The Plumbline

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" (Matthew 7:7-8) There is this tendency to be a little 'indirect' with God - we 'skirt around' what it is we actually want to say to him and what we need so desperately to ask from him. To 'be direct' just isn't how some of us are built - we sort of share what we want to share, but we never really get down to the 'brass tax', so to speak. We don't get to the core of what we really desire - the issue remaining unexplained, unexplored, and unmet. Ask for what you need. Seems pretty easy, right? Yet, we know how 'intentional...

In the context of I Peter 3, the writer is telling husbands and wives how to treat each other and how to be "couples" who bring honor to God.  In the midst of this come some very practical words, which I don't think apply to married couples alone.  These words are pertinent to all of us - yet we can never forget the context in which they are written.  If these are important for married couples to learn, they are equally as beneficial for us "single" folks to get hold of, too! Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.  (1 Peter 3:8-9 MSG) Okay...seems like a long list of "be's" and "not to be's", right?  If you see it this way, you will likely never benefit from the instruction given.  First, Peter tells wives to be good to ...

Have you ever acquired a taste for something - perhaps something you could not stand as a kid, but now seem to enjoy quite a bit?  I still have not acquired a taste for brussel sprouts, but I like just about every other vegetable.  There is just something about their pungency which I cannot say I enjoy.  Acquired taste usually refers to food or beverage, but it can refer to anything.  Do you know what it means to "acquire a taste"?  It means we have such frequent exposure to something so as to "acquire" its taste.  Sometimes we actually learn to appreciate these "tastes" simply by repeated exposure! The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation;  bullies push and shove their way through life.  (Proverbs 13:2 MSG) If we can "acquire a taste" for some vegetable we might find offensive, or the ability to drink hot coffee once in a while instead of a steady intake of hot tea, isn't it possible we could "acquire a taste" for conv...