The Plumbline

Transfigured:  To change in outward appearance or form; transform; renew.  Now, most of us cannot say we have been “transfigured”, although we might say we have been “transformed”.   When we say we have been transformed, we are really saying we have had a change in condition, nature, or character.  In other words, we have been “converted”.  Maybe this is why Christianity uses the term “convert” when they describe an individual who has asked the Lord Jesus to be their Savior.  If you recall the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God, you might remember he came off the mountain with a face “glowing” so brightly the people asked him to cover it up with a veil.  They were caught a little off-guard by the radiance of God’s glory in Moses’ life.  He had been “transformed” so significantly with his face-to-face experience with God that most around him just could not behold the glory “full on”.  Imagine – being so “transformed” s...

I saw a sign out in front of a local church as I passed by this week.  It read:  Grace gives, sin brings loss.  I don't know the origin of this particular saying - or who to give credit to for saying it - but I do believe it speaks volumes!  In fact, I'd like us to consider it this way:  What grace gives is exactly what sin took away.  I also like to think of it this way:  Grace gives love; sin gives loss.  We "lose" when we sin - we "gain" when we embrace grace in our lives. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.  (Romans 6:14 NLT) Consider this for a moment with me.  Sin brings loss.  Loss by definition is the failure to get, keep, or have.  In other words, when we sin, we might have had something, but we cannot keep hold of it very long.  For example, when we embrace a critical attitude toward another individual, we ...

In the dumps:  A gloomy, melancholy state of mind; depression.   Do you ever find yourself “in the dumps”?  We refer to this almost as a “place” rather than a frame of reference referring to our attitude.  Yet, the origin of this phrase clearly points to a sense of deep melancholy.  There are a ton of synonyms:  down low, blue, sad, unhappy, low-spirited, discouraged, fed up, moody, pessimistic, glum, dejected, despondent, dispirited, downcast, morose, crestfallen, and downhearted.  Whew!  What a list!  If you really look at all of them, where do these words “focus” us?  Don’t they focus “us” on “us”?  When we say we are “unhappy”, isn’t it really us interpreting something in life as “making us” feel less than good about a situation?  When we say we are “discouraged”, aren’t we saying like we don’t feel like doing anything more to see the outcome change?  The fact is, being “in the dumps” is really something which WE have ...