Hi, Samara.
I haven’t even looked outside yet. Even though it’s late, I may do more than look out there—I may do a little old man jog after I send this. Becki is already off on a drive to Oregon City to engage in a water aerobics session so she can learn the ropes and be prepared to fill in for the leader for a few sessions while the leader is away.
Have a good productive day doing your best to do your best.
Love, Tua.
This is an important Bible-based concept to get nailed down early in your Christian life, Samara. It’s kind of like the old quip that says, CRIME DOES NOT PAY. That is, no one is ever going to truly get away with crime—stealing, vandalizing, killing, or crooking. Serious consequences will always boomerang to bite them in the ____. In the same way, SIN DOES NOT PAY. No one is ever going to truly get away with SIN—never really escape the consequences of ignoring or rejecting the terms of engagement for doing life as set forth by our Maker.
The wonderful contrast to also get nailed down is this: “THE RIGHTEOUS CANNOT BE UPROOTED.” That is, once THE GIFT OF GOD (Romans 6:23) is received and maintained, absolutely nothing truly bad can happen—terminal illness, accident, persecution, being eaten by a shark, old age, magic curses, falling out of a tree, gored to death by a bull, or getting your head chopped off—no big deal! He has us covered! How else can we process Paul’s testimony?—“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Wow! Think about it!
Please memorize another testimony by Paul recorded in Romans 8:37-39. I’ll cite it here in The Message translation: “None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:37-39). Please say, “Amen!”