live in the light, where God is. If we live in the light, we have fel...

We certainly find ways to be very narrow minded when it comes to what we believe, don't we?  Don't get me wrong - there are definitely times when we need to be rather "narrow" in our focus, but it is never to be to the exclusion of truth or the denial of another's faith in Christ.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the differences in HOW we worship as congregations that we miss the fact we are worshiping the same GOD!  It isn't HOW - it is WHO!  Three simple letters make all the difference - but only in the arrangement of those letters!  What matters is the doctrine we adhere to as we walk this earth.  If a person claims to be Christian, but then denies the work of the cross, making Jesus nothing more than a great teacher or another of the prophets, then the doctrine is wrong - therefore, the worship is not correct.  If a person fully appreciates the aspects of grace, knowing full-well that the cross of Christ, his life, death, burial and resurrection ...