The Anchor Holds
A Book of Devotionals
by
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The Anchor Holds!
We all have experienced times when we felt like our lives were being tossed around the way ocean waves toss huge ships as if they were mere toys. We may have felt like we were drowning in a sea of trials. The problems sap our strength and health.
Many of our storms cannot be avoided. Christ Jesus told us we would have trials and tribulations. This is the inherent nature of our world. Two important questions concern our response to our trials. Do we try to save ourselves from drowning in our problems? Or do we trust our Lord, Christ Jesus, to help us navigate the storms?
Jesus is the answer for all believers! He is our soul’s Anchor, and His hold is absolute and steady. (See Hebrews 6:19 below.) As the Anchor of our soul Jesus is anchored to Heaven. He has transformed the hope of salvation into an unbreakable promise. Our Anchor will hold us throughout any storm.
You may ask, “How does my Anchor help me with my trials, though?” Jesus will calm your fears and assist, lead, and uphold you throughout your storms and problems because He is always with you. (See Isaiah 41:10 below.) You can be assured that He will help you!
Jesus and God are one. Jesus will use His righteous right hand to take your hand and lead you through the tribulations. He will never leave you because you are anchored to Him whose promises are anchored in His word. His word is anchored in His faithfulness, and His faithfulness is anchored in His love.
As the Lord leads us through a storm, He will strengthen and help us. The storm will remain, but Jesus will calm and comfort us. We will no longer feel tossed about in a sea. Despite our problems, the peace we will experience will glorify God while nonbelievers marvel at our calmness and comfort.
When you think you are drowning in trials, where will you put your trust? Yourself? Family? Friends? Jesus? Trust the Anchor of your soul, Jesus, because he Anchor holds!
ACTION: Pray for wisdom to rely on Jesus to lead you through the storms of life. Thank Him for helping and comforting you. Praise Him for being the Anchor of your soul.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION: Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil. Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
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Is Your Wisdom Wise?
Whoa! Does today’s topic imply that some wisdom is not wise? It sure does. We all probably know that wisdom is knowledge of what is correct and truthful. But, knowledge is alone does not make one wise. For wisdom to be wise, it must be applied correctly. The knowledge has to be applied with true and insightful discernment.
There are two types of wisdom—God’s wisdom and earthly wisdom. God’s wisdom is from above and is for His followers. Earthly wisdom is of the world and is advocated by Satan.
The wisdom of God does not allow for any bias, but it does create mercy, peace, kindness, and understanding toward everyone. (See James 3:17 below.) James’ description of God’s wisdom reads like a depiction of Jesus’ character. We are Jesus’ disciples. We should get wisdom from God so we can be more like Jesus in our walk with God.
Worldly wisdom does not come from God. It comes from Satan and is evil and demonic and promotes chaos, sinful practices, pride, and self-centeredness. (See James 3:15-16 below.) It is easy to see Satan’s influence in worldly wisdom. Confusion, anger, pornography, fear, and a “me first” attitude seem to be prevalent at times.
Surely the contrast between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world is apparent to you. God’s wisdom is very wise when applied. It enables us to be more like Jesus. This pleases God and glorifies Him. The worldly wisdom produces self-seeking and foolishness, which pleases the evil one.
Every believer has access to the wisdom from above. All we need to do is ask God for wisdom, but we must ask in faith without any doubts that He will supply the wisdom. Also, we need to apply the wisdom in our serving Jesus. We can use either God’s wise wisdom or Satan’s evil wisdom. Choose God’s wisdom.
ACTION: Pray for the Holy Spirit to examine your heart for any wisdom not from God, to replace the worldly wisdom with that of His, and to guide you in applying the wisdom from above. As your life becomes an overflowing reservoir of peace, love, self-control, and other fruits of the Spirit, praise and thank God.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION: James 3:15-17 ~ 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
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About the Book
Do you want to enhance your spending time with the Lord? Did you know that you can read and meditate on a devotional while reverently sitting with the very one who selected the devotional topic and the scripture used—God? The Anchor Holds provides a way. God gave the topics and verses to author and deacon Ron Crowe, leading him through the writing of each devotional. The devotionals are meaningful, invigorating, spiritual, and interesting, and each devotional has an “Action” section to guide you in applying God’s thoughts, which will glorify Him. When you purchase The Anchor Holds, you will bring glory to God—as all book profits go to assisting in financing mission and evangelism activities. So, both the purchase of The Anchor Holds and the reading, meditating on, and applying of each devotional thought glorifies God, moves you closer to Him, and blesses you. The Anchor Holds gives the reader an excellent devotional experience designed to satisfy the longing for something stable in our lives. Through personal experience and confident study of God’s Word Ron shares with us an exceptional path to knowing more about our anchor in Christ. The Action and Scripture Meditation included in each devotional reading continually point the reader’s attention back to the certainty of God and His Word. Dr. Kevin L. Cooper, Pastor, Grace Crossing Baptist Church Interesting! Accurate! Meaningful! Ron Crowe has done a magnificent job sharing the Word of God and the hope of the Gospel. He has beautifully shared the Scriptures and even given us an Action Plan to apply biblical truth to our lives. Plus, all proceeds go to Christian organizations doing good work! Be encouraged. Make a difference. Buy this book! Stan Buckley, Founder and Executive Director of But God Ministries
About the Author
Ron Crowe, a long-time deacon, was called by the Lord at age seventy-two to begin a ministry to extend God’s kingdom by raising funds to assist Christian organizations in financing mission and evangelism projects. Ron’s writing of The Anchor Holds is the genesis of his ministry and is unique, as the Lord gave every devotional topic and devotional scripture to Ron. God said, “Write.” So Ron wrote!