The Plumbline

God, you are my God. I am searching so hard to find you. Body and soul, I thirst for you in this dry and weary land without water. ( Psalm 63:1   ERV ) There are times in our lives which we would have to say are "drier" than others. They might be within relationship, on the job, or even our spiritual lives. Within relationships, things grow "stale" and kind of "routine", leading those within it to just "coast" for a while without making much effort to keep things alive and flourishing. At work, the flurry of deadlines may have been met, bringing a longer than expect lull in your workload that just leaves you a little lost and without any real sense of pressure. In our spiritual lives, a "lull" or "dry" season may actually be more of a lazy drift rather than an abrupt ending. Either way, when we begin any kind of "dry season" in our lives, it may be a little bit harder than we expected to "rebound" or ...

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.   ...

1-2  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, "Why pester me? Why are you testing  God ?"   3  But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses, "Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?" (Exodus 17:1-3 The Message) Yesterday, we began to explore the lessons of the barren places of the wilderness we find ourselves in at times.  We looked at the fact that we often find ourselves "camping out" at a place where it seems like no provision will ever be made.  We find ourselves complaining, even growing a little bitter because of the seeming lack of provision in the time we are experiencing.  Today, I'd like us to consider that the steps of a righteous man...

1-2  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, "Why pester me? Why are you testing  God ?"   3  But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses, "Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?"   (Exodus 17:1-3 The Message) Okay, I just have to ask this question - why on earth would a huge band of wandering people actually "camp out" in a place where there was absolutely no visible water for their basic physical needs?  Sometimes I think we just don't "think" about where it is that we "camp out" for a while along the way.  We "get going" with God really well, then all of a sudden, we find ourselves "camped out" at a p...

Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God's "Well done!" But if it produces weeds and thistles, it's more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested. (Hebrews 6:7-8) Dry ground has many disadvantages - one of which is the extreme danger of fire.   For those following the news, the stories about how Arizona forests are being ravaged by wildfires has become a common theme for over a month now.  According to the reports, over 120 miles of state highways are closed due to smoke and ash.  People have endured the evacuation of their homes and continue to wait for the word that they can return.  The fires found a "fertile" ground for their destruction simply because of the lack of rain this year.  They were fueled by the dryness of the forest floor and the winds of the season. The condition of the "ground" impacts us in varying degrees.  Our perspective an...