The Plumbline

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NLT) Open declaration sure differs from silent belief, doesn't it? I am not a 'stand on the street corner, repent or burn' kind of gal, but I do try to live my life in such a way that others can see Jesus through me. I am always ready to give an answer for the "hope I have as a believer, always be ready to explain it." (I Peter 3:15) My open declaration of faith was the day I was baptized - not as a child in the arms of my parents, but as an adult. While I don't always 'talk about Jesus', I do hope there is evidence of the work he has and is still doing in my life. Can others see Jesus in you? Do they know there is 'something different' about you that draws them to Christ, or is ...

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 NLT) One who follows must do so continually, otherwise they will end up lost, off-course, and a little disoriented. As many times as we 'start well', do we 'finish well'? Not likely - many 'courses of action' stand abandoned over the course of time because it was too hard, too boring, or just didn't produce what we hoped to see when we took that particular course. The 'right course', started out 'well', won't produce the 'best' end results until we commit to the process of seeing it through! Roots take a while to develop, but once they are established it is hard for the tree to die. Case in point - I had a diseased tree in the backyard that had been th...