The Plumbline

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10) A "direct reason" for something occurring - we need to know this, don't we? In fact, if we were to look at the origin of the word 'because', we find it stems from the term "by cause". "Because" sets out the reason for something occurring - some action happening. "Therefore" refers to some set of facts already established acting as the reason we can move to the next thought or action

A single day in your courts   is better than a thousand anywhere else!  I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God   than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.   For the  Lord  God is our sun and our shield.    He gives us grace and glory.  The  Lord  will withhold no good thing  from those who do what is right.  O  Lord  of Heaven’s Armies,  what joy for those who trust in you .  (Psalm 84:10-12 NLT) No good thing goes undiscovered when we are walking in the presence of the Most High God. In fact, whatever we most need is discovered as we lean into his presence and allow his presence to really "get into" us. Yes, God indwells us, but sometimes we forget to really "breathe" - resting in his presence, allowing him to be all we need for the moment. We give lip-service to him being our "all-in-all", but then we act contrary to that lip-service by not being willing to rest in his presence, waiting on his settling influence to help us s