The Plumbline

If you have ever tried to judge the contents of a book simply by looking at the cover, you may have been somewhere into the first couple of chapters only to find what you thought the book may have been about turned out to be something totally not like expected!  You may have been very disappointed in your initial "assessment" of the book, even leaving it unread any further just because you weren't interested in it, or it was way too poor of a read. Once I get into the "heart" of the book, and I find what I hoped was contained there is missing, or falls short of what I expected, I usually abandon it, never to pick it up again. What I hoped was a "good read" leaves me a little disillusioned. Sometimes there are things in life that look like they will be a 'good thing', but once we find ourselves in the midst of them, they aren't exactly turning out the way we imagined! Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.  (...

Counterfeit - not genuine; purposely set forth so as to look like the original, but pretend in all ways.  Wow!  I have to ask myself how many times I have put forth "counterfeit" love - you know, the kind where I tell someone something, but I honestly mean something quite different from what I tell them!  I think there are times when we are just not honest with ourselves, let alone others.  We put up a good front, for one reason or another, but really it is still a "front" - it is pretend.  The problem with "pretend" is not in the amount of sincerity behind the "front", but in the intense work it takes to maintain the front! The whole point of what we’re urging is simply  love —love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven’t the remotest idea of what they’re holding f...

I came across a quote the other day which kind of made me take a moment to contemplate what the author must have meant when the words were penned. The origin of the quote is unknown, but it states, "Life is like a flute.  It may have many holes and emptiness, but if you work on it carefully, it can play magical melodies."  I would like to point out it is not the work "I" do on my life which produces the melodies which are pleasing to the hearer, but the works "GOD" does in my life!  He is the only one capable of bringing melodies out of our empty places, not by "plugging the holes", but by covering them with his grace and love.   I will always show you where to go.    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. (Isaiah 58:11 MSG) To be fair, I cannot pick this passage out of Isaiah to stand all by itself without giving you the preceding couple of verses.  They outline some "conditions" God outlin...

I saw a sign the other day which read, "Love is faith in overalls".  Let that one sink in a little, but don't lose sight of the image it conjures up, as well.  Think of you in overalls.  When I thought about overalls for a moment, I envisioned two types - the ones made of denim worn as the replacement to pants by a farmer, and the ones which slip over your clothes.  They are different, aren't they?  One is actually the "clothing" you wear - without them, you'd be a little naked.  The other is only a covering "over" our clothes - we don't actually take off our clothes, but are protecting what is underneath by this outer layer of cloth.  Now, back to our quote - which type of "overall" would you equate with love?  The type you wear "over" yourself, or the type which becomes what you might refer to as what really "clothes" you? For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amou...