The Plumbline

It is easy to steal from the poor, but don’t do it. And don’t take advantage of them in court.   The  Lord  is on their side. He supports the poor, and he will take from those who take from them. (Proverbs 22:22-23) W.C. Fields once quipped, "A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money." A poor man with money - imagine if you will the scenario of being 'rich' in all the ways a man can imagine, but poor in all the ways God sees. The richest of men can have the poorest of spirits and most burdened of souls!  We are not living to impress God - we are not earning his approval by our actions. We are 'approved' through the gift of his Son's blood at Calvary, but if we don't turn over the 'possession' of our life to Jesus Christ, we are poorer than the one with no funds, no property, and no means of obtaining either except to beg.  Why do you think Solomon started with this one instruction in his list of thirty instructions? Perhaps it is because ...

Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.” ...who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be for those who store up things for themselves and are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15, 20-21) Do we own it, or does it own us? It is sometimes hard to decide which one actually is the truth, but a sure way to find out is how we react when it is taken from us. Remember Job? He had riches galore, a large family, lots and lots of herds of animals, crops in abundance - in essence, he had it all. He was a good man, known in the community to be faithful to his family, considerate of others, a good friend. Then one day, it was taken from him. He lost the crops, herds began to die, family members were lost, and he found himself sitting on a hill of dung, scraping boils on his body with a broken shard of pottery. If you or I were to face similar circumstances today, how might we react? It took so...

Life Hack #1: Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you. You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within; you’ll give it bold expression in your speech. To make sure your foundation is trust in God, I’m laying it all out right now just for you. I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—tested guidelines to live by. Believe me—these are truths that work, and will keep you accountable to those who sent you. (Proverbs 22:17-21)  The intention of learning these "Life Hacks" is that we make sure our foundation is a solid, committed trust in God. As you may have read, these "Life Hacks" actually will provide a foundation by which we will be held accountable for our actions. Uh oh, gone to meddling now! Scripture reminds us, "Don’t walk on the poor just because they’re poor, and don’t use your position to crush the weak, because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them."  (Proverbs 22:22-2...

Wouldn't it be nice if someone gave us a list of principles to incorporate into our lives which would help us to walk uprightly and consistently find favor in the eyes of God?  Well, guess what - Solomon did that for us!  He gave us a list of 30 principles to guide us along the way.  Here is what he had to say as he introduced them:    Listen carefully to my wisdom;   take to heart what I can teach you.   You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within;  you’ll give it bold expression in your speech.   To make sure your foundation is trust in   God ,  I’m laying it all out right now just for you.   I’m giving you thirty sterling principles— tested guidelines to live by.   Believe me—these are truths that work,  and will keep you accountable  to those who sent you .  (Proverbs 22:17-21 MSG) Now, if someone is willing to take the time to outline these principles for us with the intention of making sure our foundati...

Merry Christmas to all!  Hope this is a blessed day for each of you and your extended families.  As we look at the blessings of Christmas, my hope is that we will consider first the blessing of our Savior's finished work on the cross. It was one gift you couldn't wrap, but it is always available even after the Christmas tree is put away!  God is in the business of taking what is withered and worn, then returning them to places of robust growth IN HIM.  This is the message of Christmas - the changed life made possible only as a result of accepting the gift given in his Son.  As our life is made robust in his goodness, we are commissioned to share this life with others - allowing the many graces we have been freely given to be poured out in service to others. This is the expression of love God desires from us today - the pouring out of our lives, without strings attached, for those in need right there around us today. Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the po...