November 8-Our Anchor

Happy Thursday to you. Well it must be winter because there is snow in our forecast. I know that because I have a weather Ap on my phone. Is your phone a little overwhelmed by the number of apps that you continue to accumulate? I think mine is. It seems there’s an Ap for everywhere and everything I do. I just configured the Chick-fil-a Ap so I can order quicker and get reward points to go with my Sonic, Chili’s, and Starbucks’s Aps. I have them for music, to find my way, to read my Bible, to translate, to write, to watch football, to shop, for news, to track sleep, to pay bills, and to adjust the thermostat. For just about anything you can imagine, there’s an Ap for it. 


However, there is no Ap for the really important things in life. You can’t just open up an Ap and click peace for today, or love for one another or hope—the confident hope that comes from God. Paul speaks about it several times in Romans and He’s not referring to hope as wishful thinking as “I hope it rains tomorrow” but rather it’s the hope of confidence, a sure anticipation. That hope comes only from one source. 

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“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit...You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13,14b‬ ‭NLT‬‬


Everyday, I have to open up my “Heaven’s Ap” and renew myself with my Lord so I can be refilled with the joy and peace and let the Lord of Light full me with hope. He promises us that we will overflow with this hope because we put your trust in Him. Some days, that hope is what we cling to in this rough place where we live. 


“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NLT


This hope that this world is not all there is—we are just walking through this life to eternity—is what we can grab when we aren’t sure we are going to get through the day or the week. This strong anchor for your soul isn’t dependent on having good reception or having wi-fi, it doesn’t matter if you have a smart or stupid phone or even if you don’t have any phone at all! This strong anchor that you can trust can only be gained through putting your faith and trust in the Father and walking straight into the inner sanctuary to commune directly with our Lord. It’s ok if you forget your phone, but don’t leave home without your anchor. 


Dear Lord, thank you for your confident hope—the anchor for our life that we can cling to. You are a great God and we love to sing your praises. Our only hope is in you and you can be trusted. You are the anchor for our souls and the balm in Giliad. We pray for comfort and strength for friends and family who are hurting and sick.Surround them with your arms of love and compassion and let them feel you near. We know you are a God who cares when we hurt. Thank you for loving us and for your grace and mercy that is limitless. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one, 

Pam 

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