The Plumbline

It was Oscar Wilde who reminded us, "I have the simplest tastes...I am always satisfied with the best." How about you? Are your 'tastes' simple? Are you always striving to be satisfied by pursuing the best? What is the 'best' anyway? Most will say it is the thing with the highest quality or standing - something that makes it stand out as the most desirable or advantageous for us to have or pursue. With that in mind, what is the thing you are pursuing so intensely right now? Does it measure up to be the 'highest quality' or most 'advantageous' for your life? If not, it might be time to alter your 'tastes' a bit. He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord. Trust in the Lord always, for in the Lord Jehovah is your everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3-4)  Do you know what a 'taste' really is? It is the ability or willingness to relish, take a liking to, or show partiality toward so

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:1-8) On occasion, someone will ask how they know they are making a 'right decision' or if they are 'living right'. Right-living is something the Bible refers to as "righteousness" - it is the idea of learning to order your steps according to the plans and purposes of God. The design of the designer is always the best plan for the cre

Opposing sides - the one is against the other - kind of like oil and water. Mix oil and water - is it possible to get oil 'into' water? Two very distinct 'layers' will eventually form no matter how hard you try to mix the two - they are opposed to each other. Scientifically speaking, molecules of oil are bigger than water and therefore they don't mix into the water - they stay as oil, not taking on the water molecule. Sin is kind of like a big molecule of oil in our lives - it can sit there a long, long time, trying to get 'mixed up' in our life of righteousness (water), but these two 'molecules' don't mix! They will always be opposed to each other. My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are anti

Scripture outlines six things God hates, and if six were not enough, God adds just one more (kind of like the cherry on top) that God has some pretty serious feelings about (in fact, we might call it a total loathing for that thing). Hate carries the idea of a very intense, passionate dislike of something. Loathing carries a sense of disgust and gives one the idea that God is repulsed by the type of action he is observing - actions not 'befitting' a person who calls himself a child of God. In total, seven things God asks us to take notice of in our lives and then seek his help to break free of them so we can live in a manner that shows we are engaged with him on this journey of 'right-living'. Our eyes get us into so much trouble - almost as much as our mouth - so it should come as no surprise that the 'top two' things God hates have to do with these two! Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue

Do you remember the saying, "Space, the final frontier", from the Star Trek opening voice over? The 'final frontier' can be defined as a lot of things, but it is most important that we define righteousness as our final 'frontier', and not sin! Our final destination is to be Christ - the frontier we discover is quite a change from the frontier we had been exploring prior to Christ! We arrive in style at our final destination in Christ – decked out in an adult faith wardrobe. In direct relationship with God, we are “more than washed up” for a fresh start, that thing we call righteousness. We are completely transformed - the absolute outcome of being made righteous. There is an exchange of character – although we may not immediately see the evidence of it in our daily lives, it has already been accomplished. Through our daily pursuit of his presence being cultivated in our lives, we come to recognize the change is already accomplished - it just may not be totally

" A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. " (John C. Maxwell)  What is the way you want to know? Is it the same as you are going? Is it what shows through in your actions? It requires all three to be in congruence in order to be meaningful, my friends. If one is to be genuine in their walk, there must be knowledge of the way we are heading, then we must walk it well - so doing, we will lead others, maybe not knowingly, but we are leading nonetheless because others are watching us. Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence. Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.  Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.   (Psalm 27:11-14 NLT) What do our actions say about

Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. ( Proverbs 21:21 NLT ) " I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. "  (Leonardo da Vinci)  Pursuit is not for the faint-hearted. It takes tenacity to pursue something - commitment that just doesn't accept the status quo, or won't settle for substitutes. There are a whole lot of pursuits some call "noble" or "worthy", yet if they aren't leading toward living in righteousness and unfailing love, they are devoid of all that gives them integrity. I'd have to ask us to truthfully examine what "principles" we'd pursue unto death - not just those we'd give lip-service to right now, but those we'd hold onto u

Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with  a holy way of life : compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.    Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind.    But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together.    Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.  (Colossians 3:12-15 VOICE) The word "since" is suggestive of a completed action - based upon something which has already occurred - it is a done deal. That means there is no denying this life-change which occurs when we give our hearts to Jesus - it is an action like no other, setting into motion all future actions which are based upon that one action. At the point we say "yes" to Jesus, inviting him to take control of our lives, there is an action on God&

For just a moment, stop to consider what people declare as "right" for your life and what "demands" they make of you.  For example, if you are a teen growing up under the authority of a parent, you might have a list which goes something like:  1) Be home on time - obey the curfew; 2) Do your best in school - get grades you are capable of achieving; 3) Listen to your mother - respect her authority; and 4) Don't use drugs or alcohol - avoid all association with those who do.  This is a short list, but you get the gist - there are "rules" to follow - "demands" being made of the teen growing up "under authority" which are rewarded with things such as a family, home, good food, safety, and protection.  Each demand carries a certain element of reward.  Each "right" thing declared for the teen's well-being is simply there for their protection.  The same is true of God's declarations of what is "right" for our l

If we die - we will live.  If we don't give up - we will rule.  If we deny - we will be denied.  If we struggle being faithful - his faithfulness is everlasting.  This is a lot to take in, but it is worth us considering today - for deep within this message are truths by which we can anchor our lives!  The first is that of death bringing life.  At first, this seems a little counter-intuitive. It is!  There are not a lot of things within God's kingdom which are actually "intuitive" - many of the concepts he teaches are a little harder for us to grasp, but they are truth nonetheless.  I struggled with some of those math equations in advanced algebra, but it didn't make them any less true.  If I solved for "x" as the "rules" of mathematics guided me, I'd be sure to get the right answer.  If I went my own way to solve for "x", it was a hit and miss that I'd arrive at the correct answer - most of the time I did not!  What and who w

Sinner - if we look up this word in the dictionary, here is what we find: a person who sins or transgresses.  Not much to go on, huh?  So, I guess where we need to start is looking at what scripture has to say about sin.  The evidence there is pretty revealing, so I think it is about as accurate of a description we can get of what it means to be a "sinner".  First and foremost, let me just say this - no one escapes this definition - no one.  I know this might come as a surprise to some, since they have lived their lives as basically "good people", trying to do right, not really crossing the line too much, and always living by a pretty high set of morals. Yet, if we examine what scripture has to say about sin, we all fit into the category of sinners since we have been born with the "nature" which gives us the drive and ability to sin. According to Colossians, these things "lurk" within each of us and need to be "put to death". I kind of

So many times we want to assume that there is no way we can be "put right" in life because we can only see the "wrong" we have done.  We see how frequently we fall and struggle to get up - God sees how many times he has the opportunity to help us to our feet again.  God doesn't see the wrong as much as he sees how he has already put things right for us in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus.  Isn't it about time we change our perspective of the "wrong" we think is unforgivable in our lives and begin to see what God sees when he looks at us - lives "put right" with him? God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.  (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG)   We evaluate people by what they have and how they look - God sees them by a totally different standard.  He sees them not as wealthy, or well-dressed, but as "needy" individuals - needy of a Savior - needy of being "put right". This

Right-living is something the Bible refers to as "righteousness" - it is the idea of learning to order your steps according to the plans and purposes of God.  The design of the designer is always the best plan for the creation, is it not?  We can "recommission" some things for other use, such as making a lamp from a vase, or turning a stool into an end table, but it was not the intention of the creator of these to see them used these ways.  In fact, the vase was designed to be adorned with richly scented, magnificently colorful flowers.  The stool was designed the support the weight of a human, not a table lamp. They "function" okay in their "recommissioned" purpose, but they sure function best when they are doing exactly what they were created to do!  The same is true with each of us. You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by  God . You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find hi

It was difficult to pick out the exact words from this proverb today - simply because all of them reveal just tremendous truth about our God - Wisdom exemplified.  I think the key passage which reflects so much about what God has to say to us in this chapter is really found much earlier in verse 6:  " Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well,  I’m telling you how to live at your best ."  It is a call to listen - to find wisdom, not in just the words, but in the person of Wisdom himself.  In so doing, we move from the place of just living to living well - at our very best. I love those who love me;   those who look for me find me.   Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name.   My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;   the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.   You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk— at the intersection of Justice Avenue, h anding out life to those who love me,  

Pursue:  to follow in order to overtake, capture; to proceed in accordance with the plan or purpose.   The most important part of this definition is the word "follow".  Did you ever stop to consider all the things in life you "follow".  In Facebook "speak", we "follow" our friends - keeping up with their lives through the social networking feed we obtain from their posts.  In terms of a military command, when we "follow" an order, we are doing exactly as we have been instructed - not veering from the original intent of the order.  We "follow" certain news events because they catch our eye and stimulate some form of curiosity within.  In all these examples, we "follow" or "pursue" because there is something we count on as a "benefit" to us.  If we "follow", maybe we will learn something, be kept safe, or have the inside info on what is going on.   Whoever pursues righteousness and unfai

Did you ever consider something you put on, thinking it would make you look good, then immediately pull it off, replace it back on the hanger and return it to the rack at the store?  Your first impression was, "I have seen others wear this and it looks so cute!"  Your first impression on you:  "Uh....this does nothing for me!"  Maybe it is a "girl thing", but I think guys go through this frustration once in a while, too.  They may just not admit it!  There is one form of "attire" which will never disappoint, never look odd on us, and always flatters us! 10-11   I will sing for joy in God,  explode in praise from deep in my soul!   He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,  he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, a s a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo  and a bride a jeweled tiara.   For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,  and as a garden cascades with blossoms, s o the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom  and puts prais