Living in the Spirit

July 4, 2022

Scripture Reading: Amos 7:7-17

This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ Then the Lord said,
‘See, I am setting a plumb-line
   in the midst of my people Israel;
   I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
   and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
   and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’ –Amos 7:7-9

This is one of the most influential scriptures in the Bible for me. The idea that God sets a marker to help us be as sturdy and steadfast in our faith and relationship with God as we can possibly be is life-changing. My home was damaged in 2011 by an earthquake that separated my cement porch from my crawl space house. I had to have two piers installed to address that issue. What I did not realize was that the window frames and the doors were all thrown out of place. In the beginning, the problem was not noticeable, but time has taken its toll. I am now having to repair the breach that was created. Life can be like that. We get caught in habits and situations that make us not realize when we are out of alignment with God.

Two other scriptures come to mind. In Isaiah 58:12 we are called to be repairers of the breach in our world.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
   the restorer of streets to live in.

And Matthew 11:28-30

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Staying in line with God’s plan and modeling our lives after Jesus takes all the burden off us of chasing after fulfillment in all the wrong places.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the guidance we need to thrive in the world you created for us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.