Talking about Truth at the gym.

Talking about Truth at the gym. January, 2019

click to listen to podcast: 
http://www.pastorwoman.com/…/12956da7-1a34-433d-a1b5-4b0469…

One of the most amazing things about the ancient buildings I have viewed in Israel was how straight and true were the walls. 
This view from the ground, shoulder against the 
wall of the Temple 
in Jerusalem, 
looking up at the sky ... I pondered how it was so.

Without college-educated engineers and modern technology, how in the world did builders manage to move the huge, heavy boulders into straight alignment? Scripture provides the answer, the Old Testament to be exact. A plumb line. The prophets Amos,1 Zechariah and Jeremiah, all referred to a plumb line.

"A cord weighted with lead that is used in building
to check that vertical structures are true."
It is used symbolically to refer to the divine standard against which God,
the builder of his people, tests and judges them.
It also symbolizes the standards by which God will rebuild his people.2

Yesterday at the gym, I got into a conversation about another plumb line - that of truth, and the pursuit of it. My big, smooth-headed, muscular trainer said, "I am spiritual..." Did I roll my eyes externally? I hope not. Another regular happened onto the conversation and amazingly, wanted to join in the conversation. "My wife has been on this mad search for truth; she reads constantly, she watches Youtube videos, she wants to know if there is one true God. Me, I'm just spiritual," he said. Seriously? Yet another. Hmm... Off we went. That was the end of my training session as I stood there, dwarfed by these two muscle heads talking about matters of faith and truth in the middle of the gym.

Philosophically, how does one know she is headed in the right direction? 
is there any way to know we humans are on the right path?

I believe so. 
We can refer to the manual God gave us - the inspired words of God,
which act as our plumb line ...
whose words have stood up to scrutiny for thousands of years.
In the Bible, God reveals himself, his plans, his heart and his work among his people on the pages of Scripture.4

The author of Hebrews said, 'The Word of God is living and active...' 5 What an outrageous claim to make of something on a printed page! But it is true. 'It penetrates to the soul and spirit...' Images flash in my mind of times when I wanted to comfort someone, when I wanted to say something to a friend--
. . . whose son was sick in the hospital, and the diagnosis or prognosis not yet known
. . . who needed to make some tough decisions about work that would impact his family-- the anxiety was overwhelming!
. . . who has known nothing but abandonment all her life
. . . who had broken up his family because of his immoral decisions, and was now hopeless himself . . .

What could I offer these who had been impressed upon my heart? Where could I go to find words filled with hope, and yet truth? To the one book that could provide comfort, wisdom, guidance, promise, and forgiveness . . . the Word of God.

The Word of God has the ability to seep into the very marrow of our being-to bring peace, lead, guide, convict, and offer forgiveness too. That is why it is truly ALIVE. Unlike an inspirational poem whose words bring a smile, or a kind encouraging word, Scripture offers divine sustenance, which is unequaled. While we can comprehend how we got the Holy Scriptures, and how they are supported historically, scientifically, etc., apart from the Holy Spirit, there is no accounting for how God's Word is also personal, applicable, and life-giving, and apropos to our daily lives!

I'm fascinated by the people I encounter in New York City where subway riders avert the gazes of each other, (though I try to catch their eye and exchange a smile), where passers-by on the street never look one another in the eye but stride quickly toward their destinations. Can any of us know we are heading in the right direction, that we are on the right path? Oh, yes! As David so eloquently wrote: 'Thy Word is a light unto my path, and a light unto my feet.'6 God's Word acts as a plumb line for those who believe and follow him.

And so, in short order, we will turn our attention from matters of the day, including Christmas, New Years, even the consideration of God's' great love, back to a systematic look at the scriptures-namely finishing our walk into Paul's letter to the Colossians.

At the gym or on the streets of New York City, there is a plumb line which we can access to know truth and staying upright in it, where we can be sure we are heading in the right direction.

Stay tuned~

Christine

PastorWoman.com

1 - Amos 7.7-8
2 - Dictionary of Bible Themes, https://www.biblegateway.com/…/dictionary-o…/7254-plumb-line
3 - a killer coffee place with healthy food as well
4 - Yesterday in church I used my phone to read along in the book of James, but the printed word on the page somehow speaks so much more readily to me. Call me shallow-I need to touch it, reread it, look at the context and make notes in the margins of my black leather Bible
5 - Hebrews 4.12
6 - Psalm 119.105