The Plumbline

“Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. (Joel 2:12-13 NLT) Turn to me now. This is the time. This is the place. There you will find rest. There you will find peace. There you will find hope. When all else around is in disarray and calamity awaits at every turn, there is no other place to turn than to God himself.  Give me your hearts. So many times, we try to give God everything else other than our hearts. We want him to take our sins, but do we want to seek his righteousness as equally as we desire to be free of their shame? We want to have our lives in order, but do we invite disorder by the things we listen to, watch, or pursue with the heart God so desperately wants to inhabit? The one who wants G...

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:6-11) Has the time come? I think many might be asking that question more frequently these days than in previous days. We see 'signs' of thi...