The Plumbline

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. (Romans 8:23 NLT) Pearl S. Buck reminds us, "One faces the future with one's past." The past isn't necessarily part of our future when we are made new in Christ Jesus. Our past 'formed' us in a way, with events and influences of the past helping to define the 'norms' of one's life. In Christ Jesus, we are made new. We might long to be free (totally free) of sin and suffering, but the influence of sin left us with some of the consequences of sin, did it not? We are free of the sin, yet the results of that sin sometimes linger in our minds, bodies, and emotions. Christ's goal is for us to be free - living beyond the influence of ...

The Lord will protect you from all dangers; he will guard your life. The Lord will guard you as you come and go, both now and forever. (Psalm 121:7-8) Over the past couple of days, God has taken me to scriptures about his protective covering over our lives. Whenever he does this, I know it is not by accident - there is always a purpose to his revelation. Last night, we had a walloping monsoon storm go through - no rain but mighty high winds. The yard is a mess this morning with pine needles, leaves, and trellises blown down. As these raging storms pass through the valley, I can frequently hear all kinds of noises in the night hours. They usually hit later in the afternoon and early evening, with all the high winds bringing pinecones thumping down on the rooftop, yard furniture skittering on the patio, and shade sail whipping up and down, startling me as I am alone in the house! I usually freeze in my tracks and just listen to figure out what is going on as I am oftentimes uncertain as ...