HOPE IS PERSONAL

Our hope, God's hope is personal. In his 1939 Christmas message to the nation King George VI read Minnie Louise Haskins’ poem, God Knows, given him by his daughter, Elizabeth.

“I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’

While we look forward to life beyond this life, our hope is more than what we think of as life. We certainly hope for all that we can understand of gates of pearl and streets of gold, but the heart of our hope in and beyond this life is the person of Christ.

In Titus 2:13 Paul explained our hope by saying we are,

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

He is our blessed hope.

Hebrews 6:19,20 calls us to Jesus.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

I have cancer, and I don't know how long I will live. In all that I do I am preparing to enter the dark corridor of death. It is uncharted territory for me. But I know Jesus has passed this way before me. He is our forerunner. He knows the way. And He is holding tightly to my hand.

This is not the cold map of doctrine. This is His personal direction. He continually whispers through His word, “Trust me. Follow me. Depend on me. I will lead you home.

Relationship with Him promises continual novelty and dynamic security. I will always be held in His hands whatever we face. His wonders will be new every morning for ever and ever.

As I pen these words I am on an airplane. As exciting as technology can be, I am glad this flight is not completely automatic. We have a competent pilot. We have been told that there are thunderstorms in and around our destination. But our pilot has assured us that he will avoid them wherever they arise when we get there.

JESUS IS OUR HOPE.

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ANCHORED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Where is your anchor fixed? In my first post in this blog I referred to the storm in acts 27. Let me call your attention to something a little unusual in that account. Still in the night after they had discovered the danger of a coast they could crash into, some sailors sought to escape the ship. They lowered a boat on the pretense of laying out anchors from the bow. They had already cast four anchors from the stern. They needed four anchors to slow their progress from the wind and waves. These anchors could have been dumped overboard. But an anchor from the bow would have needed a boat to take it to a place where the ship could be pulled forward. I suppose that was what they were pretending to do.

Another scripture pictures an anchor that is used like this. Hebrews 6:19,20 reads thus.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure that enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.”

The curtain refers to the veil of the temple. That was where The Mercy Seat was. That was where the High Priest would meet with the Lord every year to make sacrifice for the sins of the people. Because the Scripture reads, “where Jesus has gone before us”, we understand that this passage is talking about the veil in the presence of God in heaven.

While I could not find another ancient reference for this use of an anchor (with the possible exception of Acts 27), this passage seems to say our anchor has been carried all the way into the harbor and where we will be drawn past the reefs and rocks into the safety of the presence of God.

The only safe place to anchor our lives is in heaven. If our lives are anchored in the stock market, if our lives are anchored in the culture or our politics, if our lives are anchored in our own desires or ambitions, we will certainly be lost in the storm.

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THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL

For some time I have been planning to write a book on our hope in Christ. So I have decided to give you a foretaste in a regular blog. I am calling this new blog, “THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL."

Have you ever been in the storm from Acts 27? I did not ask if you have read it, although I recommend that you read it. I am asking if your life has been besieged by such a storm.
It began with a gentle southerly breeze promising that the troubled seas were behind them. Then Euroclydon fell on them without warning. First they dumped their cargo, the purpose and profit of the voyage. Then they threw the ship's tackle into the sea. For many days, they may have lost count, they were driven, who knew where, across the open sea. In the dark of night long after the crew and passengers had lost hope of being saved the sailors sensed that they had come near some land. This was not primarily hope. They were terrified of dashing the ship upon the rocks. So they cast four anchors and longed for daylight.
But there was hope beyond what any of them could see. Paul stood before them all and declared that God had sent His angel to assure him that they would all be saved.
One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible yes Hebrews 6:19.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.”

Do you have an anchor that keeps your life stable in the midst of the storms that assail? God has given His children the anchor of hope that will hold our hearts fast in the wildest storms.

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http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

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http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/


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