The Plumbline

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (I John 2:15-16) If we are the type that needs to have a 'measurement' of how well we are doing, this verse might just be the one. Do not love this world nor the things it offers - that seems pretty plain, but does that mean we cannot drive a nice car, have a home that is paid off, or go on a cruise? No, it just means we don't put those things ahead of our relationship with Jesus. Physical pleasure was created by God, as were all our 'human' emotions, physical attributes, and minds. The intent of the passage is our heart attitude toward the things of this world and what we can accomplish in our own talent or strength. Pride is at the root of most ...

This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:9-11) This I know. Those three words make all the difference. What is it you know? Who is it you know? What you answer to those two questions might just be the difference between failure or perseverance in the face of trial or temptation. God is indeed on our side, but do we really trust that with all our heart?  As a child, we'd divide into 'teams' formed by the wishes of two team 'captains'. The selection process would continue, one right after the other, until we were divided into the two teams. The ones you had 'on your side' made all the difference in how well the game would turn out, didn't it? Those selected early were usually the strongest 'players' in the sport. Those left to last were more like 'warm bodies' on the field. Those...

Don’t love this evil world or the things in it. If you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. This is all there is in the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. But none of these comes from the Father. They come from the world. The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever. (I John 2:15-17) Where are our affections placed? Whatever we focus on the most likely has more than our attention - it may also have our affection! Three very clear indicators our life may need a bit of adjustment are laid out in our passage today. There is a tremendous desire to please one's own self in this world today - go after what YOU want and don't be concerned about what it may do to others. The thought of pleasing oneself can take over the thoughts and heart of an individual, making everything they do ve...

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8) Have you ever taken notice of how easy it is to get your mind working in the wrong direction? It doesn't take much effort to drift down that bunny-trail without a care in the world, until all of a sudden you see how 'deep' it is! God tells us to 'fix' our thoughts - not like fixing your car, but to 'consider attentively'. When our minds go down the bunny-trail, there isn't a whole lot of 'attention' being paid to where we are headed. In fact, we are a bit aimless in those thoughts. We allow them to dictate the journey rather than us determining the journey. We are to give our minds 'attentively' (on purpose, with determination) to think about who Jesus is and what he has done. What did he do while he was here on ...