The Plumbline

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? (John 3:1-2, 11-12) As we might already be aware, just being a part of a religious movement doesn't make us right with God. Nicodemus was a Jewish religious leader, and he still didn't recognize the Messiah when he was in his own hometown. As a matter of fact, he was so 'intimidated' by what the other leaders might think, or what his fellow townsfolk might believe about him, that he came to Jesus under the cover of nightfall. He was curious, drawn by something he wasn't sure about, but wasn't willing to be 'oute...

Albert Pike reminds us, "We have all the light we need - we just need to put it into practice." There are times we already know what to do, when to do it, or how to do it, but we just stand still, not doing anything. Why is that? It could be we just don't 'feel' it at the moment - causing just a bit of a delay or lag in our 'obedience' response. We have 'light', but light is meant to reveal and reflect. We must remember all steps toward God are good, but when light is given, it is meant to illuminate the steps we are to take - God provides 'plenty of light to live in' both now and in the future. Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.” The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.” Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true . I know whe...

Every now and again, I will purposefully use 'bad grammar' just because I am trying to get a point across - usually to show my genuine openness to an idea, or because I am just being a little silly. If you ever hear me tell my BFF that I just 'got schooled' in something, or 'learned me a new thing', it is just a way of letting her know I know something today I didn't know before. It may be seriously important information, or it could just be something that peaked my curiosity. I can be heard saying, "Hey, let's Google that", meaning that I want to understand the meaning of a word, figure out where something originated, or what something looks like. Yesterday, it was an herb used in traditional Mexican dishes, while a week ago it may have been why lady bugs are always called lady bugs and not man bugs! Being interested in learning is a very good thing, my friends, especially when the 'thing learned' helps us to grow stronger in Christ, m...

I will the first to admit that I don't always heed the revelation I have at my disposal. I know the benefits of following some course of action, but choose something completely different. I don't always see the results I wanted, though. That change in plans didn't get the same results because it wasn't the best course of action for me to take in the first place. We all want to know what comes next in life, don't we? We'd rather have 'more information' at the start of a matter because if we were totally aware of the outcome ahead of time, we'd just launch right in. Sometimes we only get hints of what is to come - not an entire disclosure! When we only get hints, we are required to operate in some element of faith by taking that course. This is where we struggle - faith isn't our strongest course of action, but it is the necessary one! If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he revea...

There are times when we slip back into our old way of operating in life even after revelation has come - when God has showed us what could even be an exact opposite way of operating, but where we choose to do it our own way instead. This is usually because we do not apply ourselves to what has been revealed to us. We "void" the revelation by not trusting in it, not being obedient to it, or simply just not fully receiving it in the first place. A revealed truth is great, but it is really not valuable until we use the truth which has been revealed. For example, I can receive the revelation that clipping coupons can save you thousands of dollars each year at the grocery store, but until I begin clipping and redeeming these coupons, the truth isn't really something I allow to impact my life. The truth about coupon clipping is still very real - the influence it has on my life is just not there yet. Truth has to be used to be of value to us. God is always on the alert, constant...

It is an act of seeing which allows us to perceive many times.  We could become alert to something happening through our other senses of hearing, touch, or smell, but seeing is what often "connects the dots" for us.  Some call this being a "visual learner" - we can read all about it, but once we see it done a couple of times, we've got it!  Without seeing, we just don't have the same perception, do we?  Yet, it is possible to "bypass" this element of perception - functioning pretty well, as a matter of fact - but...we miss out on the splendor of color, the mystery of the twinkle in someone's eye, and the awing wonder of following the trail of a jet high up in the sky.  We function, but we don't "get the full picture" when our seeing is not connected to our perceiving. If people can’t see what God is doing,   they stumble all over themselves; b ut when they attend to what he reveals,  they are most blessed. (Proverbs 29:18 MSG...

Disciple:  A pupil; one who is in a place of learning.  To this end, we can all admit we are disciples - in a place of learning.  As Jesus faced his disciples day after day, his main purpose was to help them learn what it meant to have the Kingdom of God in their midst - the presence of God dwelling among them.  Isn't this the purpose of all our tests and trials - to get us to the place we understand we have the presence of God within us at all times?  Disciples have sever unique characteristics, but I think the one which becomes most evident is the awareness of the presence of God - the Teacher, instructing those who remain in a place of willing submission to his teaching. Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.  (Luke 14:33 MSG) A disciple doesn't concern themselves with the "what can I do" mentality in life.  Instead, they make the shift from the "...

PAY ATTENTION:  Did you ever stop to consider these two words in that order? First, to "pay" means you give something over in order to obtain something different.  It has the idea of "transfer".  "Attention" has the idea of directing one's mind toward something.  So the "transfer" here is one of "mind space" - we are giving our "mind space" to another in order to have what it is they will "fill" that space with.  At first that may not seem like much, but if we do this enough, we become filled with the right stuff.  If we yield our "mind space" to the wrong stuff - that which is very limiting in its focus and which really has no lasting benefit for us - we find our minds become "cluttered" rather than more "ordered".  Maybe this is why God adds the next words - listen to me.  The idea of giving one's mind space over to God in order for him to fill it involves some willingness on o...

Today, I want us to look at three different "scopes" - a telescope, a microscope, and a horoscope.  Each has a purpose in this world, unique in its revelation power.  Many scientists understand the purpose and function of the microscope - while the astronomer has a vast knowledge of the world of the telescope.  The man or woman without much hope, grasping for something by which to "predict" their day's outcome might turn to the horoscope.  I did a word search to find out how many words in the English language contain the word "scope".  I was surprised to find 108 words!  Some are for medical purposes, others for the discovery of movement, still others for the purpose of focusing on distance.  There are scopes to predict the presence of electrical current, to explore hidden spaces, or to predict the changes of temperature.  What became very evident is that mankind has developed a whole lot of ways of "discovering" stuff once hidden or not easi...

Oh, how I love all you've revealed;  I reverently ponder it all the day long.  Your commands give me an edge on my enemies;  they never become obsolete.  I've even become smarter than my teachers  since I've pondered and absorbed your counsel.   I've become wiser than the wise old sages  simply by doing what you tell me. (Psalm 119:97-100 The Message) Have you ever heard the saying, "He is wise beyond his years"?  When we say this, we are pointing out the person as "smarter" than they should be for their age.  In common thinking, wisdom is something that comes with age.  As an individual ages chronologically, the opportunity for multiple experiences have presented the added benefit of learning new things.  I think we can challenge this belief that aging equates to the development of wisdom.  I have known many an individual who has "aged" chronologically without really "learning" from their life experiences! ...

"I am the world's light.  No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness.  I provide plenty of light to live in." (John 8:12 The Message) Have you ever stumbled around in the darkness, stubbing your toe on something in your path that you knew perfectly well was there, but you just were "disoriented" by the darkness and ran into it anyway?  I think we might all have had that experience at least once in our lives.  With our toe throbbing, tears welling up in our eyes, and our original intention for being up in the dark lost in all the pain, we dance around and around bemoaning our pain.  Why were we walking in the dark anyway?  It is usually some silly reason, like we thought we could find our way without the light!  Ummm....how's that working for ya? If there is one thing that I have come to conclude in my life thus far it is that I don't do so well stumbling around in the "dark" when it comes to the spiritual side of my life.  I may ...

19 "And that's not all. You will have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) In this passage, Jesus is finishing a discussion with his disciples that began with the question, "Who do you really think I am?"  One of the most revealing questions we can ask is for someone to really begin to openly testify to who they think we really are.  We open the door to allowing others to be honest with us about what we have revealed about ourself in both our words and our actions.  Peter gives Jesus an answer that is just exactly what he hoped for - you are the Christ.  In other words, you are the Messiah.  Jesus had revealed enough of himself that Peter really "got" who Jesus was - or at least he had a glimpse of the truth. Jesus' response to Peter is revealing - it shows us that...

3 Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."   4 "How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?" (John 3:3-4) We began to look at the story of Nicodemus yesterday.  As we continue to day, keep in mind that Nicodemus was a Pharisee.  The Pharisees were religious leaders of the day - supposedly the experts on the interpretation of scripture, the wisdom of the day dwelt in them.  He starts his conversation that late night with Jesus with an observation and a question.  He tells Jesus that people recognize him as a great teacher from God.  He comes to this conclusion because of the simple fact that Jesus has done tremendous miracles in front of them and they cannot deny th...

The revelation of  God  is whole and pulls our lives together.    The signposts of  God  are clear and point out the right road.    The life-maps of  God  are right, showing the way to joy.    The directions of  God  are plain and easy on the eyes.  (Psalm 19:7-8) To many, the revelation of God is a foreign thing - they just don't see him, or acknowledge him in their day-to-day existence.  Yet, the revelation of God "pulls" at the heart-strings of our lives - because each of us is made to have God in our lives.  So, why do so many reject God when he is right in front of them and when they have a unique part of their being that was designed to be filled up with him?  It is kind of like having a clothes closet and then choosing to buy dressers to contain the clothing, leaving the closet empty.  The closet never serves the purpose for which it was designed. ...

18  If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.  (Proverbs 29:18) It has occurred to me that not knowing what God is doing is often the condition of many of our hearts each day - we are "along for the ride", but oblivious to the destination.  One of the questions the pastor asked yesterday was, "What is this Christian experience all about anyway?"  It occurred to me this morning that many of us would have a hard time with that question - not because we aren't enjoying our salvation, but because we really aren't sure what we are doing with our salvation. Our passage puts it pretty plainly.  We can head out for a destination - not knowing the reason we are travelling the road we are on, oblivious to the traveling companions we have along the way - all the while making forward progress of some sort.  The question we need to ask is if it the "right" prog...

18  If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.  (Proverbs 29:18  The Message Bible) This same passage can be translated: " Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;   but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction."  (NIV)  The idea is that we are often people that seem to require being "in the know" as it applies to what is coming next in our lives.  As we well know, this seldom happens.  W e plan and prepare, but often the best of plans becomes nonsensical when dealing with the things that present themselves at our doorstep demanding our attention and energies.  This passage considers the idea of "revelation".  For us to understand the passage, we must understand that word. First, revelation carries the idea of disclosing something that had otherwise or previously been hidden.  It is common in church cir...