The Plumbline

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.  For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. (I Peter 3:8-11) We improve our relationship to Jesus through time in the Word and in prayer. We can get down to improving our relationship with others only after we get our relationship with Christ right. Mom always used to say I was to treat others as I wanted them to treat me - the Golden Rule. The only way to treat others right is to be sure the 'rightness of our heart' is maintained throu...

I was watching a show last night in which a physician was asked to be an 'expert witness' in a malpractice case. As healthcare providers, physicians and nurses are often called upon to give 'expert testimony' as to the practice exhibited by another provider during the care of a patient that didn't quite go as expected. If you are called upon to be the expert witness on behalf of the one being tried, you are there to give testimony to the evidence of the care being provided in a reliable manner - it met the standards of care. If you are called upon to be the expert witness against the one being tried, you are expected to bring out errors in judgment that led to the 'bad outcome' of the patient. It is clear from these examples, we can be a 'witness' on either 'side' of the issue - it depends on who's side we 'side with'! 'I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I...

Indifference is all around us.  I am a people watcher, so maybe I pick up on this a little more than someone who isn't.  Whether it is the casual disregard for someone's property exhibited when someone just drops their unwanted trash by the wayside without a care in the world, or the passing by of a motorist broken down on the side of the freeway - lack of concern and compassion is just part of what we see everyday.  Indifference is also the producing of "work" which only requires mediocre effort.  Anytime we don't give our "all" to a project, we can be guilty of being a little indifferent to the outcome, as well.  In this world, Christ called for his people to make a difference - to stand out, to be counted, and to be agents of change.  If you haven't guessed it by now, we have a hard job ahead of us! Patient persistence pierces through indifference;   gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.  (Proverbs 25:15 MSG) Patient persistence is...

'I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I've handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what's happened today, and to what I am going to show you.' (Acts 26:15-16) A witness is one who has sufficient knowledge to constitute a proof that something exists, that someone is who they say they are, or that there is evidence to the contrary.  Paul was being spoken to in this passage by God - direct communication with God - and the message was clear!  He was being "handpicked" by God to be his messenger and to act as a witness to the power of a holy and righteous God.   We are also called to be witnesses - handpicked by God.  The effectiveness or "believability" of our witness is often viewed by the kind of people that we are, not what we say.  All the preaching, teaching, or sharing we do is useless if what we "say" doesn't match with what we "live".  To be fait...