Day 298..."Plumb line...Memo...Freedom"

Amos is a very vivid communicator. In today's reading, he offers a plumb line. Any builder knows the significance of building "plumb" structures. In the spiritual realm, a "plumb" life is righteous before God. Here are Amos's words..."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. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb linein the midst of my people Israel;I will never again pass by them; 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.” Jerhoiakim did not want anything to do with Jeremiah's scroll. The message was one of repentance and Jerhoiakim burned the scroll. He missed the "memo."

Paul writes of the "spirit of the law" verses the "letter of the law." He says..."For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Later he relates this to freedom..."Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." We live in a free country that is the result of sacrifice (Memorial Day thoughts) Yet in today's culture...we can be held in bondage by expectations, requirements, habits, and even addictions. Jesus is the source of real freedom. He offers freedom of the soul.