The Plumbline

Battered:  to beat persistently and hard; pound repeatedly; to deal heavy, repeated blows; to damage or injure as by blows, heavy wear. God ’s a safe-house for the battered,  a sanctuary during bad times.  The moment you arrive, you relax;   you’re never sorry you knocked. (Psalm 9:9-10 MSG) There are times in our lives when we just seem to feel a little "battered" by the various things which impact us - things out of our control, some brought on just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time - others brought on because we deliberately put ourselves in the place where we'd feel these repeated blows.  The present "battering" many of my friends are taking are definitely not by their own doing - they are being battered by disease, the unknown of resistant growths in tiny bodies, and the uncontrolled actions of internal processes gone wild in bodies plagued with disease.  In these moments, the repeated blows seem to deal a very "heavy" and "da...

It was difficult to pick out the exact words from this proverb today - simply because all of them reveal just tremendous truth about our God - Wisdom exemplified.  I think the key passage which reflects so much about what God has to say to us in this chapter is really found much earlier in verse 6:  " Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well,  I’m telling you how to live at your best ."  It is a call to listen - to find wisdom, not in just the words, but in the person of Wisdom himself.  In so doing, we move from the place of just living to living well - at our very best. I love those who love me;   those who look for me find me.   Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name.   My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;   the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.   You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk— at the intersection of Justice A...

Incapable:  Not having the necessary ability, qualifications, or strength to perform.  Some of us might even equate being "incapable" to being incompetent - lacking not only the strength, but also the knowledge behind the needed action.  If you asked me to fix the engine on my car, I'd admit I am incompetent - I don't have the strength to do some of the work anymore, and I sure don't have the knowledge to know how all those pieces fit together so they work exactly as they are designed.  I could go to school to learn the "how to", but it is not until I have practiced it a while that I develop some of the skill to actually say I am "good" at the task.  Yet something is still lacking  in the picture - I may know how it is supposed to all work, but I still am not as familiar with the engine as is the creator of the engine!  The creator has the most intimate knowledge because he envisioned it before it took form, designing each "mov...