COFFEE ON THE DOCK

"This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand,” Amos 7:7 ESV. A small weight suspended from a string provides a straight vertical line, the Law of Gravity assures the "plumb line's" accuracy. Family, friends, culture, and even sincere Christians around us are only relative measures. I may feel justified in my actions yet be completely off plumb in the eyes of God. What I need is a precise plumb line by which I can see if I measure up to God’s will and ways; personal opinions will not do. Only God’s Word enlightened by the Holy Spirit of God is an accurate enough plumb line to build a spiritual life that can stand the tests of storms. Lord of all Wisdom, Your Spirit, and Word accurately expose my pretenses and shortcomings. Deliver me from falsehood from any source and establish my steps according to Your ways.   

Life unveils the beauty of friendship: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity,” Proverbs 17:7 ESV and “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” Proverbs 18:24. I genuinely appreciate the depths of alliance and devotion that is formed while “under fire”. Relationships forged in the “furnace of much affliction” gain an inner strength like tempered metal. Surface disputes may remain, but inwardly, a code is formed, and covenant is knitted deeply into the heart. I never had the privilege to serve in the military, but I feel much more in common with those who climbed Normandy’s Cliffs, slogged through the Mekong Delta or bore the dust and heat in Desert Storm than with those who only accept convenient truths and shallow devotion. Lord, grant me a warrior’s heart. Free me from temporal entanglements and bind my heart to Kingdom Comrades. 

“One gives freely yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered,” Proverbs 11:24-25 ESV. God is mercifully generous, pouring out His blessings on both the deserving and undeserving. Giving activates a part of the divine nature imprinted on every human heart by its Creator that simply cannot be activated otherwise. Benevolence without authentic love is possible, but genuine love devoid of giving is utterly impossible. Generosity with strings attached is the earthly way, giving unconditionally is heavenly. Many of the issues of the heart are caused by selfish resistance to give, but generosity is a cure for many of our ills. Simply stated, open hands, open heart, closed hands, closed heart. Lord, teach me Your ways. Thank You for every opportunity to be more like You. 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” Ephesians 2:10 ESV. I’m a tool in the hand of God. He first crafted me so He could use me to craft other things. The immature believer thinks they are the final product to be shown on display. This thinking couldn’t be more wrong! A quick look into a well-used toolbox reveals worn hammers, scratched saws, and other battered tools. Never be concerned with being a “perfect looking Christian”; only a new Christian has no marks. We’re created to be used by the Master to craft others, not to show off our polished looks. Get out of the fancy superstore and into the harvest field! Yes, it means some battering, dust, and dirt, but I must remember, in God’s Holy Hands, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 ESV. LORD, use me today for Your Glory. 

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:14 ESV. As a child, I spent much of my time pretending, creating elaborately detailed scenarios in my mind where I was the central character to everything that was happening. While these imagined adventures are  excellent  for children, as adults, pretending we are superheroes does us no good at all. Maturity requires humility; an overstated opinion of one’s importance is not only foolish, but it is also dangerous. Whenever I perilously crossed that line, God in His mercy provides a way for to be pulled back. Blessed Father, help me keep it real. Thank You for the honest mirror Scripture offers. Though I can do all things through Your strength, I can do nothing of eternal value absent Your constant guidance, nourishment, and remedy. 

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your Word,” Psalm 119:114 ESV. Pain is very personal, but every heart knows its own concealed agony. Smiles and laughter often mask inward grief. But to the one who truly knows God as Father, those times of veiled anguish actually become uniquely precious. For, in the same way, our deepest pain is very private; times of desperate intimacy with the Great Shepherd turns our sorrows into joy in ways that no one else can share. In those “hiding place” moments, mourning becomes dancing, grief becomes gladness, and pouting becomes praise! Just the mention of His name declared in bedrock belief shatters the darkness and opens the heavens! My Lord, my God, You are Awesome, Powerful, and Wonderful in all Your ways! All Glory and Majesty are Yours forever and ever amen! 

“This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:12-13 ESV. It is a common deception to fall in love with false images. In fact, modern advertising has become extremely adept at deception by exaggeration. We often imagine only the good about something, someplace or someone, only to subsequently discover we have successfully ignored the truth. Human love is delusional because it is selfish at its core; we naturally look for what makes us feel happy, not what challenges us, strengthens us, or makes us better people. Only a godly worldview can prepare us to properly love people, places, or things. Father in Heaven, You love the imperfect perfectly. Grant me Your brand of love and deliver me from my own. Let Your perfecting love in me shape the world around me.