The Plumbline

I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah. (Philippians 1:12-14 MSG) Stop for a moment to consider what God can do through you when you remain faithful to him even in the face of untoward circumstances. Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel of Christ - yet his imprisonment didn't stop his ongoing work of spreading the gospel message. Not only did he continue his work of establishing the New Testament churches by writing and instructing via his writings, he was a positive witness of God's grace even while in a jai...

Seek God while he’s here to be found, pray to him while he’s close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and their evil way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness. (Isaiah 55:6 MSG) God has mercy that far out reaches ours, doesn't he? Given our tendency to be impatient with other people, we'd want to cut off those 'sinners' and 'heathens' who refuse to heed his warnings, listen to his truth, or outright oppose his message. Did you ever stop to consider what would have happened if Jesus had of been that impatient with us? Seek God while he's here to be found. That is a pretty specific command with a pretty limited opportunity, is it not? It implies that God will not always wait - he will call for the day of judgment at some point. The question at hand is whether those who will hear will heed his call and reach out for his mercy.  Mercy is available - now, at this moment, witho...