The Plumbline

I wonder how many of us could agree with this equation: Trouble = Training Most of us equate "training" to the efforts we put forth to AVOID trouble - such as when we work out at the gym or take regular walks in order to keep our hearts healthy and avoid heart disease.  Very few of us will actually equate the present "trouble" we might be experiencing as a way of "training" either our minds, bodies, or spirits.   God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s  training , the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly  live ? While we were children, our parents did what  seemed  best to them. But God is doing what  is  best for us, training us to l...

Chosen:  the action of selection, often as a means of indicating preference for a specific object chosen.  Most of the time, we go through life making all kinds of choices without much thought - simply because things have become so familiar to us, we just do it by habit.  We reach for the salt or pepper at the table simply because we have done this for years.  We drive a particular path to work without much thought to the winding path, sometimes not even aware of the things we pass by simply because they are so familiar to us because of the sheer frequency of the path we travel.  We gravitate to the same place at the table, in the living room furniture, etc. - it is "our" space.  We have indicated a "preference" for a certain route, spot, or type of activity - it is now our method of conducting our affairs. But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and spe...

In today's electronic age, we seldom resort to "snail mail" as a means of keeping in touch with others in our lives.  I am quite guilty of this myself.  It is not that I have lost the ability to write a letter, place a stamp on it, and walk it to the mailbox.  It is the "immediacy" of email and instant messaging which makes it all the more appealing to me.  In the past, the "news" we'd share about changes in our lives would come via the postal service, arriving to the recipient days after the "news" was indeed "news".  In the military, we had mail call.  It was a time when we'd all gather around in hopes of one link to home in the form of a small envelope filled with "news" and maybe even a little token of love.  In turn, our loved ones would hurry to the mailbox when they'd see the familiar mailman's truck passing by.  We all want to know the "news" of another's life. Does it sound like we...

Most of us have never experienced the type of persecution which lands us in jail for our testimony of Christ.  In fact, many of my readers actually luxuriate each day in our "comfort" of living in a country which promotes religious freedom.  Over recent months, I have observed the largest percentage of my readers shifting from the US and Canada to some of the countries where religious freedom may not be as available - such as Russia, Slovania, Indonesia, India, and Saudi Arabia.  In fact, the most "hits" have come from Russia over the past 60 days.  I can only praise God for the expansive audience the internet allows!   A few days later Felix and his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, sent for Paul and listened to him talk about a life of believing in Jesus Christ. As Paul continued to insist on right relations with God and his people, about a life of moral discipline and the coming Judgment, Felix felt things getting a little too close for comfort and dismissed ...

11-13 Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."   14 But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?  (Romans 10:11-14 The Message) You may find the fact that calling out to God ensures a listening ear - each and every time - a little hard to believe, but it is true!  God listens AND he hears!  As a little girl, I learned the story about "crying wolf" too many times.  The idea of "crying wolf" was really a symbol of sounding a fa...

9-11  Word got out among the Jews that he was back in town. The people came to take a look, not only at Jesus but also at Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. So the high priests plotted to kill Lazarus because so many of the Jews were going over and believing in Jesus on account of him. (John 12:9-11) Lazarus became a living testimony of the power and deliverance of God when his life was raised.  He became a "threat" to religion the day he was raised!  The Jewish high priests are actually resisting his testimony because it was causing people to leave the "comfort" of religion to experience the dynamic of relationship.  The fact of the matter is that God uses people to do the work of bearing testimony to his deliverance! We are never a threat to "religion" when we are just living in the status quo.  As soon as we "cross the line" into a real and vital relationship with Jesus, guess what....we become a "threat".  For the sake of...

    “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars:   “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.   2   Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.   3   Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.   4   “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.   5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.  (Revelation 3:1-5) Let's re...

  17  The first speech in a court case is always convincing—    until the cross-examination starts!  (Proverbs 18:17) I like shows or movies that give you a riveting courtroom trial in which there is little to no hope of the defending attorney ever proving the person on trial really did not do the crime.  In these courtroom depictions, the prosecuting attorney must "make the case" against the "defendant".  The case begins with what they term "opening arguments" - the laying out of the case from each person's perspective in such a way that the jury is given a hint about what will be presented. The passage today is quite revealing - the opening speeches may all be nicely worded and organized into a nice synopsis of the beliefs of both the prosecutor and the defender, but they don't contain all the "evidence".  That is the purpose of the trial - it "opens up" the intricate pieces of evidence for the jury to examine and use in co...

1  There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  2  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” (John 3:1-2) The story of Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, one of the elite group known as Pharisees, came to Jesus "under the cloak of darkness".  His reasoning was probably pretty evident - the Pharisees did not like Jesus' teachings and he would be "called out" for his behavior in seeking Jesus out.  Jesus has just finished cleaning out the temple - throwing out all the money-changers and vendors who were making a living off of selling the offerings at the steps of the temple.  He had made several important statement that day in response to the Jews' question, "What credentials can you present to us?" Jesus' response was pretty vivid and every Jew within in hearing distance pr...

8 Stephen, brimming with God's grace and energy, was doing wonderful things among the people, unmistakable signs that God was among them. (Acts 6:8) 51 And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you're just like your ancestors. (Acts 7:51) Our two passages today are taken from a very lengthy story of Stephen - a man appointed by the disciples to be a "deacon" in the church.  In his role as deacon, he was given the responsibility to make sure the widows, orphans, and poor were cared for.  His role as deacon allowed the disciples to go on with their work of spreading the gospel message - preaching, healing the sick, and sharing the good news that Christ was raised from the dead.  His ministry gained him some momentum and there were people who were a little "miffed" because they could not match his wisdom.  This is what we find in Acts 6: But then some men from the meeting place whose ...