The Plumbline

As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other. (Philippians 1:22-26 MSG) If you are still breathing in and out on this planet earth, there is still so much for you to be doing for Christ. You can spread his Word. You could gather the children in the neighborhood and give them a safe place to play and learn. You might even find yourself taking an elderly friend to the grocer each week to get the necessities. Whatever way God chooses to use you - be us...

As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes. (Romans 12:11-13) Is it possible to be a little 'lazy' in our service to the Lord and his people? Of course it is! We aren't going to be 'on cue' 100% of the time, no matter how hard we try to be consistent. The heart is what matters - are we intentional in our service, focused on what God desires for us to be doing, and looking for ways to help others? Look for people who need help and then do what you can to be of help to them. This is God's plan. Our plan may not always be the same as God's, but as long as we are making ourselves available for his use, he will reveal his plan to us. If you have ever been prompted to do something 'out of the blue' that met the need of someon...

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. (Daniel 6:4) Wouldn't it be grand to know someone was searching to find some 'fault' with us and they couldn't find anything? If you are looking my way, I'd have to ask you to not look too closely because I am certain you'd find something! It wouldn't be all that hard either! Faithful most of the time, pretty responsible, and doggone close to being trustworthy all of the time - but I don't hit it on the mark each and every time. Chances are you don't either. Do you know that God doesn't look at how 'perfect' we are, but at how much we are willing to trust him with our imperfections? Do we always 'measure up' to God's standards? Likely not, but he never gives up on us and we sho...

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15) Confucius said if he walked with two men, he'd look at the positive example in one of them and imitate that behavior, while seeking to eliminate the negative behavior he observed while walking with the other man. I daresay that is a dangerous way to live our lives because choosing any 'standard' other than God to base our decision about what character needs to be built in our lives is living by a 'low standard'. We can see the negative traits or behavior in another and seek to eliminate similar behavior in our ...

Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about along the way?” They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer. After Jesus sat down and told the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, “If you want the place of honor, you must become a slave and serve others!” (Mark 9:33-35) We might encounter things in scripture that seem a little bit "counter-intuitive" - making it a little more difficult to really understand the intention of the passage.  Things like "stop stealing and get a job to earn your way in life" seem like easy commands to really understand - they are straight-forward and to the point.  When Jesus tells his disciples that the place of honor goes to those who will serve others, this is a little harder to grasp because the culture of the time didn't give the place of honor to the "slave" in their midst.  ...

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 1:15-16) We are faith-filled risk-takers intent on being holy as our God is holy. Does that describe you? We all come to Christ exactly as we are - none of us is better than any other person - all are able to be faith-filled risk-takers intent on being holy IN CHRIST JESUS. We receive this gift of 'new life' and almost without us realizing it, do you know what God does within us? He 'pulls us into a way of life shaped by god's life'. Now that should make all of us more than just a little bit hopeful, my friends. We have been given a gift we...