The Plumbline

How joyful are those who fear the Lord— all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be! (Psalm 128:1-2 NLT) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom as scripture says, and to live a fruitful life, one must choose to serve the Lord with all their heart, mind, and soul. We cannot expect fruit where there has been no investment in the preparation for that harvest. If we just go out to the garden and expect to always see fruit on our tomato plant, but we haven't watered, turned the soil, sprayed for pesty bugs, and kept them shaded from the hot Arizona afternoon sun, our harvest will be piddly and not really all that enjoyable. Yet, if we do those things, we stand a much better chance of big red, juicy tomatoes. The 'prep' work is important if we want to see a harvest in our spiritual lives, as well. The choice to follow ALL of his ways is one that yields much fruit, but we cannot pick and choose which one of...

“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT) When God does a work of transforming a life, he does it completely. There is no 'half-way' with God. He puts his word deep within our hearts, not so that he can control us, but so we can know him better and better with each passing day. Yes, his word acts as a 'control' over our own impulses, but God never takes away our self-will even when he puts his word within us and gives us his Spirit to live in us. His desire is that we will allow him to be our God and willingly participate as a member of his family in the ways he s...