The Plumbline

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18 NLT) The message of the cross cannot be understood through human reasoning. If we could understand the exact things that transpired in the heavenly realms as Christ hung there, breathed his last, and then gave his all for mankind, we'd probably all be on our knees in full repentance right now. There wouldn't be one soul untouched by the intensity of that sacrifice. The human mind is not able to know fully what transpired, but through faith we can trust that what Christ accomplished was meant for our good.  The power behind the cross isn't usually fully comprehended through what we read in our scriptures. It becomes very evident in a changed life, though. The more a life is transformed by the power of the cross, the more we come to 'know' and 'appreciate' that Christ did more than just 'die' ther...

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8 NLT) What debt do you carry today? Is it a financial one? A spiritual one? A relational one? Maybe all three apply to you today - but the greatest 'debt' we owe is love. We are loved so much by our heavenly father and all he asks of us is to return that love by loving others - even the unlovable! You might have heard it said that we can hate the sin but love the sinner. This is true, of course, but how many times do we equate the sinner and the sin as 'one'? We see the sin and then reject the sinner in due course. This is just the opposite of what God did. He saw the sinner, hated the sin, but loved the sinner enough to make a way for the sinner to be made holy through the blood of Jesus. Love didn't overlook the sin. Because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus, the sinner is now without sin. The love of God made ...