The Plumbline

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas. (Charles Dudley Warner) God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (I Peter 4:10) I cringe whenever I hear someone say that God couldn't use them or that their 'gifts' were too insignificant to 'count' in the scheme of things. God created each of us uniquely - some with a great big 'canvas', others with a 'small' canvas, but the thing he created is what makes the difference, not the size of the 'canvas'. We all have probably heard that good things come in small packages. I think God uses the canvas of our lives to paint a picture of his grace and love. We are a 'display' of both! Use your spiritual gifts, regardless of how 'small' or 'insignificant' you may believe them to be. The beauty displayed in a life that has been redeemed by his grace doesn't find its significance in the 'qua...

We are all gifted. That is our inheritance. (Ethel Waters) So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not stray away from the truth... The Lord himself first told about this salvation, and those who heard him testified it was true. God also testified to the truth of the message by using wonders, great signs, many kinds of miracles, and by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted. (Hebrews 2:1,4) At times, it seems we have nothing 'good' going on in our lives - like life has stood still. If we knew what was going on 'behind the scenes', we might look at the 'stillness' of the moment we are enjoying as a kind of 'present' that prepares us for what is about to come. Even when it doesn't seem like much is going on, we still need to be consistent in our walk. We need to do the things we know to do - using the gifts we have been given to the best of our ability. Why? We are about to be launched into action ...

For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. (I Cor. 4:7-8 MSG) Who really knows your heart - not mine, not the next guy's, but yours? At first, you might think of someone very close to you and say they come pretty close to really “knowing” us, but do they really? Do they know the intimate workings of our mind (that could be scary), see the inner challenges of daily decisions that we make (uhm...that would be meddling), or understand the pull of our self-nature in every opportunity for compromise that presents itself to us? To be truthful here, no one really has that kind of knowledge of us - but some come "close". There are those who we confide...

God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. (2 Timothy 1:7 MSG) The gifts God gives are truly magnificent - some may try to mimic the true gifts of God, but where there is a true talent given, it shines through. I am not musically inclined, but that didn't keep me from attempting to learn the guitar. Notice, I said I "attempted" to learn that instrument, but to be totally honest here, I strummed a good strum, but somehow couldn't make that instrument 'sing' like others could. I learned the notes, memorized the fingering for some basic chords, and studied lots of hours in an attempt to become proficient. The real crux of the matter is that I wasn't going to learn! I didn't really possess that musical talent that one needs to get 'really good at it'. You just cannot force a gift - it emerges 'naturally' - as though it just fits you like a custom-made glove. If you have received a gift from God, don...

We chase after a lot of things in life - not all of them are really worth chasing.  Sometimes we chase stuff which really only serves to bring us grief and disappointment.  This chasing is a part of a much deeper issue - we lack satisfaction or contentment.  Contentment is a state of being "at ease" in our mind, soul, and spirit.  We don't need activity - we are at rest.  Sometimes ceasing is the best remedy to chasing!  Satisfaction really a sense of being grateful - fulfilled in what we have and who we are. Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you.  (I Corinthians 14:1 The Message) Paul reminds us of the importance of pursuing the right stuff - in turn, it will bring us into a place of contentment like nothing else can.  It is in the giving of ourselves to the gifts God gives us that we find our greatest place of contentment (fulfillment).  Before you tell me you ...