The Plumbline

Because you have satisfied me,  God , I promise  to do everything you say.  (Psalm 119:57 The Message) L ord , you are mine!  I promise to obey your words! (Psalm 119:57 The New Living Translation)   You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to keep Your words. (Psalm 119:57 The Amplified Bible) Okay, so it is honest answer time this morning!  How many times have we made the promise to be obedient in some area of our daily Christian walk and then before the day was over, we somehow forgot about the promise?  If you are like me, probably too many to count!  We often promise God that we won't follow some path of wrong choices - then almost instantaneously turn back to doing what we committed NOT to do.   God knows perfectly well that our promises to be obedient will be spotted with occasional failures.  I think that is why he says, " 4-5  When you tell God you'll do something, do it—now.  God takes no pleasure in foolish gab...

    54  Your decrees have been the theme of my songs  wherever I have lived.   55  I reflect at night on who you are, O L ord ; therefore, I obey your instructions.   56  This is how I spend my life: obeying your commandments. (Psalm 119:54-56 The New Living Bible) 54  Your laws are the songs I sing  wherever I am living.  55  LORD, in the night I remembered your name,  and I obeyed your teachings.  56  This happened because I carefully obey your instructions. (Psalm 119:54-56 Easy-to-Read Version) I gave us a couple of versions of this passage to read this morning so that we can put together some thoughts.  In examining this passage, several "themes" became apparent: - David has made following God's decrees (his Word) his way of "doing business".  He has a lot of choices (as do we) in dealing with the stress of life. His choice was to turn to God.  Wherever he was "living" - there ...

The insolent ridicule me without mercy,  but I don't budge from your revelation.     I watch for your ancient landmark words,  and know I'm on the right track.   But when I see the wicked ignore your directions,  I'm beside myself with anger.  (Psalm 119:51-53 The Message) I imagine all of us have stood at one time or another just wondering how some people could ignore that God is right there in their circumstances - but they are just too stubborn or blind to see it.  They know they should heed the warnings they have received, but they plunge full-force into whatever seems to be what will give them the "immediate" thrill of the moment.  Then they complain when things don't work out!  David said this made him angry - they had the revelation of God (they knew what to do) BUT they ignored it.   When I thought about what David is saying here, my thoughts turned to the New Testament.  Jesus is teaching a large cro...

 Remember what you said to me, your servant— I hang on to these words for dear life!    These words hold me up in bad times;  yes, your promises rejuvenate me.  (Psalm 119:49-50 The Message) Bumper stickers abound in our society today.  An individual is able to post almost any viewpoint for public display simply by attaching one of these "emblems" of opinion on their vehicle.  There have been times I have tried to pull just a little closer in order to read the small print!  Something caught my eye and I wanted to know what it said!  On occasion, they make me laugh.  Sometimes I have to turn away because the words are less than uplifting.  At others, they give me a moment to pause and think.  Each has its impact, does it not? In the times David penned these words, bumper stickers were not invented.  The use of mass publication was not even possible.  The scriptures were handwritten, kept by only a few in religious s...

 Don't ever deprive me of truth, not ever— your commandments are what I depend on.   Oh, I'll guard with my life what you've revealed to me,  guard it now, guard it ever; a nd I'll stride freely through wide open spaces  as I look for your truth and your wisdom; t hen I'll tell the world what I find,  speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed.    I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them— relishing every fragment of your counsel. (Psalm 119:43-48 The Message) Have you ever been deprived of something you depend on?  I remember wrestling with my brother as a kid.  He is 11 years older, so it was never really a "fair" wrestling match!  He'd pin me down with his full body weight, tickling me to tears, and I would find myself laughing so hard that'd I almost felt like I'd lose my breath at any moment.  I'd wriggle harder, trying to escape his clutch.  He'd just tickle more!   I used to think this was like bei...

Let your love,  God , shape my life  with salvation, exactly as you promised;     Then I'll be able to stand up to mockery  because I trusted your Word.  (Psalm 119:41-42 The Message) As we begin today, I'd like us to take a moment to really give some thought to what things or people, we'd call that "input", we might find shaping our lives in the present moment.  Then, let's look back a little at what things or people have shaped our lives because of their input in our past.  When we really give this a "hard" look, we might be surprised by just how much of a specific person's influence we "formed" our opinions, beliefs, and actions.  The individual may not even know how much they have "shaped" our lives - good or bad.  There may also be some influences (input) such as books, events, or actions that really made an impact - good or bad.  The simple truth - we are "shaped" by something or someone - it is all based on...

Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you.  Deflect the harsh words of my critics—b ut what you say is always so good.   See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways! (Psalm 119:38-40 The Message)   Reassure me of your promise,  made to those who fear you.   Help me abandon my shameful ways;  for your regulations are good.   I long to obey your commandments!   Renew my life with your goodness. (Psalm 119:38-40 The New Living Translation) Sometimes we need to see things written a little differently to help us understand the purpose of what is being written.  From our passage today, let's look at a few similar words that have some very unique meaning: Affirm and Reassure - Affirm carries the meaning of remaining true to that which has been promised.  It is the idea of confirming or ratifying an agreement.  David is asking God to give him confirmation that his promise...