BBD 09.12.17 The Anchor of the Soul - 2017 (Updated for Today)

#1 · September 11, 2017, 12:09 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on September 11, 2017, 12:09 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2012

Burning Bush Devotional

12 September 2017

The Anchor
of the Soul – 2017

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where
the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 6:19-20 NKJV.

In the United States we have now experienced Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane
Irma along with many wildfires in the west. Irma also left devastation in the Caribbean.
To the south in Mexico there has been a large earthquake. There is also the
threat of nuclear war with North Korea. There are potentially many disastrous
things that could happen in our lives. For some of us, we may already be caught
up in very difficult situations, and wonder whether we will be able to survive.
What we need is an “anchor of the soul.”

Think for a moment of a ship and the ship's anchor. The ship is tied by cable
or chain to a heavy anchor made of metal or other material that rests on the
floor of the sea. For the believer, we are not tied to the earth; no, our
anchor is as the writer of Hebrews says, our anchor has entered the “Presence
behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus...
(Hebrews 6:19).” As the High Priest in the Old Testament entered the Holy of
Holies behind the veil, our High Priest forever, Jesus, is in Heaven; where He,
as He says in John 14, has prepared a place for us. Our soul is tied, not to an anchor
at the bottom of the sea, but it is tied to Jesus in Heaven above.

Again think of ships and of their anchors. Think of the chains that tie that
tether the ship to the anchor. When I was a boy, my Dad made an anchor for our
boat. It consisted of a can filled with concrete and a nylon rope that tied the
boat to the can. Probably not the most secure anchorage for a boat. Think of a
chain that links a battleship to its anchor. One such chain describes each link
in the chain as weighing 120 lbs and being about three feet in length. Now that
is a chain!

The question I think for all of us as we face disasters or the potential for
disaster in our lives is this: What is the condition of the tie between us and
our anchor of the soul? Is the chain to our anchor a
puny little rope that will break whenever a good wind comes along? Or, is it
more like the chain of a battleship that connects to its anchor? How strong is
the link between you and your anchor of the soul, Jesus
Christ? I think you can see that here is where some work needs to be done in
each of our lives. We need to have the strongest spiritual chain possible
connecting us to the anchor of our soul. How do we do that? What are the nuts
and bolts of having that stronger spiritual chain to connect our soul to our
anchor?

First, we need the Bible. The Bible is not just a book. It contains the Words
of God. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus
is the Word which became flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth (John 1:14).” Take a moment to
comprehend that. You could say that Jesus consists of the words on the pages of
the Bible. If you want to know Jesus, if you want to be more like Jesus, then
you need more of those words. But you need to understand that when you read the
Bible you are not just gaining information. When you read the Bible you are
communing with God. When you read the Bible you are connecting with God. When
you read the Bible you are feeding your soul, as Jesus says in Matthew
4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.” When you read the Bible you are connecting your soul to a
spiritual IV that infuses LIFE into your soul. Jesus says in John 6:63, “The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

Second, if you are going to keep from being swept away by the challenges of
life, you are going to need a prayer life. Prayer, communication with God,
talking with God is an awesome privilege. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews
4:16).”

Third, you need to be assembling, meeting with other believers every time you
possibly can. For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).”

It is depressing to think of all the bad things that could happen to our world,
to our country, and to ourselves personally. Is that what God would have us to
think about all the time? No! Our focus, our thoughts, and our hopes, should be
upon the Anchor of our soul. Hebrews 12:3, “For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls.” Instead of worrying about and
thinking about all of the bad things that could happen, or might happen;
instead think about Jesus. Read Jesus, the Word of God. Talk to Jesus, pray,
pray, and pray some more. And, instead of thinking that you don't need church,
go and be where Jesus promises to be in the midst every time believers meet.

You don't have to be swept away by the challenges of life, because you have an
anchor for your soul, and His name is Jesus.

Copyright © 2012 - 2017. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
19 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 12,000
subscribers across the world.

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

Books now available at the Burning Bush website:

New Pastor's
Training Manual

Biblical Help for
Overcoming Substance Abuse

Biblical Help
for Overcoming Sexual Addictions In Times of
Trouble - Devotionals to Encourage and Strengthen You (Also available for
download on Amazon.)

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

PRAY PRAY PRAY for all those
affected by the horrific Hurricane Harvey devastation and floods and from
Hurricane Irma.

Please continue to pray for
healing for Pastor Shane Hall, Michelle Abetz, Wesley Lewis, Brandy, Brad,
Damon D. & wife, Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Brent Baker, Lexi McCalip (her
last scan was clear!), Gary Kirk, and Jeanie.

Please also pray for Aleesha
McMillan and Amy Carroll.

Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. My
prayer focus is now that God will give me opportunities to preach. As the
apostle Paul says, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”).

You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can help support this
ministry by using this link: www.paypal.me/EdWrather

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2012

Burning Bush Devotional

12 September 2017

The Anchor
of the Soul – 2017

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where
the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 6:19-20 NKJV.

In the United States we have now experienced Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane
Irma along with many wildfires in the west. Irma also left devastation in the Caribbean.
To the south in Mexico there has been a large earthquake. There is also the
threat of nuclear war with North Korea. There are potentially many disastrous
things that could happen in our lives. For some of us, we may already be caught
up in very difficult situations, and wonder whether we will be able to survive.
What we need is an “anchor of the soul.”

Think for a moment of a ship and the ship's anchor. The ship is tied by cable
or chain to a heavy anchor made of metal or other material that rests on the
floor of the sea. For the believer, we are not tied to the earth; no, our
anchor is as the writer of Hebrews says, our anchor has entered the “Presence
behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus...
(Hebrews 6:19).” As the High Priest in the Old Testament entered the Holy of
Holies behind the veil, our High Priest forever, Jesus, is in Heaven; where He,
as He says in John 14, has prepared a place for us. Our soul is tied, not to an anchor
at the bottom of the sea, but it is tied to Jesus in Heaven above.

Again think of ships and of their anchors. Think of the chains that tie that
tether the ship to the anchor. When I was a boy, my Dad made an anchor for our
boat. It consisted of a can filled with concrete and a nylon rope that tied the
boat to the can. Probably not the most secure anchorage for a boat. Think of a
chain that links a battleship to its anchor. One such chain describes each link
in the chain as weighing 120 lbs and being about three feet in length. Now that
is a chain!

The question I think for all of us as we face disasters or the potential for
disaster in our lives is this: What is the condition of the tie between us and
our anchor of the soul? Is the chain to our anchor a
puny little rope that will break whenever a good wind comes along? Or, is it
more like the chain of a battleship that connects to its anchor? How strong is
the link between you and your anchor of the soul, Jesus
Christ? I think you can see that here is where some work needs to be done in
each of our lives. We need to have the strongest spiritual chain possible
connecting us to the anchor of our soul. How do we do that? What are the nuts
and bolts of having that stronger spiritual chain to connect our soul to our
anchor?

First, we need the Bible. The Bible is not just a book. It contains the Words
of God. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus
is the Word which became flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth (John 1:14).” Take a moment to
comprehend that. You could say that Jesus consists of the words on the pages of
the Bible. If you want to know Jesus, if you want to be more like Jesus, then
you need more of those words. But you need to understand that when you read the
Bible you are not just gaining information. When you read the Bible you are
communing with God. When you read the Bible you are connecting with God. When
you read the Bible you are feeding your soul, as Jesus says in Matthew
4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.” When you read the Bible you are connecting your soul to a
spiritual IV that infuses LIFE into your soul. Jesus says in John 6:63, “The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

Second, if you are going to keep from being swept away by the challenges of
life, you are going to need a prayer life. Prayer, communication with God,
talking with God is an awesome privilege. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews
4:16).”

Third, you need to be assembling, meeting with other believers every time you
possibly can. For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).”

It is depressing to think of all the bad things that could happen to our world,
to our country, and to ourselves personally. Is that what God would have us to
think about all the time? No! Our focus, our thoughts, and our hopes, should be
upon the Anchor of our soul. Hebrews 12:3, “For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls.” Instead of worrying about and
thinking about all of the bad things that could happen, or might happen;
instead think about Jesus. Read Jesus, the Word of God. Talk to Jesus, pray,
pray, and pray some more. And, instead of thinking that you don't need church,
go and be where Jesus promises to be in the midst every time believers meet.

You don't have to be swept away by the challenges of life, because you have an
anchor for your soul, and His name is Jesus.

Copyright © 2012 - 2017. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
19 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 12,000
subscribers across the world.

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

Books now available at the Burning Bush website:

New Pastor's
Training Manual

Biblical Help for
Overcoming Substance Abuse

Biblical Help
for Overcoming Sexual Addictions In Times of
Trouble - Devotionals to Encourage and Strengthen You (Also available for
download on Amazon.)

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

PRAY PRAY PRAY for all those
affected by the horrific Hurricane Harvey devastation and floods and from
Hurricane Irma.

Please continue to pray for
healing for Pastor Shane Hall, Michelle Abetz, Wesley Lewis, Brandy, Brad,
Damon D. & wife, Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Brent Baker, Lexi McCalip (her
last scan was clear!), Gary Kirk, and Jeanie.

Please also pray for Aleesha
McMillan and Amy Carroll.

Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. My
prayer focus is now that God will give me opportunities to preach. As the
apostle Paul says, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”).

You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can help support this
ministry by using this link: http://www.paypal.me/EdWrather

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org