Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Verse of the Day

Romans 5:3-4“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

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This week's promise: God promises you an anchor for your soul!

This week's promise: God promises you an anchor for your soul!


Hebrews 6:17-20 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.


The anchor for our souls is Jesus Himself. We are told time and again that we can count on Him and He will never let us down. The world may go crazy around us; circumstances may look bleak; friends may desert us; family may disown us; but Jesus will NEVER let us down. He is the anchor of our souls and the anchor holds!

Think for a minute what an anchor does. Here's what the dictionary says about it:


1. Nautical -A heavy object attached to a vessel by a cable or rope and cast overboard to keep the vessel in place either by its weight or by its flukes, which grip the bottom.
2. A rigid point of support, as for securing a rope.
3. A source of security or stability.
4. Sports
a. An athlete, usually the strongest member of a team, who performs the last stage of a relay race or other competition.
b. The person at the end of a tug-of-war team.
5. An anchorperson.


This is what Jesus does for us! He keeps us in place spiritually so that we aren't swayed by false teaching, heresy, or blasphemy. He is our security and the stability for our faith. He is our assurance that we are forever saved. All we need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus and we can never be swayed or moved as we journey on toward maturity in our faith!


“Keeping our eyes on Jesus, just what does that phrase really mean? To keep our eyes on Jesus actually means that we are doing several things. First it means that we are following Jesus, and not our pastor, or our favorite Christian author, or our favorite Bible Commentary, and not even our denomination.


So then, how do we follow Jesus? Try thinking about it this way, so it doesn’t seem so mysterious. How would you “follow” your best friend? To follow them you would need to know what they thought and believed about everything. Would you go to your best friends neighbors to find out what they think and believe? Maybe you’d go to the same grocery store? No, of course not! If they’re you’re best friend, then you’re going to go straight to them and ask them aren’t you? Of course! No one else can possibly know them better then they do themselves. So it is with the Lord. He wants us to turn to Him to know the Truth about everything. He gave us His Word to read so that we could even have it in writing to go over whenever we wanted to. Best of all though, He tells us that He wants a personal relationship with each of us, so that He can talk to us Himself. This is how we follow Jesus, and “keep our eyes on Jesus”. We spend time daily in His Word and we spend time daily talking with Him in prayer.


There is however a big difference between our spiritual anchor and physical anchors. Physical anchors are anchored downward, and our anchor, Jesus, is anchored in Heaven. Physical anchors are used to hold things still, but our anchor is used to hold onto as we move ahead. Physical anchors can break, but our anchor is sure and can never break, we have God’s own oath on that!


Lastly in the above verse, Jesus is also said to be our forerunner. He has gone ahead of us with the intention that we follow Him. So let’s lay hold of our anchor and follow Him, always studying to show ourselves approved, and never having to fear that we will be tossed about by strange doctrines. Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay in His Word, and never fear, for even in life’s strongest storms our anchor holds!


Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?