PREPAREDNESS

“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 set before 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 our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.”  (Hebrews 6:18-20a NIV)

As Amos the prophet saw the day of judgement fast approaching for Israel, he warned the people to prepare to meet God (Amos 4:12). The word preparedness should be a key word for everyone.

It is strange that we prepare for everything except meeting God. We prepare for marriage and for a career. We prepare for athletic contests. Athletes working to make the Olympic team practice their sport hours a day for years, before considering themselves prepared. But we do not prepare to meet God. Even though most of us see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon, by and large we are making few preparations to meet God. This is a time for repentance and faith. It is a time for soul-searching, a time to see if our anchor holds. 

-- Billy Graham in “Who’s in Charge of a World That Suffers?”

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THE ANCHOR OF HOPE

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”  (Hebrews 6:19a NIV)

Hope is called the anchor for the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a ‘wish’ (I wish that such-and-such would take place); rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made. 

-- R.C. Sproul


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ANCHORED DEEP

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…" (Colossians 3:15,16)

The Christian in the midst of a crisis doesn't allow everyone's opinion or everyone's feelings to cause him to drift away from what is most important. He sets his anchor deep in the Word and firm in his faith. 

-- Max Lucado


#4412

FINDING HOPE

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

The future is always uncertain in human terms. But there is a God who knows the future and holds the future. He makes a promise to those who seek and follow Him. He holds a promise out for us, a promise He desires for us to accept and cling to, "For I know the plans I have for you," says God in the Bible.

How do I find that hope? In the person of Jesus Christ, who offers all who receive Him a future, even an eternity, that is certain: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." (Hebrews 6:19)

-- Author Unknown


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THE ANCHOR OF HOPE

Hope is symbolized in Christian iconography by an anchor.  And what does an anchor do? It keeps the ship on course when wind and waves rage against it.  But the anchor of hope is sunk in heaven, not on earth.

-- Gregory Floyd in A Grief Unveiled


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