The Plumbline

2   Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.   2  You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.   3  All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.   4  But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,   5  that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)   6  For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.   7  So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united wi

10-11 Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail. (James 5:10-11 The Message) The very last sentence of this passage is my focus this morning.  Yet, to understand the importance of a passage, one must understand the context of that passage - so I give you the rest as a gift of "context".  James is concluding the letter to the churches.  He writes about some very practical "rules" of living that will keep us in solid relationship with Christ, build meaningful relationships with each other, and help us to exemplify Christ in all our dealings.  Now, in concluding, he reminds us of the importance of having solid examples - mentors we can lo

20-24   God  made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.    When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I'm alert to  God 's ways; I don't take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick.  I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step.  God  rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.  (Psalm 18:20-24) Have you ever worked a jigsaw puzzle and been so frustrated because you could not find the last one or two pieces?  You have been working diligently to put together all the 1000 pieces only to find that the contents of what you believed to be a "whole" puzzle was really not that!  What a let down.  You simply cannot finish the puzzle without the missing piece(s).  At the most, you could say you know what it is supposed to look like "finished", but it is not truly finished without all the pieces. Guess what....your life is just like a jigsaw pu