The Plumbline

Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. (Psalm 97:11) Seeds are unique to the type of plant from which they come and their purpose is to bring forth growth that is the same as the plant from which they came. You cannot expect to obtain passion fruit from a grapefruit seed, nor grapefruit from a grape seed. To expect something other than what you plant is just plain silly. You might have planted some 'bad seed' and then hoped for a better outcome than what you planted, but that just isn't logical. Maybe this is why God reminds us it is reasonable to expect to harvest what we plant, and we must plant in order to harvest. The one planting seeds is as significant as the seeds being planted - not to mention "where" the seeds are planted - because the outcome is based on both. If God is the planter of the seeds, the harvest is more likely to produce the type of growth which will edify and build us up. He take...

Laughter cannot mask a heavy heart. When the laughter ends, the grief remains. (Proverbs 14:13) Erma Bombeck once reminded us, " There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt ." This "thin line" as she calls it is really very concerning - for if it is crossed, the laughter can certainly turn to pain quite quickly. We never really know what is just beneath the surface in the lives of those we meet with each and every day. We might think we really know them, but in truth, there can be very little 'space' between immense sorrow and loneliness on the inside from what we see displayed as confidence and friendliness on the outside. We need to become skilled 'readers' of the human condition. We might not always recognize just how close to grief or sorrow a man's heart may be until we cross the line into that 'finite space' between the happier self displayed on the surface and the hurting self hidde...

 Remember what you said to me, your servant— I hang on to these words for dear life!    These words hold me up in bad times;  yes, your promises rejuvenate me.  (Psalm 119:49-50 The Message) Bumper stickers abound in our society today.  An individual is able to post almost any viewpoint for public display simply by attaching one of these "emblems" of opinion on their vehicle.  There have been times I have tried to pull just a little closer in order to read the small print!  Something caught my eye and I wanted to know what it said!  On occasion, they make me laugh.  Sometimes I have to turn away because the words are less than uplifting.  At others, they give me a moment to pause and think.  Each has its impact, does it not? In the times David penned these words, bumper stickers were not invented.  The use of mass publication was not even possible.  The scriptures were handwritten, kept by only a few in religious s...

You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat. (Matthew 5:6 The Message) I once heard it said that you know that you are living the way God intends when you find that you are taking what you see and hear in the Word of God and begin to live by them.  I think it goes beyond that - to actually living UPON them - they become foundational to all you think and do.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly begins a number of statements with the words, "Blessed are you when..."  In the scripture, I found that we are blessed when we exhibit a poverty of spirit, hunger for his righteousness, experience sorrow, and in moments of persecution when we are reliant on nothing more than Jesus to pull us through.  Okay, now that is not a list of "stuff" that I would automatically add to my Christmas wishlist! How many of us can honestly say that we have worked up a good appetite for God?  Most...

11  Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?    Fix my eyes on God—soon I'll be praising again.    He puts a smile on my face.  He's my God. (Psalm 42:11) There are a variety of psalms written by David that carry almost the same theme of desperation - intense desire to see God intervene in his life, some tragedy making his life almost unbearable, some sin keeping him out of fellowship with his creator.  This one has some "meat" to it that I'd like to explore this morning. David is lamenting over his circumstances - over his downtrodden disposition.  In other words, he is pretty well down-in-the-mouth - depressed beyond measure.  He is mourning over something or someone - the impression is that he has lost out on something in his life and he is in a deep, deep depression as a result. He begins with the idea of being thirsty.  He desires to drink God in afresh.  Have you ever been...