The Plumbline

As we come to Jesus, we might expect the immediate healing of all our anxieties, hang-ups, and long-held issues. We know there are things in our lives Jesus forgives but then he "deals" with them for a while until we realize they are finally gone. The sinful stuff in our lives that gets our focused attention through God's eyes will get dealt with in pretty short order compared to the stuff we just let 'hang on' even when he is telling us to let it go.   Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. So Jesus held the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes. He laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see now?” The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people. They look like trees walking around.” Again Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes, and the man opened them wide. His eyes were healed, and he was able to see everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25) We come t

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. (Hebrews 1:3) When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down. There is much said in those words, isn't there?  When he had - it is a finished work, nothing else is required, the job is done. Cleansed us from our sins - it was not his sins that took him to the cross, but ours. The mission was complete when he lifted his eyes to heaven and breathed his last breath on that cross. He sat down - in a place of honor, authority, and oversight. He continues to watch over all of mankind, having completed it all on our behalf, waiting for us to join him there through faith in his finished work. He sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. That 'sustaining power' is what we can count on when we say 'yes'

What defiles a man? Some would say it is one specific act, while others would say it is an accumulation of actions, all of which would be labeled as 'not very good'. Jesus was very specific - it is what in the heart that defiles a man. The actions are just a byproduct of what the heart desires or craves. So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” (Mark 7:5-8) There will always be those who think tradition must be upheld. It doesn't matter that it has become meaningless and 'mindlessly' performed. It just needs to be upheld. What se

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10) Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." Most of us don't feel extremely talented or gifted, but we can take on small tasks that make all the difference in our hurting world. Whatever gift you have received is for the purpose of serving others. No matter how small, use that gift in service for others and see how God will bless it in grand ways. God isn't after the 'grandiose' in us - he is after the obedience or what we refer to as 'faithfulness' in each of us. My dad always used to quip, "Use it or lose it". It was not bad advice! Use what you are given or lose out on what God intended or purposed for that 'gift' within you. I don't make perfect woodworking projects, but I enjoy blessing others through whatever talent I have. I may not be a publis

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. (Herman Hesse) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14) Too many times we hold onto our mistakes, focusing all our thought and attention on them instead of what Christ wants to do with them. He actually wants to use them as a catapult to move us forward, not anchor us to the past. God is always doing something new - reminding us to forget what lies in the past and focus on the new (Isaiah 43:18-19). God is making a way forward, but we have to step out into it if we are to ever

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:18-20) The one set free from a lifetime of torment and torture was not always so 'grateful' and 'trusting' toward Jesus. When Jesus first sees the man who was demon-possessed, he asked Jesus to leave him alone - to not change anything in his life. He actually saw Jesus as 'interfering' with his lifestyle. Tortured though he was, the evil spirit within him didn't want to leave him. Jesus wasn't put off by the demons asking to stay. "Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” Then the evil spirits begged him