The Plumbline

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, 8) The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I find the struggles with the things that once plagued me don't seem to anymore. Why is that? Could it be that there is some truth to this 'remaining in me' thing? Those who 'remain in me' are assured that Christ will remain IN THEM. The things that gave us such heartache and anxiety earlier in life 'apart from Jesus' don't stand a chance when we are living 'in him' and 'he in us'. Apart from Christ suggests that a connection must be maintained. Once attained, it must be maintained. I have a vehicle - maintenance required. I can go sit in it day after day, expecting it to take me places I need to go, but if that maintenance isn't done, the drive won't be without issues. Tires need inflation, gas tank needs filled, oil needs changing, an...

Temples of God - what does that phrase mean to you? To me it means there is a special dwelling place where the presence of God dwells. As we have discussed in the past, that 'temple' is actually human beings, filled with the presence of the Most Holy God through the gift of grace provided by the sacrificial offering of His One and Only Son, dying for the sins of the world. As a young girl, I remember going through some areas as my parents would set out on a long weekend away from it all. I recall seeing both very new, modern looking homes standing right next to a very old buildings fashioned out of adobe brick, tree branches, and even a few sod roofs. I asked my dad why the new homes were built, but not lived in and do you know what he told me? Those 'new homes' weren't what the people dwelling in the land were familiar with - it was foreign to them. They chose to live where they were most comfortable. I wonder if we sometimes are like those people I observed all th...

What are you wearing today? Have you dressed by the time you read this, or are you luxuriating in your jammies for just a little longer? Regardless of how you have 'clothed' yourself at the moment, there is nothing like what comes from being clothed with the blessing of God! Have you ever snuggled deep into something of comfort because your day was just a little harder than you'd like it to be? You may even find you needed some form of help, but it just seemed to never be coming, so you hunkered down, sheltered in place and are just there waiting. At those moments, all you want to do is sit down and cry out for help - but there doesn't seem to be anybody within earshot! Yet, you might just cry out anyway - if not outwardly, at least on the inside! Never lose sight of this hope - "real help" and very "real comfort" comes from God. But you, God, shield me on all sides; You ground my feet, you lift my head high; With all my might I shout up to God, Hi...

All growth begins with a solid 'planting'. It is Fall in Arizona, which means those of us with Bermuda grass all summer are scalping it low, sowing loads and loads of Rye seed, and awaiting the beauty of that bright green to emerge once again. Yes, we Arizonans are silly enough to want 'year-round' grass! The 'sowing' of the seed is on top of the existing grass, making it necessary to scalp that Bermuda lawn down very, very low. This method sometimes involves people putting either steer manure over top of the Rye seed, or a topsoil for grass, but not all of us do that. Some of us just sow and hope the birds won't scavenge every last seed! When the milder days begin to produce the subtle warmth to produce the growth, the blades of Rye will emerge through, having 'taken root' where they were sown. They weren't exactly 'planted', but it is sown where it can make good contact with the soil, in hopes it will take root. All it takes is contact...

I often study the life of David - from boy in the field tending sheep to the ruler of a nation. David had an intimate relationship with God - something quite evident in how frankly he spoke with God and how "free" he was in the presence of God. There is much to be said about having a deep, beyond the mundane, relationship with God. Look at what David reminds us time and time again - God is the one who welcomes, we are the ones who come into that place invited. We aren't interlopers in God's presence - we are welcomed and embraced. You've always given me breathing room, a place to get away from it all, a lifetime pass to your safe-house, an open invitation as your guest. You've always taken me seriously, God, made me welcome among those who know and love you.   (Psalm 61:3-5) David acknowledges that God gives him something we call 'space' - that thing we like to refer to as breathing room - a place of complete sanctuary. Have you ever had a really good...

How much time do you spend "pondering"? Pondering is way more than just letting your mind wander here or there. Pondering carries with it the idea of considering something so carefully that we are going through the mental process of weighing all the details, with an attentiveness to the details that help us to not miss a thing. God actually commends those of us who spend time in such a manner! This is how God wants us to be considering his actions on our behalf. There is nothing more rewarding than to truly begin to consider God's love and grace in action - it has a way of refocusing our attention and directing our attitude away from "me, me, me" - something we need more help with than we might want to admit. We are very 'me' focused individuals - even if we don't see it, others can attest to this fact! We pondered your love-in-action, God, waiting in your temple: Your name, God, evokes a train of Hallelujahs wherever it is spoken, near and f...

I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ( Galatians 2:20   TLB ) Every now and again I try to teach someone something in Excel that will actually make their life easier if they adopt the function or shortcut into their practice. At first, they listen intently. At some point down the road, either they get it, or I see their eyes roll back in their head and you know they will never use that shortcut or function in a million years! What happens is that some are very intent on learning - on wanting to know how this software 'tool' can work FOR them. They have tried to create their own ways of doing the same function, such as selecting all the data at one time, but their method of scrolling for eternity until they find their last row and column of data is just insane when a simple holding of the Control K...

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" ( Matthew 7:7-8   MSG ) Bargaining - it is kind of like "you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours". None of prayer is to be this way - for God isn't a bargaining type! Bargaining involves obtaining something, but at a price - maybe less than expected, but a price is paid. Jesus tells us to ask 'directly' - don't pussy-foot around with God in prayer. Be open, honest, and with a heart of sincerity make your request known. God knows your need already, but maybe acknowledging the need before him is the real purpose of prayer - so we come...

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen. Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value and are safe from thieves. If your profits are in heaven, your heart will be there too." ( Matthew 6:19-21   TLB ) Someone once said our stumbles could be our greatest treasures. I pondered on that thought for just a while and began to really think about the times I have stumbled (and I don't have to think very far back to begin this journey!). What "treasures" came out of those moments? Sometimes it was the knowledge another stood right there with me, willing to go that extra length to see me "make right" what I was obviously making a pretty big mess of in the first place. At others, it was simply the knowledge I wasn't alone in the stumbling - others were tripping up on the exact same things! Yet, some of the greatest treasure I brought out of those times of stumbling were the ones that revealed just how m...

I know there is nothing better for us than to be joyful and to do good throughout our lives;  to eat and drink and see the good in all of our hard work is a gift from God.   I know everything God does endures for all time. Nothing can be added to it; nothing can be taken away from it. We humans can only stand in awe of all God has done.    What has been and what is to be—already is. (Ecclesiastes 3:12-15 VOICE)   Hard work - we use that term to describe the fruitful endeavors of our hands, the back-breaking labor of our energies exerted in some task needing to be finally accomplished, and the exhaustion of our minds as we settle back to rest our weary bodies after a long day at the "salt mine" we call "work".  Hard implies we had to put some effort into it - maybe it was more than just physically fatiguing because it was troublesome for us to accomplish.  I have undertaken some projects on occasion which game me more headaches and soreness in my mus...

Sometimes we can find the most profound things in the simplest of things, can't we? Ever read Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne?  In the book, there is an illustration of Pooh's best friend Piglet walking alongside him.  Pooh asks Piglet what day it is - to which Piglet responds it is "today".  The next part is my most favorite part, for Pooh, in a matter-of-fact voice announces, "My favorite day!"  Sometimes Pooh just hits it on the head, doesn't he?  In essence, he is saying any day spent with his best buddy is a great day in his book! I'd have to agree! This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  (Psalm 118:24 KJV) We can all benefit from just taking a little down-time to just simply "hang with Jesus" a little longer, or sing his praises a little louder.  What is that I hear?  I think I might just hear Jesus saying, "My favorite day!"   We might spend an inordinate amount of time with ourselves, ...

It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me! (Romans 10:9-10 The Message) Well, if you've followed my blog for any time now, you know I really get into understanding what is in a word.  So, in true form, here I go again!  The word today is "welcome".  What does it really mean?  Guess, what?  I found out some pretty interesting stuff! A word we can use as interjection when one's arrival gives one PLEASURE.  This is like saying, "We...

1  What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to. (I John 3:1) A few years ago, my grandson began an ongoing game with me.  Whenever he is over, he hides either a little yellow rubber man or a plastic cow.  Sometimes it is cleverly hidden under the protection of the lampshade and not evident until the light is turned on.  At others, it is right out in the open, but is concealed by its surroundings (like the day he hit it on my bed quilt).   This may seem like a silly game to most, but it has particularly important meaning to me.  Each time I see that little cow or find the hidden yellow man, I recognize that my grandson has been "in my presence".  He has been in my space.  Now, that may not be significant to some, but to me, that is a huge thing! ...

1  Watch your step when you enter God's house.  Enter to learn. That's far better than mindlessly offering a sacrifice, doing more harm than good.  (Ecclesiastes 5:1) Solomon was charged with the responsibility of giving God's people a place of permanent worship - he built the Temple in Jerusalem - the first "physically permanent" structure for the presence of God.  Up until that time, God's presence had been enclosed in a tent-like structure we know as the Tabernacle.  It was "portable" and served Israel well during the time they moved throughout the wilderness, were on the move while taking the land of Canaan, etc.  David had longed to build God a "permanent" house for his glory to indwell, but it was passed to his son, Solomon.  Solomon gives us some words of "wisdom" about coming into the "house of God".   It is a warning to those who would choose to worship at the throne of God.  He reminds us that we are not to e...