The Plumbline

I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. (Galatians 3:5 NLT) Does God give you the Holy Spirit AND work miracles among you? Yes, he does. How do we know this? We hear the message, we receive the messenger, and then we become the message and the messenger! The work of grace within us brings a new message into our lives and it results in a new message coming forth from our lives. Our behavior changes - the message becomes clearer. We are called to bring the message in word, but most importantly, in our actions! The message must be clear. We cannot dilute it because Christ did not dilute his grace when he poured it into our lives. We don't make grace more 'palatable' - it has a way of working just as it is. Those who haven't heard of his grace don't need to hear it in some 'namby-pamby' way or 'refined' to their t...

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. (James 5:19-20) If you have heard the term "backslider", then you are likely familiar with the idea of once a follower of Christ, now caught up in the same sin or worse than they were involved in before coming to Christ. Most of the time we think of a backslider as one totally away from Christ, but did you know that the term also describes those who continue to follow Christ, but with less fervor and a lack of obedience that once may have been evident in their lives? Look again at the passage today and you will observe "if someone among you WANDERS AWAY from the truth". Wandering isn't always intentional - it is more or less because one has taken their eye off the target! It is possible to never turn your back entirely ...