The Plumbline

I often study the life of David - from boy in the field tending sheep to the ruler of a nation. David had an intimate relationship with God - something quite evident in how frankly he spoke with God and how "free" he was in the presence of God. There is much to be said about having a deep, beyond the mundane, relationship with God. Look at what David reminds us time and time again - God is the one who welcomes, we are the ones who come into that place invited. We aren't interlopers in God's presence - we are welcomed and embraced. You've always given me breathing room, a place to get away from it all, a lifetime pass to your safe-house, an open invitation as your guest. You've always taken me seriously, God, made me welcome among those who know and love you.   (Psalm 61:3-5) David acknowledges that God gives him something we call 'space' - that thing we like to refer to as breathing room - a place of complete sanctuary. Have you ever had a really good

God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?  "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. "Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. "Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe. "You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this." (Psalm 15) David stands as a great example of how it is we are to communicate with God. He certainly doesn't seem to have a lot of preconceived pretense in his "discussions" with God. It isn't rehearsed or all that formal. He is conversant with God in a casual, relaxed manner - allowing God to reveal things to him as he just opened up his heart to God and then listened. David asks a question that I suppose many have asked over the years: How does someone get welcomed into God's presence? If anyone is ever curious about that truth, God isn't going to turn away, but he is going to respond to

There are many forms of invitations - both spoken and written.  There are even "unspoken" invitations - simply expressed by a simple gesture, a simple look, or a nod of the head.  My daughter usually plans for the annual birthday bash for my grandson about six or eight months in advance of his birthday!  She picks a theme, begins to pick up things throughout the year, all the while working out a "theme" for the party.  She is much more creative than I am - making absolutely beautiful decorations, cleverly displayed snack items, and treasures for each child in attendance.  It amazes me.  One of the "tasks" is the custom invitations she prepares.  Yep, you read it right - custom!  She designs, prints, cuts, scraps, and the like - until she has the "look" she wants which matches the theme of the party.  There is a very important invitation we each receive - customized especially for us, as well. 28-30  "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on

1   God , who gets invited to dinner at your place?  How do we get on your guest list?    2  "Walk straight, a ct right,  tell the truth.    3-4  Don't hurt your friend,  don't blame your neighbor;  despise the despicable.    5  Keep your word even when it costs you,  make an honest living,           never take a bribe.   You'll never get   blacklisted   if you live like this." (Psalm 15 The Message) David was a man after God's own heart.  I often consider what this really means.  It seems that my "heart" can often betray me - so I am reluctant to "follow it" sometimes!  In all the practicality of day-to-day life, David takes a little time to listen to what God tells him.  He asks God a question, then he actually stops long enough to listen for God's answer.  I think that is what it is like to have a heart after God - not that we always make the right choices and live 100% perfectly, but that we give God the central place in our l

3-5  You've always given me breathing room,       a place to get away from it all,    A lifetime pass to your safe-house,       an open invitation as your guest.    You've always taken me seriously, God,       made me welcome among those who know and love you.  (Psalm 61:3-5) David had an intimate relationship with God - evident in how frankly he speaks with God and how "free" he is in the presence of God.  There is much to be said about having a deep, beyond the mundane, relationship with God.  Look at what David tells us here - God is the one who welcomes, we are the ones who come into that place invited. David acknowledges that God gives him space - breathing room - a place of sanctuary.  Have you ever had a really good friend that you can just be yourself around?  You can kick off your shoes, let down your guard, and be your real self - no pretense, no masks, just you.  God desires that kind of relationship with us - extending to us the invitation to come i

When GOD, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant.   When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there – GOD brought you out of slavery in Egypt.   Deeply respect GOD, your God.   Serve and worship him exclusively.   Carefully keep the commands of GOD, your God, all the requirements and regulation she gave you.   Do what is right, do what is good in GOD’S sight so you’ll live a good life and be able to march in and take this pleasant land that GOD so solemnly promised through your ancestors, throwing out your enemies left and right – exactly as GOD said.    (Deut. 6: 10-12, 14-19) As Israel was called to enter into the Promised Land, they were told to not do so in their own effort,

  10-12  The land you are entering to take up ownership isn't like Egypt, the land you left, where you had to plant your own seed and water it yourselves as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are about to cross the river and take for your own is a land of mountains and valleys; it drinks water that rains from the sky. It's a land that  God , your God, personally tends—he's the gardener—he alone keeps his eye on it all year long. (Deuteronomy 11:10-12) The nation of Israel is just about to cross over into the land God had promised to them years before.  Their ancestors had this very day in mind - now it was becoming a reality.  The leader of the nation at the time was Moses.  He was speaking to Israel, as the Lord gave him the words to speak, of how it was that they were to enter the land, what it was they were to do with the land, but more importantly, how it was that they were to live once they arrived in the land. Then he shares with them this little passage we hav

4 "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—    full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God    through loyal and steady believing    is fully alive, really alive." (Habakkuk 2:4) Habakkuk was a prophet of the Old Testament.  The first two chapters are really a discussion between God and Habakkuk - the prophet pouring out his heart and then hearing from God as to what was transpiring around him.  The very basis of this book of the Bible is to present the concept that it is impossible to live without faith - the concept you might of heard of that the just shall live by faith.  It is a short book of only three chapters - but the idea comes across clearly that faith must be growing, continually developing.   The third chapter begins with a plea from the prophet for God to do among them what he had done amongst his ancestors of old - in other words, be awesome in every way, delivering them from the Chaldean army that was about to come in ar

9  Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;    fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!  (Proverbs 17:9) There are times in life when an offense seems just too significant to overlook - there is just something about that offense that makes you think it is "justifiable" to remain angry with someone or to perhaps even break off the friendship.  Our passage from Proverbs this morning reminds us that when we overlook an offense, we are actually bringing a "bond" to that friendship that is like super glue.  When we "faster on to" an offense, we are taking the risk that the friendship will be harmed by that action. To overlook something means more than that we don't take notice of the offense.  It includes the idea of not taking time to consider that offense over and over again - we don't rehearse it repeatedly.  Ever been in a "heated" discussion with someone, only to have them bring up something you had done years before?  People who

3  As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan,    so our lives are assayed by God.  (Proverbs 17:3) I lived in Alaska for three years.  One of the biggest "tourism" souvenirs that you could take with you back to the lower 48 was a gold pan.  Often, they would be fully painted with some scenery of the great gold rush days of Alaska or just an outdoor rendering.  The served as a memory of the big gold bonanza that brought many a prospector to the territory.   Silver is mined - then must be separated from all the various impurities that it is surrounded by such as sulfur, arsenic, antimony, chlorine, or argentite.  It is rarely found in some big clump that you can take out of the mine and say that it was purely silver.  There is a refining process that must occur in order to separate the other stuff from the silver.  Look at what silver is found "clinging" to: Sulfur - when burned, it can have a suffocating odor.  Its various uses are for the production of gunpowder,

  2  Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;     God  probes for what is good.  (Proverbs 16:2) As a member of the human race, I speak as one fully aware of what the writer of Proverbs states in this passage.  We are so consumed with what "looks good" - many times judging a book by its cover without inspecting the pages to see what is contained within.  The perception of eyes often becomes the only method we utilize to determine the "goodness" or "evil" of a certain thing.  We set ourselves up for accepting things that are clearly outside of God's best for our lives when we are only "cover readers". Let me give a few examples of how this works: David and Bathsheba - David was King of Israel, his troops are out fighting the battle to take more territory in the name of Israel, and he is at home, enjoying the view from his rooftop.  He gazes upon Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, bathing on her rooftop (a custom of the day).  What he saw &

7  When the Philistines heard that Israel was meeting at Mizpah, the Philistine leaders went on the offensive. Israel got the report and became frightened—Philistines on the move again!   8  They pleaded with Samuel, "Pray with all your might! And don't let up! Pray to  God , our God, that he'll save us from the boot of the Philistines."   9  Samuel took a young lamb not yet weaned and offered it whole as a Whole-Burnt-Offering to  God . He prayed fervently to  God , interceding for Israel. And  God  answered.   10-12  While Samuel was offering the sacrifice, the Philistines came within range to fight Israel. Just then  God thundered, a huge thunderclap exploding among the Philistines. They panicked—mass confusion!—and ran helter-skelter from Israel. Israel poured out of Mizpah and gave chase, killing Philistines right and left, to a point just beyond Beth Car. Samuel took a single rock and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it "Ebenezer" (Rock

 I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy.  He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels.  Up against it, I didn't know which way to turn; then I called out to  God  for help: "Please,  God !" I cried out. "Save my life!"  God  is gracious—it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God.  God  takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. (Psalm 116:1-6) I have been asked why I serve God - why I love him with all my heart.  I used to have a really elaborate answer - one that took some time to "prepare" that some in Christianity would call "a testimony".  I appreciate David's simplicity in his declaration above - I love God because he listened to me!  When it comes right down to it, isn't that what all of us could say when we are asked why it is that we love God?  He listens!  He responds!  He ma

35-38 Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me. (John 6:35-38) This passage of scripture follows an amazing event of Jesus feeding masses of people gathered on the countryside with only five barley loaves and two small fish.  The scripture tells us it was at least 5000 people - probably only counting the men in the crowd, as was the custom.  The disciples have distributed bread and fish from what appeared to be a never-ending supply, with left-overs to boot!  The miracle of feeding the multitude makes even more people show an interest in following him.  Now, Jesus speaks to t