The Plumbline

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! (Psalm 63:1-3) Growing up in the Arizona desert, I have walked many a dry wash, climbed over huge boulders, and been pricked by more than my share of cacti. It is dry, filled with all kinds of dangers, and barely livable in many parts. Water is not easily found, nor is it readily available if you were to drill for it. Many places have to truck it in right to this day. You can be so 'dry' in the desert that you actually crave water. It doesn't seem all that fertile, does it? What seems like the most 'unfertile' ground in our lives may actually be the place where the greatest growth occurs. Something you may not realize is how many 'distractions' are removed when yo...

Have you ever ended up in a place where you just thought it was 'too dry' and a 'little barren'? As the summer sun heats up the Arizona desert, it is easy to 'get behind' in our fluid intake - especially when the day gets going and we forget to take time to seek out the water we so desperately need. When we finally feel ourselves 'fading' from the heat and the intensity of our thirst beginning to nag at us, it is oftentimes a little late in the process! We are squarely in the middle of the dry place and there is just no alternative to turn to in order to find the satisfaction we desire. God doesn't leave us thirsty, but he never says we won't have times when we 'thirst'! Directed by God, the whole company of Israel moved on by stages from the Wilderness of Sin. They set camp at Rephidim. And there wasn't a drop of water for the people to drink. The people took Moses to task: "Give us water to drink." But Moses said, "W...

Okay, admit it, you just didn't think I'd be able to come up with any character trait for the letter "x"!  Well, sorry to disappoint, but I actually do have one: Xerarch - the ability to grow in dry places.  If the truth be told, many of us face those "dry places" in life much more than we do the really well-watered ones!  Those "barren" places just don't look very promising when we are smack-dab in the middle of them, do they?  In fact, the very word "barren" suggests "sterile" ground - unproductive, unfruitful.  I challenge this idea, though.  I think the barren places are the exact places God will choose to show his power in our lives!  If you get rid of unfair practices,  quit blaming victims,  quit gossiping about other people’s sins, i f you are generous with the hungry  and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, y our lives will begin to glow in the darkness,  your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.   ...