The Plumbline

He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. (Proverbs 17:27) Have you ever had so much internal agitation that you found it hard to talk rationally or act responsibly? There is nothing our enemy likes more than for that type of agitation to take over within us. Confusion is a great tactic to keep us in a muddle and cause us to be paralyzed with fear. Worrying does us no good, but that is what confusion brings - worry upon worry, until we are either not able to take action, or worse yet, we take action that is impulsive. The consequences of both are alarmingly similar - we stumble around in our confusion and find ourselves feeling pretty helpless and sometimes even hopeless. Our passage reminds us that “a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.” How on earth can we enjoy a calm spirit when everything is coming at us at break-neck speed and in a disorderly manner? What some of us have yet to realize is that actually living with a calm mind re

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. ( There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers. ) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:15-17) Have you ever noticed that sentence in this passage before? "There were many people of this kind..." What a way for people to 'label' other people. "Those people" - that is a label, isn't it? They didn't 'measure up' to the standards being imposed upon them - much like you and me on occasion. They didn't 'follow the rules' some of the time - like us rule-breake

While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:2-5) I don't know about you, but I want these kinds of friends in my life! I want friends who will 'bare-handedly' remove rooftops for me! I want to know that regardless of my ability or faith, they are right there when I have needs I may not be able to handle on my own or even recognize I have a way to have to have those needs met outside of the 'normal' way of meeting them. How about you? Do you have those kinds of friends? Do they recognize a need in your life even before you recognize it yourself? If you do, you are truly blessed! The crowd wasn't too much for them - they saw the need of their fri

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5) Did you know the word "Word" (logos) meant more than 'word' in the Greek language. It also carried the idea of divine reason, mind, wisdom, principle, and message. When John uses 'logos' in this passage, he was indicating all things divine were inherent in Christ - none more important than that he brought the message of salvation for all of mankind! Stop for a moment to consider why John used this form of the word 'logos' to describe Jesus. Perhaps it was because words are what makes up communication - they are what allows the passage of ideas from one person to another.

Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. (Proverbs 10:2) I found myself revisiting an old medical TV series over the past few days where more than one of the characters were quite entangled in 'making money', sometimes at the expense of others. As depicted by their characters, their absolute greed drove them to do things that were totally outside of the reason they ever got into their profession as doctors. They were so focused on fame and fortune; they lost sight of their calling. Wealth sometimes has a way of 'undoing' us - actually changing our focus from what we know to be 'true' and 'right' in our lives. Perhaps this is why God reminds us we cannot have our eyes on both wealth and God - the former one will eventually erode away at the relationship we have with him. Tainted wealth is that which is 'ill-gotten' - it might have started out quite innocently, but the more we pursued the wealth, the more it consume

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:19-21) For God... The message is clear - God made the provision, did all that needed to be done, and now we stand 'reconciled' through faith in Jesus. It is indeed good news that my sins are no longer counted against me, and this should be good news for anyone who has said 'yes' to Jesus. The message is clear - we needed Christ's sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection in order to realize forgiveness of sins and the removal of all the guilt associated with them. God makes his appeal to others through us... We may not believe it, but God ac