The Plumbline

If you have been around church for any time at all, chances are you have heard the story of the woman at the well.  A Samaritan woman, coming to draw water for her household, the time of day about noon, has a "chance encounter" with Jesus, the Great Teacher of the Jews.  To some this may not seem very significant, but we must understand the differences between the staunch religious Jews and the Samaritans.  The Samaritans were considered to be "pagan Jews" - not exactly respected by the religious Jews simply because they chose to worship in Bethel or Dan (two places of worship established when Jeroboam was king.  They were "replacement" cities of worship - replacing Jerusalem as the one place of worship.  Eventually, after the Jews returned from captivity, Mt. Gerizim would become the worship center for the Samaritans.  To the staunch religious Jew, this was an outrage - for God's presence dwelt within the Holy of Holies within the Temple in Jerusalem...

Do you know what a crisis is?  It is the stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined. Some of us call this a place of "transition" - movement within this point of crisis determines if the "transition" will be good or not as pleasant as we'd hoped for.  By definition, it is a place of danger and instability.  Anytime you have a transition point, there is an opportunity for instability.  For example, when you transition from carpet to tile flooring in your path of walking, you have to be sure your foot does not slip on the tile.  It is a smoother surface, can be a little "slicker" than the carpet, and the combination of your shoe and the "slickness" of the tile can make for a mixture of additional "hazards" which may not be fully recognized.  Misstep and you could find yourself landing quite hard on that tile!  A crisis demands our attentiveness - in those b...

Nicodemus was a "man of the Word" - he studied the Word of God and was intent on understanding the principles taught, keeping the requirements of the commandments, and living a life as an example of right-living.  As such, he comes to Jesus - curious, intent on finding out why this "great Teacher" has such insight, does such awesome things, and seems to be pretty well connected to some power from above.  His approach to Jesus is much like most of us would approach - he wanted to understand, but he sought to understand with is mind, not so much his heart.  Don't get me wrong - Jesus doesn't want a bunch of followers who trust solely in what he heart directs, but he does want us to go beyond what we can "compute" in our brains and truly begin to "rest upon" truth regardless of whether we fully "comprehend it" or not.  We may not always understand fully, but this is actually why there is this little thing called "faith"!...