The Plumbline

Thomas Fuller reminds us: "One that would have the fruit must climb the tree." I would say the one that would have the fruit must first have a good root! Without proper rooting, the tree may grow for a while, but the fruit will be lacking. The tree will not withstand the winds that actually challenge its footing. And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7) Fuller also reminds us it is possible to miss the mark simply by aiming too high or too low. Where is your aim today? At what (or may I ask at whom) are you aiming? If you are to have deep roots, you must aid them in growth.  I have planted trees in my hard Arizona soil. Before I could sink those trees deep into the harder soil, they had to take root in rich, easily tended soil. They had ...

Are you a 'radical' when it comes to change? Radical: of or going to the root or origin of something. If you haven't really thought about what "radical change" is, you might be a little surprised to find out it is change which goes after the "root" or "origin" of something in order to so totally change what has become "traditional" or "normal" in one's life. If a business wants to "re-invent" themselves because they have been losing customers to some other big-name chain with a newer look, what do they do? They go through some "radical change" to make us believe this is the store we want to be shopping at instead of the other guys. J.C. Penney did just that - they changed up the lines they carried, took out a whole bunch of their stock, remodeled the interiors of the stores to be more "hip", but they lost business! Most of us who shopped at Penney's did so for a reason - the consist...

Confucius said, "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." It might be uncomfortable to ask the question, but I will anyway - just how aware of your own ignorance are you? I looked at myself first when posing that question, so don't think I am meddling here. In truth, I really deny some of the areas of my life where I am ignorant - lacking in knowledge, untrained, unlearned. If I were to be truthful here, it isn't that I am lacking in the training as much as I am lacking in the learning! I repeat mistakes for this very reason. When the mistake is easily corrected, that may not be a big deal - when it is harder to correct or leaves lasting 'scars', it is a much bigger deal, isn't it? Ignorance can also be that we are unaware of something - an action we take when we might not even know what is behind that action or that we are taking it in the first place. Both are equally as important to consider today - if we remain 'ignorant' i...

Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.   (Hebrews 11:1 ERV) Look up faith in any dictionary and you are likely to find a definition referring to the belief or trust in God one might have. This morning, I'd like us to consider what "radical faith" looks like - because I think this might just be what God intends for each of us. Faith is more than just a belief - it is a lifestyle - an allegiance and loyalty to someone or something. I have said it before, I can believe my car will start when I hit that ignition button each time, but I am like the rest of you - there have been times when I have just plain had a dead battery! The engine doesn't kick over - the car goes nowhere - and I am stuck wherever it is I am until that changes. In Arizona, the cells of these batteries dry out way too quickly and even "maintenance-free" batteries need maintaining! In our spiritual walk, sometimes what needs to happen is a lit...

It was the German philosopher Immanuel Kant who quipped: "If man makes himself a worm he must not complain when he is trodden on." Oh, boy, is that one right on, or what? There are so many today who live like their lives are entirely their own, taking actions they don't do such a good job of thinking upon prior to taking, then they look at those all around them as though they should have been rescued instead of reaping the consequences of those actions. They cry out for someone to have intervened - to have stopped the pain for them - but they do absolutely nothing to remove themselves from the very thing that causes them all the pain. The Lord approves of those who are good, but he condemns those who plan wickedness. Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots. (Proverbs 12:2-3 NLT) The godly have deep roots - the difference between the wise and the unwise is in the roots, but also in the place the roots take hold. The roots are one thing - but th...

For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.   11  No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.   12  And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (I Corinthians 2:10-12 NLT) Did you ever stop to really consider why it is we are given the Spirit of God as a teacher or guide in our lives? In looking at this passage again this morning, I realized it is so we can know the really intentional and purposeful thoughts of God - so we can really get to know him on an intimate basis. It is so true that the thoughts of one man's mind are known only to him - he has to share them in his words, actions, and attitude in order for us to even get a "hint" of what might be going on in that mind. In elementary school the kids used to taunt with the saying, "It takes one to know one", whenever so...

Depend:  To rely, place trust; to be sure of.  We depend upon a lot of things, don't we?  We depend on getting to work on time just because we were on the road by our "usual" time today.  The hazards along the way may provide a later arrival than anticipated, but we still depended upon getting there on time because we did our part.  We depend upon our laundry detergent to remove the stains in our clothing, despite the fact the stains are set in and rather stubborn ones at that.  When the detergent doesn't "perform" as anticipated, we buy a different type the next time because we have to "depend" upon the detergent to do its job.  We get into trouble when our dependence upon something or someone is stronger than our dependence upon God.  I am not saying we should depend on God to get the stains out of our jeans, but he is pretty awesome at getting stains out of our "genes"! Cursed is the strong one   who depends on mere humans, w ho thin...

I recently was in the state of Washington and up into the Vancouver area.  I am always delighted to take in the lush greenery of areas who enjoy more rain and humidity than the dry deserts of Arizona afford.  Don't get me wrong, I love my desert!  Yet, the stark contrast between what grows here versus what grows in such a lush region is amazing.  The scrub of the desert probably is a little disappointing to the one from that region, but to me, it is a thing of mystery and beauty.  Why?  It never ceases to cause me to wonder at the ability of such flora and fauna to grow in such a seemingly desolate place! What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin,  while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life.  (Proverbs 12:12 The Message) The region we traveled into had some trees clearly marked with tags which told of their age, height, and the width of their base.  What these tags did not say was how deep these 700 year old trees w...

Remember, you aren't feeding the root; the root is feeding you. (Romans 11:18 The Message) The entire chapter from which this verse is taken is about Israel - the chosen of God - and the "branches" that were grafted in.  Let me explain before I go on.  Israel was chosen to be the people of God - redeemed from a life of slavery and misery.  Then they chose their own way.  As Paul puts it:    Well, when Israel tried to be right with God on her own, pursuing her own self-interest, she didn't succeed. The chosen ones of God were those who let God pursue his interest in them , and as a result received his stamp of legitimacy. The "self-interest Israel" became thick-skinned toward God.   (Romans 11:7 The Message)  Notice that I underlined a section of this passage.  Paul really sets out two diametrically opposed conditions of the heart - those that pursue God because of their own "self-interest" and those that let God pursue his interest in them...