The Plumbline

  Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.   Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.   Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  (Ephesians 4:1-3) Without a doubt, life can be challenging when attempting to live it in 'community' with others. Sometimes it is even more challenging than if we tried to live alone! Can we always choose who is part of our community? Not always, so we just need to know that God has placed us there to be a blessing, to live at 'peace' with one another, and to spur each other on to good things.  Be patient with each other - easier said than done, right? We all do and say things that aren't always kind or thoughtful. We might not always come across as patient, especially when tired or stressed. God's request is that we...

Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think. In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too. (Philippians 2:1-4) What exactly do we have in Christ? If we stop for even a short period of time and consider this question, we will likely begin to list a few things that immediately come to mind. Consider it a bit longer and we will find there are things we didn't even realize we 'have' at our access because we have never tapped into them. Even though the blessings of God are upon our lives, we find there will be times when we are call...

I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. (John 17:15-18) Jesus did not do the 'easy thing' and ask his Father to just deliver us from this world, so we'd never have to face the challenges inherent in living on this earth. He asked his Father to keep us safe from the evil one. Notice that Jesus knows there has been a change of 'citizenship' - no longer belonging to this world, but to the Kingdom of God. It might be a bit like a dual citizenship, though. We are still living in this world, doing the things we must do in this world, such as working at a job, paying our bills, and being good neighbors. We are also enjoying the privilege of being part of the family of God - participating with him as part of this family, doing the th...

Christ encourages you, and his love comforts you. God’s Spirit unites you, and you are concerned for others. (Philippians 2:1)  Most of us love to receive notice for the hard work we are doing - even if it is not "out loud", we want someone to actually recognize our accomplishments. I enjoy seeing someone take the work I have done and put it into use in their own particular situation. It gives me pleasure to see the work utilized. In our Christian walk, we want to be recognized, have our work serve some purpose, and know what we have done really makes a difference. We don't "do good deeds" simply because we desire the accolades, but we are "serving God" in our deeds, knowing he will receive the ultimate praise in the end. In our daily walk, we receive some accolades from Jesus, and we give them right back. It is like he encourages us by giving us a high five or giving us a pat on the shoulder, as though we have done our job well. It may not be a ...

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. (Ephesians 4:2-4) A moment of confession here - I am not always humble - my pride gets in the way a lot of times. I am not always gentle - my desire to be first, be right, be whatever brings out some of the harshness of my human nature. Am I always patient? Nope, I don't have that one down either! Do I see your faults and just want to roll my eyes? Sometimes - until I look in the mirror and see my own! Then I just hush-up and hope you haven't noticed I have the same faults.  Living together in peace is the goal - but all this 'human' stuff gets in the way at times, doesn't it? We waste a whole lot of time arguing over things that won't matter a...

Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. (Philippians 1:28-29) Sitting Bull said, "Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children." It was a wise aim, but one I feel might have left us somewhere along the way. Unity is a hard thing to create, much less maintain. Unity actually requires only one agenda and when we humans get involved, there are always going to be differing agendas. How is it we put down our own agendas and take up Christ's? How can we still maintain our individuality and be part of a group bigger purpose? It comes not in 'giving up' our agenda, b...

But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise. In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:26-28 MSG) No division - no WE/THEY. In Christ's family there can be no division. Let that one sink in a moment. Take even two minutes to think about the present circumstances in our nation and you will realize there is even more division and 'divisiveness' these days than ever. We have families and friends 'divided' over this pandemic - divided over if it is real or is it a hoax? We have neighbors within communities 'divided' over which 'lives matter'. We have a...

Back in the day when I used to play guitar (I mean 'way' back in the day), one of the continual struggles I had was keeping it in tune. I always had to begin by setting the first string with my pitch pipe and then go from there. I have known others who play piano and often comment how moving a piano will cause it to sometimes go out of tune. It is like the wood gets tweaked ever so slightly and with that 'tweak' the strings that were once spot on with pitch are now out of tune. If you have ever worked within the framework of a team having to complete some type of project together, you may have noticed just how 'out of tune' you can get with each other when one goes off doing their own thing, or someone doesn't explain the steps well enough and you just have to guess how to proceed. In a matter of time, the project that was pretty straight-forward has a few more nuances that you are challenged with just because of the subtle shifts in process design or work t...

Like Me, they are not products of the corrupt world order.   Immerse them in the truth, the truth Your voice speaks.    In the same way You sent Me into this world, I am sending them.    It is entirely for their benefit that I have set Myself apart so that they may be set apart by truth.    I am not asking solely for their benefit; this prayer is also for all the believers who will follow them and hear them speak.    Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me. (John 17:16-22 VOICE) Jesus is just about ready to be taken to the cross and he takes some time to pray for his disciples - those who follow his teachings. The moment he starts praying you can see this intimate connection he has with his father - it is a comfortable exchange of words and is free-flowing in expression of his heartfelt wishes and burdens.  A few times in this prayer, he...

You know how you read through scripture, noticing some truths here and there, and all of a sudden something you have read a gillion times just sticks out to you this time?  I have these moments once in a while, too.  They are like the Holy Spirit says "here's something you might want to grab hold of today" and the words just seem to be the ones I pay attention to in a new way.  I love the Pauline epistles, so I "frequent" them often.  They are probably some of my "favorite" parts of the Word.  I think I connect with David in the Old Testament because he struggled with "real stuff" and he messed up, but he always came back to God in repentance, looking for restoration, and finding more than enough grace to enter into God's presence each time.  I connect with the Apostle Paul because he was kind of a "know it all" Pharisee who needed to be "cut down" a few notches in order to see truth as God would have him see it.  The...

Like-minded people have a tendency to gravitate toward one another, don't they?  It is as though there was some internal form of radar which brings them together and they just mesh.  This is all good when the "like-minded" thoughts and actions are pretty upright and honorable.  When they are at the opposite end of the spectrum, we don't like to see those people "get together" because the opposition they bring to others when together is pretty challenging to deal with.  What are the "like-minded" tendencies we are supposed to be focusing on in finding those we travel through this life with on our journey to eternity?  The characteristics we are to look for in others are the ability to show sympathy, love, compassion and humility for each other.  This is the beginning of "finding" the right type of companions for the journey, but when we add to this the willingness to move from paying back the evil or insult we receive in life with nothing...

I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common. {I Corinthians 1:10 MSG} When we say we are going to "get" anything, we mean that we are going to come into possession of something we are about to put into use, or make available for one's enjoyment and satisfaction.  When we combine this with the word "along", we are indicating we are about to live life in parallel to each other.  It can get a little messy to live life in parallel to anyone else, but it is not exactly easy to live life running in opposite direction of each other! When we seek to live life in parallel, we are commanded to do a couple of things - be considerate of one another, and cultivate the "parallel life" as deeply as possible. To be considerate of another we have to become fam...

To understand the meaning of the "therefore" in scripture, you have to consider what it is "there for". If we keep in mind this word is used as a means of joining supporting thought together, we will then be encouraged to look at what precedes the therefore to see what it is there for.  In this passage, Paul has just finished telling the believers at Philippi they need to live worthy of Christ's gospel.  The gospel is just another way of saying the good news Christ brings into the lives of those he touches. It isn't just the set of scripture we have which we call our Bible, but the Words of God which set at liberty the bound spirit and distressed soul.  In essence, Paul is reminding us of the importance of being "united" in thought, purpose, and action.  We aren't to have our own little way of doing things while others have their own - but are to live in harmony with each other, learning from one another, and drawing closer and closer to Chris...

Accolade - an honor, usually conferred in words, which brings notice to some hard work, or accomplishment of the one receiving the praise.  Most of us love to receive notice for the hard work we are doing - even if it is not "out loud", we want someone to actually recognize our accomplishments.  I know I enjoy when I see someone take the work I have done and put it into use - such as when they use the data I have been working on to show a trend or propose a new process.  It gives me pleasure to see the work utilized.  I don't think it is so much different in our Christian walk - we want to be recognized, have our work serve some purpose, and know what we have done really makes a difference.  We don't "do good deeds" simply because we desire the accolades, but we are "serving God" in our deeds, knowing he will receive the ultimate praise in the end. Christ encourages you, and his love comforts you. God’s Spirit unites you, and you are concerned...

If you have ever traveled abroad, you know how awesome it feels to just "come home".  The differences you experience when you are in an unfamiliar country range from what you use for transportation, what you eat, to how you communicate.  There are also the differences in dress, living conditions, and weather, just to name a few.  By the end of your "trip", you find yourself settling down into the security and safety of "being home".  When we come to Christ, entering into his family, we find ourselves assuming a new home, much in the way Ruth assumed a new home when she chose to stay with Naomi many years ago (Ruth 1:16-17).  Yet, this "new home country" is not a burden to us because we have pledged our lives to the one whose home it is!    This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You  belong  here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all...

We have been exploring the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives through the various "gifts" he gives as we walk along with him.  As we have already established, there are a variety of "fruits" and "gifts" of the Spirit, but all come from exactly the same source.  Fruits are a result of growth IN our inner man as we walk with the Spirit, gifts are a result of the Spirit's working within us given to help each of us grow a little deeper in Christ.  The gifts of the Spirit are for the benefit of the entire Body of Christ - his church - your fellow believers.  The fruits of the Spirit actually impact you first, then they begin to reveal the nature of God's heart to the world around you.  We need both - one without the other is like bread without butter, potatoes without gravy, or cake without frosting.  I can eat bread plain, but there is something about the combination of butter slathered on the surface of a good bread which gives it just that much mo...

Mending fences - something we don't do much anymore because we live in gated communities complete with their tall brick or block walls.  For most of us with "fences" in our yards, they are erected more for a sense of privacy than as a functional "tool" to assist us with our herds, flocks, or the like.  As I ventured through the back country of Tennessee this last week, something caught my attention about those folks who had fences.  They actually served the purpose of keeping something in and also keeping something out!  The cattle were out to pasture, but within confines.  The horses could run the paddock, but within confines.  This is what fences do, isn't it - they confine something.  Two things occur - the living things inside remain safely in the protective barrier, receiving the care they need, and the things which do not belong stay on the outside of those fences.  Broken down fences don't provide for protection, nor do they provide for car...

I saw a sign the other day on a church just down the street from us.  It sort of broke my heart.  It read, "Four churches call this building home".  Now you might not find this very heart-breaking, but let me explain why it tugged at the my heart-strings.  The sad thing is four groups of people have to see things so differently as to need to be four different churches all meeting in the same building.  I wonder how strong the church could be if ALL the members of each of these churches would lay down their "style" or "uniqueness" and just embrace everyone from the "other" congregations as Christ intended? Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  (Psalm 133:1 KJV)   You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is pr...