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Rock

Anchor

by TerryLema

I woke up the other morning thinking about anchors. Why? I am not sure. I just woke up and anchors were the first thing on my mind.

An anchor has a purpose. It stabilizes and secures. According to Wikipedia, “An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα (ankȳra).”

That’s great for ships. It is even greater for Christians because we too have an anchor that secures us when the winds of trouble assail, or the currents of modern thought threaten to overwhelm.

Hebrews 6:18-20: “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us.” [NLT]

We hold on to the hope God has given us as part of our salvation. That hope anchors us. It goes through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary where Jesus now resides. That hope anchors in Him, the one who is our Living Hope.

How important that is! Everything in this world seeks not to stabilize us but to weaken us.

The enemy of our soul does not want us secure – he wants us destroyed.

Our own sinful nature often succumbs to lack of focus and tries to set us adrift.

But the anchor holds! It holds because it is secured in the Solid Rock, God our Rock, Christ Jesus our LORD.

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Kiss the Wave!

by TerryLema

I came across the following quote the other day.  “I have learned to kiss the wave that slams me into the Rock of Ages.” (Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892)

As a pastor and hospice chaplain (before I retired), I have cared for many people who have had to walk through things that they never wanted to walk through. You cannot be vaccinated against adversity.

Some of us have long periods in life where we have little to no adversity. Others seem to have a life of constant adversity. But I doubt anyone has a life without some adversity in it. When it comes, adversity often hits like an ocean wave, knocking us down and carrying us along with it.

That is when Spurgeon acknowledges that we need to allow those waves to “slam” us into the Rock of Ages, which is exactly where we need to be.

“Rock of Ages” is a phrase that is not found in the Scriptures, but there are a number of Scriptures which speak of God our Rock. Two notable ones I want to mention.

Isaiah 26:4: “Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!” [HCSB]

The LORD said to Moses when he asked to see God’s face, “Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice [cleft] of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.” [Exodus 33:21-22 HCSB]

When the waves of life slam us into the Rock of Ages, we can trust Him … He is our Everlasting Rock, and He will cover us until the storm passes by.

Today: Thank you, LORD, that you are my Eternal Rock!

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Lead Me to the Rock

by TerryLema

I have been reading the songs of King David. We need to learn to pray as David prayed, sing as he sang, worship as he worshipped, and yes, even dance as he danced—with abandon. (If you get a chance today, read Psalm 61.)

Ps 61:2-3: I call to You from the ends of the earth when my heart is without strength. Lead me to a rock that is high above me, for You have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy. HCSB]

David had a wonderful way of expressing his deepest thoughts, his circumstances, and his emotions. He never seemed to be afraid to admit to such things as, my heart grows faint. Yet his prayers seem to always contain petitions for a closer walk with God, as well as praise and worship and remembrance for all God had done.

David’s petition – lead me to a rock that is high above me.

David’s praise and worship – For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy.

 David’s petition is to be led. He didn’t want to follow his own path, but to instead take the path God would give to bring him to solid ground. God had been David’s refuge before. He had provided protection from his enemies. David knew that God would always be there to lead and to protect.

Our hearts must be open like David’s—open to the leading of the Lord.

God will not drag us down the pathway to the Rock, but He will lead. We must have hearts willing to follow.

 

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The Rock

by TerryLema

In Deuteronomy 31, God reminds Moses that his time on earth is coming to an end. Because of his disobedience he would not be going into the Promised Land with the people. The LORD tells him to hand over the leadership of the nation to Joshua. Then Moses addresses the people. His address is called “The Song of Moses” and it begins in Chapter 32.

One of the verses always touches my heart.  “The Rock—His work is perfect; all His ways are entirely just. A faithful God, without prejudice, He is righteous and true.” [Deuteronomy 32:4 HCSB]

The rendering of the words in that verse in the NKJV are just slightly different.  “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”

The one thought that makes me thankful this morning is that our God is a “faithful God, without prejudice,” or “A God of truth and without injustice.”

I am thankful today that there is no prejudice, no injustice found in our Rock! So much of our world is filled with injustice and prejudice. Not just racial prejudice, but social status, political allegiance, etc., also lead to prejudices … and then to injustices. They lead us to view people who do not hold the same views or opinions as our enemies and drive us to silence their voices.

Our God, however, is perfect. All …. ALL … His ways are justice. There are no favorites because of the good things we do. No one has preferential treatment when they come to the cross. Neither does He hold our imperfections against us but comes alongside and gives us the invitation to His salvation and provides the Holy Spirit to guide us to be conformed to our Savior and LORD.

I am so thankful He is my Rock! Amen!

 

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Brokenhearted!

by TerryLema

I got up quite early one morning last week.  I was awake from around 3 AM and decided enough was enough. I climbed out of bed around 4 AM and began my usual morning routine, cup of coffee, devotions, read and study, post online. During that routine something filled me with sorrow, and I began to cry.

Suddenly all kinds of regrets filled my soul. I wanted to go back and change things, do things differently. I wanted a different outcome than what I now have. But, of course, you cannot go back and do it over again. Even if I could go back and change things, would that have made it better or possibly worse now?

All I knew as I sat there crying was that my heart felt broken.

So where do you go when you are brokenhearted? Where do you go when you are consumed with regrets over choices you have made? Where do you go when it feels like the hurt is so deep no one would understand?

I opened my Bible and went to Isaiah 61 and began to read. “The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners….” [Isaiah 61:1 HCSB]

In Luke 4:21 Jesus asserted as He read this passage from Isaiah “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”  [HCSB]

There is nowhere else to run when we are brokenhearted than to the Rock of Our Salvation, to Christ Jesus our LORD. He alone can set us free from the regrets of the past.

Larnelle Harris - I Go to the Rock [Live] - Bing video
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