The Plumbline

Come, let us bow down and worship him! Let us kneel before the Lord who made us. He is our God, and we are the people he cares for, his sheep that walk by his side. Listen to his voice today... (Psalm 95:6-7) We are to approach, not with pride, but in humility. Not with the list of good deeds we have managed to accomplish, but with the trust that our lack of goodness will be met with the fullness of his grace. If we are to come - to approach or move toward - we have to a set course of purpose. Let us bow - we are to incline ourselves so as to be in the position of reverence; to yield ourselves to God alone. Let us worship him - honor and adore him because none other should be our focus. Take a knee in submission so as to no longer be in a position to run. Before him, we are waiting on him. Quite a beginning to our study today, isn't it? There is no longer any running - but yielded spirit, open heart, and focused attention. This is how we approach the throne of God. He is our Go...

But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. (Psalm 92:12-14) Have you ever transplanted something, only to have it look kind of droopy and on the verge of death afterwards? I know the plant goes through a bit of 'shock' with its roots being exposed, kind of like us when God takes us from one place of comfort in our walk with him and begins to move us onto 'bigger and better' things with him. God never disturbs our 'comfort' at one level of growth unless he has plans for us to grow bigger by moving us into a different 'pot' in life.  I live in the Arizona desert and know that palm trees seem to do very well here. They aren't many 'native' to this area - only the fan palm found in the Kofa National Wildlife Preserve near Yuma. Th...

I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. (Isaiah 46:3-4) We all have those moments when we are just incapable of holding up any longer - we need someone to care for us because we have given all we can manage, needing God's help to make it any further. This is not a bad thing to realize - we all need him to carry us through. We might struggle through out of sheer bullheadedness, but if you have tried that one, you know just how overwhelming the experience really is. If you look into my life, you will find that I have done things under my own willpower and self-effort on occasion, but things never ended up being as good as they could have been if I would have just let God help me with it. Who better to care for us than the one who actually made us? He knows how we will approach t...