The Plumbline

Have you ever heard the story of the valley of dry bones from the Book of Ezekial? There is this place where skeletal remains all over the place, totally picked clean, dried up by the sun and time. God leads Ezekial around the valley, then through it, experiencing the full vastness of its expanse and the multitude of bones contained there. We probably won't experience anything like this, but there is significant meaning within this prophesy for the nation of Israel. I also think there could be a lesson or two for us, if we look close enough! In order to get as much out of this as possible, I am going to take you on a little "word journey", so bear with me! Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’ “Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you ...

I like the song, "Rise", as sung by Danny Gokey. Why? The words speak to me because they speak of the brokenness inside each of us - the wounds that still remind us all so often of the fear we have faced, the shame we have endured, and the rejection that seems to come on the heels of wrong actions. He goes on to tell us we all know it is time to get up - to rise up from our fear, shame, and rejection - but we are paralyzed, stuck in place, no idea of how to rise above these things. Does that speak to anyone else other than me? As the song continues, we are reminded that we hear a clear voice calling us to rise - even when we see no way out, when life is too hard to handle. Rise - the heart once so hardened by life's tragic choices is made new once again - beating, coming back to life, all because of the call of our Creator. You can be sure of this: The Kingdom of Christ and of God will never belong to anyone who is impure or greedy, for a greedy person is really an id...

Sometimes I think we confuse concentration with consecration. Concentration can be very time-limited, while consecration takes us beyond time-limits into a life-long pursuit. Consecration goes beyond the surface - in fact, it embraces all of our being when it is operational in our lives. Consecration is simply the act of setting something apart for a specific use - not for a while, but for a lifetime. When we say that the brownies are made special for daddy because they are his favorite treats, we have the expectation that the one receiving enjoyment out of those brownies will be daddy. The same is true when we say we have dedicated our lives to the service of our heavenly Father - he will receive the enjoyment our dedication brings. So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for h...