The Plumbline

Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. (Romans 6:2-4) Can we continue...pretty pointed words, aren't they? We 'can' continue, but do we 'want' to continue? That is probably the most accurate way to say it. We might not believe it, but the 'bond' to sin has been broken when we said 'yes' to Jesus. The 'desire' remains, causing us much difficulty at times. We know the right words to say, but the wrong ones make it past our lips. We know the right actions to take, but we drag our feet. We understand right from wrong, but we lean to the wrong side of the decisions just a little too frequently. The struggle is real, but there is always another choice to be ma...

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3) We might not 'feel' like we have what it takes to live godly lives, make right choices, and be at peace with ourselves, much less others. Those feelings can be overwhelming at times, almost stifling any forward movement we desire to make in our spiritual lives. Truth be told, we sometimes need to engage in a little 'self-talk' to tell our feelings to take a hike! If we relied upon how we 'felt' everyday, many of us would never make it out of bed! God has given us everything - not just some of the stuff, but all of whatever it is we need in order to live godly lives. If we can just remind ourselves of this whenever we feel like we cannot put one foot in front of the other, feeling like every decision to live according to his principles is...