The Plumbline

The Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of Israel, says, “I am the Lord your God. I teach you for your own good. I lead you in the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17) I teach you for your own good - if we are honest here, we all need a little more of his 'instruction' than we have embraced! We might be 'hearing' his teachings, but are we allowing those words to have a deep and meaningful effect in our lives? It isn't just some random preacher teaching us - it is the "I AM". The self-sufficient, self-sustaining God - the one who was and who always is - he is the one doing the teaching. Are we listening? "I AM" is the Lord our God. He sustains us when we don't have the wherewithal to sustain ourselves. He is the one who is not dependent upon anyone else - he has been, will always be, and is right now. All manner of 'distraction' exists for us - things or individuals we might want to elevate to the place of a 'god' in our lives, but the...

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. (Psalm 85:11) Teaching involves the impartation of knowledge held by one to another. Whenever we ask God to teach us his ways, we are asking for the impartation of the mind of Christ. We want God to prepare us for the day's tasks - demonstrating to us how it is we are to respond to the challenges of the day. Critics of 'the religious life' will say we are asking to be 'brainwashed'. Those into spiritualism will say we are asking for 'enlightenment'. Neither is true - we are asking for God to show us his will, demonstrate how we live within that will, and to keep us safe from the attacks of all manner of untruth that comes our way. When God grants us wisdom (the ability to apply the knowledge we have received), he does so in order to purify our hearts. His goal is to rid us of all the things that stand in the way of our total communion with ...

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (Psalm 16:7-8) We make a choice each day - will we enthrone Jesus in our lives, or will we take the reins and do things our way. We also choose if we will 'bless the Lord' by those actions. Do we just praise God for the things he has done in our lives, or do we choose to bless him no matter what comes our way? Tough question, I know, because to bless and exalt him for the 'good stuff' is a whole lot easier than to bless him in the midst of trying circumstances outside of our control.  Guided and instructed - this is the reason for our exaltation. We are guided in the good and the unpleasant. We are instructed (taught) in the celebrations as much as in the trials and tribulations of life. His counsel (teaching) comes to us in the Word of God, but it is 'recalled' and 'cemented' in our lives through ...

God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. (I Corinthians 2:9) Why do we study the Word of God? Isn't it because we want to get to know Jesus just a little bit better each day? We want to go 'deeper' in our relationship - not content to remain superficial in our devotion or dedication. We truly want to be disciples - ones who are taught and then who follow what it is they are taught. As I have said on numerous occasions, just being taught is one thing - actually following what we are taught is another.  A disciple is more than a 'learner', though. A disciple is also a worshiper, servant to others, and one who is able to give witness to what God has done in their lives. We study to learn how God moves, what he desires of us...