The Plumbline

24-25 "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.   26-27 "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." (Matthew 7:24-27) Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with these words - reminding each of his disciples that the words he spoke were not just to be "incidental" to their lives, but a living part of who they were.  If we really get the meaning of this passage, it can be life-transforming.  Jesus tells us that we have to ...

1-2  I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?    No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.   3-4  He won't let you stumble, your Guardian God won't fall asleep.    Not on your life! Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep.   5-6  God's your Guardian, right at your side to protect you— shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke.  7-8   God  guards you from every evil,       he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always. (Psalm 121) Those of you who follow this blog regularly will have noted that I missed the blog yesterday.  It was not my intention to have done so, but life handed me a little more than I expected in the past 48 hours - a royal case of the stomach flu!  Now, if I could...