The Plumbline

Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. (Mark 6:7-9 MSG) If you are anything like me, you probably launch into a new hobby with gusto, thinking you have to have all the gadgets offered. I bought a Cricut machine, then blades, etchers, storage stuff, mats, vinyls, and the list could go on. I use almost the same few things each time I pull the machine out. Most of the gadgets have been used on a few occasions, but not to the extent of the very basic ones that came with the machine! In much the same manner, we go into this walk with Jesus thinking we need all kinds of 'gadgets' to make us successful in our time with him. In actuality, we need a Bible, a pen, and a notebook at most. The rest comes on our knees, in times of listenin...

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. (Romans 8:5 MSG) Our own moral muscle isn't all that strong - we go around trying to rely upon it to keep us on the straight and narrow far too often, then wonder why we didn't do very well resisting temptation. The futility of using our own moral compass all the time isn't only foolish, it is dangerous. We can easily have our moral compass lose its 'true north', finding ourselves trusting in a direction that isn't very reliable at all. The only reliable 'compass' is the Spirit of God who lives within us. We can trust his direction over and over again - it isn't ever going to veer from 'true north'. We don't need to worry that he will lead us into sin or compromise because he is always focused on righteousness. Right choices may seem hard for us at times, but wrong ones are often because we...