The Plumbline

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9) Let's face it, we act 'faulty' at times. We make dumb decisions because we like what we see and don't read the reviews very well. When we don't listen to wise counsel of others, we are prone to make mistakes. We might ACT faulty at times, but that doesn't make US faulty. It makes our decisions unwise, but it doesn't make US less in God's eyes. The sooner we separate the 'faulty act' from who we ARE, the better. We don't always think through our actions, but that doesn't change the fact that we are redeemed, blood-bought, clean and whole IN CHRIST JESUS. If we begin to look at the person as 'faulty', we are seeing them inaccurately. I know too many individuals who somehow equate the entire 'worth' or 'value' of a person based on some action they may have taken. It as though that one act made the whole person 'faul...

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (I John 4:11-12) We all desire to 'see' God in some form, don't we? Since the beginning of time, mankind has tried to 'see' God, going to the extremes of making 'images' of him so they could have a 'thing' to look upon that reminded them of God. The 'images' didn't even come close to really represent the character, power, or majesty of God. The truth is that God is 'evident' in each of us - his love being brought to full expression in us through the power of the Holy Spirit within. We don't need 'images', we just need to observe how God manifests himself through those around us.  God's grace has a unique expression in each of our lives. We are not the same - so what makes us think God's 'image' would be exp...