The Plumbline

Audrey Hepburn once said, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, 'I'm possible'!" Did you ever make that correlation with the spelling of that word? I never did!  When you stop to think about what we can see all around us, you might just get the impression some pretty "impossible" things have actually been accomplished.  Huge ships sail the seas without even so much as looking like they will capsize or sink under their enormous structure.  Planes filled with people traverse this world daily while unbelievably overcoming gravity's pull. Tiny babies are birthed from wombs everywhere, human and animal alike, formed somehow from the single cell of life which took form some weeks or months before.  Yep, life itself screams, "I'm possible"! You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us by putting everything right. God of our liberation—You are the hope of all creation, from the far corners of the earth to distant li

As I photograph things, I don't look for the "perfect", but am willing to accept the "imperfect", for there is something of great beauty in the tree set askew by the wind, the broken branch protruding from the gentle waters, or the windblown dunes of the ever-changing landscape.  Some of us think of "being perfect" as what we are attempting to attain - as though it is a destination at which we arrive at some point in time because of some effort we take in life.  The truth is - we will live in imperfect bodies, in an imperfect world, with other imperfect people all our lives!  The pursuit of perfection is kind of over-rated!  What we fail to see is how God sees each of us - as made perfect through the blood of his Son! God looked at the "imperfect" in each of us and saw something of beauty he just didn't want to discount, or turn away from.  Just as I capture those photos of the broken, ever-changing, and kind of askew in nature, God reac

The story begins this morning with a widow woman facing a debt she cannot repay.  She is worried that she will lose her two sons - simply because they would become the "means" of repaying her debt as they would become the slaves to the debtor if she could not repay the debt.  Her husband has been a prophet - a godly man.  I imagine she wonders why this catastrophe is upon her since she likely has lived pretty close to this guild of prophets and their "set apart" lifestyle for a good many years.  She comes to Elisha - one of the major prophets of the Old Testament - seeking his help.  She implores him to consider her plight.  In response, he begins to wonder what he might be able to do to assist.  In those days, prophets were rarely wealthy men or women - they lived by the standards of the day, occupying their time with the normal pursuits of the day such as farming, tending the animals, working with clay or wood, etc.  But...today, I want us to focus on his answer

If your revelation hadn't delighted me so,  I would have given up when the hard times came.   But I'll never forget the advice you gave me;  you saved my life with those wise words.   Save me! I'm all yours.  I look high and low for your words of wisdom.  The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me,  but I'm only concerned with your plans for me.  I see the limits to everything human,        but the horizons can't contain your commands! (Psalm 119:92-96 The Message) As we have studied this psalm, we have seen David repeatedly turn our attention to the "keeping" power of God's Word.  It is a stalwart in hard times.  It stands the test and keeps on ticking!  He starts with the statement, "If your teachings had not delighted me..."  Here is the crux of the "keeping" power of God's Word - - it is in the "delight" we take in it.   How we treat God's Word determines how much it will impact our lives.   Does it