The Plumbline

With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.   ( Ephesians 3:20-21   ERV ) What "power" do you possess - or maybe the best question is what "power" do you exhibit in your life? Back some years ago, the concept of "super-heroes" hit the television and big screen audiences everywhere. The "super-men" and "super-women" of these shows were able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, stop supersonic aircraft with the breath from their mouth, and somehow rescue every damsel in distress. In real life, rarely do we see this type of "power", nor do we this consistent intervention "just in the nick of time" into the situations where harm is about to wreak havoc in the lives of people. In real life, the "power" we rely upon is usually either intrinsic (stemming from within ...

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. (Romans 6:12-14 NLT) Something always exerts control - it is the nature of how things work. The "control" or force of gravity exerts the pull that keeps us from flying away from the surface of the earth into the oblivion of outer space. Oxygen controls the ability for human life to continue to exist on this planet, for without the availability of oxygen we'd all die. Weaker are consumed by stronger, simply because they can have a greater "control" over the outcome of the chase. If control is t...

What is your controlling force?  With all the hype of the "force awakening", I wondered about what "force" may have the most influence in our lives today.  If we really stop to think about it, there is some type of "force" which motivates us each and everyday.  Sometimes it is the desire to accomplish some huge task which has been kind of left undone in our lives for way too long - like cleaning out our closet or those kitchen cabinets.  At other times, it is something more personal and kind of close to our heart - like seeing the fulfillment of a life-long dream.  A force is merely the physical power or strength possessed by a person to accomplish something.  If we stop long enough to consider what "force" is "awake" in us today, we might just determine the "force" is one of our own making and not quite what God intends for our lives - because love for Jesus is to be the dominant "force" in our lives! You see, ...

Crush:  To press or squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms; to force out by pressing; to break.  Sometimes people don't see my fascination in the study of words, but when we take a little time to explore the various meanings of a word, we often begin to ponder things we might have missed before.  This is especially true when it comes to understanding the Word of God.  The "words" God chose to share with us in the pages of our Bible are not by chance - they are selected for their meaning.  Therefore, getting the most out of the Word of God often requires us to be open to considering the meaning of the words chosen to express a certain matter of thought or instruction. A healthy spirit conquers adversity,   but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? (Proverbs 18:14 MSG) I have some friends who have been through tremendous pressures this past year, and others who are beginning this year with some of the most terrifying decisions they will have ...

Pressure:   The exertion of force upon a surface by something in contact with it.   I had never really stopped to consider this definition, but I saw something this morning which I really did not realize.  Look at the definition again - pressure is the exertion of a "force" upon nothing more than the "surface".  When we use the term, "I am under a lot of pressure right now", we are simply saying, "There are a whole lot of EXTERNAL influences in CONTACT with my life right now".  Something, or someone, comes into CONTACT with our lives - but they are not "invading" our inner life - their contact is on the surface!   This may not earth-shattering to some, but I think if we really begin to latch onto this, we may just see how much control we have over what actually can affect us on the "inside". If you fail under pressure,  your strength is too small.  (Proverbs 24:10 NLT) First of all, what we allow into "contact"...