The Plumbline

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7) Go ahead with what you've been given. How many times do we think we have to wait for 'more'? We have been given a measure and we somehow think that we cannot do anything with what we have been given - there must be 'more' in order for us to 'do' something. The truth of the matter is that we are already well-equipped for exactly what we need to be doing right now - we just need to use what we have been given! We received Christ - that is a done deal. We are deeply rooted in him - another done deal. Can roots grow deeper? Absolutely, but the tree doesn't j...

  Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. (Proverbs 27:1) Gandhi reminded us that we are to "live as if we were to die tomorrow; learn as if we were to live forever". We can be certain of one thing - tomorrow is not promised to any living creature - it is a gift to receive each day we are given. I have a little harder question to pose that may not make fans of many of my followers, but here goes: What will you do with your today in order to make someone else's tomorrow better? I didn't ask what you would do today to make YOUR tomorrow better, but what will you do with TODAY in order to leave a bit of a legacy for someone else's tomorrow.  I think we spend a whole lot of time today preparing for OUR tomorrow should we blessed to receive another day on this earth, but do we spend OUR time in a way that assures someone we may not even know will be receiving a better tomorrow - a blessing prepared today f...

The preparation of today makes us ready for tomorrow. Without the work of today, the events of today won't matter when tomorrow comes. When others look at our life, do they see evidence of our faith? Do they see us laboring in love, or resisting every move we make? Do they see us patient in our waiting, or chafing in anticipation, hating the wait and disgruntled by not getting our way? Many of us can claim to be believers, but do our lives indicate we live like believers? Three things that are just not arbitrary in our live are faith, the labors of love, and the patience we exhibit toward each other (and ourselves). In fact, these things speak volumes about the work which has begun in our lives - a work God is going to finish, no matter how hard it may appear to us! Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you're in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, befor...

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote, "The past, the present, and the future are really one...they are today."  There are those who have a tendency to "blame" whatever it is they are experiencing today on a "crappy" past - things didn't go well for them "then", so they are certainly not going to change "now". What Beecher said bears some study, for it is true - the past affects our present and our present sets the stage for our future - in essence making today the most important day of all! And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:38 NLT) There is indeed a great deal in our "past" that could affect our present - but it doesn't have to do so in a negative or damaging way because grace declares the past "done"...