The Plumbline

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:21-25) When I want this, I do that. Sound familiar? It is a real struggle for all of us. No one is without some struggle with wanting to do what is right and somehow struggling to 'hit' that mark. Don't miss what Paul is saying - the battle or struggle is really within our minds. Our hearts are sure we want to do what is right, but our minds get all muddled up in the temptation that is pulling us in the opposite direction. When I was in high school, I took an archery course. It taught me one thing - aiming for the bullseye didn't ensure...

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life , a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” (I Peter 1:13-16) Many of us think of obedience as some sort of subservient submissiveness to the will of another without any ability on our part to do something otherwise. God's definition of obedience - the stuff within us that has no ability to do anything other than be obedient to his will for our lives. We know this is not the case for most of us - we struggle with obedience, don't we? We don't just get up one morning, determined to be obedient and then never turn back. In fact, truth be told, we find ourselves looking back a little too frequentl...