The Plumbline

God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it. (Pope Francis) Pondering Christmas a bit this morning - why? So many times we think of Christmas as a 'season' rather than a gift and God meant it as a gift, not merely a season!  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." (John 3:16-18) A gift given...

Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness . He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. (2 Peter 3:8-9) There are times I overlook the obvious, believing instead there must be something more to what I am seeing or hearing. I guess this is human nature - we see or hear one thing, then immediately jump to the conclusion there must be some other meaning - either because we don't think things can be THAT simple, or we believe others just could not MEAN what they are doing / saying. I think this is some defense mechanism on our part - protecting us from some things we just don't want to deal with right now, or attempting to believe the best about another just because we don't want to think they could behave that way. In some respects, this...

Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she said. “ Well, I do have a little oil.” (2 Kings 4:2) A widow woman facing a debt she cannot repay. She is worried that she will lose her two sons - simply because they would become the "means" of repaying her debt as they would be forced to become the slaves to the debtor if she could not repay the debt. Her husband has been a prophet - a godly man. I imagine she wonders why this catastrophe is upon her since she likely has lived a "set apart" lifestyle for a good many years. She comes to Elisha - one of the major prophets of the Old Testament - seeking his help. She implores him to consider her plight. In response, he begins to wonder what he might be able to do to assist. In those days, prophets were rarely wealthy men or women - they lived by the standards of the day, occupying their time with the normal pursuits of the day such as farming, tending the ani...